Features

• High Dynamic Range for AM and FM

• Integrated AGC for FM
• High Intercept Point 3rd-order for FM
• FM Amplifier Adjustable to Various Cable Impedances
• High Intercept Point 2nd-order for AM
• Low-noise Output Voltage
• Low-power Consumption
Low-noise
AM/FM Antenna
Electrostatic sensitive device.
Observe precautions for handling. Impedance
Matching IC

Description U4254BM-M
The U4254BM-M is an integrated low-noise AM/FM antenna impedance matching cir-
cuit in BiCMOS technology. The device is designed specifically for car applications
and is suitable for windshield and roof antennas.

Figure 1. Block Diagram

1 (14)
FMIN
15 (13)
FM FMOUT
2 (15)
GND1
3 (16)
FMGAIN
4 (2) 13 (10)
AGC AGC AGCADJ
14 (11) IAGC
VS

5 (3) 12 (9)
VREF2 VREF VREF1

11 (8)
8 (6) AMOUT1
AMIN AM 10 (7)
AMOUT

7 (5)
GND2

() Pin numbers in brackets = QFN 4 × 4 package

Rev. 4772C–AUDR–08/04
Pin Configuration

Figure 2. Pinning SO16 Figure 3. Pinning QFN16 4 × 4

FMIN 1 16 NC

GND1 2 15 FMOUT

FMGAIN
FMGND

FMOUT
FMIN
FMGAIN 3 14 VS

16 15 14 13
AGC 4 13 AGCADJ n.c. 1 12 n.c.
AGC 2 11 Vs
VREF2 3 10 AGCADJ
VREF2 5 12 VREF1 n.c. 4 9 VREF1
5 6 7 8
NC 11 AMOUT1

AMIN

AMOUT1
AMOUT
6

GND2
GND2 7 10 AMOUT

AMIN 8 9 NC

Pin Description
Pin SSO16 Pin QFN16 Symbol Function
1 14 FMIN FM input
2 15 GND1 Ground for FM part
3 16 FMGAIN FM gain adjustment
4 2 AGC AGC output
5 3 VREF2 Reference voltage 2 output
6 1 NC Not connected
7 5 GND2 Ground for AM part
8 6 AMIN AM input
9 4 NC Not connected
10 7 AMOUT AM output
11 8 AMOUT1 AM output
12 9 VREF1 Reference voltage 1 output
13 10 AGCADJ Adjustment FM wide-band AGC threshold
14 11 VS Supply voltage
15 13 FMOUT FM output
16 12 NC Not connected

2 U4254BM-M
4772C–AUDR–08/04
 U4254BM-M

Pin Description

FMIN FMIN, a bipolar transitor’s base is the input of the FM amplifier. A resistor or a coil is
connected between FMIN and VREF2. If a coil is used, the noise performance is
excellent.

Figure 4. Internal Circuit at Pin FMIN

FMIN

ESD

GND1 To avoid cross-talk between AM and FM signals, the circuit has two separate ground
pins. GND1 is the ground for the FM part.

FMGAIN The DC current of the FM amplifier transistor is adjusted by an external resistor which is
connected between FMGAIN and GND1. To influence the AC gain of the amplifier, a
resistor is connected in series to a capacitor between FMGAIN and GND1. The capaci-
tor has to shorten frequencies of 100 MHz.

Figure 5. Internal Circuit at pin FMGAIN

ESD
3
FMGAIN

AGC DC current flows into the AGC pin at high FM antenna input signals. This current has to
be amplified via the current gain of an external PNP transistor that feeds a PIN diode.
This diode dampens the antenna’s input signal and protects the amplifier input against
overload. The maximum current which flows in the AGC pin is approximately 1 mA. In
low-end applications, the AGC function is not necessary and the external components
can therefore be omitted.

3
4772C–AUDR–08/04
 Figure 6. Internal Circuit at Pin AGC
AGC 4

ESD

VS

AGCADJ The threshold of the AGC can be adjusted by varying the DC current at pin AGCADJ. If
pin AGCADJ is connected directly to GND1, the threshold is set to 96 dBµV at the FM
amplifier output. If a resistor is connected between AGCADJ and GND1, the threshold is
shifted to higher values with increasing resistances. If AGCADJ is open, the threshold is
set to 106 dBµV.

Figure 7. Internal Circuit at Pin AGCADJ

65 kΩ

ESD
13 AGCADJ

FMOUT The FM amplifier output is an open collector of a bipolar RF transistor. It should be con-
nected to VS via a coil.

Figure 8. Internal Circuit at Pin FMOUT

15 FMOUT

ESD

4 U4254BM-M
4772C–AUDR–08/04
 U4254BM-M

AMIN The AM input has an internal bias voltage. The DC voltage at this pin is VRef1/2. The input
resistance is about 470 kΩ. The input capacitance is less than 10 pF.

Figure 9. Internal Circuit at Pin AMIN

VREF1/2

470 kΩ

AMIN

ESD

AMOUT, AMOUT1 The buffered AM amplifier consists of a complementary pair of CMOS source followers.
The transistor gates are connected to AMIN. The pin AMOUT is the NMOS transistor's
source, pin AMOUT1 is the PMOS transistor's source. Due to the two different DC levels
of these pins, they have to be connected together via an external capacitor of about
100 nF. By means of this technique an excellent dynamic range can be achieved.

Figure 10. Internal Circuit at Pins AMOUT1 and AMOUT

AMOUT1

11
ESD

AMOUT

10
ESD

VREF1 VREF1 is the stabilized voltage for the AM amplifier and the AGC block. To achieve
excellent noise performance at LW frequencies, it is recommended that this pin be con-
nected to ground via an external capacitor of about 1 µF.

5
4772C–AUDR–08/04
 Figure 11. Internal Circuit at Pin VREF1

VS

12

VREF1

ESD
GND1

VREF2 For the DC biasing of the FM amplifier, a second voltage reference circuit is integrated.
Since the collector current is temperature independent, the output voltage has a nega-
tive temperature coefficient of about -1 mV/K. To stabilize this voltage, an external
capacitor to ground of a few nF is recommended.

Figure 12. Internal Circuit at Pin VREF2

VREF2

ESD

GND1

GND2 GND2 is the ground for the AM amplifier.

6 U4254BM-M
4772C–AUDR–08/04
 U4254BM-M

Functional Description
The U4254BM-M is an integrated AM/FM antenna impedance matching circuit. It com-
pensates cable losses between the antenna (for example windshield, roof or bumper
antennas) and the car radio which is usually placed far away from the antenna.
The FM amplifier provides excellent noise performance. External components are used
to adjust the gain and the input-output matching impedance. Therefore, it is possible to
adjust the amplifier to various cable impedances (usually 50, 75 or 150 Ω). To protect
the amplifier against input overload, an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) is included on the
chip. The AGC observes the AC voltage at the FM amplifier output, rectifies this signal,
and delivers DC current to dampen the input antenna signal via an external PIN diode.
The threshold for the AGC is adjustable. Simple and temperature-compensated biasing
is possible due to the integrated voltage reference VRef2.
The AM part consists of a buffer amplifier. The voltage gain of this stage is approxi-
mately one. The input resistance is 470 kΩ, the input capacitance less than 10 pF. The
output resistance is 125 Ω. An excellent dynamic range is achieved due to the comple-
mentary CMOS source follower stage.

Absolute Maximum Ratings

Stresses beyond those listed under “Absolute Maximum Ratings” may cause permanent damage to the device. This is a stress rating
only and functional operation of the device at these or any other conditions beyond those indicated in the operational sections of this
specification is not implied. Exposure to absolute maximum rating conditions for extended periods may affect device reliability.
Reference point is ground (pins 2 and 7)
Parameters Symbol Value Unit
Supply voltage VS 8.8 V
Power dissipation, Ptot at Tamb = 85° C Ptot 460 mW
Junction temperature Tj 150 °C
Ambient temperature Tamb -40 to +85 °C
Storage temperature Tstg -50 to +150 °C
Electrostatic handling (HBM at ESD S.5.1) ±VESD ±1000 V

Thermal Resistance
Parameters Symbol Value Unit
Junction ambient RthJA 140 K/W

7
4772C–AUDR–08/04
Electrical Characteristics
VS = 8 V, Tamb = 25° C, unless otherwise specified (see Figure 13 on page 9).
Parameters Test Conditions Pin Symbol Min. Typ. Max. Unit
Supply voltage 14 VS 7.2 8 8.8 V
Supply currents 14 IS 3.5 4.8 5.6 mA
Reference voltage 1 output (I12 = 0) 12 VRef1 5.1 5.4 5.7 V
Reference voltage 2 output (I5 = 0) 5 VRef2 2.3 2.6 2.8 V
Temperature dependence of VREF2 5 VRef2/∆T -1 mV/K
AM Amplifier
Input resistance 8 RAMIN 470 kΩ
Input capacitance 8 CAMIN 10 pF
Output resistance 10 ROUT 125 Ω
Voltage gain 8, 10 a 0.85
S1 switched to 2
B = 6 kHz
Output noise voltage (rms value) 10
150 kHz to 300 kHz VN1 -2 dBµV
500 kHz to 6.5 kHz VN2 -6 dBµV
S2 switched to 1
fAMIN = 500 kHz
2nd harmonic 10 -65 dBc
Output voltage =
110 dBµV
FM Amplifier
Supply current limit IAGC, IAGCADJ = 0 A 15 I15 33 35 mA
Input resistance f = 100 MHz 1 RFMIN 50 Ω
Output resistance f = 100 MHz 15 RFMOUT 50 Ω
Power gain f = 100 MHz 1, 15 G 5 dB
f = 100 MHz
Output noise voltage 15 VN 0 dBµV
B = 120 kHz
3rd-order output intercept f = 100 MHz 15 132 dBµV
AGC
f = 100 MHz 15
S2 switched to 1;
AGC input voltage threshold AGC threshold DC Vth1 96 dBµV
current is 10 µA at
pin 4
f = 100 MHz, 15
S2 switched to 2;
AGC input voltage threshold AGC threshold DC Vth2 106 dBµV
current is 10 µA at
pin 4
AGC output current AGC active IAGC 1.2 mA

8 U4254BM-M
4772C–AUDR–08/04
 U4254BM-M

Figure 13. Test Circuit

VS

1 2
FMOUT 2.2 µH
S2
5 kΩ
2.2 nF AMOUT

I14 I3
I15 2.2 100 nF
100 nF
2.2 nF µF
+

16 9

150 Ω

1 8

I4
FMIN
2.2 nF 2.2 µH S1
2.2 nF
51 Ω 15 pF
1 2
22 Ω
VS
1 nF
2.2 nF
AMIN

9
4772C–AUDR–08/04
Figure 14. FM Intermodulation Distortion

dBµV dBµV
Output
Input 108 dBµV
103 dBµV

58 dBµV
Gain = 5 dB
AGC not active

90 95 100 105 MHz 90 95 100 105 MHz

Input
dBµV dBµV
118 dBµV Output
100 dBµV

50 dBµV
AGC active

90 95 100 105 MHz 90 95 100 105 MHz

10 U4254BM-M
4772C–AUDR–08/04
 U4254BM-M

Figure 15. Test Circuit for AM Large Signal Behavior

Analyzer

100 nF
AMOUT1
LPF

DUT
AMIN 5 kΩ Rin = 50 Ω
1 nF
fcutoff = 500 kHz AMOUT 100 nF
50 Ω
115 dBµV 75 dBµV
50 Ω

f = 500 kHz
V0

Figure 16. AM Harmonic Distortion

VAMOUT
(dBµV)
115 dBµV

110

90

70

55 dBµV
50 45 dBµV

0.5 1.0 1.5 f (MHz)

11
4772C–AUDR–08/04
 12
ANTENNA
AM FM
VS = 8.2 V

2.2 µH
2.2 nF R1
Figure 17. Application Circuit

PIN
BA679

U4254BM-M
2.2 nF 2.2 nF
FMIN
FMOUT
FM
R2 FMGND
2.2 nF
510 Ω 39 pF
FMGAIN

51 AGC AGCADJ
BC558 AGC
200 nF IAGC Output
VS
Vs
1 kΩ
V
VREF2 VREF1
VRef 2.2 µH
+
Protection 2.2 nF 1 µF
circuit
100 nF
AMOUT1
AMIN
AM

1 nF AMOUT
100 nF
AMGND

R1 and R2 depend on used FM cable impedance

FM cable impedance R1 (Ω) R2 (Ω)

50 150 22
75 270 33
100 390 51
125 470 86
150 620 160

4772C–AUDR–08/04
 U4254BM-M

Ordering Information
Extended Type Number Package Remarks
U4254BM-MFP SO16 –
U4254BM-MPG3 SO16 Taping corresponding, ICE-286-3
U4254BM-MPH QFN16 –
U4254BM-MPG3H QFN16 Taping corresponding, ICE-286-3

Package Information

Package SO16 5.2

4.8
Dimensions in mm 10.0
9.85 3.7

1.4
0.2
0.4 0.25 3.8
0.10
1.27 6.15
8.89 5.85

16 9

technical drawings
according to DIN
specifications

1 8

13
4772C–AUDR–08/04
14 U4254BM-M
4772C–AUDR–08/04
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4772C–AUDR–08/04