Atmel announced the availability of a new Silicon Germanium (SiGe) based front-end IC, ATR0981. The use of SiGe technology, the simple yet flexible application circuit, and the device's wide operating frequency range (300 MHz to 500 MHz) make possible a broad range of applications, from hand-held family radios (private mobile radios, PMR) to meter readers. What is more, SiGe offers increased efficiency – the PAE (Power Added Efficiency) value is as high as 55%, typically, helping to ensure the low current consumption of the PA (Power amplifier) . The overall current consumption can be reduced even further by shutting down the PA, providing extended battery life. The output power can reach 29 dBm and the PA has a power gain of 34 dB, controllable within a range of 3 dB. ATR0981's LNA offers excellent noise performance, with a noise figure of 1.5 dB and a power gain of 19 dB. Samples of the ATR0981 are available now in PSSO20 packages, which are both Pb-free and green. Atmel is offering this type of product as an RoHS-compliant device. Pricing for the ATR0981 starts at 1.20 US$ in quantities of 10 k.