10kHz to 490kHz OFDM-Based Power Line Communications Modem

Active: In Production.

The MAX2990 power line communication (PLC) baseband modem delivers a cost-effective, reliable, half-duplex asynchronous data communication over AC or DC power lines at speeds up to 100kbps. The MAX2990 is a highly integrated system-on-chip (SoC) that combines the physical (PHY) and media access control (MAC) layers using Maxim's 16-bit MAXQ microcontroller core. The MAX2990 utilizes OFDM modulation techniques to enable robust data communication using the same electrical network that supplies power to all other devices on the network.

The MAX2990 includes the MAXQ microcontroller core. The MAXQ is a 16-bit RISC microcontroller with 32kB flash memory, 5.12kB of ROM, and 8kB SRAM, of which 4kB that can be simultaneously accessed by the MCU and the PHY. The MAX2990 is integrated with modules for serial communication (SPI™, I²C, UART) and a real-time clock (RTC) for time stamping, in addition to standard blocks such as timers, GPIO, and external interrupts.

The MAX2990 transceiver is based on an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technique that allows robust data transmission over poor channel conditions specifically for environments with impulsive noise. OFDM with binary phase shift key (BPSK) and forward error correcting (FEC) blocks are used because of their inherent adaptability in the presence of frequency selective channels without the use of equalizers, resilience to jammer signals, robust communications in the presence of group delay spread, and robustness to impulsive noise. The MAX2990 features jammer cancellation that removes constant sinusoidal interference signals for FCC and ARIB bands. Privacy is provided by DES encryption.

The MAX2990 is available in a 64-pin LQFP package and is specified over the -40°C to +85°C extended temperature range.

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