The MAX2825/MAX2826/MAX2827 single-chip, RF transceiver ICs are designed specifically for 802.11 WLAN applications. The MAX2825 is designed for single-band 2.4GHz 802.11g (OFDM and CCK) and the MAX2826 for single-band 5GHz 802.11a (OFDM). The MAX2827 is designed for dual-band 802.11a+g applications. The ICs include all circuitry required to implement the RF transceiver function, providing a fully integrated receive path, transmit path, VCO, frequency synthesizer, and baseband/control interface. Only the PA, RF switches, RF bandpass filters (BPF), RF baluns, and a small number of passive components are needed to form the complete RF front-end solution.

Each IC completely eliminates the need for external SAW filters by implementing on-chip monolithic filters for both the receiver and transmitter. The baseband filtering and the Rx/Tx signal paths are optimized to meet the 802.11a and 802.11g IEEE® standards. Each device is suitable for the full range of the corresponding 802.11a/g OFDM data rates (6Mbps, 9Mbps, 12Mbps, 18Mbps, 24Mbps, 36Mbps, 48Mbps, and 54Mbps) and 802.11g QPSK data rates (1Mbps, 2Mbps, 5.5Mbps, and 11Mbps), at the required sensitivity levels. The MAX2825/MAX2826/MAX2827 transceivers are available in the small 56-pin, exposed paddle thin QFN package.