Vendors » What is NCO IC: Numerically Controlled Oscillators Manufacturers

What is NCO IC: Numerically Controlled Oscillators Manufacturers

A Numerically Controlled Oscillator (NCO) IC is a digital signal generation component that produces precise frequency and phase-controlled waveforms using digital processing techniques. NCO ICs are widely used in software-defined radios, communication systems, radar equipment, test instruments, signal synthesis applications, and digital frequency generation systems requiring high accuracy and flexibility.

NCOs are used in a wide variety of applications, including:

Software Defined Radios (SDRs)
Frequency synthesizers used in RF transceivers
Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
Test and Measurement Equipments
Radar systems
SONAR systems

The following table lists some NCO IC manufacturers:

NCO IC Manufacturers

Manufacturers	Description
Analog Devices	AD9850 CMOS, 125 MHz Complete DDS Synthesizer; AD9951 DDS with 14-bit DAC operating up to 400 MSPS; AD9954, AD9958. Refer analog.com
Texas Instruments	AFE79xx is a wide-bandwidth multi-channel transceiver housing NCOs for RF sampling transmitter chains and RF sampling receiver chains. TI also offers NCO-based frequency hopping capability in its RF-sampling AFE74xx device. Refer ti.com
Maxim Integrated	MAX5868, MAX5855. Refer maximintegrated.com
Microchip Technology	TB3131, NCO on PIC microcontrollers. Refer microchip.com for more information.
Linear Technology (Now part of Analog Devices)	LTC6903/LTC6904. Refer analog.com for more information.
Lattice Semiconductor	The company offers Numerically Controlled Oscillators (NCOs) with various features. Refer latticesemi.com for more information.
Silicon Labs	Refer silabs.com for more information.

NCOs and DDS Synthesizers

Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) synthesizers use a Numerically Controlled Oscillator (NCO) to generate a waveform with a frequency determined by a tuning word. Hence, the NCO is often available as a built-in component of DDS ICs.

Summary

An NCO IC is a digital oscillator that generates programmable frequency and phase controlled signals using numerical techniques. Leading manufacturers provide NCO solutions for communication systems, software-defined radios, radar platforms, and digital signal processing applications.