RF720x Product Family Is Optimized To Mate With Reference Designs From Industry's Leading Open Market 3G Chipset Supplier
BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RF Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq GS: RFMD), a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance semiconductor components, today released the RF720x family of WCDMA/HSPA+ power amplifiers (PAs). RFMD's RF720x product family is comprised of four PAs designed for 3G multimode devices implementing mode-specific, band-specific front end architectures. The RF720x product family accommodates all major WCDMA/HSPA+ bands and band combinations and is optimized to mate with reference designs from the industry's leading open market 3G chipset supplier.
Paul Augustine, general manager of RFMD's Component Solutions Business Unit, said, "The RF720x greatly increases RFMD's ability to extend our leadership in 3G while expanding our customer footprint, particularly in Korea, China and Taiwan, by delivering compatibility with reference designs from the leading open-market 3G chipset supplier. We continue to expect double-digit growth in 3G in calendar year 2009, and we are encouraged by ongoing favorable design activity in this growth market."
The RF7200 (band 1), RF7206 (band 2), RF7203 (band 3, 4, 9 or 10) and the RF7211 (band 11) are designed for single-band operation, while the RF7201 (band 1/8), RF7202 (band 2/5) and the RF7205 (band 1/5) feature two band-specific PAs integrated in a single module package. Each band of amplification in the RF720x product family is addressed with a band-specific high-efficiency, linear power amplifier designed to lower current consumption as output power levels decrease. The improvement in low-power efficiency is enabled through the use of three digital power modes that adjust bias current and optimize the PA for the desired output power range while maintaining linearity.
Each PA in the RF720x product family includes an integrated output power coupler, which eliminates the need for external couplers in chipsets monitoring and adjusting PA output power. The integrated power coupler also significantly reduces the board area required for front end implementation and lowers mobile device bill-of-material (BOM) costs. The RF7201 and RF7202 further reduce board area and streamline implementation by combining the highest volume WCDMA/HSPA+ 3G band combinations in one module. By combining multiple PAs from the RF720x family, handset manufacturers and platform providers can accommodate the majority of WCDMA/HSPA+ band combinations, including bands 1/8, bands 1/5, bands 2/5, bands 1/2/5 and bands 1/3/8.
Industry-Leading 3G PA Technology
RFMD's broad 3G front end portfolio features innovative products and product families capable of accommodating all major 3G RF architectures, including existing mode-specific/band-specific and mode-specific/multi-band architectures as well as emerging multimode/multi-band "converged" architectures.
RFMD's mode-specific/band-specific offerings, such as the RF720x product family, deliver low cost in single-band 3G implementations and design flexibility in multi-band 3G applications. RFMD's mode-specific/multi-band offerings leverage RFMD's proven quadrature (or "balanced") PA technology and include the RF6280 3G transmit system as well as the RF9372 (single path), RF3278 (dual path) and RF6278 (triple path) broadband PAs. RFMD's quadrature PAs enhance multi-band platform capability and improve immunity to VSWR ("antenna mismatch").
RFMD's revolutionary multimode/multi-band converged offerings include the recently introduced RF6460 front end platform, which leverages RFMD's high-volume quadrature PA technology to deliver the industry's broadest band coverage (Band 1-6, 8-10) from a single, scalable front end platform. RFMD's converged front end platforms enable the smallest size and lowest implementation cost for multi-band smartphones (and other mobile devices, such as data cards), while supporting all air standards--GSM/GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, TD-SCDMA (3G), WCDMA/HSPA+ (3G), and LTE (4G).
Technical features of the RF720x family include:
-- Compact, low profile packages: Single-band - 3 x 3 x 1 mm, Dual-Band - 4 x 5 x 1 mm
-- Excellent low-power efficiency
-- 3 power-mode states with chipset-specific digital control interfaces
-- Integrated voltage regulator (Vreg)
-- Integrated output power couplers
-- Highly integrated modules requiring no external blocking or decoupling capacitors
Availability and Pricing
Samples and pre-production quantities of the RF720x family are available immediately. Pricing is available upon request by contacting an RFMD sales representative or by visiting www.rfmd.com/purchase. Based upon current design activity, RFMD expects shipments of RF720x PAs to commence in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2009.
RFMD's product portfolio will be on display at the 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress February 16 to February 19 in Hall 8, Stand 8B79.
