Laird and RFMD® to Co-develop RF Systems for Handsets

Laird Technologies, a handset antenna manufacturer with over one billion handset antenna shipments, announced they have signed an agreement with RFMD^®, a provider of radio frequency integrated circuits (RFIC), to jointly develop RF systems for the wireless industry.

Laird Technologies and RFMD engineers will work together on developing integrated modules with built-in antennas to meet the cellular industry's need for more capabilities in smaller handset sizes.

"Handset antennas are a critical component in providing additional handset functionality. This collaboration between Laird Technologies and RFMD will result in optimizing the elusive and extremely complex power amplifier/antenna interface providing increased performance over competitive solutions of comparable size," said Magnus Tannfelt, vice president and general manager of Laird Technologies Antenna Strategic Business Unit. "With the burgeoning standards and frequency bands required and available for use with handheld terminals, the RF environment is extremely challenging," said Rashid Osmani, vice president and chief architect for RFMD. "Multi band and multi standard handsets require extremely careful planning and layout to ensure satisfactory user experience. Together with Laird Technologies we are committed to providing solutions that avoid interference, ensure reduction of spurious transmissions and maximize link margins."

Products that result from the Laird Technologies and RFMD collaboration are expected to be available for sampling in 12 to 18 months.