TriQuint Semiconductor, Hillsboro, OR, an RF front-end product manufacturer and foundry services provider, announced that its wide portfolio of surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters for GPS-enabled products has made the company a leading supplier in the growing personal navigation device (PND) market. With an estimated 66% GPS SAW filter share, TriQuint Semiconductor leads in supplying low-cost, high-performance devices for PNDs made by three of the top four major manufacturers that include Garmin, Tom-Tom, Mio Technology and Magellan.
By the time GPS satellite transmissions reach the earth their power levels are low relative to other wireless signals. TriQuint SAW filters built into the Receive (Rx) signal chain weed out unwanted noise from non-GPS sources, allowing desirable data to pass to the receiver. TriQuint products are used in all major PND market segments including handset, automotive and industrial GPS applications. TriQuint expects to sell more than 52 million GPS filters through the end of 2007. Worldwide sales of personal navigation devices continue to exceed expectations. ABI Research reported in November 2007 that it projected PND sales to surpass 100 million units annually by 2011.