Avago Technologies announced the world’s smallest RF amplifier. The company is a leading supplier of analog interface components for communications, industrial and consumer applications. With miniature 0402 package dimensions and no wirebonds, the innovative VMMK-2x03 amplifiers experience almost no signal loss and minimal parasitics. Its ultra-small size and fully matched SMT design are optimized for 500 MHz to 12 GHz frequencies, making these high-performance devices ideal to place in a variety of radio architectures.
The VMMK-2x03 leverages Avago’s recently announced WaferCap chip scale packaging (CSP) technology. Measuring an ultra-small 1 x 0.5 x 0.25 mm, the VMMK-2x03 takes up 5 percent of the volume and uses only 10 percent of the board area of a standard SOT-343 package. In some cases, the ultra-small amplifier can effectively reduce PCB area by more than 50 percent.
“Our new VMMK-2x03 encapsulates the breakthrough we have achieved in chip scale packaging,” said Bryan Ingram, senior vice president and general manager for Avago Technologies’ wireless semiconductors division. “We’ve raised the bar for miniaturization and high frequency performance and this innovation will change the way RF designers think about wireless product development. The flexibility this product offers opens up new avenues for placement in RF designs. It’s really up to the imagination of designers to determine how to best leverage the size and performance of this product.”
Cost effectively packaged with Avago’s innovative WaferCap CSP technology, the VMMK-2x03 significantly improves performance over conventional amplifiers with almost no signal loss and minimal parasitics. No special tooling is required for assembly because the amplifiers support full surface-mount capability. Additionally, the VMMK-2x03 has all I/Os routed to the backside of the device wafer through via-holes. As a result, the RF transitions suffer almost no signal loss and minimal parasitics. This is a significant improvement over conventional plastic packages where bond-wires exhibit substantial parasitics that limit the operating frequency.
The miniature VMMK-2x03 family of amplifiers provide high gain, high IP3, low NF and integrated 50-ohm input and output matching networks to simplify system design. Covering frequency ranges from 500 MHz to 12 GHz, these miniature amplifiers can be used in many positions in any radio architecture, such as any mobile device, radios, sensors and military communication applications. Their flexibility in size and superior high-frequency performance also make them suitable for applications, such as wireline, fiber optic, base station, CATV and instrumentation.
Avago will debut the VMMK 2x03 product family in Booth 1257 at the 2008 MTT-S International Microwave Symposium with a live demonstration of each amplifier’s performance levels.