Skyworks Solutions Inc., an innovator of high performance analog and mixed signal semiconductors enabling mobile connectivity, introduced the industry’s first bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters for customer premise equipment (CPE) to allow co-existence between wireless local area networks (WLAN) in the home and enterprise, and WiMAX networks which cover wider areas including neighborhoods and cities. As both networks operate at very closely spaced frequency bands, these unique BAW filters reject the interfering frequencies while allowing the desired signals to pass for the selected network.

“WiFi and WiMAX are converging markets and OEMs have a critical need for both signals to co-exist on the same device,” said Stan Swearingen, Skyworks’ vice president and general manager. “Skyworks is uniquely meeting this design challenge and has introduced filtering technology to address these requirements and, in turn, support a variety of applications including access points, PCMCIA cards, USB dongles, notebook and ultra-mobile personal computers, as well as femto and pico base stations.”

BAW filters are integral components of radio frequency (RF) architectures and according to Strategy Analytics demand is projected to exceed $1.5 B by 2010. Given their particular combination of small footprint, low profile and high performance, they are extremely valuable in enabling next-generation wireless products, which increasingly require greater functionality and reduced form factors.

Combined with the company’s portfolio of switches, power amplifiers (PA), front-end modules (FEM) and transceivers, Skyworks is a one-stop supplier for wireless equipment manufacturers requiring highly integrated RF solutions for a wide array of air interfaces and system architectures. Skyworks entered the BAW filter market three years ago as part of its strategic effort to develop diverse, differentiated and more highly integrated products.