Last week's European Microwave Week (EuMW) conference in Paris provided a forum for many announcements and product releases.

Companies and Products

ANADIGICS added to their large small-cell power amplifier portfolio with three additional products. The 1/4 and 1/2 watt PAs cover bands 20, 28 and 41. Their full product lineup is shown here.

Analog Devices released a clock jitter attenuator for connecting high-speed data converters and FPGAs in base stations. Read ADI's press release.

Anokiwave raised the curtain on some of their development work, releasing an X-Band core IC for AESA applications. The SiGe IC provides impressive performance and functionality.

CommScope is acquiring Airvana, a privately-held, indoor small-cell infrastructure player.

Freescale introduced a 250 watt CW LDMOS transistor as a replacement for magnetrons in 2.45 GHz industrial applications.

Huawei discussed their small-cell experience and plans in this recent blog post. Next on their roadmap: multi-mode and multi-band systems.

Infineon finally joined the party, announcing their first GaN on SiC power transistors for wireless infrastructure. 70 and 170 watt devices cover both bands 3 and 1 (1805 to 2170 MHz), and a 170 watt transistor covers band 7 (2620 to 2690 MHz). Performance specs and data sheets here.

Keysight unveiled their 50 GHz FieldFox handheld analyzers at #EuMW2015.

MACOM made three GaN on Si announcements at EuMW:

• Shipping over 1 million GaN on Si devices, demonstrating the credibility of the technology;
• A 100 watt power transistor packaged in plastic. The devices operates CW or pulsed to 2.7 GHz, achieving greater than 70 percent efficiency and more than 18 dB gain;
• A 200 watt power transistor, also in plastic, that covers DC to 2.7 GHz with 63 percent drain efficiency and 16 dB gain.

When NXP's high performance RF business (known as HPRF) is sold, its name will become Ampleon. The business is being acquired by the Chinese firm JAC Capital, a precondition to NXP's acquisition of Freescale. Freescale's and NXP's LDMOS businesses collectively dominate the wireless infrastructure market. The HPRF team is planning for an October 4 close, assuming the U.S. government approves. NXP has registered Ampleon with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and created a LinkedIn site for the future company.

Pasternack expanded their GaN portfolio with connectorized power amplifiers covering various bands to 7.5 GHz. The PAs provide 10 to 100 watts output power at 20 to 35 percent power-added efficiency PAE.

Quantenna launched the industry's first 802.11ac Wave 3 Wi-Fi platform. Throughput is up to 10 Gbps using 8x8 MIMO at 5 GHz and 4x4 MIMO at 2.4 GHz.

Qorvo made two GaN product announcements at EuMW:

• A 3 watt Ka-Band PA for satellite ground terminal applications, fabricated with Qorvo's 0.15 μm GaN process. The amplifier covers 28 to 31 GHz and achieves 30 percent power-added efficiency.
• Three GaN power transistors in plastic, covering 8 to 12 GHz with 5, 20 and 25 watts P3dB and 45 to 50 percent drain efficiency.

Prior to EuMW, I had the opportunity to meet with James Klein, president of Qorvo's infrastructure and defense segment, and Eric Higham, director of advanced semiconductor applications at Strategy Analytics, to discuss market trends and how Qorvo is positioned.

Verizon has recruited a coalition of companies and venture capital to form a 5G dream team that will define and develop their 5G roadmap. U.S. field trials of targeted use cases will start in 2016.

Verizon also adopted a new logo, intended to represent simplicity, honest and joy. Did you get that when you first saw the logo?

Markets and Technology

Automotive — Google's self-driving pods will soon be roaming the streets of Austin. If you see one, send a photo.

Broadband — Arris' CTO predicts that CATV data rates will exceed 50 Gbps as fiber goes deep and the hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) frequency plan extends beyond 2 GHz.

Generation Gap — The younger you are, the more you watch video on your smartphone, tablet or laptop (compared to your TV). Ericsson's survey of viewing trends is a fascinating read.

Now back in the U.S., I'm going to miss having an espresso in a Parisian cafe and watching the world pass by. Have a good week.