7 June 2011

TriQuint’s new base-station RFICs integrate protection for data-intensive mobile networks 

TriQuint Semiconductor Inc of Hillsboro, OR, USA, which provides RF front-end product maker and foundry services to mobile device, networks, and defense & aerospace markets, has released the first members in a new family of integrated RF products that lower power consumption while protecting mobile networks from disruption and service failures. Its newest base transceiver station (BTS) network devices join 12 other new power and filter infrastructure solutions introduced in first-half 2011.

“Consumer demand for smart-phones and tablets means more bandwidth through the network. That leads to the requirement for greater linearity in the RF chain,” says vice president Brian P. Balut. “At the same time, our customers want to minimize power consumption, and they want devices that withstand spikes and other stresses that may occur in the field,” he adds. “These two new products uniquely address all these needs.”

TriQuint says it is focused on bringing performance innovation to essential building blocks in the global network. This network is fraught with demand; by 2015, the amount of mobile data traffic contributed by tablets alone is expected to equal that of mobile data traffic from all devices combined in 2010, according to the 2011 Cisco Visual Networking Index.

The new base-station devices start with the 0.25W TQP7M9101, which provides high gain and linearity with very low current consumption — just 88mA in a typical 5V design. The 0.5W TQP7M9102 is also now available, providing highly linear performance, low current consumption and greater gain.

TriQuint’s patent-pending integrated protection features include means to guard against ESD and DC over-voltage electrical spikes. The firm also integrates RF over-drive protection, which reduces the chance of damage from high signal levels often seen in systems employing digital pre-distortion linearization techniques commonly used to meet 3G/4G BTS system requirements. Unlike other linear driver amplifiers available, the TQP7M9101 also integrates matching circuits that eliminate the need externally. TriQuint says that these integration benefits reduce the overall bill of materials (BOM) and provide easier-to-use solutions that are especially important when fast time-to-market is a key manufacturer strategy.

“TriQuint regularly releases new amplifier and linear gain blocks that offer useful improvements. They appreciate that design requirements change all the time,” comments Alexander Kopp, RF designer at Andrew Wireless Systems/CommScope in Buchdorf, Germany. “A more linear RF signal is very important, and with very low current drain, we can reduce a system’s thermal dissipation,” he adds. “The TriQuint team has offered us great support.”

TriQuint’s two new amplifiers are suited to 3G/4G wireless infrastructure applications including base transceiver stations, repeaters, boosters, tower-mounted amplifiers (TMAs), remote radio heads (RRHs), defense/aerospace and other wireless systems requiring high linearity and gain with low power consumption.

TriQuint’s base-station, microwave and defense/aerospace developments are being displayed in booth 2218 at this week’s IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2011) in Baltimore, MD, USA (5–10 June).

Tags: TriQuint Base-station RFICs

Visit: www.triquint.com