26 May 2016

NXP launches GaN RF power transistors optimized for Doherty amplifiers in cellular base-stations

NXP Semiconductors N.V. of Eindhoven, The Netherlands has announced an expansion to its portfolio of 48V gallium nitride (GaN) RF power transistors optimized for Doherty power amplifiers for use in current and next-generation cellular base-stations. The four new transistors collectively cover cellular bands from 1805MHz to 3600MHz, meeting the needs of wireless carriers for superior performance at higher frequencies.

With the wireless spectrum shortage, wireless carriers are exploring higher frequencies to accommodate the exponential annual increases in traffic, notes NXP. These networks require RF power transistors and amplifiers that deliver higher performance over wider signal bandwidths, as well as higher efficiency and ruggedness, higher output power and smaller footprints.

Designed specifically to meet these challenges, the four new GaN transistors have high efficiency and gain, and are extremely rugged, with the ability to deliver their rated performance with an impedance mismatch (VSWR) greater than 10:1. Designed for use in Doherty power amplifiers, the transistors are optimized for seamless integration with digital pre-distortion linearization systems.

The new products are:

A2G22S251-01S: Ultra-wideband symmetrical Doherty two device solution covering 1805-2170MHz (365MHz bandwidth). In a symmetric Doherty, it delivers an average RF output power of 71W (450W peak), gain of 16.5dB, and drain efficiency of 46% in concurrent multi-band operation at 8dB back-off configured. The device is housed in a NI-400S-2S air-cavity ceramic package.

A2G26H281-04S: NXP's first in-package Doherty transistor covering 2496-2690MHz, with average RF output power of 50W (288W peak), gain of 15.3dB, and drain efficiency of 57% configured in a NI-780S-4L air-cavity ceramic package.

A2G35S160-01S and A2G35S200-01S: Two-transistor Doherty amplifier solution covering 3400-3600MHz with 53W average RF output power (331W peak), gain of 13.8dB, and drain efficiency of 46%. Each of these transistors is housed in a NI-400S-2S air-cavity ceramic package.

"Cellular customers are actively pursuing GaN technology especially in higher frequency bands," says Paul Hart, executive VP & general manager of NXP's RF power business unit. "Given its leadership in the cellular base-station market, NXP is committed to being a dominant source of top-quality GaN products," he adds. "Our new transistors fully harness the inherent strengths of GaN enabling broad bandwidth, efficient and compact solutions."

NXP is showcasing the new GaN transistors in booth 1839 at the IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2016) in San Francisco (23-26 May).

NXP's GaN RF power transistors are either sampling or in production. Optimized reference designs are available.

Tags: NXP

Visit: www.ims2016.org

Visit: www.nxp.com