News: Microelectronics
13 January 2021
Skyworks ships over 1 million units of first small-cell base-station 5G PA
Skyworks Solutions Inc of Woburn, MA, USA (which manufactures analog and mixed-signal semiconductors) says that it has now shipped more than 1 million units of its SKY66318-21 power amplifier (PA), which is claimed to be the first high-efficiency small-cell PA with a bandwidth of 200MHz at +28dBm. Skyworks says that the milestone highlights it accelerating the adoption of 5G by enabling enhanced 5G connections and powering more efficient range extension for small cells.
To demonstrate the benefits of the new technology, for its virtual booth at the All-Digital Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2021) on 11-14 January, Skyworks has collaborated with Xilinx Inc to showcase the spectral and power efficiency achievable using the SKY66318-21 PA in 5G infrastructure applications.
The demonstration includes Skyworks’ SKY66318-21 high-efficiency PA, Xilinx’s Crest Factor Reduction (CFR) and Digital Pre-Distortion IP along with an RF transceiver from Texas Instruments. Featuring a highly efficient, wide instantaneous bandwidth, fully input/output-matched PA with high gain and linearity, the SKY66318-21 enables newly auctioned operation in both the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and the 5G C-band, making it well positioned for ‘carrier sharing’ where multiple operators can take advantage of the opportunity to share the same equipment says Skyworks.
According to a report ‘Small-cell 5G network market outlook, November 2020’ from Allied Market Research, the small-cell 5G network industry is rising at a compound annual growth rate of 43% from 2020 to $8.32bn in 2027. The report also notes that the rise in network densification, increase in mobile data traffic, advent of the CBRS band, and growth in investment in 5G infrastructure by several economies have driven growth in the global small-cell 5G network market.
“For emerging 5G environments, it is critical that the PA can deliver increased efficiency while meeting challenging out-of-band emissions and EVM requirements,” says Dan Mansur, VP of marketing, Wired and Wireless Group at Xilinx. “We are delighted to collaborate with Skyworks and TI to provide our highly adaptable CFR and DPD IP, which offers a scalable digital front-end solution to address future RF PA efficiency needs,” he adds.
“As 5G is being deployed globally and with the mid-band serving as the sweet spot thanks to its speed, capacity and range, the SKY66318-21 is a robust addition to Skyworks’ broad portfolio of complete connectivity solutions,” says David Stasey, VP & general manager of diversified analog solutions at Skyworks. “Regardless of band, Skyworks is poised to meet the need for densification in the rapidly expanding small-cell market.”
The SKY66318-21 PA has a compact design, making it suitable for 5G NR and 4G LTE systems operating at 3300-3700MHz. Active biasing circuitry is integrated to compensate for temperature, voltage and process variation. The SKY66318-21 is part of a family of high-efficiency, pin-to-pin compatible PAs supporting major 3GPP bands.
