RFaxis blazes silicon trail with world's first 5 GHz silicon-based power amplifier

IRVINE, USA: RFaxis, a fabless semiconductor company focused on innovative, next-generation RF solutions for the wireless and connectivity markets, has unveiled the world's first commercial 5 GHz wideband linear power amplifier on silicon.

Designated RFP5001, this new silicon-based power amplifier is designed to dramatically increase both range and throughput for demanding, data-intensive 802.11a/n/p wireless connectivity applications including:

* Ultra mobile productivity devices including notebooks, netbooks, smartbooks, and e-readers.
* Cellular handsets and smartphones.
* WLAN server devices including access points, routers and gateways.
* High Definition (HD) multimedia streaming and Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) support.
* WiMAX/4G base stations.
* Car-to-car/car-to-infrastructure WAVE applications.
* Other systems operating in 5GHz ISM band.

Mike Neshat, president and CEO of RFaxis, said: "To satisfy the compelling demand from leading Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs), Multi-Chip Module (MCM) makers and other high volume RFaxis customers for a silicon-based power amplifier for 5 GHz band applications, RFaxis once again demonstrates the versatility and robustness of its patent-pending RF Front-end IC (RFeIC) architecture.

"The rapidly growing need for high data rate wireless connectivity throughout the home for the new generation of 3D HDTVs and HD multimedia streaming devices, reliable high-speed internet access and high-performance gaming is motivating our customers to accelerate their support of the 5 GHz spectrum to robustly deliver large volumes of high speed wireless data over a greater distance.

"This migration to the broad bandwidth 5 GHz spectrum is further accelerated by a rapidly growing volume of WiMAX/4G and WAVE projects underway to solidify the infrastructure for modern wireless connectivity. Complementing the overwhelming demand for our fully integrated, single-chip/single-die WLAN 5 GHz RFX5008 RFeIC chip, our RFP5001 standalone power amplifier is a logical extension to our portfolio of RFeIC solutions for wireless connectivity."

The RFP5001 is a highly integrated, plug & play, RF-matched, linear power amplifier on silicon that covers the full 802.11a/n/p frequency band (4.9 to 5.95 GHz) and is ideal for all 5 GHz systems. The RFP5001 delivers a maximum linear power greater than 19 dBm and a gain greater than 20 dBm at a bias voltage of 3.3 volts.

For a lower bias voltage of just 2.3 volts, the RFP5001 can still deliver a maximum linear power greater than 15 dBm for 54 Mbps OFDM signal with EVM less than 3.5 percent, making the RFP5001 ideal even for ultra-mobile, low battery voltage applications.

Additionally, CMOS compatible control logic along with on-chip harmonic filters dramatically simplify design-in activities and reduce overall BOM costs. Currently sampling, the RFP5001 power amplifier will be commercially available in a standard 3x3x0.5mm QFN package and priced below $0.40 per unit in high volumes.

Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) is a consumer electronic standard for wireless HDTV connectivity that enables uncompressed wireless delivery of high-definition video, allowing consumers to connect any video content source in the home to any display device. WHDI is supported by AMIMON, Hitachi Ltd., LG Electronics, Motorola, Samsung Group, Sharp Corporation, and Sony.

Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE) is the 802.11p wireless protocol that enables data exchange between high-speed vehicles and between the vehicles and the roadside infrastructure in the licensed ITS band of 5.9 GHz (5.85 to 5.925 GHz). This approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard defines enhancements required to support Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications.