Fujitsu intros next-gen multimode, multiband transceiver IC for 2G/3G/4G mobile products

SINGAPORE: Fujitsu Semiconductor Asia Pte Ltd (FSAL) introduced the MB86L11A, the company’s next-generation, single-chip 2G/3G/4G transceiver. The multiband, multimode device supports all modes, including LTE (FDD and TDD), HSPA+, WCDMA, GSM, EDGE, EDGE-EVO, CDMA, and TD-SCDMA. Sampling of the MB86L11A will begin in Q2 2012.

“Fujitsu’s transceivers solve major challenges for wireless device manufacturers planning to introduce both regional and global devices with roaming capabilities in almost any combination of bands and modes,” said Andy Chang, associate VP of Fujitsu Semiconductor. “The new device augments Fujitsu’s growing family of state-of-the-art multimode, multiband single-chip transceivers, which are available in production quantities. Our family of devices offers world-class performance, with millions of transceivers shipped to date.”

Next-generation MB86L11A 2G/3G/4G transceiver
The MB86L11A 2G/3G/4G multimode, multiband transceiver supports benchmark performance for current drain and RF parameters. The transceiver includes many innovative features in a smaller package with enhanced power control, envelope tracking (ET) and antenna tuning (AT). Envelope tracking technology helps to significantly lower the radio system power consumption, while improving transmitter efficiency. Antenna tuning optimizes the total radiated power output from the antenna. Both features optimize the battery life of mobile devices.

An advanced programming interface (API) feature minimizes factory calibration time, provides flexible port mapping and adds customized key performance indicator (KPI) features. The MB86L11A is built using the SAW-less architecture pioneered by Fujitsu, which also eliminates the need for external low noise amplifiers (LNAs).

Other features of the MB86L11A include eight RF outputs on the transmitter, nine primary RF inputs and six diversity RF inputs on the IC, giving greater flexibility to map ports and bands for different market requirements. The transceiver uses an open standard MIPI DigRFSM interface to the baseband, and has both DigRF 4G and DigRF 3G interfaces to work with existing 2G/3G baseband platforms as well as with newer multimode 4G basebands.

The device supports all global FDD and TDD bands, including 1-21, 23-25, and 33-41. The MB86L11A, like earlier Fujitsu LTE multimode, multiband transceivers, supports 2G/3G/4G networks up to 20MHz bandwidth. Future transceivers on the roadmap include a 4G LTE optimized device and a 3GPP Release 10, carrier-aggregation-compliant, single RFIC solution.

Fujitsu MB86Lxxx family
Fujitsu began shipping the industry’s first SAW-less transceiver for 2G/3G networks, the MB86L01A, in 2009. In 2010, Fujitsu introduced the MB86L10A, the industry’s first 3G and LTE SAW-less transceiver, which has been successfully integrated into dongles, tablets and multimode 2G/3G/4G smartphones.

The MB86L12A, the third production-ready Fujitsu 2G/3G/4G SAW-less transceiver, conforms to the upgraded MIPI DigRF standard. The Fujitsu MB86Lxxx family transceivers are deployed by multiple baseband providers worldwide, with millions of units shipped to date. The addition of the next-generation MB86L11A 2G/3G/4G transceiver, following the success of the MB86L10A and MB86L12A, enhances the Fujitsu family of transceivers with the compact design and latest advanced features required by device manufacturers.

“The Fujitsu MB86Lxxx family transceivers offer advanced features, low power consumption, a small footprint and a highly flexible API to bring down the total cost of the device and dramatically speed up time to market for new products,” said Chang.