RFaxis’ CMOS RFeIC turbo-charges China’s first domestic Wi-Fi chipset

IRVINE, USA: RFaxis, a fabless semiconductor company focused on innovative, next-generation Radio Frequency (RF) solutions for the wireless connectivity and cellular mobility markets, has commenced volume shipping of its second generation RFX2402C pure-CMOS based, single-chip/single-die RF Front-end Integrated Circuit (RFeIC) for IEEE 802.11b/g/n WLAN applications to SmartChip Integration (SCI), enabling mass deployment of China’s first domestic WLAN chipset solution.

Headquartered in Suzhou, China, SCI is a leading provider of advanced semiconductor solutions to the rapidly growing wireless communications markets. The SCI Wi-Fi chipset (including the S103 RF IC and S901 Baseband IC), and the SWM9001 module, are China’s first domestic Wi-Fi solutions that have obtained Wi-Fi Alliance certification. SCI also owns IPs based on Chinese WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI) encryption standard, and has developed flexible business models including chipset, module sales and IP licensing.

The SWM9001 USB-based Wi-Fi module uses RFaxis’ RFX2402C single-chip front-end IC to achieve best-class performance in terms of operating range, data throughput and receive sensitivity. SCI has secured major sockets with strategic TELCO partners in China, and is rapidly expanding the footprint of its solutions to other market segments including smartphones/featurephones, tablets/MIDs, Smart Home, Cloud TV and the next-generation “Internet of Things.”

“We are very pleased with our collaboration with RFaxis, which resulted in producing a best-class product in a very short period of time,” commented Dr. Yin Shi, CEO of SCI. “Among the multiple RF front-end solutions we evaluated, the RFX2402C stood out by a large margin, due to its simplicity, miniature size, attractive price and uncompromised performance. In fact, our SWM9001 module outperformed many of the top-brand Wi-Fi products of the same category available on the market today, based on independent tests at several third-party labs. We applaud RFaxis’ pioneering work in pushing the envelope of RF front-end solutions with mainstream CMOS technology, and will continue our close partnership with RFaxis as we develop and deploy additional products including complete System-in-Chip (SiP) modules for embedded applications.”

“We are delighted to be SCI’s partner as it launches China’s very first native Wi-Fi chipset platform,” said Mike Neshat, chairman and CEO of RFaxis. “We developed our RFX2402C and other single-chip RFeICs based on our commitment to providing the wireless community with better, less costly and easier-to-use RF front-end solutions. The fact that our CMOS-based RFX2402C enabled SCI’s modules to outperform many incumbent solutions on the market today is another validation that CMOS-based, RF front-end technology is here to stay, and RFaxis is proud to be a leading provider in this field.”

RFaxis’ RFX2402C is a fully integrated, single-chip/single-die RFeIC that incorporates all RF front end functionality needed for 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11b/g/n WLAN applications. The RFX2402C comes complete with a high-efficiency linear power amplifier (PA) with 30dB gain and 18dBm output power at the antenna for OFDM 64QAM/54Mbps operation, a low noise amplifier (LNA), a transmit and receive switch, impedance matching networks, RF decoupling, harmonic filters and CMOS control logic, integrated into a single chip, and delivered in an ultra-compact, low-profile 3x3x0.5mm 16-lead QFN package.

The new RFX2402C, based on pure-CMOS process, is pin-compatible with its BiCMOS predecessor, the RFX2402, which has been shipped in high volume to multiple WLAN customers since 2010. RFX2402C is currently in mass production, and is available through RFaxis’ worldwide distributors.