News: Microelectronics
9 June 2023
Qorvo adds PA modules for 5G mMIMO wireless systems
Qorvo Inc of Greensboro, NC, USA (which provides core technologies and RF solutions for mobile, infrastructure and defense applications) has expanded its family of products for 5G base stations. The QPB3810 is a gallium nitride (GaN)-based power amplifier module (PAM) with integrated bias control for 5G massive MIMO (mMIMO) applications. The new QPB9362 is a highly integrated front-end low-noise amplifier (LNA) module targeting 5G TDD systems. The devices extend Qorvo’s product portfolio supporting mMIMO applications and are key building blocks in a new RF front-end reference design that accelerates adoption of mMIMO systems.
“We are pleased to continue our close cooperation with Qorvo to enable high-performance 5G solutions using industry-leading AMD Zynq UltraScale RFSoC DFE devices,” says Anthony Collins, director 5G Radio and RF Ecosystem, at AMD. “Collaborating to deliver proven and optimized reference designs to our mutual customers is key to reducing risk and enabling faster time to market for their radio products.”
QPB3810 is a 48V, 8W average power PAM covering the 3.4–3.8GHz band, and is said to be the first commercially released GaN-based module with an integrated bias controller factory-programmed to set the optimal bias points of the Doherty PAM. The controller includes a temperature sensor that automatically adjusts bias over temperature and includes an enable pin for fast TDD switching. The QPB3810 is available in a compact 12mm x 8mm SMT package, offering a much smaller footprint than traditional discrete component solutions. Like Qorvo’s other PAM products, the QPB3810 requires minimal external circuitry. Linearity has been validated to exceed 5G requirements over 400MHz instantaneous bandwidth using the AMD Zynq Ultrascale+ RFSoC DFE Adaptive Radio SoC and Digital Pre-Distortion IP.
The QPB9362 is targeted for 5G wireless infrastructure applications configured for TDD-based mMIMO architectures. The switch LNA module integrates an LNA with a high-power handling switch which can be used as a failsafe path to termination when a radio is transmitting. The QPB9362 provides 34.5dB of gain with 1.1dB typical noise figure over the entire operating frequency band in the receiving mode. LNA power-down mode is available via a transmit/receive control pin on the module. It is packaged in a RoHS-compliant, compact 5mm x 3mm LGA package.
“Qorvo's 5G modules provide optimal solutions that minimize cost, maximize performance and increase capacity for mMIMO designs,” says Tuan Nguyen, product line director for the Infrastructure Solutions business. “These two modules support the continued expansion of 5G technology around the globe with much greater integration at the board level and exemplify our focus on ease of use and efficiency.”
The QPB3810 and QPB9362 are included in a full RF front-end reference design for 5G mMIMO applications now available from Qorvo. This small-form-factor reference design provides a transmit/receive RF solution from the baseband front-end to the antenna filter. The transmit lineup includes the QPA9122M wideband high-linearity pre-driver, the QPB3810 directional coupler for DPD observation, and a circulator. The receive path includes the QPB9362.
