Date: 26/11/2009

RFMD qualifies and releases 48V, 30W GaN unmatched power transistor

RF Micro Devices has qualified and released the RF3931, a new 48-volt, 30-watt gallium nitride (GaN) unmatched transistor optimized for high power commercial and defense applications.

The RF3931 ranging from 10 watts to 120 watts, unmatched power transistors enable the development of high-efficiency HPAs for a broad range of applications such as cellular and WiMAX infrastructure, CATV, military communications, public mobile radio, radar and radar jammers. In wireless and wireline applications, RFMD's unmatched power transistors enable "green" architectures that reduce energy costs and improve network efficiency for network operators.

Shipments of the RF3931 have commenced to multiple high power amplifier (HPA) manufacturers, and RFMD anticipates GaN shipments will increase as new GaN products are introduced.

Bob Bruggeworth, president and CEO of RFMD, said, " The unique physical properties of RFMD's GaN technology deliver performance that is unattainable by current competing technologies. Also, RFMD's GaN technology is manufactured in the same high-volume manufacturing facility as our industry-leading GaAs products, providing RFMD a measurable competitive advantage. Accordingly, we believe our GaN technology will become a disruptive technology across a broad range of commercial and defense markets."

Jeff Shealy, VP and general manager of RFMD's Defense and Power business unit, said, " RFMD's state-of-the-art GaN process technology delivers superior RF power per square millimeter and superior RF conversion efficiency, as compared to current semiconductor technologies."

RFMD has also announced it has received first purchase order from tier-one wireless base station original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for RFMD's RFG1M09180 180-watt GaN broadband power transistor (BPT) and is in support of the global expansion of 4G wireless networks.

RFMD's RFG1M09180 BPT supports LTE at 750-800MHz, 3GPP/IS95 at 865-895MHz and multi-carrier GSM at 930-960MHz, and enabling multi-standard base stations.

For more details visit www.rfmd.com