RF component supplier morale

The demand for radio frequency (RF) components has grown rapidly. The LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) business start-up, the next-generation 5G standard is also gaining momentum, driving the mobile device RF system specification upgrade. In order to support 100MHz ultra-high bandwidth, 40+ frequency bands and reduce noise interference, the system manufacturer will also require RF front-end modules in addition to increasing the RF component usage of low noise amplifiers (LNAs) and power amplifiers (PAs). FAM) to improve the degree of functional integration, attracting chip vendors to expand their card slots.

Infineon's Infineon's power management and multi-electronics division's Associate Professor of RF & Protection Components, Ms. Mai Zhengqi, said that with the multi-frequency multi-mode LTE and LTE-A design heating, the mobile phone factory has various components for FAM such as PA, LNA, Demands such as switches and filters have risen significantly, which in turn has boosted the morale of silicon germanium carbon (SiGe:C), gallium arsenide (GaAs) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) RF component suppliers. Zhenzheng has been investing in the development of new products in succession.

It is reported that in addition to the US, Japan, and South Korea's full launch of LTE business opportunities, China Mainland is expected to issue 4G licenses in the second half of this year to accelerate TD-LTE operations, and Taiwan is also expected to successfully send licenses at the end of the year, allowing LTE to enter a high growth period. , and toward the international roaming and backward compatible 2G/3G multi-band multimode specification development. Not only that, South Korean and U.S. telecommunications companies have further ignited LTE-A commerce in the near future.

As mobile communication technology continues to drive, mobile device FAMs must also introduce highly integrated designs in a limited space. At present, multi-frequency multi-mode LTE mobile phones must support more than a dozen frequency bands, and the number of PAs, LNAs, and radio frequency switches equipped is doubled than that of 3G mobile phones. Seven to eight PAs are required, and 20 to 30 are required for LNAs and switches. Towards higher speeds, wider bandwidth, and higher bandwidth LTE-A and 5G, the RF components will use three hops, which will drive wafer vendors to increase product integration to reduce space occupation and power consumption.

According to the analysis, the traditional GaAs radio frequency solution is limited by the specificity of the process and it is difficult to integrate with other system components. As a result, chip manufacturers are slamming the accelerator to advance a new generation of process and packaging technology. For example, Infineon specializes in silicon germanium carbon materials process, and with a small wafer-level package (WLP) program, to create high-performance, high integration and support high frequency switching single crystal microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) LNA; and Qualcomm Qualcomm also introduced CMOS PA to integrate more peripheral components through CMOS process.

According to reports, silicon germanium carbon is comparable to GaAs in terms of RF performance, quality, and reliability performance, and it is easier to integrate CMOS RF switches or other components. Therefore, over the past few years, shipments of silicon germanium and carbon components have soared. The penetration rate in the MMIC LNA market has been comparable to that of GaAs components. Recently, Infineon's silicon-germanium-carbon MMIC LNA has successfully entered the MediaTek multi-mode LTE public board recommendation list, and is expected to continue to increase market share from the end of this year to next year.

As for the PA part, the transmission of RF signals from the main part of the PA requires higher power and stability. At present, the GaAs solution with better material characteristics is still dominant, but the CMOS PA has advantages in cost and function integration, and it is expected to be low in the future. The rise of the mobile phone market. In addition, Infineon has included silicon-germanium-carbon LNA plus PA System-in-Package (SiP) or single-chip integration solutions in its next-generation product blueprint. This will help handset manufacturers balance RF performance and system size.

However, as LTE-A and 5G specifications have not yet been finalized, the industry has also reported that mobile phone manufacturers must turn away from integrated RF solutions to separate designs in order to achieve high-speed, high-quality transmission performance. In response, Mai Zhengqi responded that there are indeed RF chip companies invest in more forward-looking gallium nitride (GaN) processes and enhance radio frequency system functions through external connections. However, component integration has always been the key to product price reduction and power saving. Therefore, it is still necessary to wait for the communication standards to be determined before they can comply with the specifications. Need to find the best design balance.