MACOM has announced two new power transistors to the MAGb series of GaN on Silicon power transistors for use in macro wireless basestations. Based on their Gen4 GaN technology. The new MAGb-101822-240B0P and MAGb-101822-120B0P power transistors harness the clear performance benefits of GaN in rugged, low-cost plastic packaging, enabling improved cost efficiencies that further distinguish their GaN power transistors as the natural successors to legacy LDMOS offerings for basestation applications.
These new plastic TO-272-packaged MAGb-101822-240B0P and MAGb-101822-120B0P power transistors provide 320 W and 160 W output peak power, respectively, in the load-pull system with fundamental tuning only, and cover all cellular bands and power levels within the 1.8 to 2.2 GHz frequency range. These transistors have the ability to operate over 400 MHz of bandwidth and precludes the need to use multiple LDMOS-based products, further optimizing cost and design efficiencies.
Plastic-packaged MAGb series power transistors deliver power efficiency up to 79% – an improvement of up to 10% compared to LDMOS offerings. These transistors provide a compelling alternative to ceramic-packaged devices without compromising RF performance or reliability – thermal behavior is improved by 10% compared to ceramic-packaged MAGb offerings.
These power transistors enable the implementation of a simple symmetric Doherty amplifier design while maintaining excellent RF performance compared to lesser performing and complex asymmetric Doherty topologies imposed by LDMOS-based transistors. With their MAGb series transistors, Doherty amplifier implementations show the same level of DPD friendliness as LDMOS-based solutions. Digital Pre-Distortion is critical to increase the efficiency of power amplifiers for 4G and 5G basestation applications and has a significant impact on network operators’ operating expenses and capital expenditures.
They will host joint demonstrations with Xilinix’s Digital Pre-Distortion (DPD) solution at
MACOM and Xilinx are conducting joint demonstrations of the combined DPD capabilities of their Gen4 GaN-based MAGb power transistors at IMS 2016. This joint solution highlights the time-to-market advantages that can be achieved with a proven, interoperable DPD solution.
This Gen4 GaN-based MAGb series of power transistors enable wireless carriers to deploy the latest LTE releases and significantly reduce system operating expenses at highly competitive price points, with a scalable supply chain combined with their highly experienced applications and design support team.
