Taoglas has partnered with MixComm to develop a 5G new radio (NR) mmWave smart antenna subsystem covering the 26.5-29.5 GHz band. MixComm is a fabless semiconductor company that recently announced its first 5G 28 GHz Beamforming Front End IC Solution. The new mmWave antenna subsystem can support both infrastructure and IoT OEMs’ integration of 5G NR devices and is ideal for small cells, repeaters, and customer-premises equipment (CPE) designs.
The co-development is based on Taoglas’ innovative KHA16.23C smart antenna subsystem. It includes Taoglas patent-pending design that has been integrated with MixComm’s newly announced 5G 28 GHz Beamforming “SUMMIT 2629” Front End IC. The KHA16.23C is a 2D antenna array integrated into a multi-layer PCB that contains the RFICs and 16 antenna elements; layers provided for power optimization and thermal control, digital control, and RF feed lines all in the footprint of 53 x 84 mm. Depending on device implementation the Taoglas design is scalable with arrays up to 1024 elements.
MixComm’s 5G 28 GHz Beamforming SUMMIT 2629 Front End IC integrates novel power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, all-passive beamformer, calibration and control for a front-end module with optimal partitioning for 5G infrastructure. The device is fabricated in GLOBALFOUNDRIES 45RFSOI which is enhanced for mmWave applications. The SUMMIT 2629 operates from 26.5-29.5 GHz and is the first of a family of MixComm mmWave devices.
MixComm SUMMIT 2629 Product Highlights:
- Four-element dual-pol. TX/RX with independent polarization beam directions
- High-power, high-efficiency SOI CMOS power amplifiers
- State-of-the-art low-noise amplifiers and low-loss T/R switching
- Ultra-low transmit and receive-mode power consumption
- 6-bit full-360o phase shifting and 0.5 dB-step 16 dB-range variable gain in each path
- Fully calibrated for gain/phase matching across ICs
- Extensive on-chip temperature and power sensing
- On-chip gain control for temperature compensation
- High-speed SPI with large on-chip beam table storage
- Wafer-level chip-scale package (WLCSP) compatible with low-cost PCB manufacturing
- Support for large-scale arrays through multiple chip-addressing modes
Taoglas has invested in expanding beyond a traditional antenna vendor’s capabilities into full electronics and true beam steering solutions. This has happened through the amalgamation of antenna array design experience and IoT device design services. By expanding the antenna, RF and electronics engineering global teams organically and through acquisitions, Taoglas has created the most comprehensive 5G antenna portfolio for IoT verticals.
