everything RF recently interviewed Dr. Robert Smith who is the Commercial Director at PRFI. Robert oversees the design of mmWave GaN power amplifiers, broadband MMICs, LNAs, and RF switches. His experience encompasses designing on GaAs and GaN processes at Qorvo, Wolfspeed, and WIN Semiconductors. Before joining PRFI, Robert designed transmitter modules for active phased array radar. He received a Ph.D. in microwave engineering from Cardiff University, where he specialized in broadband power amplifier design.
Q. Can you tell us about PRFI Ltd.? When was the company founded?
Dr. Robert Smith: PRFI is a UK-based design house specializing in the design and development of RFICs, MMICs, and microwave/mm-wave modules. We have designed over 150 custom ICs at frequencies ranging from baseband to 100GHz. Our microwave and mm-wave module development activity encompasses a wide range of technologies from conventional SMT on laminate substrates to chip and wire assemblies. It was set up by Liam Devlin as a division of Plextek and was de-merged as a separate organization in 2015.
Q. Can you give us an overview of the design services you offer?
Dr. Robert Smith: We can design custom ICs for clients and have experience on the world’s leading GaAs and GaN foundries including GCS, Qorvo, UMS, WIN, and Wolfspeed. We offer measurement services for both bare die (RFOW) and SMT packaged components using our in-house test facilities. Microwave and mmWave module development offerings include RF PCB design, design of analog control circuitry, and selection of suitable technologies. We also offer design verification services and can support customers in getting their design into volume production. We have a wide range of experience in many aspects of RF and microwave engineering and would encourage potential partners to get in touch to see how we can help.
Q. What market segments do you cater to, and which segment drives the most business for you?
Dr. Robert Smith: Our designs are used across a range of markets and applications including satellite communications, instrumentation, defense, mm-wave 5G, and line-of-sight links.
Q. Can you tell us more about the design process that you use - from start to finish? Do you get the prototype fabricated and test/evaluate it as well?
Dr. Robert Smith: We provide a client-driven flexible approach to the design services that we offer. With a typical custom MMIC design we would start off with a preliminary design and feasibility assessment phase to estimate achievable performance, circuit topology and determine the optimum process technology. We then complete a schematic design before moving to layout, EM simulation, and Design Rules Checking (DRC). We can either transfer the design and layout data to the client or arrange for the ICs to be fabricated and can measure this on-wafer or move straight to packaging the ICs, depending on the customer’s preference. It is common for us to design an evaluation PCB for the IC and measure the connectorized evaluation board. As you can see, we can support customers at all stages of the IC development.
Q. Do you use a specific semiconductor technology for your designs? Is there a specific technology that you are most comfortable with (GaAs, Si, SiGe, GaN, etc.)?
Dr. Robert Smith: We tend to focus on III-V technologies and have experience of GaAs pHEMT (E-mode and D-mode), InGaP HBT and InP HBT, GaN-on-SiC and GaAs PIN diode processes. We have used a wide range of process nodes with gate lengths down to 90nm for GaAs pHEMTs and 0.15µm for GaN-on-SiC. We have also used passive GaAs processes (IPD) to develop multi-chip modules inside a single package.
Q. Can you tell us about a couple of interesting/challenging designs you have done in the last year?
Dr. Robert Smith: We’ve recently completed a Ka-band amplifier with very low current consumption (10mA), which also was required to operate over a wide bandwidth. This was the 150th MMIC that we have designed. We have also designed and delivered 1kW S-band GaN PA modules.
Q. In terms of design, what applications are you working on now? Is 5G still what is driving most new designs?
Dr. Robert Smith: There is a lot of interest in satcom applications at present and we also recently designed a custom IC for an innovative medical application which is now moving into production. We’re still involved in both mmWave 5G and sub-6GHz 5G.
Q. Who are your customers? What is the profile of a typical company? Where are they located?
Dr. Robert Smith: Our customers vary widely from big multinationals such as Sony and Samsung to startups operating in ‘stealth mode’. They are located worldwide, including the UK, USA, and Asia. What is common to all our customers is the desire to create the most innovative RF and microwave solutions, which require ICs that are not readily available off-the-shelf.
Q. Can you tell us about the PRFI Team?
Dr. Robert Smith: Everyone on our team, including our CEO, has an engineering background which allows us to understand our clients’ requirements in detail and appreciate the technical challenges that they face. Our clients are able to benefit from a wealth of experience across the entire design team.
Q. PRFI recently shifted to a bigger Workspace. Can you tell us more about this facility? What new amenities and capabilities does it offer?
Dr. Robert Smith: We recently relocated to a new facility with a newly fitted-out cleanroom for RFOW and packaged part evaluation up to 50GHz. We are located just south of Cambridge in the UK, which places us in the centre of the UK’s high-tech industry.
About PRFI Ltd.
PRFI Ltd. is a UK based design house specializing in the design and development of RFICs, MMICs and microwave/mm-wave modules. We have designed over 150 custom ICs at frequencies ranging from baseband to 100GHz and are a third party design house for GCS, Wolfspeed, Qorvo and WIN. Our designs are used in a wide range of applications from test instrumentation to infrastructure equipment and very high volume consumer wireless devices. We have in-house test facilities for both bare die (RFOW) and SMT packaged components. Our microwave and mm-wave module development activity encompasses a wide range of technologies including conventional SMT on laminate substrates, High Density Interconnect (HDI), chip and wire, thin film, thick film and LTCC.
