RF Power Amplifier devices from Qualcomm are starting to be seen in phones available in the market. The first phone built with the Qualcomm PAs utilizes both the QFE2320 (for low-band) and QFE2340 (for high-band) multi-mode/multi-band (MMMB) PAs. These devices, along with the other front-end components, are new offerings for Qualcomm which has shied away from the PA area up until now. Qualcomm introduced some expected developments including the first CMOS MMMB PA in mass-production and the first CMOS integrated PA/Switch in mass-production.
An interesting point to note for this PA is that it does not have a package, and is directly attached to the PCB – a common technique that is used in the power management and connectivity realms for heat dissipation. This is the first time it has been applied to power amplifiers. The PA measures 3mm x 2mm. It will be interesting to see how customers respond to the QFE2340 by Qualcomm vs the traditional PA providers such as TriQuint, RFMD, and Skyworks who have been continuously improving their offerings with support and performance enhancements too. Stay tuned, we will keep you updated.
