WIN Semiconductors has expanded its GaN technology portfolio with addition of the NP45 gallium nitride on silicon carbide process. NP45 is a 0.45 μm-gate MMIC technology enabling users to design fully integrated amplifier products as well as custom discrete transistors, and has been optimized for use in 4G macro-cell base station power amplifiers operating at 2.7 GHz and above where bandwidth and linearity performance are key differentiators.
The NP45 technology provides 50-volt operation with superior power density and efficiency for demanding macro-cell base station transmit applications through 6 GHz. The macro-cell base power amplifier market is projected to grow to more than $1B annually by 2020 and GaN technology is expected to become the technology of choice for this application. Owing to its superior efficiency, bandwidth and linearity, GaN devices outperform the incumbent LDMOS technology, particularly in the higher frequency bands utilized in 4G/4.5G networks.
The WIN NP45 technology is fabricated on 100mm silicon carbide substrates and operates at a drain bias of 50 volts. In the 2.7 GHz band this technology provides saturated output power of 7 watts/mm with 17 dB linear gain and over 75% power added efficiency. These performance metrics make NP45 suitable for use in high bandwidth 4G-5G high power macro-cell transmitters and small cells. NP45 sample kits are available and can be obtained by contacting WIN’s regional sales managers.
