At IMS 2016, NXP Semiconductors has announced the expansion of their 48 V Gallium Nitride (GaN) RF power transistor portfolio. This GaN Transistor portfolio is optimized for Doherty power amplifiers for use in current and next-generation cellular base stations. The four new transistors collectively cover cellular bands from 1805 to 3600 MHz, meeting the needs of wireless carriers for superior performance at higher frequencies.
With the wireless spectrum shortage, wireless carriers are exploring higher frequencies to accommodate the exponential annual increases in traffic. These networks require RF power transistors and amplifiers that deliver higher performance over wider signal bandwidths, as well as higher efficiency and ruggedness, higher output power and smaller footprints.
The transistors have been specifically developed to meet these challenges. They are designed for use in Doherty power amplifiers, are optimized for seamless integration with digital predistortion linearization systems. They have high efficiency and gain, and are extremely rugged, with the ability to deliver their rated performance with an impedance mismatch (VSWR) greater than 10:1.
The new GaN Transistor family consists of the following products:
- A2G22S251-01S: Ultra wideband symmetrical Doherty two device solution covering 1805 to 2170 MHz (365 MHz bandwidth). In a symmetric Doherty, it delivers an average RF output power of 71 W (450 W peak), gain of 16.5 dB, and drain efficiency of 46% in concurrent multiband operation at 8 dB back-off configured. The part is housed in a NI-400S-2S air-cavity ceramic package.
- A2G26H281-04S: NXP’s first in-package Doherty transistor covering 2496 to 2690 MHz, with average RF output power of 50 W (288 W peak), gain of 15.3 dB, and drain efficiency of 57% configured in a NI-780S-4L air-cavity ceramic package.
- A2G35S160-01S and A2G35S200-01S: Two-transistor Doherty amplifier solution covering 3400 to 3600 MHz with 53 W average RF output power (331 W peak), gain of 13.8 dB, and drain efficiency of 46%. Each of these transistors is housed in a NI-400S-2S air-cavity ceramic package.
NXP showcased these new GaN transistors at the International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2016), May 24-26, in San Francisco. These transistors are either sampling or already in production.
