Qorvo has made it easier for US equipment manufacturers to develop 5G base stations that operate in-band n258 (24.25 to 27.5 GHz) with a new gallium arsenide (GaAs) front end module (FEM). The new QPF4010 FEM supports the rollout of 5G millimeter wave (mm-Wave) base stations by reducing the number of required base station antenna array elements by up to 50 percent and offering a compact package size for smaller system configurations.
The QPF4010 integrates a power amplifier, power detector, switch and low noise amplifier into a compact 4mm x 4mm package. It is based on Qorvo's 90nm GaAs technology and provides best-in-class noise figure as well as higher output power and gain than products based on other semiconductor processes, such as silicon-germanium (SiGe) or silicon on insulator (SOI).
Qorvo designed the QPF4010 to accelerate 5G network expansion in the U.S. This new FEM supports many mmWave 5G use cases and enables equipment manufacturers to easily upgrade their base stations while reducing the number of required antenna array elements by up to 50 percent.
The QPF4010's higher output power and compact form factor enable mobile operators more network flexibility to build highly efficient and cost-effective base stations that achieve maximum power and bandwidth necessary to achieve Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP). Operators can build smaller, more powerful arrays to transmit, thus reducing overall cost while maintaining or improving performance.
The enhanced capabilities of the QPF4010 reduce total cost of ownership over the life of the system:
| Power Levels | 24 dBm Psat with 13.5 dBm of linear power |
| Power Added Efficiency | 4% EVM and 4.5% power added efficiency at 13.5 dBm Pout |
| Noise Figure/Signal Gain | Receive mode: 4.0 dB noise figure; 14 dB signal gain; 13 dBm OIP3 |
| Package | 4mm x 4mm QFN plastic package |
Engineering samples of the QPF4010 are available now to qualified customers.
Qorvo is accelerating the rollout of 5G by helping to define 5G standards as a delegate to 3GPP and closely collaborating with wireless infrastructure manufacturers, network operators, chipset providers and smartphone manufacturers. Qorvo has helped conduct dozens of 5G field trials, and Qorvo’s 28 GHz products supported the Samsung 5G MIMO demo at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
To learn more about Qorvo’s broad portfolio of 5G solutions, click here.
