Peregrine Semiconductor displayed its UltraCMOS® Global 1, the industry’s first reconfigurable RF front-end (RFFE) system, at EDI CON 2014. By integrating all the components of the RFFE on a single chip, UltraCMOS Global 1 delivers one platform design – a single, global SKU – that operates in all regions worldwide. The system includes the industry’s first LTE CMOS power amplifier (PA) to meet the performance of gallium arsenide (GaAs) technology. China’s recently licensed TDD-LTE networks have increased demand for bands in the 2.3 to 2.7 GHz frequency range. The UltraCMOS Global 1 PA offers a high-band PA path that supports this frequency range.
UltraCMOS Global 1 Is a Reconfigurable System
The rapidly growing LTE device market has put unprecedented demands on the performance of the RFFE. To support more than 40 frequency bands and a more than 5,000-fold increase in the number of possible operating states, a reconfigurable and tunable RFFE is now an industry requirement. Peregrine’s UltraCMOS Global 1 provides easy-to-use digitally controlled adaptation across modes and bands, high isolation to solve interoperability issues and scalability to easily support higher band counts with low-loss switching and tunability. This level of reconfigurability is available exclusively on Peregrine’s UltraCMOS 10 technology platform, an advanced CMOS process that uses RF SOI substrates and delivers a 50-percent performance improvement over comparable solutions. Global 1 is fabricated on this advanced-technology platform
On a single chip, Global 1 integrates Peregrine’s established, best-in-class RF switches and tuners seamlessly with a CMOS PA. The UltraCMOS Global 1 RFFE system includes:
- 3-path MMMB PA, post-PA switch, antenna switch and antenna tuner
- Support for envelope tracking
- Common RFFE MIPI interface
UltraCMOS Global 1 benefits the entire wireless ecosystem. Platform providers and OEMs can accelerate their time to market by creating a single platform design for global markets. Consumers can enjoy longer battery life, better reception, faster data rates and wider roaming range. Finally, wireless operators can reduce capital investments in their network with improved RFFE performance, resulting in better coverage and reductions in dropped calls. The UltraCMOS Global 1 RFFE system will complete platform integration in 2014 and will be in volume production in late 2015.
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