News

12 November 2009

 

RFMD ships its first GaN product to achieve full production qualification

RF Micro Devices Inc of Greensboro, NC, USA has qualified and released the RF3931, a 48V, 30W gallium nitride (GaN) unmatched transistor optimized for high-power commercial and defense applications. The RF3931 is RFMD’s first GaN product to achieve full qualification and be released for mass production. Shipments have commenced to multiple high power amplifier (HPA) manufacturers, and should increase significantly as new GaN products are introduced.

“RFMD’s GaN process technology will play a central role in our corporate mission to extend and leverage our leadership in RF components and compound semiconductor technologies into multiple industries,” says president & CEO Bob Bruggeworth. “The unique physical properties of RFMD's GaN technology deliver performance that is unattainable by current competing technologies,” he adds. RFMD’s GaN technology is manufactured in the same high-volume manufacturing facility as its GaAs products, which RFMD reckons provides a competitive advantage. “Accordingly, we believe our GaN technology will become a disruptive technology across a broad range of commercial and defense markets,” Bruggeworth concludes.

“These achievements are major milestones for RFMD as we drive adoption of our GaN technology, increase our presence in the high-power RF market, and satisfy our customers’ increasing emphasis on ‘green’ technologies,” says Jeff Shealy, VP & general manager of RFMD’s Defense and Power business unit. RFMD’s GaN process technology delivers better RF power per square millimeter and better RF conversion efficiency compared to existing semiconductor technologies, he adds.

The 30W RF3931 is part of a family of five RFMD GaN unmatched power transistors to be released for mass production over the next two quarters. Ranging from 10W to 120W, the wide-bandwidth, unmatched power transistors enable the development of high-efficiency HPAs for a broad range of applications, including cellular and WiMAX infrastructure, CATV, military communications, public mobile radio, radar and radar jammers. In wireless and wireline applications, the transistors enable 'green' architectures that can cut energy costs and improve network efficiency for operators, RFMD claims.

The RF3931 achieves high efficiency and flat gain over a broad frequency range in a single amplifier design, RFMD says. It is packaged in a hermetic, flanged ceramic package, providing thermal stability through the use of advanced heat sink and power dissipation technologies.

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