18 November 2015

Qorvo's RF Fusion Mobile Wi-Fi iFEM selected for LG's Nexus 5X smartphone

Qorvo Inc of Greensboro, NC and Hillsboro, OR, USA, which provides core technologies and RF solutions for mobile, infrastructure and aerospace/defense applications, says that LG Electronics has selected its RF Fusion Mobile Wi-Fi integrated front-end module (iFEM) for the Nexus 5X smartphone. Contributing to the transition to highly integrated front-end modules for Wi-Fi, the TQF6174 (Qorvo's newest RF Fusion Mobile Wi-Fi iFEM) delivers higher performance than discrete components while saving space and simplifying design for smartphone manufacturers, the firm says.

"Qorvo is uniquely positioned to design and manufacture all the high-value components in the integrated front end, including high-performance filters, switching and amplification," reckons Eric Creviston, president of the firm's Mobile Products group. 

Combining a Wi-Fi coexistence filter, 5GHz power amplifier, 5GHz low-noise amplifier (LNA), diplexer, switch and coupler in a compact 4mm x 3mm package, the TQF6174 provides what is claimed to be a new level of integration and performance in the mobile Wi-Fi front end.

The Wi-Fi coexistence filter leverages Qorvo's proprietary LowDrift BAW (bulk acoustic wave) technology to address the design challenges related to interference between Wi-Fi and the adjacent LTE bands (7, 40 and 41) used in China, North America and elsewhere. The firm's coexistence filters deliver what is claimed to be superior insertion loss and improved power-added efficiency (PAE) and power output, helping smartphone makers to extend battery life and maximize data throughput across the full 2.4GHz Wi-Fi spectrum. All of Qorvo's LowDrift and NoDrift premium BAW filters combine high performance and temperature stability to solve coexistence challenges unaddressed by other technologies, the firm adds.

"Qorvo worked closely with us to meet our requirements, while offering an enhanced solution to reduce the complexity of product development," comments an LG spokesperson.  

Qorvo says that it co-architects and tunes the components in the TQF6174 to drive higher overall system performance. The firm employs proprietary wafer-level packaging (WLP) and CuFlip flip-chip technology to reduce module size, resulting in a footprint that is 24% smaller in a 2x2 MIMO configuration than comparable discrete solutions, it is reckoned.

Tags: Qorvo RF

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