ANADIGICS' W-CDMA/HSPA Family of Power Amplifiers Simplify 3G Mobile Device Design

(Product News, 11 Jun 2009)

ANADIGICS Inc. announced a new family of W-CDMA/HSPA power amplifiers (PAs) that incorporate daisy-chainable RF power couplers enabling simplified design of 3G handsets, data cards, modems and other types of UMTS subscriber devices. Leveraging its industry-leading HELP3 technology, the Company' integrated power amplifiers deliver both the high output power and linearity required by advanced 3G networks, but with minimal battery current consumption.

These 3x3mm PAs are designed for 3G W-CDMA/HSPA and HSPA+ mobile devices. W-CDMA (UMTS) is the 3rd generation evolution for GSM operators and is the largest 3G wireless standard worldwide. Demand for W-CDMA handsets and other subscriber equipment is expected to grow this year, despite a projected drop in the total number of handsets sold, as UMTS-HSPA subscriptions are forecast to reach 475 million by the end of 2009, according to recent figures published by Informa Telecoms and the 3G Americas Association.

The RF coupler in each PA has typical 20dB directivity and 20dB coupling factor. Coupler input and coupler output ports enable "daisy-chain" RF designs, which greatly simplify multiband 3G device board layouts. Each power amplifier in this family is designed for optimized performance in a specific UMTS band:
-- AWU6601 for UMTS2100 (Band 1)
-- AWU6602 for UMTS1900 (Band 2)
-- AWU6604 for UMTS1700 (Bands 3, 4 & 9)
-- AWU6605 for UMTS850 (Bands 5 & 6)
-- AWU6608 for UMTS900 (Band 8)

"These W-CDMA power amplifiers are the ideal choice for 3G phones designed for single, dual, or multiple UMTS bands," says Prasanth Perugupalli, W-CDMA/CDMA Product Line Director at ANADIGICS, Inc. "Their common footprint and built-in RF couplers give phone designers wider latitude in component placement and routing. In addition, the 2-state logic simplifies phone calibration and shortens calibration time. Each device's performance is fully compliant with UMTS mobile device requirements through Release 7 to assure spec-compliant performance in platforms based on all leading W-CDMA (UMTS) chipsets."