3G cmos rf power amps improve device reliability says Black Sand

Black Sand, a fabless semiconductor company specializing in advanced power amplifier technology for wireless applications, has designed the BST34 series as a drop in replacement for existing 3G GaAs rf pas and are fully function and pin compatible. The series incorporates a TrueDelivered power detector and, according to Black Sand, improves total radiated power performance by up to 2dB. This reduces the incidence of dropped calls and increases the data rates in real world operating environments. The company claims that this is the first chip to bring such functionality to the rf front end and that the device's performance figures match or exceed those of GaAs power amplifier ICs for output power, linearity, efficiency and noise. Jim Nohrden, vp marketing at Black Sand said: "Mobile device manufacturers are looking for an alternative to GaAs pa technology, which has a known history of supply shortages and higher cost structure. The BST34 and BST35 products give our customers the rapid access to pa technology they need for ultra high volume manufacturing. "We have a strategic supply base larger than all existing GaAs pa vendors combined and this will prove critical as the market continues to adopt 3G mobile devices, which have two to three times as many pas as 2G phones. Our products will offer our customers better performance and a more reliable source of supply in 2011." The first products in each series are available in February.