Last month, SiGe Semiconductor released what it claims was the first commercially viable silicon-based CDMA power amplifier. Exploiting a highly efficient silicon germanium (SiGe) biCMOS process, the three power amplifiers unveiled achieve performance parity with gallium arsenide (GaAs)-based devices, while delivering the integration, manufacturing and price benefits of silicon, the manufacturer stated.

Called RangeCharger, the new power amplifiers include the SE5103L, SE5106L and SE5107L. All three devices feature integration with on-chip digital or analog bias control, as well as an integrated power detector, 2.8 V regulator, all matching and harmonic tuning. The integrated architecture allows designers to eliminate external components including the regulated switch, isolator and detector.

Other features include linearity of less than –50 dBc at a peak output power of +28 dBm, a power-added efficiency (PAE) exceeding 41 percent, electrostatic discharge (ESD) up to 2 kV, and load mismatch protection circuitry. These features ensure reliable performance under voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) conditions of 10:1, at all phases and VCC_MAX, according to SiGe.

The SE5103L, SE5106L and SE5107L are single-band, two-stage power amplifiers suitable for IS-95 and CDMA cellular handsets operating in the 824-849 MHz band. The series provides flexibility to meet system design requirements, with options for analog or digital bias control. The SE5103L includes digital bias control and is offered in a standard 4 mm x 4 mm x 0.9 mm QFN package. The SE5106L and SE5107L provide digital and analog bias control, respectively, and are supplied in standard 3 mm x 3 mm x 0.9 mm QFN packages. Supplied in standard packages that support industry standard pin-out, these devices can be used as drop-in replacements allowing designers to realize savings in cost-reduction redesigns. Plus, they offer separate power supply pins to the control circuits and the power amplifier cells. This allows designers to regulate the amplifier’s VCC down to 0.8 V to further improve efficiency at low power levels. Each device features a sleep mode with a low standby current of two microamperes.

In 100,000 unit quantities, the SE5103L is priced at $0.80, and the SE5106L and SE5107L are priced at $0.85. In addition, the manufacturer provides evaluation kits, supplied with full hardware and software documentation.

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