Qorvo amplifiers used in latest WLAN devices
802.11ac PAs deliver higher throughput and greater range
RF and microwave technology firm Qorvo has announced that the RFPA55X2 Wi-Fi power amplifier (PA) family is being used in a number of today's leading home and business WLAN networking devices.The family includes the RFPA5512, RFPA5522, RFPA5532 and RFPA5542.
Manufactured on an InGaP heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) process, the PA family is said to offer high power and low power consumption in a design that enables 802.11ac Wave2 features such as eight 80MHz streams, 160MHz streams and multi-user multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) technology supporting a variety of devices simultaneously. This allows wireless devices to connect across longer-range access points with ultra-increased data throughput in a high-density user environment under a variety of operating conditions.
The RFPA5522 is being used in Linksys routers. It has power-added efficiency of 17 percent for 802.11ac and more than 20 percent for 802.11n, resulting in a PAE savings of 4-5 percent that reduce thermal issues in MIMO applications. This reduces the need for thermal compensation devices such as fans and heatsinks, which in turn enables smaller form factors without a loss in performance, says Qorvo.
Justin Doucette, director of product management, Linksys, said: "Qorvo's RFPA5522 highly efficient amplifiers deliver the high performance and power efficiency needed for our newest, dual-band 802.11ac consumer routers such as the WRT1900ACS dual-band Wi-Fi Router. We appreciate the RF expertise and outstanding support that Qorvo brings, allowing Linksys to focus on creating products that make the best home networking experience possible for our customers."
James Klein, president of Qorvo's Infrastructure and Defence Products group, said: "Qorvo is proud to work with Linksys, a leader in innovative networking solutions for home and business. The RFPA5522 5GHz PA is making next-generation features a reality while helping Linksys to offer the most robust routers that allow users to connect multiple wireless products seamlessly."
