Agilent buys Korean PA designer Wavics
Wavics, a Korean designer of power amplifier (PA) modules, has been bought by Agilent Technologies for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 2000, Wavics has customers that include handset manufacturers in Korea, Japan, China, Germany and the US. The fabless company will continue to employ the 55 staff at its two Korean locations, Seoul and Ansan.
The acquisition provides Agilent with Wavics' patented InGaP-based CoolPAM technology, which can be used with mobile standards such as CDMA, W-CDMA, EDGE and WLAN.
Agilent says that it plans to combine this new PA capability with its miniature film-bulk acoustic-resonator filters to create higher-performance CDMA and W-CDMA front-end modules that offer handset manufacturers a significant reduction in printed circuit board space.
"Together, Agilent and Wavics can offer customers a range of highly differentiated power amplifiers that far exceed competitive solutions," said Bryan Ingram, VP of Agilent's wireless semiconductor division. "Our mutual customers will benefit by being able to design smaller, thinner clamshell handsets with more features and talk time than previously available."
Don Son, Wavics' president, added: "Wavics can leverage Agilent's global infrastructure, technology, manufacturing and reach, while Agilent can benefit from our patented technology and strong customer relationships with major Asian handset manufacturers."
