In Brief: Picogiga, SiGe Semiconductor, Skyworks
Picogiga on the up
GaN-on-silicon wafer specialist Picogiga saw sales rise sharply in the financial quarter that ended on June 30.
According to its parent company Soitec, its wide-bandgap subsidiary made sales of €2.7 million ($3.4 million) into RF applications, up 110 per cent from the equivalent period last year.
Soitec itself, which sells silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers primarily, enjoyed a healthy year-on-year sales increase of 67 per cent to hit €82.2 million for the quarter.
SiGe delivers Wi-Fi integration
SiGe Semiconductor, the Canadian manufacturer of wireless components for RF applications, is targeting the dual-band Wi-Fi sector with a new, highly-integrated front-end module.
The latest in its "RangeChargerT" product line, the new SE2559L front-end is designed for the IEEE 802.11b/g specification. It is claimed to be 60 per cent smaller than competitive products, and to cut the typical bill of materials cost by 15 per cent.
The module integrates a power amplifier, power detector, two switches and matching circuitry.
Skyworks on the EDGE with Samsung
Skyworks says that it is supplying Samsung with its Helios EDGE radios as the Korean electronics giant pursues an aggressive ramp-up of 20 different mobile handsets.
The Helios subsystem from the Woburn, MA, GaAs chip manufacturer comprises an RF transceiver, power amplifier (PA) and PA controller.
Samsung is the world's third-biggest maker of mobile phones, behind Nokia and Motorola.

The leading global compound semiconductor conference and exhibition will once again bring together key players from across the value chain for two-days of strategic technical sessions, dynamic talks and unrivalled networking opportunities.
Join us face-to-face between 28th – 29th June 2022
- View the agenda.
- 3 for the price of 1. Register your place and gain complementary access to TWO FURTHER industry leading conferences: PIC International and SSI International.
- Email info@csinternational.net or call +44 (0)24 7671 8970 for more details.
*90% of exhibition space has gone - book your booth before it’s too late!