Anadigics amps win place in WiMAX handset design
Anadigics InGaP power amplifiers (PAs) have been specified for use in reference designs of chipsets used in the development of WiMAX-enabled mobile phones.
The agreement sees the Warren, New Jersey, company s 2.5 and 3.5 GHz PAs included in WiMAX specialist Beceem Communications' BCS200 baseband and RF chipsets.
Sanyo is using the BCS200 chipset to develop a dual-mode CDMA/WiMAX phone, and Beceem says that its chipsets are also in “various Samsung WiMAX-enabled devices.”
David Patterson, vice-president of marketing at Beceem, said “The operating efficiencies of Anadigics' WiMAX PAs, in conjunction with the reduced power consumption of the BCS200 chipset, provide compelling solutions for mobile WiMAX terminals.”
The move builds on Anadigics expertise in producing PAs, the basis of a close relationship with Intel, which is responsible for 18% of the company's total sales.
Back to base stations
Meanwhile, Nitronex has exploited its qualified GaN-on-Si process to boost the power output of its high-performance RF power transistors for base stations.
Two new devices operate at 190 and 240 W, and are designed for WiMAX and 3G/3G long term evolution (LTE) in the 2.3 to 2.7 GHz range.
Nitronex s CTO Kevin Linthicum said of the new products, “The 802.16e and LTE systems want to pack more power into ever smaller footprints, while increasing channel bandwidth and peak-to-average ratio.”
“Nitronex devices, based on our SIGANTIC process, are ready to meet these challenges.”
Having also recently entered the WiMAX base station business in its joint venture with Toshiba, Nortel will be demonstrating its take on the “mobile broadband” experience next week at NXTcomm in Chicago.
Talking to compoundsemiconductor.net about the networking company's base station project, Gerry Collins, wireless business director for Europe, the Middle-East and Africa, said, “Nortel and Toshiba will jointly develop WiMAX base stations offering low power consumption, high reliability and miniaturized equipment.”
“The base stations will be based on Nortel's next-generation broadband wireless technology and Toshiba's high-efficiency amplifier and miniaturization technology.”
At NXTcomm Nortel is exhibiting video conferencing and “an end-to-end solution for the delivery of VoIP over mobile WiMAX”, pushing WiMAX as its 4G technology of choice, in which the base station project plays an important part, according to Collins.
“There are many countries around the world that would benefit from the implementation of WiMAX technology, and this cooperative effort will make a significant contribution to bringing WiMAX solutions to these markets quickly and cost effectively.”
