GaN RF Power Transistors for Cellular Base Stations

NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced an expansion to its portfolio of 48V GaN RF power transistors optimized for Doherty power amplifiers for use in current and next-generation cellular base stations. The four new transistors collectively cover cellular bands from 1805 to 3600 MHz, meeting the needs of wireless carriers for superior performance at higher frequencies.

With the wireless spectrum shortage, wireless carriers are exploring higher frequencies to accommodate the exponential annual increases in traffic. These networks require RF power transistors and amplifiers that deliver higher performance over wider signal bandwidths, as well as higher efficiency and ruggedness, higher output power and smaller footprints.

The four new NXP GaN transistors are specifically designed to meet these challenges. The transistors have high efficiency and gain, and are extremely rugged, with the ability to deliver their rated performance with an impedance mismatch (VSWR) greater than 10:1. These transistors, designed for use in Doherty power amplifiers, are optimized for seamless integration with digital predistortion linearization systems.

The new products introduced today are: A2G22S251-01S: Ultra wideband symmetrical Doherty two device solution covering 1805 to 2170 MHz (365 MHz bandwidth). In a symmetric Doherty, it delivers an average RF output power of 71 W (450 W peak), gain of 16.5 dB, and drain efficiency of 46% in concurrent multiband operation at 8 dB back-off configured. The part is housed in a NI-400S-2S air-cavity ceramic package.

A2G26H281-04S: NXP’s first in-package Doherty transistor covering 2496 to 2690 MHz, with average RF output power of 50 W (288 W peak), gain of 15.3 dB, and drain efficiency of 57% configured in a NI-780S-4L air-cavity ceramic package.

A2G35S160-01S and A2G35S200-01S: Two-transistor Doherty amplifier solution covering 3400 to 3600 MHz with 53 W average RF output power (331 W peak), gain of 13.8 dB, and drain efficiency of 46%. Each of these transistors is housed in a NI-400S-2S air-cavity ceramic package.

“Cellular customers are actively pursuing GaN technology especially in higher frequency bands. Given its leadership in the cellular base station market, NXP is committed to being a dominant source of top-quality GaN products,” said Paul Hart, executive vice president and general manager of NXP’s RF power business unit. “Our new transistors fully harness the inherent strengths of GaN enabling broad bandwidth, efficient and compact solutions.”