Qorvo Interview: Nonlinear FEM Technology is Critical to Wi-Fi 6E/7 Design and Performance Optimization

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Qorvo Interview: Nonlinear FEM Technology is Critical to Wi-Fi 6E/7 Design and Performance Optimization [Copy link]

According to Qorvo, a RF front-end module (FEM) supplier, nonlinear FEM technology for Wi-Fi access points is the key to achieving tri-band Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 designs. The new nonlinear approach improves the efficiency of the power amplifier (PA) and reduces power consumption, bringing a series of advantages. Qorvo said that their ready nonlinear FEM components will be put on the market in batches in 2024. At present, the design and application paradigm of FEMs across the industry is shifting to reduce the power consumption and thermal impact of Wi-Fi devices.
The article points out that as the number of channels of Wi-Fi wireless devices increases, reducing power consumption becomes more important, especially in tri-band or quad-band Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 designs. To solve this problem, the article mentions a solution using nonlinear FEMs, because nonlinear FEMs require less current than linear amplifiers and can reduce power consumption by 20-25%. To avoid signal attenuation, the solution uses digital pre-distortion (DPD) technology.
The article also highlights that the most advanced Wi-Fi chipsets use a table lookup approach to provide pre-distortion parameters for nonlinear FEMs, enabling fast calibration and consuming almost no processor power. The end result of this approach is that the performance of nonlinear FEMs is almost equivalent to that of linear FEMs, but with higher efficiency. This transformation of nonlinear FEMs is expected to become a long-term trend in the market, with enterprise-class APs and service provider gateway products being the first to adopt this new technology. Qorvo's first product that is ready is the QPF4702, which is designed for Wi-Fi 7 and supports the entire 5GHz and 6GHz bands. The article concludes by mentioning that reducing power consumption is also critical to environmental sustainability and energy costs.

Original article: Qorvo Interview: Nonlinear FEM technology is critical to the design and performance optimization of Wi-Fi 6E/7

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