pSemi Launches Complete 5G mmWave RF Front-End (RFFE) Solution

Versatile portfolio covers 24-40 GHz frequency bands, showcasing technologies such as integrated modules, discrete beamforming and up/down converter RFICs

SAN DIEGO, February 1, 2022 – pSemi® Corporation, a Murata company focused on semiconductor integration, announces the expansion of its millimeter wave (mmWave) RF front-end product portfolio for 5G wireless infrastructure applications. The new pin-to-pin compatible products consist of three beamformer ICs and two up-down converters, allowing flexible IC interchange to achieve full IF to RF coverage in the n257, n258 and n260 bands. This modular approach, combined with on-chip calibration and digital correction, helps system teams simplify design cycles and quickly adapt to different active antenna design configurations. Available as discrete radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) or as part of Murata’s 28 GHz antenna integrated modules, the diverse portfolio combines performance, integration and reliability in a compact IC form factor.

The pSemi 5G mmWave product integration portfolio offers standalone ICs as well as antenna-integrated modules.

mmWave will first be deployed mainstream in densely populated urban areas for short-range coverage, supported by smart repeaters, indoor base stations, and other small cell applications. The popularity of beamforming and active antenna systems, as well as the increasing demand for network capacity, have opened up new opportunities for SOI-CMOS technology to become the mmWave platform of choice for advanced 5G systems.

“pSemi has been delivering mmWave products since 2015 and has continued to deepen our expertise and patent portfolio in high-frequency RF SOI design,” said Vikas Choudhary, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at pSemi. “This experience, combined with our parent company Murata’s advanced packaging and global manufacturing capabilities, enables us to support higher levels of integration and simplify the development and deployment of 5G mmWave products.”

Features and Benefits of 8-Channel Beamformer RF IC

Each UltraCMOS® PE188100, PE188200 and PE189100 RF IC integrates a power amplifier (PA), low noise amplifier (LNA), phase shifters, beamformers, switches and mixers on a single die to provide optimal signal strength for antenna arrays of up to 1024 elements.

Full spectrum coverage – supports n257 (PE188200), n258 (PE188100) and n260 (PE189100) bands with pin-to-pin compatibility

Flexible antenna design - eight independently controllable RF channels, supporting four dual-polarized or eight single-polarized antenna elements

 Beamforming Accuracy – Provides linear POUT in terms of desired error vector magnitude (EVM) with lower RMS phase and amplitude errors to improve antenna array gain and antenna directivity.

Features and advantages of dual-channel up-down converter RF IC

Each PE128300 and PE129100 integrates oscillators, mixers, amplifiers and switches in a single die and can be paired with up to 16 pSemi beamforming RFICs, or a total of 128 beamformer channels, to support massive MIMO, hybrid beamforming and other active antenna configurations.

Broadband coverage – supports n257/n258 (PE128300) and n260 (PE129100) frequency bands with pin-to-pin compatibility

Low noise system design - optimize I/Q balance adjustment capability to minimize local oscillator (LO) leakage, thereby improving error vector magnitude (EVM) performance

Low power consumption——Industry-leading low power consumption characteristics can effectively reduce system heat dissipation design requirements

Features and advantages of 5G antenna integrated modules

pSemi and Murata have jointly created an easy-to-use 5G millimeter wave antenna integrated module (1QT type) that supports the 28 GHz frequency band. In a 4 x 4 antenna array, each module integrates a high-performance antenna and bandpass filter as well as a pSemi beamformer IC and up-down converter. Multiple modules can be combined together, allowing designers to quickly expand and build antenna arrays of different sizes.

 Precision low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrate package - excellent heat resistance and moisture resistance, enabling stable performance and thermal management even in harsh environments

Advanced bandpass filter technology – low insertion loss and high attenuation to reduce interference and maximize signal integrity

 Passed the whole device wireless radiation performance (OTA) manufacturing test - the performance has been verified through OTA manufacturing testing, which can simplify the development process

More information

For more information on beamformer and up/down converter RF ICs, please contact the pSemi team.