AUSTIN, TX /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- Freescale Semiconductor announced a new reference design for small office/home office base station applications partially powered by two advanced gallium arsenide (GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs).
The comprehensive baseband-to-antenna reference design combines the QorIQ Qonverge BSC9131 base station system-on-chip (SoC) with Freescale RF radio boards, and is a multi-protocol solution that scales across a range of cellular bands to ease developers' transition from 3G to 4G LTE. Sourcing the base station SoC and RF devices from the same vendor speeds time to market and helps ensure optimal compatibility and integration.
The Freescale GaAs MMIC devices deployed on the radio boards are the MMZ25332B and MMZ09312B amplifiers. Both MMICs provide exceptional linearity and power efficiency and can cover multiple bands, including Band 1/WCDMA and Band 13/LTE. Along with the radio board, the MMICs can be easily tuned to support multiple UMTS frequency bands.
"Creating comprehensive femtocell base station solutions using discrete components from multiple vendors is often cumbersome and expensive," said Ritu Favre, Vice president and General manager of Freescale's RF Division. "By combining RF radio boards and our new GaAs MMICs with QorIQ Qonverge technology, we've created a one-stop-shop for femtocells that reduces development time and offers designers scalability as they transition from 3G to 4G."
The QorIQ Qonverge BSC9131 device features a scalable architecture that supports a range of air interfaces, including LTE, LTE-FDD & TDD, and WCDMA/CDMA. It combines Power Architecture cores and high-performance StarCore DSPs with Multi-accelerator Platform Engine technology for baseband processing. It also features interconnect fabric and next-node process technology, as well as glueless RFIC communication and antennae interfaces, eliminating the need for additional chips and reducing board space and cost.
Supporting Devices
The new MMZ25332B and MMZ09312B MMIC devices deployed on the radio board, designed by Freescale partner Benetel, belong to a family of RF GaAs MMIC solutions for femtocells. In addition, two Freescale low-noise amplifiers, the MML09211H and MML20211H, are included on the radio board. These devices are specifically designed for the receiver sensitivity requirements of femtocells. For more information about the devices, visit the company's Web site.
A Leader in Base Station Applications
Freescale provides end-to-end silicon solutions that scale from femtocell to macrocell base station applications, including Airfast RF power solutions, QorIQ Qonverge SoCs, and RF GaAs MMICs. A world leader in silicon RF power LDMOS power transistors used in wireless base stations, Freescale holds numerous GaAs-related patents and was one of the first companies to develop devices based on GaAs technology. Freescale also recently announced the Airfast 28V AFT26HW050GS LDMOS transistor, designed specifically for wide instantaneous bandwidth microcell/metrocell LTE applications.
Pricing and Availability
The baseband-to-antenna reference design is comprised of two complementary boards: a QorIQ Qonverge femtocell base station development board, and one or more RF radio boards. The BSC9131RDB QorIQ Qonverge reference design board is available for $900. Priced at $1700, the RF radio board is part number PSC913XRFBD-XXYY, with "XX" and "YY" representing bands supported. For more information about the boards, visit the company's Web site.
The GaAs MMIC family of devices for femtocell applications is available now and can also be purchased separately. For more information visit the company's Web site.
About Freescale
Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in embedded processing solutions, providing industry-leading products advancing the automotive, consumer, industrial, and networking markets. From microprocessors and microcontrollers to sensors, analog integrated circuits and connectivity, our technologies are the foundation for the innovations that make our world greener, safer, healthier, and more connected. Some of our key applications and end-markets include automotive safety, hybrid and all-electric vehicles, next-generation wireless infrastructure, smart energy management, portable medical devices, consumer appliances, and smart mobile devices. The company is based in Austin, TX, and has design, research and development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world.
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