Sharing the knowledge

TI's Wireless Communications Business Unit (WCBU) will present five papers about TI's RF products. Here's a sampling of each.

An Integrated GSM Solution
Feb. 10, 8:30-11:30 a.m., Room W26
Time-to-market is now a driving force in the handheld wireless handset market. Semiconductor component compatibility is key to achieving short design cycle times, which is the principal enabler for early time-to-market. Texas Instruments has addressed this market concern by developing expertise in all principal semiconductor functions within a digital handset, including digital baseband, analog baseband, power management and now radio frequency (RF). This paper describes TI's initial RF solution for Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), the largest-volume digital wireless air-interface standard in the world. This RF solution is compatible with TI's GSM analog baseband and digital baseband solutions, resulting in a comprehensive digital-signal-processing (DSP) solution (all semiconductor components) from a single supplier. In particular, the RF system architecture and system performance will be described as well as the performance of the individual RF components.
-- Bill Bacon, Alex Glatfelter and Ali Khatibzadeh

Evolution of RFMOS Power Amplifiers for High Efficiency Digital Cellular Applications
Feb. 12, 2-5 p.m., Room W84
Cellular phones and Personal Communications Systems (PCS) handsets require high-efficiency, low-voltage power amplifiers to meet consumer needs such as small-size, long talk-time and low-cost. Power amplifier (PA) modules with either Silicon ( Si) or Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) technology have been dominant in the market with increasing proliferation of GaAs IC PAs, especially for the "high-end" (small size, higher price ) models. With the market transition to lower voltage battery technologies such as Lithium-ion (3 V) and multi-band platforms (dual-band PCS, triple-band PCS/Satellite ), the cost of GaAs IC PAs becomes prohibitive especially for applications requiring more than 1W output power such as GSM (3W). This paper describes TI's Si RFMOS™ technology, which offers an alternative IC PA solution with similar performance as GaAs IC PAs but at lower system-level cost and board size. Specifically, a 900 MHz GSM power amplifiers for Class IV applications is described.
-- Roy Culbertson, Dave Seymour, Ali Khatibzadeh, John Erdlejac, John Arch, David Mize, Rick Hudgens, S.T. Fu, Ken Wang, Carsten Schmidt, Mike Wanamaker, Zac Renner, Matthew Loy

Thermal Considerations for RF Power Amplifier Devices
Feb. 11, 8:30-11:30 a.m., Room P52
Thermal modeling of integrated circuits (ICs) tends to take a back seat in system design. The fundamentals of thermal model development for various surface-mount IC packages will be described. In addition, the application of these models to printed-circuit-board (PCB) layout, thermal heat-sink definition and die temperature calculation will be examined. PCB layout approaches that enhance heat transfer will also be discussed. The influence of a typical air-interface standard (GSM) will be discussed along with practical application of the theory. An example is included which applies these first-order methods to the calculation of permissible power levels for wireless power amplifiers based on commercially available power amplifier products.
-- Matthew Loy, Milton Buschbom, Mike Wanamaker, Khanh Nguyen, Mark Peterson

RF Technology Trends in Digital Wireless Communications
Feb. 10, 8:30-11:30 a.m., Room W26
Rapid innovation in digital wireless communications requires similar advances in semiconductor technology. While significant progress has been made in the integration of baseband signal processing solutions for digital wireless terminals, the radio integration remains a challenge. This challenge is compounded by the fragmentation in digital wireless standards with each system requiring a unique architecture. This paper addresses the RF semiconductor and packaging technology trends in digital wireless cellular and personal communications systems (PCS) handset market. Specific trade-offs in performance and integration level are discussed for different technologies.
-- Ali Khatibzadeh, Steve Lazar, Sam Pritchett, David Seymour, Gitty Nasserbakht, John Erdlejac, Lou Hutter, Bob Eklund

Dual-band PCS Receiver Front-end Integrated Circuit
Feb. 12, 8:30-11:30 a.m., Room W74
Rapidly expanding subscriber growth in the cellular market has resulted in the offering of a wide range of cellular standards in different coverage areas. This has led to the demand for dual-band handsets, which can operate under multiple standards and in multiple coverage areas. These dual-band systems place new demands on handset manufacturers since the allowable size and cost differential for a dual-band handset is not proportional to the added complexity (as compared to a single-band handset). Accordingly, higher integration is expected from RF semiconductor suppliers to reduce size and minimize the number of additional components needed to implement these dual-band solutions. This paper discusses the TRF1500, a highly integrated dual-band receiver front-end IC. This particular product features integrated Low-Noise Amplifiers (LNAs) and mixers for the dual banded PCS applications. The device offers a number of features to minimize size and cost in order to address the unique requirements of dual-band systems.
-- Brad Kramer, Roger Branson, Joe Lucky, Elida de-Obaldia, Doyce Ramey, Tom Adkins