1. What made you select this product to feature? How does this product differentiate from others/what value does it offer?

Qorvo’s QPA1724 is a 20W GaN-on-SiC power amplifier (PA) that is optimal for wide bandwidth multi-carrier, high data throughput satellite applications. Operating in the Ku-K Band at 17.3 to 21.2 GHz, the QPA1724 delivers twice the power of competing PAs. Offered in a compact, surface-mount package, this PA offers wideband linear power, gain, and high efficiency.

2. What are the key features/specifications of this product?

• Frequency Range: 17.3 - 21.2GHz
• PSAT (PIN = 27 dBm): 43 dBm
• PAE (PIN = 29 dBm): 27%
• Small Signal Gain: 25 dB
• Bias: VD = 20 V, IDQ = 396 mA, VG = -2.2 V typical range
• Dimensions: 7.5 x 6 x 1.6 mm

3. What are common markets/applications?

The QPA1724 is ideally suited for defense and commercial applications, including low earth orbit constellations.

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About Mark Millhollin

As the Director of Supplier Management at RFMW, Mark Millhollin oversees RFMW’s internal Supplier Business Team and manages supplier relations. With 33 years of RF and Microwave industry experience, Mark has held positions in purchasing, sales, and management. Mark is passionate about technology and is grateful for the enduring relationships he has developed in the dynamic field of RF.

Although GaN transistors have been popular in recent years for broadband and high-frequency applications, LDMOS is still the leading technology for high-power amplifier designs from HF to UHF. The sweet spot for rugged LDMOS is below 450MHz, and with the correct thermal design, rugged devices will withstand very high levels of VSWR up to 65:1.
Initially designed for broadcast and industrial applications in the mid-nineties, we have seen power levels and breakdown voltages improve with successive generations.

Design Limitations

As generations of LDMOS advance (Ampleon is now working on Generation 12), I am often asked about even higher-power rugged transistors. However, there is a limit to power that can be produced at a given drain voltage. A designer can add LDMOS’ fingers’ to the layout (Figure 1), but there is a trade-off. More fingers increase the die size, and physically, there is a limitation in the package size. Reducing the distance between the fingers is possible, but it will increase parasitic capacitance.

 

 

Another option is to add more power to the LDMOS fingers, but the output impedance of the transistor lowers as you increase the power. This makes the transistor more challenging to use, harder to match with a high-Q, and makes broad-bandwidth designs harder.

 

 

Looking at our suppliers’ products, I believe the limit of around 1.5KW has been reached for 50 Volt devices. To increase power levels further, designers have opted to increase the drain voltage.

Output Impedance RL = Drain voltage V2 / Output Power P, so by increasing the voltage, designers can increase the output power while keeping the output impedance at reasonable levels.
There are now a few 65V transistors available from both Ampleon and NXP. Qorvo has also opted for 65V in GaN for some of their high-power parts targeting L-band Radar and avionics applications.

65V is not for everyone, though. Power supplies can be expensive compared to 48-50V versions, and some safety regulations also come into effect above 50V.
Higher powers also provide more headaches in getting excess heat out of the PA. Other components, such as output-matching capacitors, must withstand higher voltages and dissipate higher temperatures. I have seen capacitors float off PCBs when the solder has melted, and PCB tracks sometimes need wires soldering to the surface to carry sufficient drain current. It isn’t always possible to make a track wide to handle high currents because it also lowers the impedance, affecting the RF performance of that track, and we are often limited in space on the PCB.

New Advanced Generation of Rugged LDMOS

Ampleon is in the process of releasing a new generation of rugged transistors. These are called Advanced Rugged Technology (ART) transistors. So far, there are 2KW, 1.6KW, 700W, 150W and 35W devices. We have also just started sampling a 450W device that will be available for general release in 2023.

ART2K0FE is the highest power transistor at 2KW with a 65V supply and many customers consider water-cooled heat sinks at these power levels. The next transistor in the series, though, is more interesting. The ART1K6FH (Figure 3), offers a natural progression (and upgrade) from older devices like the BLF188XR and NXP’s MRFE6VP1K25.

 

 

Upon first glance of the datasheet, it may seem like the ART1K6FH has a little more power, with a 1.6KW headline , but take a closer look and you will see this device is qualified at up to 55V to provide this power level. At 50V, it is designed to be a replacement for the 50V BLF188XR with 1.4KW output power. In fact, customers are telling us that it “pretty much drops into the same circuit”.

65:1 VSWR is the highest mismatch that can be accurately measured during the production test of these devices, but the breakdown voltage is a handy parameter to consider ruggedness. I am reassured to see it is even higher than its predecessors.

If we are short on power, as already mentioned, the ART1K6FH is qualified to 55V, and most 50V power supplies can be adjusted upwards by a few volts at least, so it is possible to achieve a slightly higher power output than the older devices without changing the PA power supply.

LDMOS in High-Power Amplifiers

The Gemini 2-1.2K from LinearAmp/The DX Shop uses the ART1K6 for high power in the 144MHz VHF band (Figure 4). This is an excellent example of a product that can use the ART1K6FH in place of the BLF188XR and the product page provides an interesting power graph comparing the two rugged devices.

 

 

Other transistors in the ART range fill many gaps in power levels. Ruggedness is essential for industrial applications such as CO2 lasers or Plasma generators, but I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that ruggedness is always welcome – even in communications amplifiers at lower powers. At the least, ruggedness provides peace of mind if there is an error on the output of a PA.

Have more questions on integrating advanced LDMOS transistors into your design? Our experts at RFMW are available to assist. For more information on developing with next-generation LDMOS technology, contact RFMW today!

 
About Tim Daniels

Tim Daniels is a Supplier Business Manager at RFMW specializing in transistor and MMIC technologies. With over 20 years of RF industry experience, Tim is a chartered engineer that holds a master’s degree in electronics innovation and a bachelor’s degree in electronics with communications. His expertise enables him to provide comprehensive design recommendations and technical support for RFMW’s customers. Tim enjoys working with engineers from around the globe and is eager to find innovative solutions to new challenges.

Industry Leading, Advanced Rugged 2 Kilowatt, 65V LDMOS RF Power Transistor

RFMW’s RF Power Business Development Manager, Tim Daniels, recommends Ampleon’s ART2K0FE Advanced Rugged Transistor (ART) for industrial, scientific, and medical applications between HF and 400 MHz. It is an unmatched 65 Volt LDMOS transistor that has a high breakdown voltage, providing excellent VSWR ruggedness of 65:1. High gain and efficiency at high frequencies are achieved with low output capacitance. The ART2K0FE is designed for broadband operation, and high-power applications up to 2 KW and offered in an industry-standard package, air-cavity ceramic SOT539AN for easy integration. Additionally, the ART2K0FE is already successfully implemented in various ISM applications such as CO2 lasers, plasma generators, particle accelerators, broadcast transmitters, UHF radars, and many more. Ampleon has also released a 65V driver at 35W with the same ruggedness to support the ART2K0FE.

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Marki Microwave’s Passive GaAs MMIC Bandpass Filter Family

RFMW Supplier Business Manager, Steven Darrow, has selected Marki Microwave’s MFBA-0000XPSM family of passive MMIC passband filters. These surface mount filters are ideal for applications demanding small form factor, high rejection filtering. Marki’s unique technology proposition allows small filter construction with narrow fabrication tolerances resulting in unrivaled repeatability. Ranging in center frequencies from 10GHz to 22.2GHz, this family of filters features excellent return loss and high stopband suppression all wrapped up in a small 5×5 QFN package.

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Menlo Micro’s MM5120, DC-18 GHz High Power RF SP4T

Steven is also highlighting one of the year’s most unique RF products from the world’s leader in RF MEMS switching technology, Menlo Micro. Menlo’s MM5120 comes at the heels of decades of development on the Ideal Switch platform. This innovative technology enables robust and highly reliable switches capable of >25 W CW power handling at 6.0 GHz. The MM5120 provides ultra-low insertion loss and superior linearity from 18 GHz down to DC, with >3 billion switching cycles guaranteed. For its small size and high reliability, the MM5120 is the obvious choice for replacing large RF electromechanical relays but it’s also an ideal alternative for RF/microwave solid-state switches in applications where linearity and insertion loss are paramount.

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Wideband, High Frequency Switch Enables 5G mmWave Design

Additionally, Steven is mentioning one of the most interesting parts released in 2022, the 9kHz to 67GHz CMOS SOI SP4T switch from pSemi. Supplier Business Manager Steven Darrow wanted to highlight this unique entry into mmWave components due to its super low latency at a switching speed of just 75nS, exceptional power handling and linearity, and of course, its unparalleled wideband performance up to 67GHz. This switch is ideal for test and measurement, 5G mmWave, microwave backhaul, radar and satcom, and countless other applications. Due to their patented UltraCMOS SOI process, pSemi has truly outdone themselves with the PE42545 by packing in so much performance and efficiency into such a small, flip chip die package.

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Ultra Compact XBAW Filters for Wi-Fi 6E

RFMW Supplier Business Manager, Colin Field, is recommending Akoustis’ A10155 and A10165 XBAW filters for Wi-Fi 6E applications due to their high power, small size, and excellent rejection performance that enables the next generation of Wi-Fi access points. Shipping in volume to major OEM’s globally, the filter pair can be combined to allow the entire UNII 1 to 3 and UNII 5 to 8 bands to operate simultaneously–delivering more than 40dB of adjacent channel rejection. Akoustis has developed an entire portfolio of filters for various configurations of Wi-Fi 6E architecture that offer the broadest portfolio of BAW technology solutions on the Wi-Fi market today. With more product launches coming in early 2023 for next generation W-iFi 7, it’s an exciting time for the Akoustis product line.

Learn More – A10155 >>

Learn More – A10165 >>

 

Small Form Factor Filters for Satcomms

Colin has also selected Cubic-Nuvotronics’ PSF39B04S cavity filter as one of his top product picks of 2022 due to its small form factor and high power capability. Designed for Downlink applications in V band Satcomm systems, the filter supports 4GHz of V band spectrum, an important segment of licenced spectrum that enables higher data rates for LEO communications applications. The filter utilizes a unique fabrication process enabling micron-level feature accuracy, which in turn leads to sharper filter responses with smaller footprints. The copper substrate that the PSF39B04S incorporates ensures excellent thermal conductivity for higher power applications. Its compact 6mm x 3.5mm footprint enables its use in phased array applications. The filter has 2.2dB of insertion loss, reducing the demand on power-hungry gain blocks. Additionally, Colin notes that Cubic-Nuvotronics’ filters can be designed for customer-specific applications.

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Knowles B259MC1S Band Pass Filter for n258 Band

RFMW Supplier Business Manager of Passive Divisions, Nick John, has selected Knowles’ B259MC1S microstrip bandpass filter as a noteworthy component of 2022. Using high-K ceramic materials, the B259MC1S offers highly repeatable performance without tuning. Complete with integrated shielding, this SMT device is designed for use on most RF PWB materials for mmWave applications. Its frequency of 24.25 to 27.5 GHz remains stable over temperatures ranging from -55°C to +125°C. The B274MB1S is designed for demanding/high-reliability and 5G Telecom applications.

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Renesas’ F6212, 16-Channel Dual-beam Rx Active Beamforming IC Module for Ka-Band SATCOM

Nick has also highlighted the Renesas F6212 as one of his top products of 2022. The F6212 is a 16-channel, dual-beam, receive active beamforming, RFIC multi-chip module designed for applications in Ka-Band SATCOM planar phased array antennas. The IC has eight RF input ports, two RF output ports, and 16 (8 per beam) phase/amplitude control channels. The eight input ports may be driven by eight single-polarized elements or four dual-polarized elements of an electronically scanned array (ESA). Enabling precise beam pattern and polarization control, each channel has 6 bits of digital phase gain control resolution spanning 360° and 26dB of dynamic range.

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17.3-21.2GHz 20W GaN Power Amplifier for Satellite Communications Systems

RFMW Supplier Business Manager, Mark Millhollin, highlights a 20W GaN-on-SiC power amplifier (PA) for defense and commercial satellite applications, including low earth orbit constellations. Qorvo’s market-leading QPA1724 amplifier operates at 17.3 to 21.2 GHz (Ku-K Band) and provides excellent wideband linear power, gain, and power added efficiency in a compact surface mount package. The QPA1724 is optimized for wide bandwidth, multi-carrier high data throughput satellite applications.

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Smiths Interconnect’s SpaceNXT™ HC Series

RFMW Supplier Business Manager, Paul Timberlake, is selecting Smiths Interconnect’s SpaceNXT™ HC-CXH outrigger resistors and terminations. Tested and qualified for space flights, the SpaceNXT HC Series is now available from a standard part list that eliminates the need for time-consuming drawings and specifications. They provide an easy-to-use and cost-effective solution with proven mission assurance. Additionally, SpaceNXT HC Series products are supplied with all the necessary test and qualification data to ensure space flight compliance. The SpaceNXT HC-CXH outrigger resistors and terminations use a patented layout to offer improved power handling over conventional surface mount solutions without compromising broadband performance. HC-CXH products are ideally suited for a wide array of RF applications, particularly in the Space and Defence markets.

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CML Microcircuits’ CMX90A702 is a highly linear medium power amplifier operating in Frequency Range 2 (FR2) from 26.5 to 29.5 GHz that addresses the needs of 5G New Radio (NR) band n257 and n261. The CMX90A702 is a three-stage GaAs MMIC amplifier delivering +25 dBm (0.3 W) of output power at 1 dB gain compression, 21 dB of small signal gain and +32.5 dBm output third order intercept (OIP3). RF ports are matched to 50 Ω with an integrated DC blocking capacitor at the output.

The MPA is easy to monitor with an on-chip temperature-compensated RF power detector and fast-switching enabled circuit.

Additionally, the CMX90A702 uses an enhancement mode (E-mode) pHEMT process to ensure only positive supply voltages are required and makes single DC supply operation possible.

Features

• Frequency range 26.5 – 29.5 GHz
• Small signal gain 21 dB
• Output P1dB +25 dBm (0.3 W)
• Power added efficiency 26 %
• EVM 4 % @ 18 dBm mean power
• Supply +4 V @ 182 mA
• Vd applied either side of package

 
About Nick John

Nick John is Supplier Business Manager of Passive Divisions at RFMW. With 20 years of industry experience, Nick has worked in sales, account management, and distribution. Passionate about timing solutions, Nick enjoys the fast-paced environment of the electronics industry, aiding customer designs, and enhancing partnerships with leading suppliers.

RF applications are seeking smaller size, weight, reduced power consumption, and better linearity solutions.

RF Applications:

In satellite communication, high throughput satellites in the geosynchronous Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit, and low Earth orbit form satellite constellations to provide internet connectivity throughout the planet. Satellite communications operate in the K band, which spans from 12 GHz to 40 GHz. Currently, thousands of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are circling the Earth and delivering broadband Internet access, navigation, maritime surveillance, remote sensing, and other services.

In 5G Fixed Wireless Access, 5G infrastructure devices like Small Cells, Femto Cells, Pico Cells, and Repeaters use mmWave phased array in the K band for beam forming to provide connectivity.

In Aerospace and Defense applications, different types of radar systems are used in aircrafts to monitor radar environments. Radar systems can alert pilots of any hostile or foreign activity using Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radars. AESA Radars utilize beams of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving its antenna.

SWaP-C:

RF applications consistently seek SWaP-C or Size, Weight, Power, and Cost benefits. Large dish antennas (Figure A) are being replaced with phased array antennas (Figure B) for satellite communication that requires smaller size components for integration. Lower weight components are needed to have more payload for the satellite.

High RF Power is linear with high P1dB and IP3. It is used to reduce distortion and efficient with high PAE to minimize power consumption.

All these benefits in RF components are achieved at a low total operating cost, including manufacturing and components costs.

 

 

Power Amplifiers (PA) Requirements:

Power Amplifiers (PAs) play a key role at the transmitter in RF applications. One of the biggest PA requirements is that it can operate in its linear region to minimize RF distortion. However, this increases complexity, cost, size, and weight, since more gain stages are then required to offset the reduction in RF output power that can be delivered in this region. Even then, gain distortion can come into play. Also known as AM/AM and AM/PM distortion, it describes the output phase variation against input power and is often caused by a PA’s nonlinear capacitors. This occurs when the PA is operated near or even beyond its saturation point to maximize conversion efficiency and generate as much power as possible, which leads to device nonlinearities and a compression or peaking of the PA with input power. Compensation is required using techniques like digital predistortion.

Developers face another type of distortion with satellite communications systems that use higher-order modulation schemes. This includes 64/128/256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), which is extremely sensitive to non-linear behavior. Another challenge is achieving satisfactory peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR)—that is, the ratio of the highest power the PA will produce to its average power. PAPR determines how much data can be sent and is proportional to the average power. At the same time, though, the size of the PA needed for a given format depends on the peak power.

These and other conflicting challenges can only be met with Gallium Nitride (GaN) on Silicon Carbide (SiC) Power Amplifiers for satellite communication, 5G, and Aerospace & Defense applications.

Gallium Nitride (GaN) on Silicon Carbide (SiC) Power Amplifiers:

Gallium Nitride (GaN) on Silicon Carbide (SiC) has the highest power density to generate high linear output power with high efficiency. GaN on SiC power amplifiers can operate at high frequencies in the Ka, Ku band from 12 GHz to 40 GHz for satellite communication, 5G and have broad bandwidths, high gain with better thermal properties meeting the requirements of RF applications. Microchip provides RF solutions using GaN on SiC technology meeting the SWaP-C requirement for components. ICP2840 is a flagship device which operates in 27.5–31 GHz providing continuous wave (CW) output power of 9 watts and pulsed output power of 10 watts with a Gain of 22 dB and power added efficiency of 22%. Graph C shows Linear PAE across frequency and output power levels for ICP2840 and Graph D shows Linear Gain across frequency and output power levels.

 

 

 

ICP2840 generates 9W continuous wave output power in the Ka band from 27.5–31 GHz for uplink frequency for satellite communication as well as 28 GHz 5G frequency band.

ICP2637 has a wide bandwidth from 23–30 GHz and generates 5 watts CW output power and is offered in a QFN package as well as in die form.

ICP1445 generates 35 watts pulsed output power in the 13–15.5 GHz frequency Band.

ICP1543 operates in the Ku band 12 to 18 GHz generating 20 watts CW output power.

These PAs have high gain and power added efficiency using GaN on SiC technology and meet the requirements at Ku/Ka band for 5G, Satellite Communication, and Aerospace & Defense applications. GaN on SiC with its highest power density provides the optimal power amplifier solutions for these applications.

For more information, visit our power amplifiers web page

About Baljit Chandhoke

Baljit Chandhoke is the Product Manager for Microchip’s industry-leading portfolio of RF products. He has more than 15 years of product line management experience in customer facing roles–leading teams in defining new products, competitive positioning, driving design wins, revenue, and go-to-market strategies across wireless infrastructure, mobility (5G), aerospace, and defense market segments. He has authored multiple articles in leading industry publications and has participated in several YouTube videos and webinars. Prior to joining Microchip, Baljit worked in leadership positions at GlobalFoundries, IDT, ON Semiconductor, and Cypress Semiconductor. He has a Master’s in Business Administration (M.B.A) from Arizona State University, a M.S. in Telecommunications from University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Bachelors in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from University of Mumbai, India.