Infineon's latest LTE LNAs (low noise amplifiers) and quad LNA banks are designed to improve the smartphone user experience by increasing data rates by up to 96%. The BGA7x1N6 and BGM7xxxx4L families provide a low noise figure coupled with the exact gain and high linearity needed to help smartphone designers overcome the challenges of LTE or 4 G. These newer standards allow for data rates up to 300 Mbit/s – compared with 56 Mbit/s with the latest UMTS (3 G) release.
However, the increasing complexity of the RF frontend results in more RF components (e.g. switches, diplexers and dividers) and thus higher losses over the whole system coupled with deterioration of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The distance between the antenna and the RF transceiver leads to additional line losses that also negatively affect the SNR and therefore the data rate.
Infineon's latest LNAs and LNA banks are based on the company's Silicon Germanium Carbon (SiGe:C) chip technology and include built-in ESD protection of 2 kV HBM. They are located in the diversity and main antenna path of the phone, pushing maximum smartphone data rates up to exceed non-LNA solutions by 96%. High linearity assures optimal signal reception even if the antenna is poorly isolated and there are high line losses between the antenna and transceiver. The typical sensitivity improvement of 3.4 dB compared with systems without LNAs is achieved in devices with a package size 70% smaller (1.1×0.7 mm) than previously available LNAs and 61% smaller (1.9×1.1 mm) than previously available LNA banks. The products are also self-shielded to prevent parasitic interference and require only one external component per LNA.
There are three LTE LNA and seven quad LNA bank families to address regional band configuration needs. Each letter in the series denotes a different frequency band: L for the low, 0.7 GHz to 1 GHz band; M for the mid, 1.7 GHz to 2.2 GHz band; and H for the high, 2.3 GHz to 2.7 GHz band.
They are shipped in RoHS-compliant TSNP-6-2 or TSLP 12-4 plastic packages.
Features
- High linearity
- Best-in-class noise figure
- Low current consumption
- Supply voltage: 1.5 V to 3.3 V
- Ultra small
- Single LNAs: TSNP-6-2 leadless package (footprint: 1.1 x 0.7 mm2)
- Quad LNA banks: TSLP-12-4 leadless package (footprint: 1.1 x 1.9 mm2)
- B7HF Silicon Germanium Carbon (SiGe:C) technology
- RF output internally matched to 50 Ω
- Low external component count
- 2 kV HBM ESD protection
- Pb-free (RoHS-compliant) package
Applications
- Smartphones
- Tablets
- Datacards
- M2M communication systems
