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Amalfi Semiconductor Delivers World's Smallest, Highest Performing CMOS Transmit Module for Cellular Handsets
Industry's First CMOS Transmit Module Offers Cellular Handset Manufacturers Higher Performance, Increased Talk Time, Smaller Footprint and Lower Bill-of-Material Costs
Los Gatos, CA.— August 25, 2009 — Amalfi® Semiconductor, a developer of high-performance, CMOS Radio Frequency (RF) and mixed-signal semiconductors, for cellular mobile handsets, today announced the world's smallest, highest performing CMOS-based transmit module for front-end cellular handsets. The AM7802 transmit module is part of the Amalfi Stratos' power amplifier family that uses a standard Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) process and proprietary architecture that has proven to radically outperform competing technology in performance, integration and cost. Integrating this powerful CMOS architecture into a transmit module offers manufacturers a significantly smaller, simpler, lower cost cellular handset front-end solution with up to 40% more battery life or talk time than today's leading module suppliers.
The AM7802 is a dual band GSM/GPRS transmit module targeted primarily at the entry and ultra low cost (ULC) market segments in emerging markets. The ULC segment is targeted by all OEMs, including the traditional tier-one handset manufacturers and is one of the few segments that sustained market growth during the recent world economic downturn.
"The emerging market handset (EMH) market segment is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9% between 2008 and 2012," said Brian Modoff, Senior Wireless Equipment Analyst at Deutsche Bank. "The availability of a proven CMOS technology that enables handset manufacturers to deliver superior performance and lower cost handset solutions with more efficient battery usage could drive CMOS to become the dominant technology in this market."
Mobile phone power amplifiers typically use between one-third and 3.5 Watts of power during cellular transmission, which represents 30% to 70% of the electrical current used by the phone when the user is talking. The lower current consumption resulting from the Stratos™ CMOS-based AM7802 transmit module enables the cell phone to support up to 40% greater talk time compared to existing solutions and allows cellular manufacturers to use smaller, less expensive batteries, reducing the size and bill-of-material (BOM) cost of the phone.
A 40% longer battery life also could have a significant impact on energy savings worldwide. If all 3 billion GSM handsets were to immediately use Amalfi's power amplifier technology, the power savings would be enough to power the city of Washington, DC for one month, saving one million kWH of energy. (The data is based on the assumptions that the battery size is 1000mAH and the handset is fully recharged every second day.)
"The opportunity for Amalfi's superior power amplifier technology to make a global impact is real. Cellular handset manufacturers worldwide want CMOS to win because of its historic cost, integration and performance advantages, and they have shown us that it is an easy design transition from GaAs to CMOS," said Jim Finch, Co-founder and CEO of Amalfi Semiconductor. "Our CMOS transmit module has proven to significantly outperform all competitive solutions in power efficiency, size, and cost, which gives manufacturers the confidence they need to transition from GaAs to CMOS."
Small, Highly Integrated Transmit Module
The AM7802 integrates the power amplifier, controller, transmit/receive switch, filtering and all
matching components into a 30 mm2 package, giving manufacturers the smallest, most integrated
transmit module in the industry. The small size saves PCB space and cost and provides for more
flexible design layout, enabling customers to build smaller phones or phones with additional
features.
Excellent Power Added-Efficiency (PAE) Performance
The AM7802 uses Amalfi's proprietary CMOS architecture, AdaptiveRF™, which was specifically
designed for the development of CMOS power amplifiers and has proven to achieve industry leading
competitive peak performance and much better PAE in the typical operation ranges relative to
leading GaAs power amplifiers. GaAs technology cannot achieve this level of performance. For
example, a typical GaAs transmit module would need an improvement of more than 10% in PAE at
maximum output power compared to current performance to match Amalfi's performance in the most
common mid-range operating power levels applicable to GSM and EDGE cellular mobile handsets.
Best-in-Class Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
The AM7802 is capable of 1.5kV ESD on all pins, including RF pins, making the device less
susceptible to ESD damage during manufacturing, which results in better yields and overall
lower cost. The AM7802 is also capable of withstanding 8kV ESD on the antenna port, further
lowering BOM cost as no additional ESD protection is required on the phone to meet industry
standards.
Low Voltage Operation
The AM7802 is capable of operation down to 2.7 volts (V), which enables handsets to operate
longer and extract up to 10% additional talk time from today's current Lithium Ion battery
technology. Additionally this capability enables handsets to use next-generation, lower
voltage batteries, which will further reduce BOM costs, when available.
Next Generation Stratos Product Family
In conjunction with the AM7802, Amalfi also announces the Stratos AM8802 and AM8802D CMOS power
amplifier (PA) modules. These Stratos™ modules also use the same core power amplifier with
AdaptiveRF architecture and offer manufacturers superior performance, integration and cost
reduction. Manufactured in a standard bulk CMOS technology, the devices are manufactured by
leading foundry partners and supported by industry leaders in packaging, assembly, and test.
The following chart outlines the different technical features of the Stratos AM7802 transmit module and AM8802 and AM8802D power amplifier modules.
| AM7802 | AM8802 | AM8802D | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Module | Dual Band TXM | Quad Band PAM | Dual Band PAM |
| Peak PAE (LB) | 48% | 58% | 59% |
| Size (mm) | 5 x 6 | 4 x 5 | 4 x 5 |
| ESD (HBM) | 1.5kV/8kV* | 2kV | 2kV |
The AM7802 is available in sample quantities today and the AM8802 and AM8802D will be available in sample quantities in mid-September. All of the products will be available in production quantity in Q4 2009. Contact Amalfi's sales office for customized pricing at sales@amalfi.com
About Amalfi Semiconductor Amalfi Semiconductor is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in cost effective, low power, mixed-signal CMOS RF solutions for cellular applications. The company has strong financial backing, with funding from private investors and industry leading venture capital companies, which include Battery Ventures, DCM, Globespan Capital Partners and Trinity Ventures. Amalfi Semiconductor can be contacted at their corporate headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. at +1-408-399-5360 or at www.amalfi.com.