RF Micro Devices has introduced the RF4180 PowerStar dual-band GSM/GPRS transmit module, designed to reduce front end complexity and address the price and performance requirements of today's emerging market handsets.
The RF4180 PowerStar transmit module leverages RFMD's state-of-the-art power control capabilities to deliver reduced solution size, simplified transmitter design, best-in-class harmonics and ease of implementation. The RF4180 is a dual-band transmit module featuring two symmetrical receive ports, 50Ω matched input and output ports and GSM/GPRS Class 12 compliance. The transmit module, which is designed for use as the final portion of transmit sections in GSM900/DCS1800 handsets, minimizes the requirement for PA-to-antenna matching. When mated with leading cellular baseband system-on-chip (SoC) solutions, the RF4180 delivers a highly integrated radio solution capable of accelerating time to market cost-effectively.
The RF4180 PowerStar transmit module combines RFMD's patented PowerStar integrated power control technology enhanced with the addition of power flattening technology and integrated Vbatt tracking to provide a complete power control system. RFMD's automatic Vbatt tracking circuit monitors battery voltage and prevents the power control loop from reaching saturation, thereby preserving handset switching spectrum at low battery voltages. RFMD's power flattening circuitry significantly reduces current and power variation into non-ideal loads (also known as "antenna mismatch"), resulting in shorter handset development time and more robust handset performance. The RF4180 includes an electrostatic discharge (ESD) filter to provide ESD protection at the antenna port and is designed to minimize loss, providing maximum efficiency at rated output power (Pout).
