Qorvo has expanded its offering for 5G applications with the industry’s first 28 GHz Gallium Nitride (GaN) front-end module (FEM). This new FEM reduces overall system costs for base station equipment manufacturers as they expand into 5G.

According to SNS Telecom & IT, the 28 GHz frequency band is widely preferred for early 5G-based fixed wireless access (FWA) deployments1, enabling operators to meet the speed, latency, reliability and capacity requirements of 5G.

The QPF4001 FEM integrates a high linearity LNA, a low loss transmit/receive switch and a high-gain, high-efficiency, multi-stage PA in a single MMIC. The compact 5×4 mm air-cavity laminate surface mount package is optimized for the phased array element spacing at 28 GHz for 5G base station architectures.

The GaN FEM enables smaller, more powerful and efficient millimeter-wave, phased array systems, which will steer signals to areas of greater bandwidth demand. Using Qorvo’s highly efficient 0.15-micron GaN-on-SiC technology in this application allows the user to more efficiently achieve higher EIRP levels while minimizing array size and power dissipation, resulting in a lower cost system.

Engineering samples of the QPF4001 FEM are available now to qualified customers.

QPF4001 28 GHz Single-Channel GaN MMIC FEM
Frequency Band: 26-30 GHz
Integrated MMIC: 3-stage PA, 3-stage LNA, Low-Loss T/R switch
Saturated Output Power: 30 dBm
Pavg: 23 dBm at 3% EVM
Package: 5×4 mm SMT (designed to meet mmW lattice spacing requirements)