Shrinking Bluetooth power amplifiers

SiGe Semiconductor has expanded its family of Bluetooth Class 1 power amplifiers with the world's smallest solution and the world's smallest fully encapsulated package solution.

SiGe Semiconductor has expanded its family of Bluetooth Class 1 power amplifiers with the PA2423G, the world's smallest solution, and the PA2423L, the world's smallest fully encapsulated package solution.

The devices reduce form factor while providing extremely efficient power output to enhance performance of Class 1 Bluetooth applications such as cellular handsets, wireless headsets, laptops and peripheral devices.

The devices are the latest additions to SiGe Semiconductor's PA2423 family of Class 1 Bluetooth power amplifiers, launched last year.

More that a quarter of a million PA2423 devices shipped to customers worldwide in Q1 2001, which have been integrated into laptop PCs and PCMCIA cards that have been successfully tested and certified to the Bluetooth specification.

Packaged in a gold bumped flip chip, the PA2423G measures 0.96 x 0.63mm, making it ideal for miniature modules used in cellular handsets, wireless headsets and PDAs.

The PA2423L, which is packaged in a 6-lead LPCC that measures only 3 x 1.6mm, is ideal for medium-sized modules used in laptops, personal computers, printers and consumer electronics.

The PA2423G and PA2423L achieve +22.5dBm output power with 45% power-added efficiency when operated in class AB mode.

This leading performance enhances operation of Class 1 Bluetooth applications, as the devices can overcome insertion losses of up to 2.5dB between the amplifier output and antenna input.

"The new power amplifiers benefit from our expertise in applying silicon germanium BiCMOS processes to bring industry-leading performance, form factor and power consumption to our customers", said Jim Derbyshire, president and CEO, SiGe Semiconductor.

"Exploiting the benefits of SiGe process technologies has been a clear advantage since our initial launch into this market, and it will continue to shape our roadmap to support the demanding requirements of Bluetooth".

Class 1 Bluetooth applications require a power amplifier to increase the transmission range from 10 to 100m.

As power amplifiers are typically associated with battery drain in portable applications, a key factor in supporting Class 1 Bluetooth is to reduce power consumption.

SiGe Semiconductor has overcome this challenge with a mix of integration and power control techniques.

The PA2423G and PA2423L are low-current devices consuming only 95mA for +20dBm output power.

The ICs operate from a single 3.3V supply, and incorporate power control and power down modes.

SiGe Semiconductor has also integrated patent-pending output power control and ramping circuitry to eliminate requirements for external control ICs, saving the associated board space, cost and power consumption.

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