Author
NXP
At NXP, innovation is always now, but our focus is always the future. Our dedicated team of experts is united by a passion to make everyday life more remarkable through technologies that continually redefine life as we know it.
- Smarter World Blog
- SiGe in RF
SiGe in RF
Maintaining a leading position in the shifting RF market is a constant challenge. But through ongoing innovation in RF process technologies, NXP has not only maintained its market leadership but continues to develop for the future.
Radio Frequency (RF) semiconductor solutions are based on a number of technologies, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to raw power efficiency, GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) and GaN (Gallium Nitride) along with other exotic solutions are the best, but that performance comes at a high price. At the other end of the scale, CMOS offers high integration and high volume production that keeps costs down, but does not deliver the best RF performance. But it does make RF CMOS the preferred choice for the highly integrated communication functions in devices such as mobile phones.
SiGe (Silicon Germanium) sits neatly in the middle. SiGe and SiGe:C (Silicon Germanium Carbon) are slightly behind GaAs in overall performance, although with each generation NXP continues to close the gap. However, SiGe can be produced much more cost-effectively than GaAs and in a standard silicon fab. And once the core RF functionality is available, adding extra functions and features is almost for free.
In all RF markets, changing requirements need new approaches. Now in its 8th generation, NXP’s SiGe:C QUBiC technology is making inroads into cellular base stations with integrated LNAs offering the same performance and more flexibility in a single chip than previous discrete solutions based on GaAs. And in mobile phones where integrated CMOS solutions pushed other technologies out of the RF processing function, SiGe is finding its way back in via the integrated multi-channel LNAs needed to boost incoming RF signals back to the levels needed for acceptable system performance.
And as new challenges emerge, the markets will shift again. For example, NXP is currently working with the STARS consortium on SiGe solutions for radar and satellite phased arrays. And perhaps in the future, we will see the repartitioning of RF and media functions in mobile phones or other connectivity applications. Whatever the challenges, NXP is already preparing. We have the technology, the RF IP and are already working on the 9th generation SiGe solutions, so we will be ready to meet them.
