QuantalRF has started sampling the QWX27104, a DPD-efficient linear front-end module (FEM) for Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8 mobile applications. Part of the company’s Elementum Wi-Fi FEM portfolio, the QWX27104 leverages the linear performance of GlobalFoundries' 8SW RF-SOI power amplifier with reduced digital-predistortion (DPD) overhead for up to 3 dB higher mask-compliant output power for Wi-Fi 7 and 8.

The FEM’s intrinsically linear CMOS RF-SOI architecture holds error vector magnitude (EVM) consistent across multiple channels. And because linearity is engineered into the FEM itself, the device achieves its target EVM with a lower-order, less complex DPD engine for up to 3 dB more mask-compliant output power. Further, it has a greater tolerance to system, temperature, and process variations for a lighter, simpler DPD burden on the host SoC.

With DPD applied at 160-MHz bandwidth, the QWX27104 maintains EVM within 0.5 dB across all channels, and at 320 MHz, the QWX27104 sustains < −47 dB EVM up to 16 dBm and remains spectral-mask-limited to 19.5 dBm, approximately 3 dB higher in output power than the point where conventional FEMs fall below the −40 dB EVM.

A multi-loop analog intelligent feedback system allows the FEM to self-optimize in real-time, boosting efficiency and linearity across all modes and channel conditions and holding performance even under a 3:1 VSWR antenna mismatch.

The QWX27104 integrates the PA, LNA, switch, and coupler onto a single monolithic die, and joins QuantalRF’s fully linear QWX27105 FEM in the Elementum portfolio, extending the company’s CMOS RF-SOI front-end family across a broader range of system architectures.

Related links:

• QuantalRF
• QWX27104 Linear Front-End Module
• More New Products