This article is part of our IMS 2022 coverage.
Guerrilla RF introduced the latest in a family of ¼-W linear power amplifiers suited for 5G infrastructure that require higher levels of native linearity over large 100-MHz bandwidths and temperatures of –40 up to 85°C.
Spanning frequency ranges of 2.5 to 2.7 GHz and 3.3 to 4.2 GHz, respectively, the GRF5526 and GRF5536 are designed to operate within the n7, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n77, n88, and n90 5G New Radio (NR) bands.
According to Guerrilla RF, the devices can pump out 23 dBm of linear power over the hardware’s full 40 to 85°C temperature range. The new power amplifiers can also support ACLR performance of more than -45 dBc, IMD3 levels within – 20 dBm, error-vector-magnitude (EVM) levels within 1.5%, and power-added efficiencies (PAE) in the 14% range—all without the aid of supplemental technologies like digital predistortion (DPD) that keep linearity in check.
The GRF5526 and GRF5536 are targeted at 5G infrastructure, such as repeaters, boosters, femtocells, and picocells, as well as cable-loss compensators that are paired with “shark fin” antennas attached to autos.
Guerrilla RF said that many of these systems have tight cost, power, and space constraints that prohibit the use of elaborate and expensive technologies such as DPD. Instead, engineers must rely on the native linearity of the power amplifier to meet the stringent emissions mask requirements imposed by the latest 5G standards.
The company consulted and worked closely with its customers to dial in the power efficiency and linearity of the GRF55xx series of PAs, thus maximizing the range and throughput for their cellular systems. Guerrilla RF also focused on developing every device in the family to be fully footprint-compatible, giving its customer base the ability to rapidly customize or upgrade designs for a range of cellular frequencies.
CEO Ryan Pratt said the GRF55xx series of indium-gallium-phosphide (InGaP) HBT PAs has become very popular with its customers and that the GRF5526 and GRF5536 will allow them to update designs to accommodate the latest 5G bands.
Guerrilla RF has started sampling the GRF5526 and GRF5536, which come packed in pin-compatible 3- × 3-mm, 16-pin QFN packages. Pricing starts at $1.78 in 10,000-unit quantities.