PAs Give Sizeable Boost To Mobile Phone Talk Time

As much as a 15% longer battery life and 30 minutes of additional "talk time" per charge are promised for next-generation CDMA and GSM mobile handsets opting to use new enhancement-mode pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (E-pHEMT) power amplifier (PA) modules. And by using a new manufacturing passivation technique, the new products are said to achieve a MTBF of 100,000 hours at 90°C of continuous use. The new SMT E-pHEMT PA modules include two for CDMA/AMPS handsets—namely, the ACPM-7813 addressing the 800-MHz dual-mode band and the ACPM-7833 operating in the 1900-MHz range for handset and wireless data terminal applications—and one (ACPM-7891) targeting tri-band GSM/GPRS phones. The CDMA modules measure 4 mm x 4 mm x 1.1 mm, operate over a 3.2V to 4.2V supply range, and are said to offer an industry-best power-added efficiency (PAE) rating of 40%, with the devices requiring only a single, positive supply. The tri-band PA module's PAE runs up to 60% in the GSM band. It has a 3.0V to 5.3V operating voltage range and measures 6 mm x 12 mm x 1.8 mm. Volume pricing for the power amps is less than $2.00 each. AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC., Semiconductor Products Group, Santa Clara, CA. (800) 235-0312.