NXP cooks up communications, defense, and medical applications at IMS

San Francisco, CA. NXP on Wednesday held its first International Microwave Symposium press conference since the completion of its merger with Freescale. Jim Norling, vice president, cellular infrastructure, said the combined companies represent the fifth largest semiconductor maker in the world, with greater than $10 billion in annual revenues. NXP now has about 45,000 employees, including more than 11,000 engineers.

NXP, Norling said, holds the number 1 position in communications processors, broad-based MCUs, secure identification devices, RF power transistors, small signal discretes, and automotive devices. With regard to this last category, he said 90% of automotive innovation today takes place via electronics—covering infotainment, vehicle networking, ADAS and security, safety, and powertrain and chassis functions (including motion sensors and battery management).

He also said NXP provides complete IoT solutions, including DSPs, MCUs, and CPUs; sensor suites; wireless interconnect devices; power-management devices; IoT module packaging; and hardware/software security suites. Applications include smart homes, smart industry, and smart healthcare all tied together via smart infrastructure.

Norling traced NXP’s history via Freescale back to Dr. Martin Cooper, who invented the mobile phone when he worked at Motorola in the 1970s, and who delivered Monday night’s keynote address. The cellular market, Norling said, is in transition, presenting challenges with respect to higher power PAs, massive MIMO, higher frequencies, and smaller device and amplifier footprints that deliver high performance at reduced power consumption.

Norling commented on several product areas NXP was emphasizing at IMS, including GaN transistor expansion with new Airfast 48-V GaN devices offering Doherty performance. He also commented on NXP’s small-cell LDMOS IC portfolio, which includes high-efficiency devices covering cellular bands from 700 MHz to 3,800 MHz at power levels from 2 to 10 W. He also described a small-cell solution for MIMO radios that couples NXP Doherty IC power amplifiers with a Maxim dual-path linearizer.

Norling also highlighted a digital front-end processor for cellular applications, which he described as a fully programmable solution for 4G and 5G systems relying on beamforming and massive MIMO. Other innovations include wideband GaN transistors for defense systems and RF power devices for medical applications, including NeuWave’s Certus 140 ablation system for cancer treatment.

Norling’s final topic was solid-state solutions for RF cooking. He had on hand a WAYV portable solid-state microwave, which provides 30 minutes of cooking on a single battery charge. Developed for the military, the oven will be available to consumers next year.