IBM improves power amps for cell phones

IBM has introduced new SiGe power amp chips that are designed to reduce the cost and size of wireless devices.

These SiGe chips "run cooler" than GaAs, taking advantage of the thermal conductivity of SiGe, resulting in an improvement in thermal reliability. Because SiGe BiCMOS technology can incorporate numerous important functions on a single chip, the power amps can be manufactured in very small packages, reducing the total layout area on a product's motherboard.

These power amps will offer features important to wireless OEMs, such as gain, power added efficiency and standby current.

There are three SiGe power amplifier devices in the suite. The IBM 2022 TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) IS-54 power amplifier at 800MHz; the IBM 2018 CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) IS-95 also at 800MHz and the IBM 2017 PCS CDMA IS-95 at 1900 MHz, all manufactured by IBM in its BiCMOS 5AM 0.35micron technology, offering a combination of enhanced passive device performance, low cost and fast wafer-build time to provide optimum design flexibility. These chips will be manufactured at IBM's facility in Burlington, VT.

The IBM 2022 TDMA power amplifier is currently available, the IBM 2017 PCS CDMA is available as a prototype and the IBM 2018 CDMA will be available as a prototype next month.