BF R84 3E L3 BF R84 3E L3 Si Ge: C Lo w Nois e R F Transis tor in b roa d Ban d LT E (70 0 3800 MHz ) L NA A pp lic ation Applic atio n N ote A N 328 Revision: Rev. 1.0 2013-06-20 RF and P r otecti on D evic es Edition 2013-06-20 Published by Infineon Technologies AG 81726 Munich, Germany © 2013 Infineon Technologies AG All Rights Reserved. Legal Disclaimer The information given in this document shall in no event be regarded as a guarantee of conditions or characteristics. With respect to any examples or hints given herein, any typical values stated herein and/or any information regarding the application of the device, Infineon Technologies hereby disclaims any and all warranties and liabilities of any kind, including without limitation, warranties of non-infringement of intellectual property rights of any third party. Information For further information on technology, delivery terms and conditions and prices, please contact the nearest Infineon Technologies Office (www.infineon.com). Warnings Due to technical requirements, components may contain dangerous substances. For information on the types in question, please contact the nearest Infineon Technologies Office. Infineon Technologies components may be used in life-support devices or systems only with the express written approval of Infineon Technologies, if a failure of such components can reasonably be expected to cause the failure of that life-support device or system or to affect the safety or effectiveness of that device or system. Life support devices or systems are intended to be implanted in the human body or to support and/or maintain and sustain and/or protect human life. If they fail, it is reasonable to assume that the health of the user or other persons may be endangered. BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Application Note AN328 Revision History: 2013-06-20 Previous Revision: No previous revision Page Subjects (major changes since last revision) Trademarks of Infineon Technologies AG AURIX™, C166™, CanPAK™, CIPOS™, CIPURSE™, EconoPACK™, CoolMOS™, CoolSET™, CORECONTROL™, CROSSAVE™, DAVE™, DI-POL™, EasyPIM™, EconoBRIDGE™, EconoDUAL™, EconoPIM™, EconoPACK™, EiceDRIVER™, eupec™, FCOS™, HITFET™, HybridPACK™, I²RF™, ISOFACE™, IsoPACK™, MIPAQ™, ModSTACK™, my-d™, NovalithIC™, OptiMOS™, ORIGA™, POWERCODE™, PRIMARION™, PrimePACK™, PrimeSTACK™, PRO-SIL™, PROFET™, RASIC™, ReverSave™, SatRIC™, SIEGET™, SINDRION™, SIPMOS™, SmartLEWIS™, SOLID FLASH™, TEMPFET™, thinQ!™, TRENCHSTOP™, TriCore™. Other Trademarks Advance Design System™ (ADS) of Agilent Technologies, AMBA™, ARM™, MULTI-ICE™, KEIL™, PRIMECELL™, REALVIEW™, THUMB™, µVision™ of ARM Limited, UK. AUTOSAR™ is licensed by AUTOSAR development partnership. Bluetooth™ of Bluetooth SIG Inc. CAT-iq™ of DECT Forum. COLOSSUS™, FirstGPS™ of Trimble Navigation Ltd. EMV™ of EMVCo, LLC (Visa Holdings Inc.). EPCOS™ of Epcos AG. FLEXGO™ of Microsoft Corporation. FlexRay™ is licensed by FlexRay Consortium. HYPERTERMINAL™ of Hilgraeve Incorporated. IEC™ of Commission Electrotechnique Internationale. IrDA™ of Infrared Data Association Corporation. ISO™ of INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION. MATLAB™ of MathWorks, Inc. MAXIM™ of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. MICROTEC™, NUCLEUS™ of Mentor Graphics Corporation. MIPI™ of MIPI Alliance, Inc. MIPS™ of MIPS Technologies, Inc., USA. muRata™ of MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., MICROWAVE OFFICE™ (MWO) of Applied Wave Research Inc., OmniVision™ of OmniVision Technologies, Inc. Openwave™ Openwave Systems Inc. RED HAT™ Red Hat, Inc. RFMD™ RF Micro Devices, Inc. SIRIUS™ of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. SOLARIS™ of Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPANSION™ of Spansion LLC Ltd. Symbian™ of Symbian Software Limited. TAIYO YUDEN™ of Taiyo Yuden Co. TEAKLITE™ of CEVA, Inc. TEKTRONIX™ of Tektronix Inc. TOKO™ of TOKO KABUSHIKI KAISHA TA. UNIX™ of X/Open Company Limited. VERILOG™, PALLADIUM™ of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. VLYNQ™ of Texas Instruments Incorporated. VXWORKS™, WIND RIVER™ of WIND RIVER SYSTEMS, INC. ZETEX™ of Diodes Zetex Limited. Last Trademarks Update 2011-11-11 Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 3 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications List of Content, Figures and Tables Table of Content 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Multiband / Broad-Band LNAs for 3G/3.5G/4G Modems ..................................................................... 8 2 2.1 2.2 BFR843EL3 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 11 Features ............................................................................................................................................. 11 Key Applications of BFR843EL3 ........................................................................................................ 11 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications ............................... 12 Description ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Performance Overview ....................................................................................................................... 14 Schematics and Bill-of-Materials ........................................................................................................ 19 4 Measurement Graphs ...................................................................................................................... 20 5 Evaluation Board and Layout Information .................................................................................... 32 6 Authors .............................................................................................................................................. 34 List of Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16 Figure 17 Figure 18 Figure 19 Figure 20 Figure 21 Figure 22 Figure 23 Figure 24 Example of Application Diagram of 2G/3G/4G Front-end System ....................................................... 6 Example of Application Diagram of 2G/3G/4G Front-end System using BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA .................................................................................................................................................... 10 BFR843EL3 in TSLP-3-9 ................................................................................................................... 11 Package and pin connections of BFR843EL3 in Topview ................................................................. 12 Schematic Diagram of the Application Circuit .................................................................................... 19 Power Gain of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 ................................... 20 Reverse Isolation of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 .......................... 20 Noise Figure of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 ................................. 21 Input Matching of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 .............................. 21 Input Matching of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Smith Chart) ....... 22 Output Matching of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 ........................... 22 Output Matching of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Smith Chart) .... 23 Stability K Factor of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 ...................................................... 23 Stability Mu Factor of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 ................................................... 24 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 806 MHz) ................................................................................................................................................... 24 Input 1dB Compression Point of Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 1503 MHz)25 Input Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 1900 MHz) .......................................................................................................................................... 25 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 2140 MHz) ................................................................................................................................................... 26 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 2620 MHz) ................................................................................................................................................... 26 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 3500 MHz) ................................................................................................................................................... 27 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 3700 MHz) ................................................................................................................................................... 27 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 806 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) ...................................................................................................................... 28 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 1503 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) ...................................................................................................................... 28 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 1900 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) ...................................................................................................................... 29 Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 4 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications List of Content, Figures and Tables Figure 25 Figure 26 Figure 27 Figure 28 Figure 29 Figure 30 Figure 31 Figure 32 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 2140 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) ...................................................................................................................... 29 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 2620 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) ...................................................................................................................... 30 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 3500 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) ...................................................................................................................... 30 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 3700 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) ...................................................................................................................... 31 Photo Picture of Evaluation Board for 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 .... 32 Zoom-In of Photo Picture ................................................................................................................... 32 Layout Proposal for RF Grounding of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL333 PCB Layer Information ....................................................................................................................... 33 List of Tables Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7 Table 8 Table 9 Table 10 Table 11 LTE Band Assignment ......................................................................................................................... 7 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 5, 6, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, 44 (at room temperature) ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 11, 21, 24 (at room temperature) ................................. 15 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 2, 3, 9, 25, 33, 35, 36, 37, 39 (at room temperature) ... 15 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 1, 4, 10 (at room temperature) ..................................... 16 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 23 (at room temperature) ............................................. 16 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 40 (at room temperature) ............................................. 17 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 7, 38, 41 (at room temperature) ................................... 17 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 42 (at room temperature) ............................................. 18 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 43 (at room temperature) ............................................. 18 Bill-of-Materials................................................................................................................................... 19 Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 5 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Introduction 1 Introduction The mobile technologies for smartphones have seen phenomenal growth in recent times. The data rate of mobile devices has increased significantly over the evolution modern mobile technologies starting from the first 3G/3.5G technologies (UMTS & WCDMA, HSPA & HSPA+) to the 4G LTE. The ability of 4G LTE to support bandwidths up to 20 MHz and to have more spectral efficiency by using better modulation methods like 64QAM, is of particular importance as the demand for higher wireless data speeds continues to grow fast. LTE Advanced can aggregate up to 15 carriers (up to 100 MHz) to increase user data rates and capacity for high speed applications. A block diagram of a typical 2G and 3G/4G modem (GSM/EDGE/UMTS/LTE/TDSCDMA/TDS-LTE) for smart phone RF front end is shown in Figure 1 below. It consists of a broadband antenna, a band selecting antenna switch, 3G/4G duplexers, high/low band power amplifiers, 3G/4G LNAs and various surface acoustic wave filters. Table 1 shows the band assignment of LTE bands worldwide. ANT Switch 2G/2.5G Transceiver IC ANT Power Detector PA 3G/4G Transceiver IC Duplexer LNA Figure 1 SAW Example of Application Diagram of 2G/3G/4G Front-end System Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 6 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Introduction In order to cover different countries with a unique device, mobile phones and 3G/4G data cards are usually equipped with more than one band. Some typical examples are the triple band combination of band 1, 2 and 5; 4, 13 and 17 or quad band combination of band 1, 2, 5 and 8. Table 1 LTE Band Assignment Band No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Uplink Frequency (Tx) Downlink Frequency (Rx) 1920 - 1980 MHz 2110 - 2170 MHz 1850 - 1910 MHz 1930 - 1990 MHz 1710 - 1785 MHz 1805 - 1880 MHz 1710 - 1755 MHz 2110 - 2155 MHz 824 - 849 MHz 869 - 894 MHz 830 - 840 MHz 875 - 885 MHz 2500 - 2570 MHz 2620 - 2690 MHz 880 - 915 MHz 925 - 960 MHz 1749.9 - 1784.9 MHz 1844.9 - 1879.9 MHz 1710 - 1770 MHz 2110 - 2170 MHz 1427.9 - 1452.9 MHz 1475.9 - 1500.9 MHz 698 - 716 MHz 728 - 746 MHz 777 - 787 MHz 746 - 756 MHz 788 - 798 MHz 758 - 768 MHz 704 - 716 MHz 734 - 746 MHz 815 - 830 MHz 860 - 875 MHz 830 - 845 MHz 875 - 890 MHz 832 - 862 MHz 791 - 821 MHz 1447.9 - 1462.9 MHz 1495.9 - 1510.9 MHz 3410 - 3500 MHz 3510 - 3600 MHz 2000-2020 MHz 2180-2200 MHz 1626.5 - 1660.5 MHz 1525 - 1559 MHz 1850-1915 MHz 1930-1995 MHz 814-849 MHz 859-894 MHz 807-824 MHz 852-869 MHz 703-748 MHz 758-803 MHz 1900 -1920 MHz 2010 - 2025 MHz 1850 - 1910 MHz 1930 - 1990 MHz 1910 - 1930 MHz 2570 - 2620 MHz 1880 - 1920 MHz 2300 - 2400 MHz 2496 - 2690 MHz 3400 - 3600 MHz 3600 - 3800 MHz 703-803 MHz Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 7 / 35 Diplex Mode FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD FDD TDD TDD TDD TDD TDD TDD TDD TDD TDD TDD TDD 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Introduction 1.1 Multiband / Broad-Band LNAs for 3G/3.5G/4G Modems Motivated by increasing demand for mobile broadband services with higher data rates and better quality of service, the modern mobile technology has seen tremendous growth in the recent years from 2G to 3G/3.5G HSPA, HSPA+ 3.9G LTE and now recently 4G LTE advanced. LTE-advanced can support data rates of up to 1 Gbps. Such higher requirements are met by using advanced MIMO techniques and wider bandwidths of up to 100MHz enabled by carrier aggregation. LTE-Advanced can support up to 15 bands of carrier aggregation by three component carrier aggregation scenarios: intra-band contiguous, intraband non-contiguous and inter-band non-contiguous aggregation. This in turn presents new challenges to RF front end designers such as interference from co-existing bands and harmonic generations. In order to address these requirements we need smart LNAs with the following features to achieve outstanding performance. Low Noise Figure: An external LNA boosts the sensitivity of the system by reducing the overall noise figure. In addition due to the size constraint the modem antenna and the receiver front end cannot always be put close to the transceiver IC. The path loss in front of the integrated LNA on the transceiver IC increases the system noise figure significantly. An external LNA physically close to the antenna can help to eliminate the path loss and reduce the system noise figure. Therefore the sensitivity can be improved by several dB which means increase in the connectivity range significantly. Recent trend of end users to download more and more data anytime and anywhere increases the need of more bandwidth and an additional receive channel called “diversity path” in smart phones. In most mobiles phones now, there is more than one antenna to employ diversity. Diversity exploits the radiowave phenomenon of multipath propagation to enhance the reception of cellular signals. The diversity antenna is usually located far from the main antenna and the transceiver IC. The received signal therefore undergoes losses along the path from the diversity switch to the transceiver IC. We need to use an LNA closer to the diversity antenna to overcome this and enhance the sensitivity of the system. The LNAs improve the receiver performance significantly by reducing the noise contribution of long Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 8 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Introduction route line between diversity antenna and transceiver, losses incurred due to the band pass filter and noise figure of the transceiver. High Linearity: The presence of increased number of bands at the receiver input creates strong interference leading to high requirements in linearity characteristics such as high input compression point, IMD2 & IIP3 performance. Low Power Consumption: Power consumption becomes even more important in today’s smart phones. The latest LTE advanced uses enhanced MIMO techniques with upto 8 streams for downlink and 4 streams for uplink. Infineon’s LNAs have low supply current and an integrated on / off feature which provides for low power consumption and increased standby time for 3G cellular handsets or other portable, battery-operated wireless applications. High Integration and Simple Control Interface: The demand for size and cost reduction and performance enhancement with easy to use and low parts count has become very important in existing and future generation smartphones. Our MMIC LNAs are highly integrated with Input and output either matched or pre-matched, in-built temperature and supply voltage stabilization and fully ESD protected circuit design to ensure stable operation and a simple control interface. This application note is focusing on the low cost discrete broad-band LNA solution using Infineons’ new generation RF Transistor BFR843EL3 which has internal RC feedback to cover broad frequency range. Figure 2 shows the modified RF Front-end block diagram using this broad-band LNA solution. Compare to Figure 1 now, for example, four multi-band LNAs can be replaced by only one broad-band LNA. This can reduce cost, PCB area and system complexity. Infineon does also support with RF MMIC LNAs, RF-switches, TVS-diodes for ESD protection and RF Schottky diodes for power detection for 3G/4G LTE applications. Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 9 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Introduction ANT Switch 2G/2.5G Transceiver IC ANT Power Detector PA Broad-Band LNA 3G/4G Transceiver IC Duplexer SAW Figure 2 Example of Application Diagram of 2G/3G/4G Front-end System using BFR843EL3 BroadBand LNA Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 10 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications BFR843EL3 Overview 2 BFR843EL3 Overview 2.1 Features • Low noise broadband NPN RF transistor based on Infineon´s reliable, high volume SiGe:C bipolar technology • High maximum RF input power and ESD robustness • Unique combination of high RF performance, robustness and ease of use • Low noise figure: NFmin = 0.95 dB at 700 MHz and 1.1 dB at 3.8 GHz, 1.8 V, 8 mA 2 • High gain |S21| = dB at 600 MHz and 16.5 dB at 3.8 GHz, 1.8 V, 15 mA • OIP3 = 22 dBm at 600 MHz and dBm at 3.8 GHz, 1.8 V, 15 mA • Ideal for low voltage applications e.g. VCC = 1.2 V and 1.8 V (2.85 V, 3.3 V, 3.6 V requires corresponding collector resistor) • Low power consumption, ideal for mobile applications • Thin small flat Pb-free (RoHS compliant) and halogen-free package Figure 3 BFR843EL3 in TSLP-3-9 • Qualification report according to AEC-Q101 available 2.2 Key Applications of BFR843EL3 As Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) in: • Wireless Communications: 2.4 GHz Wireless LAN IEEE802.11b/g/n, 5 - 6 GHz Wireless LAN IEEE802.11a/n/ac, WiMAX, 3G, 3.5G, 4G LTE-Advanced • Satellite navigation systems (e.g. GPS, GLONASS, COMPASS...) and satellite C-band LNB (1st and 2nd stage LNA) • Broadband amplifiers: Dualband WLAN, multiband mobile phone, UWB up to 10 GHz • ISM bands up to 10 GHz Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 11 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications 3 BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications 3.1 Description BFR843EL3 is a discrete SiGe:C hetero-junction bipolar transistor (HBT) designed for high performance broad band Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) solutions for LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity applications. This has been developed using Infineon’s latest B9HFM technology. The key features of this technology are very high transition frequency (fT = 80 GHz) and low parasitics, which enable to achieve higher gain and lower noise figure compared to the previous generation RF transistor BFR740L3RH. BFR843EL3 features an integrated on-chip R-C feedback network. The negative feedback reduces the effects of performance variations of the amplifier. The design is therefore less sensitive to variations in PCB layout resulting in an amplifier with broader bandwidth, easier impedance matching and improved stability margin. However the price paid for using negative feedback is slight degradation of noise figure and decrease in gain. The BFR843EL3 is housed in low-height 0.31mm TSLP-3-9 package specially fitting into modules. It is also available in other packages, e.g. BFP843 in SOT343 and BFP843F in TSFP-4-1 package. The BFR843EL3 has an integrated 1.5 kV HBM ESD protection which makes the device robust against electrostatic discharge and extreme RF input power. The device offers its high performance at low current and voltage and is especially well-suited for portable battery powered applications in which energy efficiency is a key requirement. Figure 4 shows the pin assignment of package of BFR843EL3 in the top view: E 3 B Figure 4 1 2 C Package and pin connections of BFR843EL3 in Topview Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 12 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications This application note presents the measurement results of the broad-band LTE LNA covering 700 MHz to 3800 MHz using BFR843EL3. The application circuit requires 9 passive 0201 Surface Mounted Device (SMD) components. It operates with 2.8 Volt and consumes 8 mA biasing current. At 700 MHz band it provides 20.5 dB power gain and at Band 43 (3600 3800 MHz) the power gain is 14 dB. The NF varies from 0.92 dB to 1.22 dB (SMA and PCB losses are subtracted) over the complete frequency range. The circuit achieves an input and output return loss better than 11 dB from 700 MHz to 3800 MHz. Furthermore, the circuit is unconditionally stable up to 10 GHz. At 700 MHz, -19.5 dBm input compression point (IP1dB) is achieved, together with the 15 dBm output third intercept point (OIP3) measured with 1MHz tone spacing. At 3800 MHz, -13.7 dBm input compression point (IP1dB) is achieved, together with the 14.3 dBm output third intercept point (OIP3) measured with 1MHz tone spacing. However, higher P1dB can be achieved at the cost of higher biasing voltage and current. For example, OP1dB is 4 to 5 dBm higher with 3 volt and 13 mA biasing condition. Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 13 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications 3.2 Performance Overview Device: BFR843EL3 Application: Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications PCB Marking: BFR843EL3 M130129 (designed for 0201 SMD) Table 2 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 5, 6, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, 44 (at room temperature) Parameter Symbol Value Unit Note/Test Condition DC Voltage VCC 2.8 V DC Current ICC 8 mA Frequency Range Freq 703 – 894 MHz Gain G 20.5 dB Noise Figure NF 1.09 dB Input Return Loss RLin 12.6 dB Output Return Loss RLout 14.1 dB Reverse Isolation IRev 25.5 dB Input P1dB IP1dB -19.5 dBm Output P1dB OP1dB 0 dBm Input IP3 IIP3 -5.4 dBm Output IP3 OIP3 15.1 dBm Power @ Input: -30 dBm Stability k >1 -- Stability measured from 10MHz to 10GHz SMA and PCB losses of 0.03 dB are subtracted *This measurement is done at 806 MHz. Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 14 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications Table 3 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 11, 21, 24 (at room temperature) Parameter Symbol Value Unit Note/Test Condition DC Voltage VCC 2.8 V DC Current ICC 8 mA Frequency Range Freq 1475.9 - 1559 MHz Gain G 19.2 dB Noise Figure NF 0.92 dB Input Return Loss RLin 14.3 dB Output Return Loss RLout 11.2 dB Reverse Isolation IRev 25.5 dB Input P1dB IP1dB -16.9 dBm Output P1dB OP1dB 1.3 dBm Input IP3 IIP3 -3.0 dBm Output IP3 OIP3 16.2 dBm Power @ Input: -30 dBm Stability k >1 -- Stability measured from 10MHz to 10GHz SMA and PCB losses of 0.06 dB are subtracted *This measurement is done at 1503 MHz. Table 4 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 2, 3, 9, 25, 33, 35, 36, 37, 39 (at room temperature) Parameter Symbol Value Unit Note/Test Condition DC Voltage VCC 2.8 V DC Current ICC 8 mA Frequency Range Freq 1805 - 1995 MHz Gain G 18.1 dB Noise Figure NF 0.95 dB Input Return Loss RLin 13.3 dB Output Return Loss RLout 10.9 dB Reverse Isolation IRev 25.8 dB Input P1dB IP1dB -16.4 dBm Output P1dB OP1dB 0.7 dBm Input IP3 IIP3 -2.7 dBm Output IP3 OIP3 15.4 dBm Power @ Input: -30 dBm Stability k >1 -- Stability measured from 10MHz to 10GHz SMA and PCB losses of 0.06 dB are subtracted *This measurement is done at 1900 MHz. Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 15 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications Table 5 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 1, 4, 10 (at room temperature) Parameter Symbol Value Unit Note/Test Condition DC Voltage VCC 2.8 V DC Current ICC 8 mA Frequency Range Freq 2110 - 2170 MHz Gain G 17.5 dB Noise Figure NF 0.98 dB Input Return Loss RLin 12.9 dB Output Return Loss RLout 10.9 dB Reverse Isolation IRev 26.0 dB Input P1dB IP1dB -16.4 dBm Output P1dB OP1dB 0.1 dBm Input IP3 IIP3 -2.5 dBm Output IP3 OIP3 15.0 dBm Power @ Input: -30 dBm Stability k >1 -- Stability measured from 10MHz to 10GHz SMA and PCB losses of 0.07 dB are subtracted *This measurement is done at 2140 MHz. Table 6 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 23 (at room temperature) Parameter Symbol Value Unit Note/Test Condition DC Voltage VCC 2.8 V DC Current ICC 8 mA Frequency Range Freq 2180 - 2200 MHz Gain G 17.3 dB Noise Figure NF 1.0 dB Input Return Loss RLin 12.6 dB Output Return Loss RLout 10.8 dB Reverse Isolation IRev 26.1 dB Input P1dB IP1dB -15.9 dBm Output P1dB OP1dB 0.4 dBm Input IP3 IIP3 -2.3 dBm Output IP3 OIP3 15.0 dBm Power @ Input: -30 dBm Stability k >1 -- Stability measured from 10MHz to 10GHz SMA and PCB losses of 0.07 dB are subtracted *This measurement is done at 2190 MHz. Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 16 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications Table 7 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 40 (at room temperature) Parameter Symbol Value Unit Note/Test Condition DC Voltage VCC 2.8 V DC Current ICC 8 mA Frequency Range Freq 2300 - 2400 MHz Gain G 16.9 dB Noise Figure NF 1.0 dB Input Return Loss RLin 12.4 dB Output Return Loss RLout 10.9 dB Reverse Isolation IRev 26.2 dB Input P1dB IP1dB -15.8 dBm Output P1dB OP1dB 0.1 dBm Input IP3 IIP3 -1.4 dBm Output IP3 OIP3 15.5 dBm Power @ Input: -30 dBm Stability k >1 -- Stability measured from 10MHz to 10GHz SMA and PCB losses of 0.07 dB are subtracted *This measurement is done at 2350 MHz. Table 8 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 7, 38, 41 (at room temperature) Parameter Symbol Value Unit Note/Test Condition DC Voltage VCC 2.8 V DC Current ICC 8 mA Frequency Range Freq 2469 - 2690 MHz Gain G 16.3 dB Noise Figure NF 1.01 dB Input Return Loss RLin 12.3 dB Output Return Loss RLout 11.2 dB Reverse Isolation IRev 26.3 dB Input P1dB IP1dB -15.5 dBm Output P1dB OP1dB -0.2 dBm Input IP3 IIP3 -1.4 dBm Output IP3 OIP3 14.9 dBm Power @ Input: -30 dBm Stability k >1 -- Stability measured from 10MHz to 10GHz SMA and PCB losses of 0.09 dB are subtracted *This measurement is done at 2620 MHz. Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 17 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications Table 9 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 42 (at room temperature) Parameter Symbol Value Unit Note/Test Condition DC Voltage VCC 2.8 V DC Current ICC 8 mA Frequency Range Freq 3400 - 3600 MHz Gain G 14.4 dB Noise Figure NF 1.13 dB Input Return Loss RLin 12.0 dB Output Return Loss RLout 12.2 dB Reverse Isolation IRev 26.6 dB Input P1dB IP1dB -14.1 dBm Output P1dB OP1dB -0.7 dBm Input IP3 IIP3 0.2 dBm Output IP3 OIP3 14.6 dBm Power @ Input: -30 dBm Stability k >1 -- Stability measured from 10MHz to 10GHz SMA and PCB losses of 0.12 dB are subtracted *This measurement is done at 3500 MHz. Table 10 Summary of Measurement Results of Band 43 (at room temperature) Parameter Symbol Value Unit Note/Test Condition DC Voltage VCC 2.8 V DC Current ICC 8 mA Frequency Range Freq 3600 - 3800 MHz Gain G 14.0 dB Noise Figure NF 1.09 dB Input Return Loss RLin 12.0 dB Output Return Loss RLout 12.7 dB Reverse Isolation IRev 26.6 dB Input P1dB IP1dB -13.7 dBm Output P1dB OP1dB -0.7 dBm Input IP3 IIP3 0.3 dBm Output IP3 OIP3 14.3 dBm Power @ Input: -30 dBm Stability k >1 -- Stability measured from 10MHz to 10GHz SMA and PCB losses of 0.12 dB are subtracted *This measurement is done at 3700 MHz. Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 18 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications BFR843EL3 as Broad Band LNA for 700 MHz – 3.8 GHz LTE Applications 3.3 Schematics and Bill-of-Materials Vcc= 2.8 V All passives are “0201“ case size Inductors: LQP03T Capacitors: various J3 DC Connector I = ~8.0 mA R1 100 Ω R2 C3 39 kΩ 1 nF 33 pF L1 15 nH J1 RF Port1 INPUT C4 L2 12 nH Q1: BFR843EL3 R3 C2 10 Ω 10 pF C1 J2 RF Port2 OUTPUT 15 pF Total Component Count = 9 PCB = BFR843EL3 M130129 Layer spacing (top RF to internal ground plane): 0.2 mm Figure 5 Table 11 Inductors = 2 (LQP03T) Resistors = 3 Capacitors = 4 Schematic Diagram of the Application Circuit Bill-of-Materials Symbol Value Unit Size Manufacturer Comment C1 15 pF 0201 Various Input DC block & input matching C2 10 pF 0201 Various Output DC block & output matching C3 1 nF 0201 Various C4 33 pF 0201 Various RF decoupling / blocking cap RF decoupling & output matching L1 15 nH 0201 LQP03T Input matching & Base biasing L2 12 nH 0201 LQP03T Output matching & Collector biasing R1 100 Ω 0201 Various R2 39 kΩ 0201 Various DC biasing (provides DC negative feedback to stabilize DC operating point over temperature variation, transistor hFE variation, etc.) DC biasing R3 10 Ω 0201 Various Output matching TSLP-3-9 Infineon Technologies Q1 Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 19 / 35 BFR843EL3 SiGe:C Heterojunction Bipolar RF Transistor 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs 4 Measurement Graphs Insertion Power Gain 22 806 MHz 20.4 dB 21 20 1900 MHz 18.1 dB 19 18 2620 MHz 16.2 dB 1503 MHz 19.1 dB 17 16 3700 MHz 14 dB 2140 MHz 17.4 dB 15 14 3500 MHz 14.3 dB 13 12 500 Figure 6 1000 1500 2000 2500 Frequency (MHz) 3000 3500 4000 Power Gain of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 Reverse Isolation -20 -22 806 MHz -25.5 dB -24 1900 MHz -25.8 dB 2620 MHz -26.3 dB 3700 MHz -26.5 dB -26 1503 MHz -25.5 dB 2140 MHz -26 dB -28 3500 MHz -26.6 dB -30 500 Figure 7 1000 1500 2000 2500 Frequency (MHz) 3000 3500 4000 Reverse Isolation of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 20 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Noise Figure 2 700 MHz 1.221 NF(dB) 1.5 1503 MHz 0.9168 2140 MHz 0.9776 2620 MHz 1.011 3700 MHz 1.093 1 806 MHz 1.095 3500 MHz 1.131 1900 MHz 0.9537 0.5 0 700 Figure 8 1400 2100 2800 Frequency (MHz) 3500 3800 Noise Figure of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 Input Matching 0 -5 700 MHz -10.89 dB -10 -15 806 MHz -12.36 dB 2620 MHz -11.91 dB 1900 MHz -13.26 dB 1503 MHz -14.15 dB 3700 MHz -11.85 dB 3500 MHz -11.62 dB 2140 MHz -12.67 dB -20 500 Figure 9 1000 1500 2000 2500 Frequency (MHz) 3000 3500 4000 Input Matching of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 21 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Swp Max 4000MHz 2. 0 6 0. 0.8 1.0 Input Matching Smith 0. 4 0 3. 0 4. 10.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 2140 MHz r 1.00206 x -0.478499 2620 MHz r 0.90913 x -0.492267 .0 -2 Swp Min 500MHz -1.0 -0.8 -0 .6 0.8 0.4 0.2 0 Figure 10 700 MHz r 1.78868 x 0.110611 -3 .0 3700 MHz r 0.785577 x -0.416638 10.0 -4 .0 -5. 0 .4 -0 1503 MHz r 1.15761 x -0.400285 5.0 -10.0 0.2 2 -0. 0.6 806.1 MHz r 1.60062 x -0.184479 Input Matching of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Smith Chart) Output Matching 0 -5 1900 MHz -10.85 dB 806 MHz -13.69 dB -10 1503 MHz -11.06 dB -15 2620 MHz -10.98 dB 2140 MHz -10.86 dB 3700 MHz -12.64 dB 3500 MHz -12.16 dB 700 MHz -14.63 dB -20 500 Figure 11 1000 1500 2000 2500 Frequency (MHz) 3000 3500 4000 Output Matching of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 22 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Swp Max 4000MHz 2. 0 6 0. 0.8 1.0 Output Matching Smith 0. 4 0 3. 10.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 1503 MHz r 1.51614 x -0.499614 2140 MHz r 1.16662 x -0.624161 .0 -2 -1.0 -0.8 -0 .6 2.0 1.0 0.6 0.4 0.2 10.0 -3 .0 0 5.0 806.1 MHz r 1.37806 x 0.320511 -10.0 2621 MHz r 1.00972 x -0.591568 .4 -0 0 4. 4 .0 -5. 0 0.2 3700 MHz r 0.880875 x -0.434545 2 -0. Figure 12 0.8 700 MHz r 1.11981 x 0.381508 Swp Min 500MHz Output Matching of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Smith Chart) Stability k Factor 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 806 MHz 1.1 0.5 0 0 Figure 13 2000 4000 6000 Frequency (MHz) 8000 10000 Stability K Factor of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 23 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Stability Mu Factor 5 4 Mu2 factor Mu1 factor 3 2 1 0 100 Figure 14 2100 4100 6100 Frequency (MHz) 8100 10000 Stability Mu Factor of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 Input 1dB Compression Point_806MHz 25 Gain(dB) 20 -34.9 dBm 20.76 dB 15 -19.5 dBm 19.76 dB 10 5 0 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 Pin (dBm) Figure 15 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 806 MHz) Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 24 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Input 1dB Compression Point_1503MHz 25 Gain(dB) 20 -35 dBm 19.33 dB 15 -16.8 dBm 18.33 dB 10 5 0 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 Pin (dBm) Figure 16 Input 1dB Compression Point of Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 1503 MHz) Input 1dB Compression Point_1900MHz 25 Gain(dB) 20 15 -35 dBm 18.22 dB -16.4 dBm 17.22 dB 10 5 0 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 Pin (dBm) Figure 17 Input Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 1900 MHz) Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 25 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Input 1dB Compression Point_2140MHz 25 Gain(dB) 20 15 -35 dBm 17.59 dB -16.4 dBm 16.59 dB 10 5 0 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 Pin (dBm) Figure 18 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 2140 MHz) Input 1dB Compression Point_2620MHz 25 Gain(dB) 20 15 -35 dBm 16.36 dB -15.4 dBm 15.36 dB 10 5 0 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 Pin (dBm) Figure 19 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 2620 MHz) Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 26 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Input 1dB Compression Point_3500MHz 25 Gain(dB) 20 15 -35 dBm 14.45 dB 10 -14.1 dBm 13.45 dB 5 0 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 Pin (dBm) Figure 20 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 3500 MHz) Input 1dB Compression Point_3700MHz 25 Gain(dB) 20 15 -35 dBm 14.06 dB 10 -13.7 dBm 13.06 dB 5 0 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 Pin (dBm) Figure 21 Input 1dB Compression Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 (Measured at 3700 MHz) Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 27 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Output 3rd Order Intercept Point_806MHz 0 806 MHz -9.49 807 MHz -9.46 Power (dBm) -20 805 MHz -58.7 -40 808 MHz -64.7 -60 -80 -100 804 Figure 22 805 806 807 Frequency (MHz) 808 809 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 806 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) Output 3rd Order Intercept Point_1503MHz 0 1503 MHz -10.7 1504 MHz -10.7 Power (dBm) -20 -40 1502 MHz -64.6 1505 MHz -68.2 -60 -80 -100 1501 Figure 23 1502 1503 1504 Frequency (MHz) 1505 1506 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 1503 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 28 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Output 3rd Order Intercept Point_1900MHz 0 1900 MHz -12 Power (dBm) -20 1901 MHz -11.9 -40 1899 MHz -66.8 -60 1902 MHz -71.4 -80 -100 1898 Figure 24 1899 1900 1901 Frequency (MHz) 1902 1903 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 1900 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) Output 3rd Order Intercept Point_2140MHz 0 2140 MHz -12.7 2141 MHz -12.7 Power (dBm) -20 -40 -60 2139 MHz -68.1 2142 MHz -71.4 -80 -100 2138 Figure 25 2139 2140 2141 Frequency (MHz) 2142 2143 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 2140 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 29 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Output 3rd Order Intercept Point_2620MHz 0 2620 MHz -13.9 2621 MHz -13.9 Power (dBm) -20 -40 2619 MHz -71.5 -60 2622 MHz -73.9 -80 -100 2618 Figure 26 2619 2620 2621 Frequency (MHz) 2622 2623 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 2620 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) Output 3rd Order Intercept Point_3500MHz 0 3500 MHz -15.9 3501 MHz -15.9 Power (dBm) -20 -40 -60 3502 MHz -77 3499 MHz -76.9 -80 -100 3498 Figure 27 3499 3500 3501 Frequency (MHz) 3502 3503 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 3500 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 30 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Measurement Graphs Output 3rd Order Intercept Point_3700MHz 0 3701 MHz -16.1 3700 MHz -16.1 Power (dBm) -20 -40 -60 3699 MHz -77 3702 MHz -77.7 -80 -100 3698 Figure 28 3699 3700 3701 Frequency (MHz) 3702 3703 rd Output 3 Order Intercept Point of the Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 at 3700 MHz (LNA input power = -30 dBm) Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 31 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Evaluation Board and Layout Information 5 Evaluation Board and Layout Information Figure 29 Photo Picture of Evaluation Board for 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 Figure 30 Zoom-In of Photo Picture Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 32 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Evaluation Board and Layout Information 0.2 mm 0.1mm E BFR843EL3 C B Figure 31 Layout Proposal for RF Grounding of the 700 – 3800 MHz Broad-Band LTE LNA with BFR843EL3 Vias FR4 Core, 0.2mm Copper 35µm Figure 32 FR4 Prepreg, 0.8mm PCB Layer Information Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 33 / 35 2013-06-20 BFR843EL3 Broad-Band LNA for 700 - 3800 MHz LTE Applications Authors 6 Authors Bingqing Dai, Internship Student of Application Engineering of Business Unit “RF and Protection Devices” Shamsuddin Ahmed, Application Engineer of Business Unit “RF and Protection Devices” Application Note AN328, Rev. 1.0 34 / 35 2013-06-20 w w w . i n f i n e o n . c o m Published by Infineon Technologies AG AN328