RF Front End Challenges for 3G/4G Wireless Handsets Semicon China March 20-22, 2012 Shanghai, China Outline • Cellular Handset Markets • RF Front End Architectures • Design Challenges • Multiple Frequency Bands • Interference • High Order Modulations • Cost and Size • Future Technology Outlook An Idea that Changed the Whole World Mobile Phone Today = Mobile Internet 50 Billion Connections by 2020 Projected Cellular Device Shipments (in billions) 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Mobile Device Unit Shipments Mobile Wireless Technology Trends 4G Standards Mobile Data Anyone Anywhere Anytime Mobile Data Forecast & Frequency Band Proliferation What’s Inside Cellular RF Front Ends • • • • • RF Power Amplifiers RF Switches Receive Filters Transmit Filters Duplex Filters Mobile Data Drives RF Content $6+ 4G $4-6 3G ~$1 2G Accelerating growth in RF content New Band Challenges on Solution Size Challenges • Different standards • Different band combinations • Different mobile operators • More PAs, filters, duplexers and switches Some Solutions • Multi-mode, multi-band PA • Broad band PA • Supply modulator • APT • ET RF Architectures for Multi-Mode, Multi-Band LTE Devices 2010 - 2011 2011 - 2012 B38 & B40 WiFi/BT Coexistence? TX Post PA SAW Filters or a Low Pass Filter? Co-Existence Requirements Switches Requirements • Super High Linearity • Low Insertion Loss Increasing RF Spectral Efficiency Data Requires More Power More or Less Power? Efficiency Degradation 2.3 – 2.7GHz LTE Band Requirements Global QB LTE • • More than 45% of world’s population (i.e. China, India, USA, Russia, Japan, Europe) covered by 2.3-2.7GHz bands. • More than 1B potential customers served by those bands. Other independent research indicates that 25% of operators will use 2.32.7GHz spectrum for LTE deployments. Operator LTE deployment survey (Courtesy of GTI, Informa Telecoms & Media Ref3) Adaptable Front-Ends: Fact or Fiction? Architecture Simplification in 3G/4G Front Ends