News | June 20, 2012

Freescale Bolsters Land Mobile Portfolio With Three LDMOS Power Amplifiers

Source: Freescale Semiconductor

Airfast RF amplifiers take ruggedness, gain and stability to new levels for land mobile radio applications

Freescale Semiconductor has introduced three RF power amplifiers that deliver the industry’s highest levels of ruggedness, stability and gain for land mobile applications. The LDMOS power amplifiers are the newest additions to Freescale’s rapidly expanding portfolio of Airfast RF power products, and are engineered to perform flawlessly in extreme operating conditions.

The new AFT05MS031N, AFT09MS031N and AFT05MP075N products are suitable for use in mobile VHF and UHF transceivers used in public safety, professional mobile radio and other harsh machine-to-machine communications environments. The Airfast products are designed to survive >65:1 VSWR even with simultaneous over voltage and overdrive stressing the amplifier and its RF power transistors. The devices integrate much of the circuitry required to maintain stability, thereby simplifying design and supporting stability under a wide range of operation conditions.

Engineered for 12V nominal mobile operation at frequencies between 136 - 941 MHz, the Airfast devices are designed to remain stable while delivering rated performance over the breadth of their operating frequency ranges. Stability testing is conducted using multiple voltages, drive levels and temperatures into a VSWR of 3:1.

“Building on our 50-year history of RF technology development, Freescale continues its track record of delivering land mobile solutions that lead the industry in ruggedness, performance and gain,” said Ritu Favre, vice president and general manager of Freescale’s RF Division. “These new Airfast power amplifiers provide radio designers what they need to differentiate and win in land mobile markets.”

Unlike inflexible RF power amplifier modules, these discrete products combine ease-of-use and cost-efficiency without sacrificing perfor­mance. The Airfast devices ship with comprehensive reference designs and require only a few inductors and capaci­tors to complete the design. The result is a more cost-efficient ampli­fier that delivers higher perfor­mance within the same footprint as competitive module-based solutions. In addition, the efficiency of the Airfast devices is typically 65 percent or greater than competitive modules, which commonly range in efficiency from 25 to 40 percent.

Other features contributing to the cost-efficiency of the new Airfast products include: optimized system reliability for lower maintenance costs; elevated power gain resulting in fewer stages and improved stability; and high efficiency across a wide frequency range for simplified cooling and smaller radios.

Product specifications
The new Airfast devices operate from a nominal 12.5-VDC supply and have integrat­ed ESD protection for increased resistance to stray voltage dur­ing assembly and optimal perfor­mance when operated in Class C mode.

AFT05MS031N

  • 136-520 MHz
  • Ruggedness >65:1 VSWR
  • > 31W output power
  • High gain – less then .5W drive for rated output power
  • 2 lead over-molded plastic package (TO-270); surface mount option (GN)

AFT09MS031N

  • 764-941 MHz
  • Ruggedness >65:1 VSWR
  • > 31W output power
  • High gain – less then 0.6W drive for rated output power
  • 2 lead over-molded plastic package (TO-270); surface mount option (GN)

AFT05MP075N

  • 136-520 MHz
  • Ruggedness >65:1 VSWR
  • > 75W output power
  • High gain – less then 1W drive for rated output power
  • 4 lead over-molded plastic package (TO-270WB-4)

Availability
The AFT05MS031N and AFT09MS031N 31W devices are now in production. The AFT05MP075 75W device is expected to be in production in the fourth quar­ter of 2012. Reference designs and other support tools are available to designers. For more information on Freescale RF power LDMOS solutions, please visit www.freescale.com/RFpower.

About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in embedded processing solutions, providing industry-leading products that are advancing the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. From microprocessors and microcontrollers to sensors, analog integrated circuits and connectivity – our technologies are the foundation for the innovations that make our world greener, safer, healthier and more connected. Some of our key applications and end-markets include automotive safety, hybrid and all-electric vehicles, next generation wireless infrastructure, smart energy management, portable medical devices, consumer appliances and smart mobile devices. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world. For more information, visit www.freescale.com.

SOURCE: Freescale Semiconductor