Freescale Introduces Plastic Packaging For High-Power RF Transistors

San Francisco -- IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium -- Freescale Semiconductor has introduced the 2 GHz high-power RF transistors housed in over-molded plastic packages that deliver performance comparable to air-cavity flange packages. The advanced devices will be based on the company's high-voltage, seventh-generation (HV7) RF Laterally Diffused Metal Oxide Semiconductor (LDMOS) technology. This technology is designed to give designers of cellular infrastructure the ability to reduce the cost of base station amplifiers, while maintaining performance requirements.

Freescale's flagship HV7 device is the MRF7S19120N available in a TO-270 WBL-4 package. The MRF7S19120N delivers a minimum of 120 W P1dB and 36 W average with typical performance anticipated to be 18 dB gain, 32 percent efficiency and -37.5 dBc linearity at PAR=6.1dB (tested with single-carrier W-CDMA signal with PAR=7.5dB @ 0.01 percent probability on CCDF). A corresponding family of 2.1GHz products is planned to be released in Q3 2006.

"Freescale is committed to complementing our air-cavity-packaged devices with cost-effective over-molded plastic models that deliver exceptional performance," said Gavin Woods, vice president and general manager of Freescale's RF Division. "Over-molded plastic-packaged devices can be much less expensive on a per unit basis than comparable devices in air-cavity packages, which provides a significant cost benefit to amplifier manufacturers. In addition, over-molded plastic devices simplify our customer's manufacturing process by enabling a more efficient automated assembly, which can contribute additional cost savings."

Freescale has manufactured over-molded plastic-packaged RF devices with parity performance up to 1 GHz for many years. However, achieving 2 GHz performance in over-molded plastic-packages identical to that of air-cavity packages requires complex design techniques and extensive work to overcome technology and materials limitations.

SOURCE: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.