news digest ♦ Telecoms
The aim is to develop a highly efficient 20W X-band GaN power amplifier MMIC for use in long range RF telecommunications.
Since 2005, Nitronex has won 16 government contract awards that have funded the development of materials, devices, discretes, MMICs, and process technologies, as well as manufacturing maturation.
This is the third X- or Ka- Band contract awarded to Nitronex, further enhancing Nitronex’s GaN-on-Silicon power amplifier technology.
GaN has much higher power density than incumbent GaAs technologies, allowing MMIC designers to achieve higher output power and higher system efficiency. This allows system engineers to increase transmit power and reduce associated thermal and power management overhead, lowering size, weight, and power consumption (SWAP).
Nitronex says GaN-on-Silicon technology has several performance advantages over competing GaN-on-SiC offerings. GaN-on-Silicon HEMTs have industry-leading thermal performance using 2mm thick substrates, which have very low thru-wafer source inductance. GaN-on-SiC-based HEMTs have optimum thermal performance with substrates around 4mm thick, but this results in higher thru-wafer source inductance, reducing amplifier gain.
What’s more, silicon substrates can use thermally superior gold-silicon (AuSi) die attach rather than other methods required by non-silicon substrates.
Nitronex uses industry standard ultra-low loss semi-insulating silicon substrates having 0.05dB/mm loss at 10GHz for a 50Ω transmission line, similar to that of GaAs, which is used upto frequencies significantly higher than even Ka band. Reuse of the silicon industry’s mature supply chain results in manufacturing and cost advantages versus SiC-based technology.
“GaN-on-Silicon has inherent performance, reliability, manufacturing and cost advantages, especially when used for MMICs, which have large die sizes. We believe GaN-on-Silicon is an enabling technology for high-performance, high-reliability, and cost effective MMIC products.” says Ray Crampton, VP of Engineering. “Leveraging our standard NRF1 production- qualified process with over 650,000 production devices shipped, our 0.25 micron gate process platform has no known limitations compared to competing GaN technologies for X- and Ka- band applications.
Skyworks soars exceeding revenue guidance
The company expects sequential growth in the current quarter to be driven by LTE and smartphone program ramps as well as increasing traction in adjacent high performance analogue applications
Skyworks Solutions has reported second fiscal quarter 2012 results.
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www.compoundsemiconductor.net April/May 2012
Revenue for the quarter was $364.7 million, up 12 percent when compared to revenue of $325.4 million in the second fiscal quarter of 2011 and exceeding the company’s guidance of $360.0 million.
The company did not do as well as last year in terms of operating and net incomes, though.
On a GAAP basis, operating income for the second fiscal quarter of 2012 was $43.8 million and diluted earnings per share was $0.18. For the same period last year, operating income was recorded as $68.1 million.
Net income dropped from $50 million in Q2 FY2011 to $34 million in Q2 FY2012.
The firm generated $117 million of cash flow from operations, retired convertible bonds and achieved a debt-free balance sheet.
“Skyworks continues to outperform our addressable markets through diversification, content growth and market share gains,” said David J. Aldrich, president and chief executive officer of Skyworks. “At the highest level, we’re capitalising on the mobile Internet and demand for ubiquitous connectivity by solving our customers’ size, performance, complexity and battery life challenges.”
“As a result, Skyworks is at the heart of the world’s most popular smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks and e-readers as well as within the supporting network infrastructure. Looking forward, based on recent design win momentum and the depth of our product pipeline, we’re well positioned to deliver accelerating growth,” he concluded.
Third Fiscal Quarter 2012 Outlook
“We expect both top and bottom line sequential growth in the current quarter driven by LTE and smartphone program ramps as well as increasing traction in adjacent high performance analogue applications,” said Donald W. Palette, vice president and chief financial officer of Skyworks. “Specifically, we expect revenue of $383 million.”
Conference Call Comments In a conference call hosted by the company, Palette said,
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