Everyone is talking about the smart home but there is a lot of disagreement about what that really means. What is a connected device? What is smart? And most importantly, what do end users really need and want? Cees Links of Qorvo, a US-based semiconductor company, explains.

Is the Internet of Things just another new technology fad? If you ask tech industry professionals, consumers, media, analysts and even the vendors who make and market IoT solutions, products and services, you will discover that there is a lot of confusion about what the Internet of Things is.

A provider of innovative RF solutions that connect the world, Qorvo, has announced that its Low Power Wireless business unit (formerly GreenPeak Technologies) is the first in the industry to receive the ZigBee 3.0 certification for its smart home gateway platform. A certified ZigBee 3.0-ready platform enables software developers to quickly integrate the standard into their smart home applications.

Levarys’ new Luna Smart Home System for energy management includes ZigBee chips from Qorvo’s Low Power Wireless business (formerly GreenPeak Technologies). Qorvo’s ZigBee Green Power chips enable secure, long range and highly reliable wireless transmission of data between the gateway and multiple sensors and activators of the Luna Smart Home System. Qorvo’s ZigBee Green Power chips’ very low current draw significantl...

  Qorvo has announced that its infrastructure solutions have supported more than twenty 5G field trials with global infrastructure providers. This is a key milestone in Qorvo’s strategy to support the evolving 5G ecosystem and help accelerate the deployment of 5G.

Qorvo has unveiled three DOCSIS 3.1-ready power doubler multi-chip modules (MCMs). Qorvo’s latest power doubler MCM amplifiers provide cable broadband service providers an easy upgrade path to DOCSIS 3.1 with maximum design flexibility and functionality while conserving power and reducing board space.

In April 2016, Comcast released an interesting report, compiled from almost 1,300 US consumers, providing valuable insight into why customers are interested in smart home services, what features they really want and how they plan to use smart home technologies. The findings are detailed in "The Safe & Smart Home: Security in the Smart Home Era", which can be downloaded below.

Incorporating the GP712 radio communication controller chip from GreenPeak Technologies (now the Low Power Wireless business unit of Qorvo), a ZigBee 3.0 SDK for Smart Home gateways has been introduced by Qorvo. The SDK allows application developers to programme a GP712-equipped gateway to communicate seamlessly with various sensors, controllers and systems within today’s smart homes.

Qorvo has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held GreenPeak Technologies. The acquisition of Netherlands-based GreenPeak will allow Qorvo to expand its customer offering to include highly integrated RF solutions and SoCs for the connected home and the rapidly growing IoT.

Qorvo has added ten DOCSIS 3.1-ready reverse path amplifiers to its portfolio, enabling cable broadband service providers with the fastest data rate capabilities required for high-bandwidth content uploading. Qorvo's products for HFC and FTTH applications include the RFCA8830 and RFCA1008 reverse path power amplifiers capable of operating up to 300MHz – well beyond the current return path requirement of 204MHz.

Qorvo has announced a series of innovations intended to accelerate the deployment of high-speed CAble TV (CATV) DOCSIS 3.1 networks while providing cable designers greater flexibility in product design. Qorvo's latest Multi-Chip Module (MCM) packaging, thermal sensing pins and advanced GaN on SiC integration capabilities enable CATV product designers to lower costs, increase bandwidth and reduce board space.

Three new GaN RF transistors in low-cost plastic packages designed to enable smaller size and greater reliability in civilian marine, airborne and infrastructure radar systems were unveiled by Qorvo at European Microwave Week in Paris. The TGF2977-SM, TGF2978-SM, and TGF2979-SM are unmatched GaN transistors designed to operate in the 8-12GHz frequency band.

Qorvo has introduced RF Flex, the latest addition to its family of integrated 4G LTE RF front end solutions. Qorvo's RF Flex front end solutions offer performance and regional customisation to improve the performance and simplify the design of 4G smartphones and tablets. The first products in the RF Flex family include multi-band PA modules and transmit modules designed for the growing mid-tier segment of LTE smartphones, particularly in Chi...

Qorvo has expanded its RF Fusion family of complete RF Front End (RFFE) solutions, which combine power amplifier efficiency, filtering, duplexing and cellular switching to deliver excellent performance and enable a single scalable source for the entire cellular front end. RF Fusion has been selected to support multiple leading smartphones.

Qorvo has announced several high-performance RF filters that provide faster data throughput and longer battery life for next-gen 4G smartphones and other mobile devices. These latest additions to Qorvo's line of filters leverage the company's filter technologies to enhance the overall mobile user experience and optimise efficient use of limited spectrum.

Qorvo has announced that it has commenced volume production of the RF Fusion complete RF Front End (RFFE) solution in support of a flagship 4G smartphone from a top-five smartphone manufacturer. The flagship smartphone is expected to launch in the first half of calendar 2015.

A GaAs (Gallium Arsenide ) pHEMT (pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor) process technology, which provides higher gain/bandwidth and lower power consumption than competing semiconductor processes, has been introduced by Qorvo. The TQPHT09 is a 90nm pHEMT process that supports the company’s next-gen optical product portfolio. This process is suitable for next-gen high frequency, high performance amplifiers required for 1...

Optical transport products, designed for long haul, metro and data centre applications, have been released by Qorvo. The portfolio is comprised of three drivers and two Transimpedance Amplifiers (TIA), which deliver multi-channel and low power consumption options that reduce cost, enable outstanding channel-to-channel isolation while shrinking product form factor, and maximise integration and signal fidelity for network equipment manufacturers.&n...

TriQuint has won a new gallium nitride contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to enable a threefold increase in circuit power handing. The Near Junction Thermal Transport effort will focus on reducing heat that can limit GaN circuit capabilities in defense and commercial systems.

TriQuint Semiconductor has released three new RF SAW filters that can cost-effectively improve performance in 3G / 4G network infrastructure and legacy system applications. TriQuint is focused on bringing performance innovation to the essential building blocks of global networks. These networks are fraught with mobile data traffic demand and continued double-digit growth is expected.