Guerrilla RF releases new ¼ W linear PAs

These InGaP HBT amplifiers were designed specifically for 5G wireless infrastructure applications requiring exceptional native linearity over large 100MHz bandwidths and temperature extremes of -40 to 105°C.

Spanning frequency ranges of 2.3-2.7GHz and 3.3-4.2GHz respectively, the GRF5526/GRF5526W and GRF5536/GRF5536W are tuned to operate within the n7, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n77, n88 and n90 5G new radio (NR) bands. The devices typically deliver 23dBm of linear power over the entire -40 to 105°C temperature range while maintaining ACLR levels of better than -45dBc and EVM levels < 1% – all without the aid of supplemental linearisation schemes like digital pre-distortion (DPD).

The ability to beat the -45dBc ACLR performance metric without DPD is critical for cellular applications like home and commercial repeaters/boosters, femtocells, and picocells, as well as cable loss compensators which are used in conjunction with automotive ‘shark fin’ antennas. In each of these use cases, the sensitivity to cost, power and size constraints prohibits the use of elaborate linearisation techniques like DPD. Instead, designers must rely on the power amplifier’s native linearity to meet the stringent emissions mask requirements imposed by the latest 5G standards.

“The GRF5526 and GRF5536 are strategic additions to our previous released ¼ W PAs,” says Jim Ahne, Guerrilla RF’s VP of Automotive and 5G Products. “With their formal introduction, we now have a complete suite of commercially available linear PAs addressing all bands targeted by our 5G and automotive customer base. The GRF5536 variants are particularly noteworthy since they capitalise on the growing popularity of the C-band – what many in the industry hail as the most attractive spectrum for 5G applications due to its ideal blend of propagation coverage and available bandwidth.”

“The new -W variants within this family are also critical additions for our automotive business,” continues Ahne. “Select variants of the GRF55xx family – including the GRF5526W and GRF5536W – are being qualified for full AEC-Q100 compliance. By the end of the summer, Guerrilla RF will have introduced multiple -W variants of its linear PAs in support of a major contract it won back in November.”

Packaging, pricing, and availability

The GRF5526, GRF5526W, GRF5536 and GRF5536W come in pin-compatible 3 x 3mm, 16-pin QFN packages. Samples and evaluation boards are available for all four components. Prices start at $1.70 for the GRF5526/36 series, and $1.95 for the ‘W’ (AEC-Q100 qualified) variants (10,000-up, EXW USA).