GRF5317 PA delivers 18dBm of wideband linear power without requiring DPD

These latest InGaP HBT amplifiers were designed specifically for 5G wireless infrastructure applications requiring exceptional native linearity over large 500MHz bandwidths and temperature extremes of -40°C to 85°C.

Spanning a frequency range of 1.5–2.0GHz, the GRF5317 is tuned to operate within the n1, n2, n3, n25, n34, n39, n65, n66, n70, n80, n84, and n86 5G new radio (NR) bands. The devices typically deliver 18dBm of linear power over the entire -40°C to 85°C temperature range while maintaining ACLR levels of better than -45dBc and IMD3 levels < -25dBm – 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.

During the development of the GRF53xx series, Guerrilla RF consulted directly with its customers to ensure the devices delivered the best blend of power and linearity, thus maximizing the effective range and throughput for their cellular systems. Guerrilla RF also designed the family of devices to be fully footprint compatible, enabling its customer base to rapidly customize their designs for a myriad of cellular frequencies.

“As the first of a new series of 0.1W linear PAs, the GRF5317 will serve our customers well as they round out their own cellular offerings,” said Ryan Pratt, CEO and founder of Guerrilla RF. “GRF now provides pin-pin compatible linear PAs that can cover the 0.1W, 0.25W and 0.5W power spectrum, giving customers the ability to simply swap in different devices to address a variety of output power scenarios. The GRF53xx series can also work in conjunction with its 0.5W cousins, serving as linear drivers for the higher power cores.”

The GRF5317 comes in a 3mm x 3mm, 16-pin QFN package.

Pricing and availability

Samples and evaluation boards are available now for the GRF5317. Prices start at $1.43 (10,000-up, EXW USA).