14 October 2005

PA power use cut 50%

RF Micro Devices Inc has entered the market for DC-DC converter power management components. It has commenced shipments to a tier-one handset manufacturer for use in CDMA handsets.

RFMD's DC-DC converters work with theits industry-leading power amplifiers (PAs) and reduce PA current consumption by greater than 50%t in CDMA and WCDMA applications.

Eric Creviston, corporate VP of cellular products for RF Micro Devices, said, "We are pleased to announce shipments of our DC-DC converters to a tier-one handset manufacturer. Our DC-DC converters facilitate the trend toward feature-rich, multimode 3G handsets by accommodating the higher data rates without the associated increase in current consumption.

"By reducing PA current consumption by more than 50%, our DC-DC converters help extend the battery life in CDMA and WCDMA applications, which is a top priority among handset manufacturers and consumers."

DC-DC converters expand RFMD's addressable market and increase the Company's content in wireless handsets as well as its silicon product portfolio. RFMD is the market leader in cellular PAs and is a leading supplier of cellular transceiver chipsets.

RFMD's DC-DC converters provide approximately 90% efficiency over a wide output voltage range with minimal ripple. The DC-DC converters are designed using a low-cost silicon process and packed in a low-cost 3x3mm leadless unit.