EDN's 19th Annual Innovation Awards Finalists

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Category: Innovator of the Year
Finalist: SE2593A front-end module design team (SiGe Semiconductor)

SiGe’s SE2593A front-end module design team overcame three primary challenges. When designing a front-end module, there is typically a trade-off to be made with regard to EVM performance and current consumption. The design team at SiGe Semiconductor wanted to overcome this trade-off as a primary objective so that the device would be capable of providing the performance required of new higher-bandwidth multimedia services without compromising battery life when integrated into portable devices. The team achieved this by leveraging their expertise in SiGe and intelligently partitioning the die to take advantage of high-quality, low-loss integrated passive IC technology.

The SE2593A was designed to replace up to 20 components and reduce solution sizes more than 50%. The team was challenged to integrate dual-band LNAs, switches, and the industries highest-power PAs in close proximity, the signals of which would typically cause interference to degrade performance. SiGe Semiconductor overcame this challenge through three primary strategies. First, the design team chose the optimal process technology (SiGe BiCMOS, GaAs, HBT, PHempt) for each function, as well as integrated passive devices to increase compactness and reduce radiated signals. Second, the team used both traditional analog design tools, such as Agilent ADS, as well as electromagnetic simulations to ensure they would overcome cross coupling. Finally, the design team used smart partitioning to optimize the layout for minimal interference.

The pulsed-mode-operation characteristic of Wi-Fi systems typically degrades performance and/or power consumption of the PA due to the bursts in activity. SiGe Semiconductor overcame this challenge by customizing the standard cell technology for the power amplification transistor to achieve optimal performance in a power amplifier application. The team at SiGe has already filed five patents covering the unique IP integrated into this RF front-end module.