WiSpry integrates three tuneable RF-MEMS capacitors on one chip
The firm's WS1050 provides ultra linear precision tuning of LTE devices and infrastructure antennas across a wide frequency range
WiSpry has developed the WS1050 tuneable RF capacitor, combining three individually controllable and configurable capacitors into a single chip.
The new chip reduces cost, board space and design time while improving linear performance and design flexibility. The WS1050 delivers performance equalling a fixed passive component network, the industry's highest Q, the widest impedance coverage and lowest loss, as well as the highest capacitance tuning range available.
The linear performance of the chip offers full power LTE third harmonics as low as -150dBc which is typically 30 dB better than other solutions. Support for up to eight USIDs allows for multiple tuners per system. The WS1050 is optimally suited for antenna tuning, particularly for carrier aggregation solutions.
For mobile device designers, the WS1050 allows an electrically very small and physically thin smartphone antenna to tune over a wide frequency range, eliminating the need for a separate low-band LTE (Long Term Evolution) antenna.
The single chip is a totally integrated solution, saving up to half the board space when compared to competing solutions. Design time is reduced allowing one antenna to meet regional requirements through software reconfiguration, dramatically speeding time to market. The flexible RF capacitor also future-proofs design by enabling extended frequency range operation, including the proposed 600MHz band.
As wireless networks evolve and cell deployment expands, infrastructure design engineers face challenging antenna and signal conditions. With ample linear performance and capacitance tuning range, the WS1050 enables infrastructure designers to address the most complex signal mismatch environments.
Basestation OEMs can easily tune both antennas and amplifiers, thereby enabling signal chain improvements of up to 3dB through software control instead of manual tuning. Picocells and femtocells realise improved effectiveness in electrically complex environments.
For the RF network designer, the WiSpry WS1050 offers tremendous flexibility that goes beyond antenna tuning. By providing three independently addressable, tuneable, highly accurate capacitors, the product is also ideal for measurement/test instruments, phase shifters, tuneable filters and amplifiers.
"The industry need for tuneability is becoming more clear, now that the initial handsets have cycled through the market," says Joe Madden, principal analyst with Mobile Experts. "In particular, handset OEMs need more flexibility with tuning solutions to meet the needs of multiple different LTE bands. Solutions like the WiSpry product, with multiple independent tuning elements, will give OEMs the ability to use common components in multiple handset models."
"Our customers are faced with a challenging dilemma - supporting increasingly diverse, complex global networks more effectively and in less time," says Jeff Hilbert, president and founder of WiSpry, Inc. "The WS1050 delivers the flexibility and performance of three independent RF capacitors in an easy-to-use, ultra-compact single chip solution. WiSpry's Tuneable RF leadership is evident in this product, and is the first of many new Tuneable RF products scheduled for release in the coming months."
WS1050 Technical Features and Benefits
18pf of total capacitance, each capacitor individually tuneable
Configurable in a series or shunt mode with individual pin-out for each capacitor
MEMS-based technology delivers ultra-low harmonics and intermodulation
8 hardware configurable USIDs allows for up to 8 individual tuners per bus in a mobile device
External mode control pin enables quicker power-down and less power consumption
Integrated, high-accuracy digital auto-calibration
ADS simulation models available for easier, more accurate designs
Small, industry-standard LGA package for ease of board design
