KCB unveils breakthrough envelope tracking technology
The firm's latest products are aimed at the emerging medium power RF transmitter market
KCB Signal Solutions has developed a new Envelope Tracking (ET) product line.
The series will be aimed at RF transmitters that must deal with complex waveforms, such as LTE, while transmitting between two to eight watts of average RF power.
"We were aware that multiple applications in commercial and military markets in this power class were highly interested in Envelope Tracking solutions but weren't being served by ET suppliers involved in smartphone solutions," comments KCB Signal Solutions President Dave McIntosh.
The product line has been designed from the beginning to be easily scalable due to the wide range of waveforms and output power levels it will address. The first two variants are designed to work with 28V or 48V RF Power transistors with other voltage options to come in future. The overall form factor is also a key factor for this product and the footprint should be two square inches or less depending on customer features.
McIntosh comments on the form factor by saying, "There are a number of critical circuits that had to be developed in order to meet our performance and form factor goals. One of the key circuits was developed through a collaboration with Analog Devices, Inc on their ADA4870 amplifier. ADI's ADA4870 is an exciting new device and its ability to efficiently work with our high-speed current and voltage waveforms is very impressive."
KCB Signal Solutions is delivering engineering samples to its alpha customers in 1Q 2014. Samples for the general market will become available in 3Q 2014 and volume production support will begin in 4Q 2014.
