Aug 28 2014
RFaxis, Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company focused on developing innovative, next-generation RF solutions for the wireless connectivity and cellular mobility markets, today announced that it will be offering its entire product line of pure-CMOS, single-chip / single-die RF Front-end ICs (RFeICs) in bare die form, enabling its customers to further reduce the size and bill of materials (BOM) cost of wireless products for both the Wi-Fi and Internet of Things (IoT) markets.
RFaxis has been in mass production of its RFeICs mostly in industry-standard Quad Flat No-Lead (QFN) packages that range from 3x3mm to 1.6x1.6mm in size. These RFeICs serve a wide spectrum of the fast-growing wireless industry, including IEEE 802.11b/g/a/n/ac WLAN, 802.15.4 / ZigBee, Bluetooth / Bluetooth Low Energy, wireless audio / video, home automation, smart energy, and many emerging applications for the IoT.
Based on the company's patented single-chip / single-die RF architecture, these RFeICs provide state-of-the-art performance to guarantee robust RF link for wireless devices, at an ultra-low price.
"By offering customers a complete RF front-end in bare die form, we have set the stage to redefine the landscape of RF for the wireless industry yet again," said Mike Neshat, RFaxis' chairman and CEO. "RFaxis is the only company that is shipping pure-CMOS RF front-end solutions with uncompromised performance at utterly disruptive pricing. By gaining access to bare die, our ODM/OEM customers, specifically our module partners, will be able to offer more compact solutions at much lower costs to their end customers."
"The target markets for our RFeICs continue to grow explosively, with Wi-Fi shipments projected to exceed three billion units annually by 2017, and the IoT market to reach at least 50 billion units annually by 2020. Some industry experts forecast that the unit cost of IoT sensor nodes will be nearing the $1 range in order to make them ubiquitous, leaving little room for costly semiconductor components such as GaAs or SiGe. With our pure-CMOS bare die solutions, we offer the industry the much sought-after ultimate solution in terms of size, performance and cost," Neshat concluded.
Technical Highlights
Traditionally, the RF front-end, which typically includes the power amplifier (PA) to increase transmission distance, the low noise amplifier (LNA) to optimize receive sensitivity, and the antenna switch, has been implemented by stitching together several discrete ICs onto a dielectric substrate or package lead-frame, forming the so-called RF front-end module (FEM). RFaxis took a major departure from this conventional practice. Using its patented technology, RFaxis provides the same functionality and performance of traditional FEMs from competitors, with one single-chip / single-die device, fabricated in industry-standard CMOS process.
By offering its RFeIC products in bare die form, RFaxis has taken a quantum leap to redefine the cost-size-performance standards of RF front-end solutions for the wireless industry. The extremely rugged designs of the RFaxis RFeICs, including robust ESD and high yield rate, guarantee successful integration of our bare die with other RF transceivers / SoCs into SiP (System-in-Package) or other forms of wireless modules. As an example, the RFX1010, a sub-GHz ZigBee/ISM RFeIC that integrates a half-watt PA, LNA and antenna switch on a single die in standard 0.18um CMOS process, is an integral part of an MCM offered by one of our transceiver partners which has enabled the industry's highest-performance sub-GHz solution with +27dBm transmit power. The RFX1010 has passed the most rigorous qualification process required for industrial-grade applications such as water and gas meters.