New Positive Gain Slope LNA, Wideband LNA, VGA and Four Directional Detectors Add to Functionality of Miniature Chip Scale Package Amplifiers

SAN JOSE, Calif. & SINGAPORE — (BUSINESS WIRE) — May 12, 2011 — Avago Technologies (NASDAQ: AVGO), a leading supplier of analog interface components for communications, industrial and consumer applications, today announced additions to its family of the market’s smallest RF amplifiers. The new VMMK-3xxx amplifiers leverage Avago WaferCap chip scale packaging (CSP) technology to offer an ultra-small footprint of 1.0 by 0.5 by 0.25 mm. The amplifiers bring a host of new functionality to the existing Avago VMMK-1xxx and VMMK-2xxx families, including a positive gain slope low-noise amplifier (LNA), a wideband LNA, a variable gain amplifier (VGA), and four directional detectors.

With miniature 0402 package dimensions and no wirebonds, the VMMK-3xxx amplifiers experience almost no signal loss and minimal parasitics. The devices take up 5 percent of the volume and uses only 10 percent of the board area of solutions using a standard SOT-343 package. In some cases, the miniature amplifiers can effectively reduce PCB area by more than 50 percent. The ultra-small package size and fully-matched surface mount design are optimized for 500 MHz to 12 GHz frequencies, making the high-performance devices ideal for a variety of radio architectures and space-constrained applications. The VMMK-3xxx LNAs and VGA can be used in UWB, WLAN, WiMAX, generic IF amp and gain block applications, while the new detectors can be used in base stations, point-to-point radios and generic power control loop detectors, as well as for monitoring power amplifier output.

The VMMK-3xxx family supports full surface mount capability, requiring no special tooling for assembly. The amplifiers have all I/Os routed to the backside of the device wafer through via-holes, resulting in RF transitions suffering almost no signal loss and minimal parasitics. This is a significant improvement over conventional plastic packages where bond-wires exhibit substantial parasitics that limit the operating frequency. The miniature amplifier family provides high gain, a high third-order intercept point (IP3) for good linearity, low noise figure (NF) and integrated 50-ohm input and output matching networks to simplify system design.

The VMMK-3xxx family includes:

U.S. Pricing and Availability

The VMMK-3xxx amplifiers are priced starting at $2.00 each in 1,000 piece quantities. Samples and production quantities are available now through the Avago direct sales channel and via worldwide distribution partners.

About Avago Technologies

Avago Technologies is a leading supplier of analog interface components for communications, industrial and consumer applications. By leveraging its core competencies in III-V compound and silicon semiconductor design and processing, the company provides an extensive range of analog, mixed signal and optoelectronics components and subsystems to approximately 40,000 end customers. Backed by strong customer service support, the company's products serve four diverse end markets: wireless communications, wired infrastructure, industrial and automotive electronics, and consumer and computing peripherals. Avago has a global employee presence and heritage of technical innovation dating back nearly 50 years to its Hewlett-Packard roots. Information about Avago is available on the Web at www.avagotech.com . 1 | 2  Next Page »  Be the first to review this article