MixComm Announces 39GHz SUMMIT 3741 5G Front End IC

By Tiera Oliver

Associate Editor

Embedded Computing Design

June 03, 2021

News

MixComm Announces 39GHz SUMMIT 3741 5G Front End IC

MixComm announced the latest addition to its portfolio of Front End ICs for 5G mmWave.

The SUMMIT 3741 integrates power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, T/R switching, beamformers, calibration, gain control, beam table memory, temperature and power telemetry, and high-speed SPI control for a front-end module with optimal partitioning for 5G infrastructure. The device is suitable for Antenna-in-Package (AiP) implementations, as well as conventional chip-on-board integration through the use of interposers. According to the company, SUMMIT 3741 also features digital integration enabled by the GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) 45RFSOI process, which has advantages over other semiconductor technologies for mmWave applications.

MixComm SUMMIT 3741 product highlights:

  • Operation from 37 GHz to 41 GHz
  • Four-element dual-polarization TX/RX
  • Independent dual-polarization beam directions
  • Ultra-low TX- and RX-mode power consumption
  • High-power, high efficiency stacked SOI CMOS PAs
  • Low-loss T/R switch for TDD support
  • 6-bit full-360o phase shifting and 0.5dB-step 16dB- range variable gain in each path
  • Fully calibrated for gain/phase matching Across ICs
  • On-chip temperature sensor
  • Gain control for temperature compensation
  • On-chip power sensor for each TX
  • Operates from 1V, 1.8V and 4V power supplies
  • 100MHz SPI with 2048-entry on-chip beam table storage
  • 6-/8-bit chip ID with multiple modes of programming
  • Flip-chip die with 75μm bump size and 200μm bump pitch

Like the SUMMIT 2629, which has been shipping to customers since 4Q 2020, the SUMMIT 3741 has been designed to address the critical challenges that currently constrain 5G mmWave success, by:
1) Extending range to decrease carrier cost and improve customer satisfaction,
2) Reducing thermal and electrical power consumption budgets, and
3) Optimize antenna arrays to reduce module cost.

These benefits make the MixComm solutions suitable for 5G infrastructure ranging from gNodeB base stations and repeaters to customer premise equipment. The architecture and low power operation are also designed to enable 5G hotspots and other user equipment demanding long battery life and sleek form factors.

The Summit 3741 debut follows MixComm’s recent announcements including being the first mmWave company selected to join the 5G Open Innovation Lab and being named the Broadband Innovation of the Year by the 2020 Mobile Breakthrough Awards. MixComm also recently co-hosted the inaugural mmWave Summit with Microwave Journal and was selected by DARPA to develop next generation mmWave innovations for 5G and satellite communications.

The SUMMIT 3741 will be available for sample in early Q3, 2021. MixComm will showcase the Summit 3741 and its other products and technology at the upcoming International Microwave Symposium being held in Atlanta, GA, June 8-9. MixComm will exhibit in booths #1028 and #1221.

For more information, visit: http://www.mixcomm.com.

Tiera Oliver, Associate Editor for Embedded Computing Design, is responsible for web content edits, product news, and constructing stories. She also assists with newsletter updates as well as contributing and editing content for ECD podcasts and the ECD YouTube channel. Before working at ECD, Tiera graduated from Northern Arizona University where she received her B.S. in journalism and political science and worked as a news reporter for the university’s student led newspaper, The Lumberjack.

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