Qorvo® Advances C-Band Radar Front Ends with BAW-Based Frequency Agility and GaN Power

Qorvo has announced a new C-band radar solution specifically designed for pulsed electronically scanned array (ESA) systems. This innovative solution enhances receiver frequency agility while simultaneously reducing DC power consumption and heat generation within the transmit chain. It integrates an advanced C-band BAW-switched filter bank with high-efficiency 50 Watt and 200 Watt GaN power amplifiers, providing essential building blocks for C-band radar front ends.

Addressing frequency agility across the 5.2 to 5.9 GHz C-band range, Qorvo's solution overcomes traditional challenges. Historically, achieving this agility required multiple discrete filters, switches, and complex RF routing because an integrated switched filter bank was unavailable. Qorvo's QPB1055 differentiates itself by integrating BAW filtering with switching, routing, and control, enabling contiguous coverage. This integration delivers high Q, low insertion loss, and a compact size, features not achievable with discrete implementations.

For the transmit chain, Qorvo introduces the QPA2311 and QPA0018 GaN power amplifiers. Both amplifiers are engineered for high efficiency, significantly reducing DC power and heat. The 50 Watt QPA2311 achieves an impressive 55% power-added efficiency (PAE), while the 200 Watt QPA0018 eliminates the need for an external high-power driver stage, simplifying system design and further reducing power demands. These new devices, along with Qorvo's existing C-band limiters, low-noise amplifiers, switches, and driver amplifiers, expand the company's comprehensive C-band portfolio, offering radar customers robust receive and transmit building blocks backed by Qorvo's expertise in BAW, GaN, and system-level RF technologies. Samples and evaluation kits for the QPB1055, QPA2311, and QPA0018 are currently available.

Specifications

Key Features

• Designed for pulsed electronically scanned array (ESA) systems.
• Combines an integrated C-band BAW-switched filter bank with high-efficiency GaN power amplifiers.
• The QPB1055 is a 7-channel plus bypass switched filter bank, covering 5.2 to 5.9 GHz.
• The QPB1055 provides 40 dBc close-in rejection and 480 ns switching across its seven channels.
• The QPB1055 integrates BAW filtering with switching, routing, and control, offering contiguous coverage with high Q, low insertion loss, and small size.
• The QPA2311 is a 50 Watt GaN power amplifier covering 5.3 to 5.9 GHz.
• The QPA2311 delivers greater than 55% power-added efficiency (PAE) across the 5 to 6 GHz band.
• The QPA2311 reduces DC power and heat without changing the existing PA footprint.
• The QPA0018 is a 200 Watt GaN power amplifier covering 5.2 to 5.9 GHz.
• The QPA0018 is a two-stage 200 W MMIC with greater than 20 dB gain and greater than 50% efficiency across the band.
• The QPA0018 eliminates the need for an external high-power driver stage and its DC load.

Applications

• Pulsed electronically scanned array (ESA) radar systems.
• C-band radar receiver applications requiring frequency agility.
• C-band radar front ends operating across the 5.2 to 5.9 GHz range.
• Radar receiver architectures using frequency-agile reception through the QPB1055.
• Radar transmit chains requiring 50 Watt GaN power amplification with the QPA2311.
• Radar transmit chains requiring 200 Watt power amplification with the QPA0018.
• Radar front-end architectures requiring reduced DC power and heat in the transmit chain.
• Radar systems using integrated receive-and-transmit building blocks from Qorvo's C-band portfolio.

Avalibility 

Qorvo states that samples and evaluation kits for all devices are available now, including the QPB1055 C-Band Switched Filter Bank Module, QPA2811, and QPA0018 200 Watt GaN Power Amplifier. The availability announcement covers the devices introduced as part of Qorvo’s C-band radar front-end portfolio, with samples and evaluation kits available for customers now.