Optimising Power Efficiency in Handset Amplifiers
Nujira’s Coolteq™.L was launched at the Mobile World Congress in February 2009 as a highly compact and efficient 4G (LTE and WiMAX) handset RF power amplifier extending its successful High Accuracy Tracking (HAT™) technology from the base station to the terminal.
Originally developed for the cellular and digital broadcast infrastructure markets, Nujira Coolteq power modulators for 3G, LTE Digital TV, DVB and WiMAX broadband radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers provide the technology to support flexible, power-efficient, smaller, cheaper base stations and transmitters.
"We were already aware of their strong reputation. We were impressed by their knowledge of our space and we felt confident that they could partner with us to develop an effective solution around some very advanced technologies.”
Nujira will market Coolteq.L to existing providers of 4G terminal RF and baseband silicon as Intellectual Property (IP). However, to allow prospective silicon partners to evaluate the potential and performance of its technology and to help them develop their solutions, it decided to implement Coolteq.L as a test chip. To complement the chip, it required the development of a breadboard to interface its device to its customers’ RF power management system. As its design resources were already fully allocated to the development of Coolteq.L itself, it made a decision to outsource this part of the project.
Commenting on the decision to use Sentec for this part of the programme, Julian Hildersley, VP of Handset Development at Nujira, said:” When we were weighing up proposals from the companies that had pitched to us, a key requirement for us was to find a partner with an excellent technical understanding of the drivers behind our market and products that would enable them to hit the ground running. A member of our team had established a good working relationship with Sentec while in a previous position, so we were already aware of their strong reputation. We were impressed by their knowledge of our space and we felt confident that they could partner with us to develop an effective solution around some very advanced technologies.”
Initial discussions were opened up between Sentec and Nujira early in 2009, with the project beginning in earnest towards the middle of the year. Sentec worked with Nujira to develop prototypes for a mobile phone power supply based on Nujira’s intellectual property. In extending its existing technology to the handset, Nujira is working in partnership with established RF subsystem vendors to enable the design of cost-effective multi-mode, multi-band handsets with extended battery life.
Following the development of the prototypes, Sentec focused on in-depth testing and modelling of the system, which was completed in November. The project included power supply development, control system design (including analogue and digital design), PCB layout and initial testing.
Matthew Storkey from Sentec says: “From the very start of the project, Nujira ensured we were working to a very clear brief, so we had an excellent understanding of their requirements. This meant that we were able to deliver exactly what they needed from us.”
Results
After a short project of just three months, Sentec delivered a prototype system, hardware and firmware, which is now being extensively tested and used as a starting point for discussions with potential partners.
Since the project began, Nujira has already seen concrete interest in its technology from top handset manufacturers, and a major global OEM - one of the world’s top five handset makers - has signed a purchase agreement for its Coolteq™.L handset development platform.
Kevin Burden, Director of Mobile Device at ABI Research, underlined the need for Nujira’s technology, saying: “Power efficiency of 4G handsets is a significant hurdle that device manufacturers will need to overcome. The RF transmission designs of 4G standards are inherently less power-efficient than those of even power-hungry 3G standards and because different 4G frequencies are being licensed around the world, global coverage will be difficult to achieve without better power efficiency.” He adds that battery life issues can be further complicated by the faster uplink speeds of the new services, “especially those with ‘always on’ connections.”
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