TriQuint Builds Momentum with Industry's Smallest Transmit Modules, Delivering Design Flexibility for 2G / 3G / 4G Mobile Device

Design innovations have enabled cost and size breakthroughs without compromising performance, said Shane Smith, Vice President of Global Marketing for Mobile Devices. Our 2G QUANTUM Tx™ module has already made significant inroads in the GSM market. Our new 3G/4G QUANTUM Tx module pairs with our new TRITIUM Duo™ family of dual-band PA-duplexer modules to create the industry's smallest, high-performance RF solution for global 3G/4G wireless devices.

Some of the world's leading mobile handset manufacturers have selected TriQuint's new QUANTUM Tx modules, including Samsung, Huawei and ZTE. TriQuint has seen success with previous generations of its QUANTUM Tx modules; to date, more than 150 million units have shipped. We expect to ship more than 100 million QUANTUM Tx modules in the next 18 months alone, making it one of the highest volume product lines in our factory, Smith said. TriQuint increased manufacturing capacity by 40 percent in 2011 to support customer demand for its growing mobile device portfolio.

Shipping in volume since mid-2011, TriQuint's 2G (GSM) QUANTUM Tx module, TQM6M4068, offers phone designers full GaAs HBT performance and a small size to enable flexible designs. At 5x6mm, the TQM6M4068 is the industry's smallest Tx module and won Best Product in the 2011 EDN China Innovation Award program for the communications and networks front-end category. Approved for MediaTek's chipset reference design, the new product has been chosen for many new 2G phone platforms. Close to 1.5 billion GSM based phones will be produced this year, said Neil Shah, an analyst with research firm Strategy Analytics. Virtually all 3G and 4G capable phones incorporate 2G access technology, and 2G remains the dominant wireless communication technology in many areas of the world.

Shipping in volume since January 2012, TriQuint's TQM6M9069 QUANTUM Tx module features the same small 5x6 mm footprint, making it the smallest 3G/4G transmit module in the market. This new part simplifies mobile device design and showcases TriQuint's strength in integration, since it includes a GSM/GPRS power amplifier and WCDMA antenna switch. TriQuint plans to expand the QUANTUM Tx module family in the months ahead with product solutions that incorporate additional switch ports to support more frequency bands.

Technical Details
The QUANTUM Tx transmit modules implement proprietary TriQuint CuFlip™ technology to replace wire bonds with copper bumps; this saves board real estate and enables superior system performance by eliminating noise-radiating wires. The copper bumps also dissipate heat better than traditional interconnect techniques. The QUANTUM Tx modules offer improved system efficiency and full RF transmit functionality in a compact size of only 30 mm².