TriQuint Introduces TRITIUM Duo, Smallest Dual-Band Power Amplifier Solution for 3G and 4G Smartphones

We’ve powered the world’s top smartphones with over a half billion of our single-band TRITIUM™ modules, and now the TRITIUM Duo™ is being evaluated by customers for use in next generation smartphones, said Ralph Quinsey, president and chief executive officer of TriQuint. Our broad technology portfolio has enabled us to integrate two commonly used bands in one small footprint. Not only have we simplified the RF front-end for phone designers, we have also increased performance and flexibility.

The TRITIUM Duo family shares a common 6 x 4.5mm footprint, giving designers the flexibility to support multi-band, multi-mode operations across multiple platforms. Mobile device manufacturers can capitalize on the dramatic size reductions to include more features or larger batteries in thinner, lighter form factors with all the performance needed for CDMA, 3G, and 4G networks.

TriQuint’s TRITIUM Duo family provides several key benefits to mobile device vendors:

Smallest Size, Highly Integrated
2 PAs & 2 Duplexers in a module smaller than a single-band PAD
A quad-band solution (2 TRITIUM Duos) is ~ 50mm2, half the footprint of a comparable discrete solution

Increased Flexibility
Common family footprint simplifies design, speeds overall time to market
Mix & match popular band combinations across platforms

Lower Parts Count
Replace up to 12 discrete parts with 1 PAD
Reduce BOMs: improve manufacturing & supply chain efficiency

High Performance
Optimized for each of its two bands, no switching is required after amplification – unlike configurable architectures

Significant Integration Enabled by Industry’s Broadest Technology Portfolio

The new dual-band TRITIUM Duo implements proprietary TriQuint CuFlipâ„¢ 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 integrated Flip Chip BiHEMT power amplifier die achieves industry leading current consumption to provide maximum talk-time and thermal efficiency critical for smartphone applications.

The new TRITIUM Duo also employs a wafer level packaging (WLP) technique to provide hermetic filter encapsulation for improved performance and a reduced size. In addition, the modules integrate high-performance BAW and SAW duplexer capabilities.

TriQuint will showcase its mobile device platform solutions, including the new TRITIUM Duo family, at the communications industry’s largest annual trade show, the GSMA Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain, on February 27 – March 1, 2012. The TRITIUM Duo is currently sampling, with volume production planned in June.