RF front-end component maker and foundry services provider TriQuint Semiconductor Inc of Hillsboro, OR, USA says that its filtering solutions and multi-band, multi-mode PA modules (MMPAs) for LTE smartphones have captured 18 reference design wins with all six major chipset providers in Greater China.
"Our high-performance filters and MMPAs have earned a spot on 18 new reference designs in Greater China," says Todd DeBonis, VP of global sales & strategic development. "TriQuint is proud to collaborate with chipset suppliers and OEMs in this key market to accelerate the next generation of RF and solve wireless 4G coexistence challenges," he adds.
Engineers developing consumer devices in China and Taiwan rely heavily on reference designs from chipset providers such as MediaTek. These technical blueprints give OEMs a proven solution, reducing risk significantly, shortening design cycles and speeding time to market, says TriQuint. This is a crucial advantage for Chinese smartphone makers who are expanding beyond their own borders into the hyper-competitive global market, the firm adds.
"As Chinese consumers move to data-enabled smartphones and LTE band counts increase, TriQuint's premium filters are playing a crucial role in solving the most challenging interference issues in today's crowded RF spectrum," comments MT Hsieh, technical director of MediaTek's Smartphone business unit. "We selected TriQuint's advanced bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters not only for their superior performance, but also knowing we could count on TriQuint's high-volume manufacturing capacity to assure supply as we pursue a bigger share of the global market."
MediaTek, which provides systems-on-a-chip products for wireless communications and home entertainment, overtook Intel in 2013 to capture the number two spot in the 3G UMTS baseband market, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics. Its recent LTE chip announcements signal its intention to drive 4G baseband market share and revenues around the globe.
In addition to reference design wins, TriQuint's filters and MMPAs have scored multiple design wins for high-volume 4G smartphones in China (the world's largest single smartphone market). Sales there soared more than 85% last year, according to market research firm Gartner. TriQuint is also benefiting from the build-out of 4G network infrastructure in China with increased sales of its base stations and other communications products. Analysts forecast that more than 400,000 Chinese 4G LTE base-stations will be deployed in 2014 alone.
