Highly integrated 4G front end modules for handset applications — A designer´s perspective

Summary form only given. Since the first analog cellular system AMPS was commerically introduced in North America in 1978, cellular handsets have evolved from voice-centric entry phone to today´s highly sophisticated smart phones that feature unprecedented multimedia experience and enriched user services. Consequently and inevitably, more challenges and higher expectations have been imposed to the development of handset front end modules, which are required to meet not only the existing requirements in performance, size, cost and quality, but also more stringent specifications for multimode/multiband operation, more complex modulation schemes such as 4G LTE Advanced, spurious emissions due to coexistence of different wireless standard, among many others as well, with a shorter time to market. In this talk, we will share our approach and new technology applied to tackle these challenges from a RF design engineer´s perspective.