Infineon transceiver powers Samsung EDGE phones

Infineon Technologies AG announced that Samsung has selected Infineon's single-chip SMARTi PM CMOS RF transceiver for its new EDGE mobile phones that will be coming to the market in the second half of 2006.

According to the press release, the SMARTi PM chip reduces component count in a complete GPRS/EDGE radio by 30 percent, requiring 50 percent less board space for the RF portion of the phone than competing solutions.

Measuring 5.5-by-6.5mm², the SMARTi PM is a quad-band single-chip CMOS transceiver for GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 voice and high-performance data applications. Based on Infineon's standard I/Q interface, this chip can be combined with all major EDGE baseband chips. It provides ease-of-use and high-volume manufacturability, allowing handset manufacturers to rapidly enter the market with multiple designs based on the same platform, said the press release.

Additionally, said Infineon, the innovative small-signal polar architecture of the SMARTi PM operates with a standard power amplifier, available from multiple vendors, and eliminates the need for any isolator or extra filter components in the transmit path.

"Infineon is enabling handset manufacturers to design smaller, more feature-rich handsets with increasing levels of functionality," said Stefan Wolff, vice president and general manager of Infineon's RF engine business unit, in a statement.