First 3G RF power amp in CMOS

A US startup has developed the first 3G RF power amplifier in CMOS, bringing down the power and cost of portable multimedia equipment.

Black Sand Technologies in Austin, Texas, specializes in advanced power amplifier technology for wireless applications and has just raised $10m in a second round of funding, bringing the total investment to $18m. Its proprietary CMOS PA architecture offers a breakthrough in combined performance, cost, battery life, and reliability for mobile devices such as mobile phones and datacards, and Black Sand will use the funding to bring its power amplifiers into mass production and accelerate development of additional products.
The PA products are targeted at mobile phones and other 3G wireless devices, such as datacards and netbooks. Over time CMOS has replaced GaAs technology in many other applications from audio chips to DVD decoders. However, CMOS does not lend itself easily to use in power amplifiers, so a revolutionary architecture was required.

"By leveraging our breakthrough PA architecture, Black Sand, as the first company to deliver 3G PAs in CMOS, is ready to capitalize on the historic shift from GaAs to CMOS, and benefit from the explosion in demand for new 3G devices appearing on the market today,"

said John Diehl, CEO of Black Sand Technologies.

"The RF front end of mobile phones is continuing to grow in complexity and with the development of linear, 3G CMOS PA technology, enabling advances such as integrated digital control circuits, Black Sand is in a unique position to profit from this technological shift as the market moves from 2G to 3G," added Brian Modoff, Senior Wireless Equipment Analyst at Deutsche Bank.

Diehl was co-founder and CEO of PrairieComm, developing baseband processors and protocol software for 2G and 3G cellular handsets, and before joining Black Sand, he was director of strategic business development for Freescale Semiconductor’s Wireless and Mobile Solutions Group. He took over from Black Sand co-founder and acting CEO Dave Pietruszynski in September 2007, with Pietruszynski staying as vice president of engineering.