Qualcomm launches next-generation RF front-end solutions for high-performance 5G mobile terminals

Qualcomm Technologies announced the launch of its next generation Qualcomm Radio Frequency Front End (RFFE) solution for high-performance 5G mobile devices. These solutions are a combination of modems, RF transceivers, AI-assisted RF front-end components, and mmwave antenna modules designed to deliver advanced performance and power efficiency for the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X65 and X62 5G modems and RF systems, enabling end vendors to design top-of-the-line 5G devices.

The complete Qualcomm RF front-end product portfolio includes:

● 7th-generation Qualcomm Broadband Envelope Tracker (Qualcomm QET7100) : The world's first multi-mode, multi-output, multi-power amplifier (PA) broadband envelope tracking solution, supporting global 5G Sub-6GHz and LTE bands.

● Qualcomm AI-assisted signal Enhancement Technology: The world's first AI-assisted 5G adaptive antenna tuning solution, designed to improve context-based antenna performance and help terminal manufacturers cope with the growing number of antennas and frequency range required for 5G mobile terminals.

● New integrated 5G/4G power amplifier modules and diversity modules.

Christian Block, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm's RF front-end business, said: "Our advanced RF front-end solutions and complete product portfolio are uniquely positioned to address the high complexity of 5G. We provide terminal vendors with the technical capabilities they need to navigate the complexities of 5G, helping them accelerate time-to-market, improve performance, and reduce the development effort required to build 5G mobile devices at scale. Our complete modem to antenna solution delivers transformative performance improvements that enable end vendors to create stylish, industry-leading 5G devices without sacrificing performance, connectivity or battery life."

Importance of the RF front end: The RF front end is critical to designing high-performance 5G terminals that support all-day battery life. The RF front end includes numerous RF components between the modem and the terminal antenna that affect and manage all signals sent and received wirelessly. Compared to less than 20 band combinations in the early days of 4G, 5G has more than 10,000 band combinations, significantly increasing the complexity of the RF front end.

Qualcomm Technologies' modem and RF solutions address the complexity of RF front ends, helping end vendors save time on hardware integration and testing so they can focus more on industrial design and user interfaces to build better products.

The QET7100, the 7th-generation Qualcomm Broadband envelope tracker, improves energy efficiency by 30 percent compared to the power tracking technology common in competitors. The QET7100 supports the 100MHz full bandwidth of the new 5G band and also supports LTE. A single tracker can drive multiple 5G and 4G power amplifiers by supporting multiple outputs, not only supporting terminal manufacturers to design higher performance and more stylish phones without increasing the board area, but also supporting terminal manufacturers to flexibly choose power amplifiers.

Qualcomm AI-assisted signal enhancement technology introduces AI-powered 5G adaptive antenna tuning solutions. Adaptive antenna tuning helps terminal manufacturers cope with the growing number of antennas and frequency range required for 5G mobile terminals. The new solution uses AI-trained models to intelligently detect the hand position of the user holding the terminal, and dynamically tune the antenna in real time to provide an excellent 5G user experience. Ai-based detection improves context-aware accuracy by 30 percent compared to previous generation solutions, resulting in faster data rates, wider network coverage and longer battery life. Mobile operators can benefit from improved indoor network coverage due to improved RF performance, while consumers can enjoy a sleeker 5G smartphone with superior battery life, call reliability and quality, as well as superior network speed and coverage.

The new integrated 5G/4G power amplifier module (Qualcomm QPM6679) supports full 100MHz envelope tracking without an external duplex filter, improving energy efficiency and increasing transmission power for faster upload speeds and more reliable connections. In addition, the new dual-frequency diversity module (Qualcomm QDM5579) occupies a small board surface, and is the smallest size of commercial modules at present. Thanks to their advanced integration, these new modules will significantly save board area and enable terminal manufacturers to design mobile terminals with top form factors. The complete RF front-end product portfolio and modem-to-antenna solutions enable terminal vendors to quickly launch commercial terminals supporting new bands such as n53, n70 and n259 (41GHz).