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UMTS/GSM 3G Mobile Phones with Longer Battery Life

8th November , 2004

US : WCDMA Module Combines Industry's Highest Power-Added Efficiency Rating, High-Output Power in Small Package Using Agilent's E-pHEMT Technology

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today introduced a power amplifier (PA) module that features the industry's best power-added efficiency (PAE), extending battery life in mobile phones by up to 30 minutes. The PA's high-output power capability reduces power losses associated with some handset designs, and its thin, compact package allows for smaller "candy bar" and "flip phone" configurations popular with today's consumers. The PA module is designed around Agilent's E-pHEMT (enhancement-mode pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor) process technology for efficiency and operates from a single-polarity power source.

The module is designed for mobile phones that use UMTS2100 (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, 2100 MHz). UMTS2100 is a third-generation (3G) standard for regions of Europe and Asia that currently use GSM mobile standards (Global System for Mobile Communications). The Agilent PA module is optimized for UMTS/GSM multi-mode handsets.

"Our highly efficient E-pHEMT power amplifier module allows handset manufacturers to offer 3G features while significantly extending battery life," said Bryan Ingram, vice president and general manager of the Wireless Semiconductor Division in Agilent's Semiconductor Products Group. "Along with our innovative FBAR filters, multicolor LEDs and infrared universal remote-control solutions, this module enhances Agilent's position as a major player in 3G mobile handset designs."

The Agilent ACPM-7881 PA module features typical PAE of 46-percent -- the industry's highest for WCDMA. Higher PAE provides increased battery life even in phones with a variety of power-consuming multimedia features. The PA's high-output power capability (+28.5 dBm) overcomes power losses involved with dual-band (UMTS/GSM), single-antenna handset designs. The extremely compact encapsulated surface-mount package is only 4 x 4 mm with a 1.1 mm thickness, currently the slimmest profile on the market.

The Agilent ACPM-7881 is fully matched to 50 ohms at both input and output and operates over the UMTS2100 1920 to 1980 MHz frequency range. It can be operated at bias levels down to 1 V to provide optimum performance even at low transmit power levels. The ACPM-7881 has excellent ACLR (adjacent channel leakage ratio) at maximum output power and low quiescent current (50 mA), and it can operate from voltages as low as 3.2 V (3.4 V optimal). Its low noise power (-141 dBm/Hz typical) while the handset is receiving signals improves a handset's ability to operate under difficult conditions.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

Samples and production quantities of the Agilent ACPM-7881 WCDMA E-pHEMT power amplifier module are available now through Agilent's direct sales channel. The price is $1.30 each in 10,000-piece quantities.

Agilent's Mobile Appliance Solutions

Agilent is a leading supplier of semiconductor solutions for today's highly integrated, feature-rich mobile handsets. In addition to E-pHEMT power amplifiers and FBAR filters that save battery life and help shrink handset size, Agilent provides CMOS imaging solutions that enable camera phones, infrared transceivers for transmitting data, surface-mount LEDs that provide backlighting styling options, proximity sensors that automate the speakerphone, and ambient light photo sensors that save battery life by controlling backlighting.

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