Cree Inc. announces the sample release of two breakthrough gallium nitride (GaN) HEMT transistors for use in WiMAX applications covering the 4.9 to 5.8 GHz frequency band. The new transistors, CGH55015F and CGH55030F, are the first released GaN HEMT WiMAX products specified to operate at up to 5.8 GHz, a performance level that further demonstrates Cree's leadership in GaN technology.

Significant potential benefits offered by the new 15 and 30 W devices include:

• A four-fold increase in efficiency compared with similar power level GaAs MESFET devices

• Elevated frequency operation compared with commercially available silicon LDMOS

• Operational capability in the license-exempt 5.8 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band, as well as 5.3 and 5.47 GHz U-NII (Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure) bands

• Superior linearity of better than 2.5 percent EVM at average power under a WiMAX signal at 25 percent drain efficiency covering an instantaneous bandwidth of 5.5 to 5.8 GHz

Both transistors are available with "reference design" amplifier platforms.

As business and residential customers continue to demand increased capacity and functionality for wireless networks, these transistors can enable efficient power amplifiers in small base station formats (access points) for last mile service utilizing WiMAX-based architectures. Such outdoor units can allow Internet service providers to maximize their ROI on spectrum due to the ability to offer tiered services (enabled by improved quality of service and wider channel bandwidths) to hundreds of broadband users from a single access point.

"The CGH55015F and CGH55030F are two great examples of new GaN transistors Cree developed to support the higher operational frequency and stringent efficiency and linearity requirements needed to enable next generation WiMAX base stations and access points," said Jim Milligan, Cree's director of RF and microwave products. "These 5 GHz transistors compliment the CGH35060 product that we are also releasing now to round out our 3.5 GHz GaN HEMT WiMAX product line. This 60 W product is a direct result of customer feedback, and offers customers greater flexibility for 3.5 GHz WiMAX applications, particularly in Europe where remote radio heads (RRH) are increasingly being used."

For more information, visit Booth 1243.