Gary Lerude, MWJ Technical Editor

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Cree reported a disappointing quarter for its Wolfspeed business, which was hurt by delays in 5G infrastructure, the denial of an export license to Huawei and soft electric vehicle sales in China.

Qorvo's mobile products segment is helping validate the use of mmWave in the handset, building prototypes to demonstrate the capability and assess the effects of thermal dissipation and power efficiency. Although multiple carriers have deploying mmWave, Eric Creviston, president of the mobile segment, said mmWave in the handset has not yet been proven.

Apple reported record revenue and earnings for its December quarter, benefitting from strong demand for the iPhone 11, wearables and services. Apple said the iPhone had double-digit growth in mainland China.

Skyworks doesn't see mmWave widely adopted in 5G handsets for at least the next year, according to Liam Griffin, CEO. “A lot of our customers are not looking at it right now.”

Broadcom has negotiated two multi-year agreements to supply wireless components to Apple, complementing a similar agreement announced last June. Broadcom said the three agreements could generate revenue of some $15 billion over their three-and-a-half year lifetime.

Listen to Jim Cable, former CEO of pSemi, recount his career, the trajectory of pSemi and the state of RF silicon in this Microwave Journal podcast.

During Broadcom's Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Hock Tan classified the wireless segment as a financial asset, implying the business could be sold. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Broadcom is, indeed, seeking a buyer.

U.S. fears that Huawei is an existential threat to the security of western democracies have precipitated a series of events building a digital divide, a divide separating the communications networks using Huawei equipment from those where it is shunned. A long-term resolution will require a broad cybersecurity agreement between the U.S. and China, one based on trust and verification.

Analog Devices (ADI) is suing Xilinx for patent infringement, claiming at least two of Xilinx’s Zync UltraScale+ RFSoC products use ADI’s patented converter technology.

During MACOM’s earnings call yesterday, CEO Steve Daly reiterated MACOM’s commitment to GaN on Si technology, particularly for high volume, price sensitive, massive MIMO power amplifiers. He also said MACOM will design products with GaN on SiC, for higher power, higher frequency, military and satellite applications.