Skyworks Solutions Inc. has announced a significant milestone with the shipment of over 1 million of its SKY66318-21 power amplifiers (PAs), the industry’s first high efficiency small cell PA with a bandwidth of 200 MHz at +28 dBm. This achievement highlights Skyworks accelerating the adoption of 5G by enabling enhanced 5G connections and powering more efficient range extension for small cells. To demonstrate the benefits of this new technology, Skyworks also collaborated with Xilinx Inc. to showcase the spectral and power efficiency achievable using the SKY66318-21 PA in 5G infrastructure applications during CES 2021.
The demonstration includes Skyworks’ SKY66318-21 high-efficiency PA, Xilinx’s Crest Factor Reduction (CFR) and Digital Pre-Distortion IP along with an RF transceiver from Texas Instruments. Featuring a highly efficient, wide instantaneous bandwidth, fully input/output matched PA with high gain and linearity, the SKY66318-21 enables newly auctioned operation in both the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and the 5G C-band, making it well positioned for “carrier sharing” where multiple operators can take advantage of the opportunity to share the same equipment. The demonstration may be viewed by visiting the Skyworks CES virtual booth.
According to a November 2020 report published by Allied Market Research, the small cell 5G network industry is expected to reach $8.32 billion by 2027, registering a compound annual growth rate of 43% from 2020 to 2027. The report also notes that the rise in network densification, increase in mobile data traffic, advent of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band, and growth in investment in 5G infrastructure by several economies have driven the growth of the global small cell 5G network market.
Source: Skyworks Solutions Inc.