There is good news again, the domestic 5G L-PAMiD RF front-end module has achieved mass production.
The RF front end is the core component of a mobile phone, which plays the role of transmitting and receiving RF signals, and is mainly composed of PA (power amplifier), Switch (switch), LNA (low noise amplifier) and Filter (filter).
There are two types of RF front-ends, which are discrete solutions and modular solutions.
In the 3G and 4G era, because there was no need to cover too many frequency bands, a discrete scheme was generally adopted in that period. But in 2019, the 5G era is coming, mobile phones need to support more frequency bands, and the RF front end is becoming more and more complex. At this time, the discrete solution cannot meet the needs of high integration and high performance to a certain extent, and the modular solution ushered in the opportunity.
5G RF front-end module scheme, after several years of development, according to the different integration methods, the main collector antenna RF link can be divided into: FEMiD (integrated RF switch, filter and duplexer), PAMiD (integrated multi-mode multi-band PA and FEMiD), LPAMiD (LNA, integrated multi-mode multi-band PA and FEMiD) and so on. Diversity antenna RF links can be divided into: DiFEM (Integrated RF Switches and Filters), LFEM (Integrated RF Switches, Low Noise Amplifiers and Filters), and so on.
Previously, domestic manufacturers have mass-produced 5G RF front-end modules such as L-PAMiF, L-FEM, LNA BANK, MMMB, TxM and so on, while L-PAMiD has not yet made a breakthrough by domestic manufacturers.
The 5G L-PAMiD module integrates power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, couplers, RF switches, filters, dual/multiplexers and other components, which can not only support the transmission and reception needs of 5G bands, but also be backward compatible with the transmission and reception needs of 4G, 3G and 2G frequency bands, and support the 5G+4G dual connection requirements of most frequency bands.
Foreign giants, such as Scarstar, Broadcom, QORVO and other companies, have mass-produced 5G L-PAMiD modules as early as 2021. At the same time, the mainland is one of the world's largest mobile phone producers and consumers, which shows that we have been heavily dependent on imports and subject to people on this core component. Like Huawei, which has the best 5G technology, it can only produce 4G mobile phones, but also because it is limited by the United States in terms of 5G RF front-end.
So the good news this time comes from Vectron.
As an integrated circuit design enterprise focusing on the research and development, design and sales of RF front-end chips, it mainly provides integrated circuit products such as RF power amplifier modules, RF switch chips, Wi-Fi RF front-end modules and receiver modules, which can be widely used in smart phones, tablet computers, wireless routers, smart wearable devices and other terminal products with wireless communication functions.
In terms of 5G products, Victronix has been deeply engaged for more than ten years, and has the mass production capacity of 2G to 5G RF power amplifier module products, and related products have been widely used in Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo and other brands, as well as leading ODM manufacturers such as Huaqin Communication, Longqi Technology, Wingtech Technology, etc., and have established long-term and stable service and cooperative relations, which shows that its technical strength is very strong.
A few days ago, Vecton said on the interactive platform that the company's L-PAMiD chips have entered the mass production stage and have passed the verification of a number of brand customers, and are expected to achieve large-scale shipments this year.
This news also means that Continental has achieved a real breakthrough in 5G L-PAMiD modules, not just in the laboratory, which is also the most exciting place.
Then, as mentioned earlier, the RF front-end market concentration is high and highly monopolized by the United States and Japan and other manufacturers, according to Yole's statistics, in 2020, the world's top five RF front-end device manufacturers occupy 80% of the global market share, showing a dominant pattern of American and Japanese manufacturers, and the mainland has a high degree of foreign dependence.
With the mass delivery of domestic 5G L-PAMiD modules, this situation may begin to be broken, and the localization of RF front-end substitution will continue to accelerate, ushering in broad development opportunities.
Practice once again proves that there is no problem in making chips, Chinese and if you want to cut China's leeks in the semiconductor field, or even suppress China, you may be able to succeed for a while, but it is definitely not a lifetime. Again, there is not much time left for foreign companies.