As a S&P 500 company, Qorvo is known for its position in the RF industry. Building on this foundation, Qorvo's product line spans antennas, filters, UWB, pressure sensing and power management, which play an important role in mobile devices, automobiles, base stations, data centers, smart homes and IoT devices. To date, Qorvo employs 8,500 people worldwide and generated revenue of $3.6 billion last fiscal year. At a media day in Beijing with the theme of "Spring as a Prelude, Everything is More 'Core'", three Qorvo experts and other media shared their innovative power and market insights in Wi-Fi 7, BMS and Sensor Fusion, and showcased innovations in multiple areas.
Meet the challenges of the Wi-Fi 7 RF front-end and enable efficient connectivity
Based on technologies such as Wi-Fi 7, Matter, and ultra-wideband (UWB), Qorvo is currently addressing the smart home market by developing connected products and devices for smart home automation, secure access, and adaptive experiences. As the next-generation wireless communication technology standard, Wi-Fi 7 introduces a number of breakthrough technologies such as 320MHz bandwidth, multi-link operation (MLO), 4096-order quadrature amplitude modulation (4K QAM), and flexible channel selection, which will bring higher data transmission rates, lower latency, and stronger network connection stability, providing users with a smoother and more efficient network experience. However, Wi-Fi 7 has brought many technological breakthroughs, but it also places higher demands on the RF front-end, such as the need for more front-end modules, EVM of at least -47dB, digital predistortion compatibility (DPD) compatibility, efficient use of discontinuous spectrum, and enhanced filtering performance to improve signal isolation. "Qorvo's use of the Non-Linear FEM+DPD solution not only solves the EVM problem, but also delivers significant improvements in power efficiency, such as the tri-band 12-stream router using Qorvo's nonlinear FEM, which is expected to save approximately 6 watts of power," said Jeff Lin, senior marketing manager, Qorvo's Wireless Connectivity Business Unit, Asia Pacific. In addition, Qorvo offers a range of filters for Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 that are specifically designed for different radio bands, from U-NII-1 to U-NII-8. ”
Jeff Lin introduced Qorvo's Wi-Fi 7 compliant, front-end RF module devices and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters covering the entire 5GHz (UNII1-3) and 6GHz (UNII5-8) range. Among them, FEMs include linear and nonlinear: linear Wi-Fi 7 FEMs have good linearity, low power consumption, small package, and high integration, and nonlinear front-end RF modules can greatly reduce power consumption and maximize PAE. This innovative nonlinear front-end RF module solution uses digital predistortion compensation (DPD) technology to achieve performance comparable to linear FEMs with higher efficiency with little to no processor power consumption. According to Jeff Lin, in the design of power amplifiers (PAs), linear PAs and nonlinear PAs have their own characteristics and application scenarios. Linear PA provides predictable linear amplification over most of the operating range, but can crash and cause distortion at high power outputs. In order to maintain linear amplification at high power, the nonlinear PA can be combined with DPD technology to compensate for the nonlinear characteristics of the PA by algorithm to achieve a linearized output. The role of DPD is that it is able to obtain the desired linear amplification results by mathematically modeling the nonlinear behavior of the PA and applying an anti-signal in the signal processing to cancel out the nonlinear effects. In addition, nonlinear PAs have a higher energy efficiency ratio than linear PAs, which can save about 25% to 30% of power consumption at the same transmit power, which makes nonlinear PAs more popular in markets with higher energy costs or specific environmental requirements. Jeff Lin emphasized that the combination of nonlinear PA and DPD technology not only improves energy efficiency, but also puts forward higher requirements for system design and algorithm support. As energy costs rise and environmental regulations tighten, the use of nonlinear PAs will continue to increase. According to him, there are a variety of algorithms for DPD, and the two main implementations are Loop Up Table (LUT) and Generalized Memory Polynomial (GMP). The lookup table method is easy to implement and does not require additional complex computing resources, which is suitable for basic DPD requirements, while the GMP algorithm can provide deeper DPD effects, but requires more computing resources, which may lead to higher system costs. "DPD has become a key point of competition for Wi-Fi 7 chip vendors, and excellent DPD algorithms can effectively compensate for the lack of performance of RF devices, and may even reduce the need for high-quality PAs, thereby helping to reduce overall costs," added Jeff Lin. On January 9 of this year, the Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization that maintains and develops Wi-Fi standards, announced that it has completed and launched the certification of the Wi-Fi 7 Advanced Wireless Standard, which allows applicable end products to be officially certified for Wi-Fi 7 certification and sold on this basis. Qorvo has made significant progress in this area, offering a complete range of wireless front-end RF modules and filter solutions, while combining low power consumption with a small package that provides greater space and flexibility for product development.
Single-chip BMS to improve battery life and safety
More and more devices are moving from traditional combustion engine or AC power to a more flexible and efficient battery-powered model. In this context, how to ensure the safety, stability and service life of batteries has become the focus of attention in the industry. Qorvo's power portfolio includes power management chips (PMICs), power-loss protection (PLP), DC/DC regulators, battery management, intelligent motor control and silicon carbide products to meet the needs of a wide range of industries, including industrial, enterprise, consumer electronics and automotive. Qorvo also offers QSPICE software to improve engineer productivity. In terms of intelligent battery management technology, Qorvo innovatively integrates a high-performance microcontroller (MCU) and analog front end (AFE) into a single chip, simplifying system design and improving performance and reliability. Qorvo's battery management system (BMS) solution is the industry's first single-chip solution capable of accurately managing up to 20 strings of cells. The solution improves the speed and accuracy of data acquisition and processing by integrating algorithms such as Fuel Gauging, SOC (State of Charge), and SOH (State of Health). According to Yichi Zhang, senior account manager at Qorvo, Qorvo's single-chip battery management solution combines digital-analog hybrid technology with integrated controller, storage and communication interfaces to provide comprehensive charge and discharge control and monitoring for battery packs with up to 20 cells in series, including lithium-ion, lithium-polymer and lithium iron phosphate types. In addition, the single-chip solution also helps to shorten the development process and cycle time for customers to achieve faster time to market.
He also highlighted the maturity and robustness of Qorvo's host computer software, the GUI program. Through this software interface, customers can monitor the status of each cell in real time and set the required protection thresholds or other relevant parameters. Once the setting is complete, the software automatically writes the parameters into the firmware, so that customers can save time and effort in programming and use the software directly for related development. Today, Qorvo's BMS chip portfolio includes two production-ready families: the PAC2214x and PAC2514x, both in single-chip designs. The PAC2214x series features a built-in Arm Cortex-M0 MCU clocked at 50MHz and a flash capacity of 32KB, while the PAC2514x series uses a more advanced Arm Cortex-M4 MCU with a clock speed of 150MHz and a flash capacity of 128KB. Qorvo's BMS chips are designed to optimize battery efficiency and extend battery life with six functions: charge and discharge management, short-circuit protection, over-current and over-voltage protection, battery monitoring, battery balancing and low-power control. At present, wireless BMS has become a significant trend, will Qorvo deploy this? Zhang Yichi said that wireless products are Qorvo's traditional strength, and the subsequent product planning will also deploy BMS products with wireless functions. Taking battery cars or electric two-wheeled vehicles as an example, wireless BMS is convenient for users to monitor the battery charging status in real time through mobile devices such as mobile phones, receive reminders of low battery power or overheating, and remind users of battery replacement when the battery life is about to end. In addition, in BMS solutions that support up to 20 strings of cells, the key is how to solve the problem of chip heating in a high-withstand voltage environment and achieve high-voltage and low-voltage isolation. Because each additional cell increases the voltage by 4.2V, for a 20-cell system, this means that the chip needs to be able to handle up to 145V of voltage input. Qorvo has years of experience and expertise in the design of motor drive products, and has been able to achieve DC inputs up to 160V. Based on this experience, Qorvo is uniquely positioned to design multi-series, high-voltage BMS products. "In future product iterations, Qorvo will continue to increase the maximum number of cell strings supported by a single chip to solve customers' stacking design challenges," added Zhang.
Interactive innovation, Sensor Fusion creates a new touch experience
Qorvo is revolutionizing the touch experience with its innovative Sensor Fusion technology. The technology integrates MEMS sensors, ASIC chips, software, and mechatronic structures to provide a comprehensive solution that transforms traditional physical buttons into modern, intelligent interfaces. Qorvo's technology is adaptable to a wide range of inputs and is unaffected by most environmental factors, making it suitable for a wide range of materials, whether in the automotive industry or consumer electronics. Qorvo's Renado Lei explained that its Sensor Fusion products provide innovative solutions for human-machine interaction applications. The product consists of two parts: one is the sensor chip manufactured by MEMS process, which is responsible for converting the applied force into an electrical signal, and the other is the ASIC chip with CMOS process, which processes the analog voltage signal from the sensor chip, including signal amplification, analog-to-digital conversion, and integrates internal algorithms to finally provide accurate quantized force signal values. Sensor Fusion solutions feature high accuracy, high sensitivity, high linearity, and ultra-low power consumption, transforming traditional touch buttons into sleek, intelligent, and reliable user interfaces. The solution aims to create a three-dimensional human-machine interaction experience, and through its high integration, consistency, and reliability, it can be widely used in a variety of fields such as smartphones, AR/VR, automobiles/two-wheelers/u-mobility, wearables, and smart homes.
According to Renado Lei, compared with traditional human-computer interaction technology, Sensor Fusion technology has the following advantages: wide adaptability: it can adapt to a variety of different surface materials, including plastic, glass, metal and wood, the input mode is friendly: it can not only be operated with bare hands, but also can adapt to different input situations such as wearing gloves, and the environment is adaptable: it can work stably in high and low temperatures, humidity, water or oil stained environments. In terms of product solution types, it mainly includes: discrete solution, including separate MEMS FORCE, GAUGE and AFE chips, integrated solution, which integrates MEMS sensor and ASIC in one chip, and fusion solution, integrated infrared receiving function, suitable for application scenarios that require infrared detection. Qorvo also provides the necessary software support to enable customers to implement a wide range of human-machine interaction functions, including buttons, slider adjustments, and 2D and 3D position recognition. In addition, Qorvo provides multidisciplinary product design support, including recommending structure stacking methods to ensure that the power of user actions is efficiently transferred to the chip and quantified. The two product families, MEMS Force and Force Gauge, have different structural stacking methods and operating principles. Commenting on the differentiators from the competition, Renado Lei said Qorvo's solution integrates MEMS sensors and ASIC chips to provide a comprehensive pressure sensing system. Compared with sensor-only solutions, ASIC chips have built-in signal amplification, analog-to-digital conversion, and algorithm processing functions, which can simplify the design and development process of customers. In addition, the ASIC chip's built-in algorithms can monitor and adapt to changes in the product structure in real time, such as ambient temperature fluctuations or structural aging, and reduce the impact of environmental factors on sensor performance through filtering processing. In addition, Qorvo has designed specific silica layers to optimize force transfer efficiency and provides simulation support to help customers ensure optimal performance within design tolerances. To date, Qorvo's Sensor Fusion has enabled innovative human-machine interaction experiences in several areas, and Renado Lei shared some key use cases. In the field of smartphones, Sensor Fusion technology can be applied to functions such as edge touch, 3D touch and wake-on-screen, in vehicle design, Sensor Fusion combines pressure sensors and smart surfaces to improve the driving experience and driving safety, while enriching the user experience, in wearable products, Sensor Fusion technology overcomes the challenges of traditional capacitive touch and swipe operation, enabling thinner, lighter, Simpler design, and in smart home applications, especially when it comes to waterproofing and staining, the technology provides high sensitivity and accuracy, making human-machine interaction more convenient, intelligent and smooth. At present, Qorvo has relevant mass production cases in automobiles, Bluetooth headsets, smart watches, electric toothbrushes, laptops, smart glasses, smart bracelets and other fields.
Write at the end
As conveyed at this media day, Qorvo is committed to meeting the market's demand for high-power, energy-efficient and high-performance systems with a broad product portfolio in white goods, consumer electronics, industrial, Internet of Things, automotive electronics and other fields, and hopes to contribute to the industry's "dual carbon" goals.