Feb 18, 2020SAN DIEGO: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced the Qualcomm ultraSAW filter technology, another groundbreaking innovation in the company's industry-leading wireless technology portfolio that builds on the company's legacy of developing breakthrough technologies and enabling new experiences and expanding the mobile ecosystem.

Radio frequency (RF) filters isolate radio signals from the different spectrum bands that phones use to receive and transmit information. By achieving as much as 1 decibel (dB) improvement in insertion loss, Qualcomm ultraSAW filters offer a higher performance solution compared to competing bulk-acoustic (BAW) filters in the sub-2.7 GHz frequency range.

Qualcomm ultraSAW technology achieves superior filter characteristics to deliver high performance in frequencies from 600 MHz to 2.7 GHz with a range of benefits:

• Excellent transmit, receive and cross isolation
• High frequency selectivity
• A Q-factor of up to 5000 – significantly higher than the quality factor of competing BAW filters
• Very low insertion loss
• Excellent temperature stability with very low temperature drift in the single-digit ppm/Kelvin range.

This allows for more power-efficient RF paths in 5G and 4G multimode mobile devices – and at a lower cost point than competing commercial solutions with similar performance metrics for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Source: calibrated measurements in Qualcomm Technologies’ labs comparing Qualcomm ultraSAW pre-commercial components with commercially available products

"Our thin-film innovation offers game-changing performance improvements compared to existing BAW technologies," says Christian Block, senior vice president and general manager, RFFE, QUALCOMM Germany RFFE GmbH. "As the world's leading wireless technology innovator, Qualcomm continuously pushes the boundaries of what's possible in mobile technology. With growing filter content in 5G designs, our OEM customers are excited about the attractive combination of higher filter performance and lower cost that Qualcomm ultraSAW enables."

Qualcomm ultraSAW serves as a key technology for driving the performance of Qualcomm Technologies' cutting-edge RFFE product portfolio and Qualcomm Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF Systems further. We are integrating Qualcomm ultraSAW technology across our product line including PA modules (PAMiD), front-end modules (FEMiD), diversity modules (DRx), Wi-Fi extractors, GNSS extractors and RF multiplexers.

Improved RF performance helps OEMs bring 5G devices with superior connectivity and battery life to consumers. With a lineup of discrete and integrated Qualcomm ultraSAW products beginning production this quarter, OEM flagship devices using the technology are expected to be commercially available in the second half of 2020.