RF MEMS switches provide benefits over traditional solid state switches for next generation cellular standards like 4G LTE. RF MEMS switches have lower insertion loss and higher isolation, which can improve battery life by up to 17% and increase data throughput by nearly 30% by improving receiver sensitivity. Their broadband performance makes them well-suited to handle the increasing number of frequency bands required as data speeds continue rising significantly with each generation of cellular standards.

1. RFIC
2015
1
DelfMEMS
Next Generation RF Switching
Solution for 3G/4G
Enabling High Speed Information -
to anyone, anywhere, anyhow, anytime

2. RFIC
2015
2
Power Loss in 4G Handsets
Focus of this presentation is on handset power
loss experienced with LTE wireless technology
Power loss is observed through different aspects
of mobile phone performance degradation and
from the reduction of mobile battery life point
of view

3. RFIC
2015
3
Cellular Standards Evolution
Marketing
Evolution
4G
3.9G
3.5G
3G
2.5G
2G
Channel
Bandwidth
PDC (Japan) GSM (Europe) IS-136/AMPS (US TDMA) IS-95A (US CDMA)
iMODE HSCSD GPRS IS-95B (US CDMA)
WCDMA (FDD & TDD) TD-SCDMA (China) E-GPRS (EDGE) cdma2000 (1xRTT)
HSDPA HSUPA UMTS-TDD 1x EV-DO (1xRTT)
HSPA+, E-HSPA LTE (R8,9, FDD & TDD) 802.16e (Mobile WiMAX)
LTE-Advanced
(R10,11,12+, FDD & TDD)
802.16m / WiMAX2
(WirelessMAN-Advanced)
EDGE Evolution
WiBRO
(Korea)
Marketing
Evolution
1.2288 MHz
200 KHz
5 MHz
1.4, 3, 5, 10, 20
MHz
5 MHz
up to 100 MHz

4. RFIC
2015
4
Data Speed Revolution
4G
3.9G
3.5G
3G
2.5G
2G PDC (Japan), GSM (Europe), IS-136/AMPS (US TDMA), IS-95A (US CDMA)
Max Data Speed: DL 14.4kbps, UL 14.4kbps
iMODE, HSCSD, GPRS, IS-95B (US CDMA)
Max Data Speed: DL 85.6kbps, UL 42.8kbps
WCDMA (FDD & TDD), TD-SCDMA (China), E-GPRS (EDGE), cdma2000 (1xRTT)
Max Data Speed: DL 2Mbps, UL 2Mbps
HSDPA, HSUPA, EDGE Evolution, UMTS-TDD, EV-DO (Rev. B)
Max Data Speed: DL 16Mbps, UL 16Mbps
HSPA+, E-HSPA, LTE (R8,9, FDD & TDD), 802.16e (Mobile WiMAX)
Max Data Speed: DL 100Mbps, UL 50Mbps
LTE-Advanced (R10,11,12+, FDD & TDD), 802.16m/WiMAX2 (WirelessMAN-Advanced)
Max Data Speed: DL 1Gbps (target 3Gbps), UL 500Mbps (target 1Gbps)
DL – Down Link (UE Receive)
UL – Up Link (UE Transmit)
Channel
Bandwidth
1.2288 MHz
200 KHz
5 MHz
1.4, 3, 5, 10, 20
MHz
5 MHz
up to 100 MHz

5. RFIC
2015
5
LTE Categories
** 2x1 DL (Rx) MIMO assumed for all LTE categories, except for Cat5
*** LTE Cat5 not implemented due to the MIMO 4x2 requirement
Categories LTE Cat1 LTE Cat2 LTE Cat3 LTE Cat4 LTE Cat5 LTE Cat6
Data Rates
DL 10 Mbps 50 Mbps 100 Mbps 150 Mbps 300 Mbps 300 Mbps
UL 5 Mbps 25 Mbps 50 Mbps 50 Mbps 75 Mbps 50 Mbps
Channel
Bandwidth
DL 20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz (CA) 20 MHz 40 MHz (CA)
UL 20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz
MIMO
Configuration **
Not sup. 2x1 2x1 2x1 4x2 2x1
Implementation 2013 NA *** 2014

6. RFIC
2015
6
LTE Evolution
• LTE Cat6 300Mbps/50Mbps not even close to
customer needs and market requirements
• Peak data rate target for the most recent LTE-
Advanced technology starts at 1Gbps for Up
Link connections
• Even this is just a first step and target that will
have to be improved rapidly and constantly

7. RFIC
2015
7
Data Rate Speed (R)Evolution
Today FUTURE
(LTE Cat9)
450 Mbps RX peak data rates
with LTE 3x20MHz CA
deployments
50 Mbps TX peak data rates
Enabling the 1000x mobile
data challenge
(source: Qualcomm)
• More spectrum
• 3.5GHz Bands introduction
• 5GHz Bands introduction
• 100 MHz RX carrier aggregation
• TDD + FDD aggregation
• TX Diversity Path introduction
• TX Carrier Aggregation
MEMS advantage
MEMS advantage
MEMS advantage
MEMS advantage
MEMS advantage

8. RFIC
2015
8
RF Front End (FE)
• Explosion of LTE band
numbers
– Increased complexity
– Mobile handset market
price erosion pressure
• RF FE architecture design
for smartphones
becomes exceptionally
challenging
MIPI RFFE
Serial Control
Master
Diversity
Antenna Port
Diversity
RX LNAs
RFIC
Main
RX LNAs
RFIC
TX FE
RFFE
Control
Interface
Diversity
FEM
SPnT
SPnT
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
High
Bands
FEMid
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
Envelope Tracking
Modulator
VPA
...mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
PA
mipi RFFE
VHF 4G PAM
SPnT
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
SPnT
mipi RFFE
Main
Antenna Port
PA
3G/4G
HB
mipi RFFE
SPnT
PA
3G/4G
LB
GSM
PA
PA
MMMB
PAM
SPnT
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
Antenna
Tuner
MIPI RFFE
SPnT
SPnT

9. RFIC
2015
9
RF Components Challenges
• Power loss (insertion loss)
• Isolation
• Linearity intermodulation and cross
modulation
• Components frequency response

10. RFIC
2015
10
RF FE and Battery Life
• Battery life is the
most important
consideration for
over 70% of users
(IWPC conference year 2014)
IDC consumer space 360 (May 2014 survey)

11. RFIC
2015
11
PA’s Dominate Battery Drain
• LTE is not good
for your battery….
– LTE network
typically require
short bursts of
high RF Power for
data transmission 0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20
Probability
[%]
Transmit Power Level [dBm]
WCDMA Handset Transmit Power Distribution
Current Drain
[mA]

12. RFIC
2015
12
RF Switch as a Solution
• Industry standard
assessment of RF
switches:
Figure of Merit
(Ron * Coff )
264
448
485
250
270
224
207
160
113
8
192
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
DelfMEMS
Single Gate
Triple Gate
STM
Next Gen STM
0.18um
Thin-film
0.18um
Thick-film
0.35um
0.25um
FoM
Ron
Peregrine UltraCMOS
Infineon
CMOS
pHEMT GaAs technology
SOS technology
SOI technology
CMOS technology
RF MEMS technology

13. RFIC
2015
13
RF MEMS Switch Benefit
-1.6
-1.4
-1.2
-1
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 3000
InsertionLoss[dB]
Frequency [MHz]
SP12T Switch Insertion Loss
DelfMEMS
Solid State

14. RFIC
2015
14
Talk Time
• DelfMEMS RF MEMS switch
compared to existing SOI
antenna switch
• Current savings across bands
equivalent to percentages of
longer talk time
RF MEMS Antenna Switch gives
up to 17% increased battery life
= Longer Talk Time MIPI RFFE
Serial Control
Master
Diversity
Antenna Port
Diversity
RX LNAs
RFIC
Main
RX LNAs
RFIC
TX FE
RFFE
Control
Interface
Diversity
FEM
SPnT
SPnT
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
High
Bands
FEMid
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
Envelope Tracking
Modulator
VPA
...mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
PA
mipi RFFE
VHF 4G PAM
SPnT
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
SPnT
mipi RFFE
Main
Antenna Port
PA
3G/4G
HB
mipi RFFE
SPnT
PA
3G/4G
LB
GSM
PA
PA
MMMB
PAM
SPnT
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
Antenna
Tuner
MIPI RFFE
SPnT
SPnT
B 7,40,41… SOI RF MEMS Current
IL [dB] -1 -0.35 Savings
CDL 21% 8% 13%
B 1,2,3,4… SOI RF MEMS Current
IL [dB] -1.2 -0.3 Savings
CDL 24% 7% 17%
B 5,8… SOI RF MEMS Current
IL [dB] -0.9 -0.25 Savings
CDL 19% 6% 13%
B 13,17… SOI RF MEMS Current
IL [dB] -0.85 -0.25 Savings
CDL 18% 6% 12%

15. RFIC
2015
15
Data Throughput
• Decreased RF FE Insertion
Loss will improve Rx
Sensitivity by the same
amount
• Both Main and Diversity
Antenna Switch IL are
compared between SOI and
RF MEMS Switch
RF MEMS Antenna Switch gives
nearly 30% Rx sensitivity
improvement = Better Call
Quality
MIPI RFFE
Serial Control
Master
Diversity
Antenna Port
Diversity
RX LNAs
RFIC
Main
RX LNAs
RFIC
TX FE
RFFE
Control
Interface
Diversity
FEM
SPnT
SPnT
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
High
Bands
FEMid
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
Envelope Tracking
Modulator
VPA
...mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
PA
mipi RFFE
VHF 4G PAM
SPnT
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
SPnT
mipi RFFE
Main
Antenna Port
PA
3G/4G
HB
mipi RFFE
SPnT
PA
3G/4G
LB
GSM
PA
PA
MMMB
PAM
SPnT
mipi RFFE
mipi RFFE
Antenna
Tuner
MIPI RFFE
SPnT
SPnT
B 7,40,41… SOI RF MEMS RxSI
IL [dB] -1 -0.35 16%
B 13,17… SOI RF MEMS RxSI
IL [dB] -0.85 -0.25 15%
B 5,8… SOI RF MEMS RxSI
IL [dB] -0.9 -0.25 16%
B 2,3… SOI RF MEMS RxSI
IL [dB] -1.2 -0.3 23%
B 1,4… SOI RF MEMS RxSI
IL [dB] -1.4 -0.3 29%
B 1,2,3, 4… SOI RF MEMS RxSI
IL [dB] -1.4 -0.3 29%
B 5,8… SOI RF MEMS RxSI
IL [dB] -0.9 -0.25 16%

16. RFIC
2015
16
Conclusion
• LTE-A main market driver
– Higher Down-Link & Up-Link Data Speed …
• Comes with a cost …
Less battery life and degraded signal reception quality
• RF MEMS switches offer the best solution
– Reduction of RF FE losses
– Broadband design for high frequency bands
– High linearity design for UL CA
– Exceptional band-to-band and TX /RX Isolation