SiGe Semiconductor announced a power amplifier for Wi-Fi systems. The RangeCharger SE2523BU comes in a paper-thin package with a profile of 0.5mm and is dedicated for embedding Wi-Fi capability into portable, battery-powered consumer electronics. The device is a addition to the company's SE2523x series of power amplifiers, announced last year. SE2523BU is a 2.4GHz power amplifier that integrates digital enable circuitry, a robust power detector and biasing circuitry in a 16-pin 3 x 3 x 0.5 mm QFN package. The chip features +18.5dBm power output with EVM of 2.5 percent while operating in 802.11g mode. All ACPR requirements are met while operating at +23dBm output power in 802.11b mode.

The integrated power detector improves stability of wireless transmissions, since it is highly immune to mismatch: less than 1.5dB of variation with a 2:1 mismatch. The power detector offers two selectable power detector slopes, allowing it to be used with multiple chipsets. Also incorporated on chip is digital enable control circuitry, which eases design by allowing the device to be connected directly to a CMOS baseband or transceiver. Based on an efficient silicon germanium architecture, the SE2523BU ensures a current draw of 130 mA at +18.5 dBm output power, operating from a single 3.3 V supply. The SE2523BU is in production now, priced at US $.79 in 10k unit quantities.