Guerrilla RF Releases New ¼ W Linear PAs Targeting Automotive and 5G Infrastructure in the 2.5GHz and 3.6GHz Bands

Guerrilla RF, Inc. (OTCQX: GUER) announces the formal release of the
GRF5526, GRF5526W, GRF5536 and GRF5536W, the latest in a series of ¼ W
linear power amplifiers. These InGaP HBT amplifiers were designed
specifically for 5G wireless infrastructure applications requiring
exceptional native linearity over large 100MHz bandwidths and temperature
extremes of -40°C to 105°C.

Spanning frequency ranges of 2.3–2.7GHz and 3.3-4.2GHz respectively, the
GRF5526 / GRF5526W and GRF5536 / GRF5536W are tuned to operate within the
n7, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n77, n88 and n90 5G new radio (NR) bands.
The devices typically deliver 23dBm of linear power over the entire -40°C to
105°C temperature range while maintaining ACLR levels of better than -45dBc
and EVM levels < 1% – all without the aid of supplemental linearization
schemes like digital pre-distortion (DPD).

The ability to beat the -45dBc ACLR performance metric without DPD is
critical for cellular applications like home and commercial
repeaters/boosters, femtocells, and picocells, as well as cable loss
compensators which are used in conjunction with automotive ‘shark fin’
antennas. In each of these use cases, the sensitivity to cost, power and
size constraints prohibits the use of elaborate linearization techniques
like DPD. Instead, designers must rely on the power amplifier’s native
linearity to meet the stringent emissions mask requirements imposed by the
latest 5G standards.

“The GRF5526 and GRF5536 are strategic additions to our previously released
¼ W PAs,” says Jim Ahne, Guerrilla RF’s VP of Automotive and 5G Products.
“With their formal introduction, we now have a complete suite of
commercially available linear PAs addressing all bands targeted by our 5G
and automotive customer base. The GRF5536 variants are particularly
noteworthy since they capitalize on the growing popularity of the C-band –
what many in the industry hail as the most attractive spectrum for 5G
applications due to its ideal blend of propagation coverage and available
bandwidth.”

“The new -W variants within this family are also critical additions for our
automotive business,” continues Ahne. “Select variants of the GRF55xx family
– including the GRF5526W and GRF5536W – are being qualified for full
AEC-Q100 compliance. By the end of the summer, Guerrilla RF will have
introduced multiple -W variants of its linear PAs in support of a major
contract it won back in November.”

Packaging, Pricing and Availability

The GRF5526, GRF5526W, GRF5536 and GRF5536W come in pin-compatible 3mm x
3mm, 16-pin QFN packages. Samples and evaluation boards are available for
all four components. Prices start at $1.70 for the GRF5526/36 series, and
$1.95 for the ‘W’ (AEC-Q100 qualified) variants (10,000-up, EXW USA).