Black Sand acquires power amplifier IP from Silicon Labs

LONDON — Black Sand Technologies Inc. (Austin, Texas), a specialist in CMOS power amplifier technology for wireless applications, has said it has acquired a patent portfolio related to CMOS power amplifiers from Silicon Laboratories Inc. (Austin, Texas).

Black Sand did not reveal how much it has paid but confirmed it has taken ownership of a number of issued and pending U.S. and international patents from Silicon Laboratories. The patents include claims and methods related to power amplifier architectures and implementations that can be used in a CMOS process.

In September 2009, Black Sand announced that it had received silicon in its 3G CMOS RF PA, a device that would improve performance, cost, battery life, and reliability for mobile devices.

"The acquired IP represents important technology for Black Sand, significantly advancing our position as the leader in this field," said John Diehl, CEO of Black Sand, in a statement. "When combined with our internally developed IP, these foundational patents give us a unique combination of outstanding technology and substantial IP."

Black Sand's RF PA products are targeted at mobile phones and other 3G wireless devices, such as datacards and netbooks. Mobile phones and wireless products today use power amplifiers based on gallium arsenide (GaAs) semiconductor technology.

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