EE Times
(09/07/2005 3:11 PM EDT)
MANHASSET, N.Y. — Radiofrequency (RF) CMOS process technology will be employed in 40 percent of wireless handsets by 2009, predicts market research firm iSuppli.
Mobile phones now mostly use RF transceiver chips based on costlier Silicon Germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS, and to a lesser extent Silicon BiCMOS (Si)-BiCMOS. However, the use of CMOS process technology is growing, said the firm.
For 2005, RF CMOS technology will be used in 20 percent of handsets, up from 13 percent in 2004, and grow roughly 5 percent each year to reach 40 percent by 2009.
CMOS technology has the advantage of lower cost compared to SiGe-BiCMOS and Si-BiCMOS. Furthermore, since CMOS is used to make the baseband functions in mobile phones, implementing the RF function in CMOS enables greater integration of baseband and RF functions. Lower part costs combined with higher integration will allow RF CMOS to help drive down future mobile phone prices, iSuppli predicts.
The overall market for RF components used in mobile handsets is expected to grow to $7 billion in 2009, up from $6.6 billion in 2004, said iSuppli.
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