July 30, 2015, Seoul – STMicroelectronics (ST), a global semiconductor company contributing to customers across a wide range of electronic applications, has launched the second generation STPTIC G2 electronic tunable capacitor for smartphones. Various performance improvements have been made, including increased tuning rates to maximize mobile download speeds and call quality.

ST’s STPTIC capacitors optimize signal-power transfer between smartphone antennas and power amplifiers by compensating for changing matching conditions. Since reception sensitivity can be affected by how the user holds the phone, the new STPTIC G2 series, with an improved tuning ratio of 5:1, allows the system to perform additional compensation as needed. Other improvements include lower parasitic resistance and inductance, which enhance efficiency and reduce heat generation. Additionally, robustness has been improved through a higher ESD rating.

All devices in ST’s STPTIC product family feature high-quality ParaScan™ dielectrics and provide standard package sizes and pinouts, allowing for the use of different nominal capacitances without modifying the board design. STPTIC products meet the linearity specifications of 3G/4G modulation and have a high quality factor of up to 2.7 GHz, ensuring low insertion loss and maximum power delivery. In addition, the low leakage current reduces power consumption and helps extend mobile phone battery life.

The new STPTIC capacitors are available in eight standard values ranging from 1.5pF (STPTIC-15G2) to 8.2pF (STPTIC-82G2) and are controlled using bias voltages from 1V to 24V. This serves as ST’s STHVDAC-253M controller, which is specifically designed to provide a wide tuning range of bias voltages to meet various requirements. This controller provides three outputs to control STPTICs for multiple antennas and connects to smartphone host systems via an industry-standard RF Front-End (RFFE) interface.

The new STPTIC capacitor is currently being mass-produced in a 4-bump, 0.4mm pitch flip-chip package, and the price starts at 40 cents for orders of 1,000 units.