SAN JOSE, Calif., June 25, 2012 – NXP Semiconductors NV (NAS) today announced the BGU8006 low-noise amplifier, the smallest GPS LNA commercially available for ultra-small mobile devices. Housed in an ultra-small wafer-level chip-scale package (WLCSP), the new GPS LNA measures just 0.65 x 0.44 x 0.2 mm. Requiring only two external components, it saves 38% of PCB space compared to the smallest solution currently on the market. The LNA also achieves an ultra-low noise level of 0.60 dB, enabling it to dynamically suppress strong cellular and WLAN transmit signals for optimal reception of weak GPS signals. NXP showcased the BGU800x serial LNA at the IEEE MTT-S IMS2012 (International Microwave Symposium) in Montreal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mS_66-SuZI

“Smartphones, tablets, personal navigation devices and automotive telematics applications all suffer from poor network reception, requiring them to wait for data until the GPS finds a satellite signal and restarts,” said Erick Olsen, marketing director for RF small signal product line at NXP Semiconductors. “The newly announced, almost invisible, BGU8006 LNA helps maintain optimal GPS signal reception for as long as possible.” With GPS capabilities now so widely used, the ability to provide more accurate and faster Time to First Fix (TTFF) will significantly improve the user experience and enable operators to offer more sophisticated location-based services,” he explained.

The new BGU8006 LNA uses adaptive biasing, implemented in NXP’s state-of-the-art QuBIC4Xi SiGe:C BiCMOS process technology, to instantly detect any output power from a jammer and compensate by temporarily increasing current. Adaptive biasing compresses typical GPS LNAs to lower gain, generates intermodulation and harmonics that further weaken weak signals, and dynamically suppresses strong cellular, WLAN, and Bluetooth signals that can cause poor GPS reception. In the BGU8006, adaptive biasing improves linearity, achieving 10 dB better IP3 under interference conditions from -40 to -20 dBm, and providing effective GPS output power with jammer power up to -15 dBm.

The BGU8006 LNA uses Wafer-Level Chip-Scale Package (WLCSP) technology, which is ideal for space-constrained devices. WLCSP minimizes plastic inductance because it has no solder joints, bond wires, or interposer connections, optimizing package size, cost, and thermal properties. In addition to the BGU8006, NXP has also released the BGU8007 LNA in a 1.45 x 1.0 x 0.5 mm 6-pin leadless SOT886 package. Both of these LNAs require only one external matching inductor and one external decoupling capacitor, saving component cost, PCB space, and ease of design.

NXP's BGU800x series LNAs are suitable for a wide range of GPS-enabled applications today, including smartphones, feature phones, tablets, personal navigation systems, digital cameras, digital camcorders, RF front-end modules for phones, and integrated GPS chipset modules. For automotive telematics applications such as emergency calling (eCall) and toll collection systems, NXP offers the AEC-Q100 qualified BGU7004 and BGU7008.

Release Schedule
The BGU8007 LNA is currently available. Verification samples of the BGU8006 are expected to be available in Q3, with full-scale production scheduled for Q4 2012.

Related Links
• NXP BGU8006 LNA product information: http://www.nxp.com/pip/BGU8006
• NXP's GPS LNA: http://www.nxp.com/unleash-rf/lna/gps-lnas
• Video: World's Smallest GPS LNA Presented in WLCSP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mS_66-SuZI
• Video: NXP GPS and FM Low-Noise Amplifier: Best Reception in Smallest Footprint ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxSAPVLTRTw )
• NXP RF Manual (16th edition) http://www.nxp.com/products/related/rf-manual/