Freescale (NYSE:FSLB)
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From Jun 2019 to Jun 2024
Less than ten years after introducing the industry’s
first RF power transistor housed entirely in plastic, Freescale
Semiconductor (NYSE:FSL)(NYSE:FSL.B) has shipped more than 30 million
high-power Laterally-Diffused Metal Oxide Semiconductor (LDMOS) RF
transistors in over-molded plastic packages.
Freescale was the first company to fully exploit the advantages of
over-molded plastic packaging for high-power RF devices, resulting in
greater reliability, lower overall costs, faster manufacturing cycles
and equivalent performance compared to conventional air cavity
packaging. Today, Freescale offers more than 280 LDMOS RF power devices
in over-molded plastic packages, with output power as high as 120W at 2
GHz.
“Freescale was always confident that
over-molded plastic-packaged, high-power LDMOS devices would gain
significant market acceptance for their excellent performance and
cost-effectiveness,” said Gavin P. Woods,
vice president and general manager, RF Division, Freescale
Semiconductor. “However, we did not expect
the acceptance rate to be so rapid, and I am gratified to see that OEMs
are using these devices in more and more applications.”
The path to plastic
Plastic packaging technology had been deployed in semiconductors for
more than 20 years when Freescale introduced the industry’s
first RF power transistor housed entirely in plastic. By this time,
plastic packaging techniques had been proven viable, however, technical
challenges remained for RF applications.
The challenge to unseat conventional packages was formidable, since
these traditional technologies exhibited no inherent limit to maximum
junction temperature or operating frequency. At low frequencies and
power levels, plastic-packaged devices could compensate for the losses
incurred by the dielectric properties of the plastic encapsulant. But at
higher power levels, these effects were significant and had to be
overcome in order to achieve the performance, reliability, and lower
cost that plastic packages promised.
After significant investments in testing and materials evaluation,
Freescale engineers were able to minimize the adverse effects that occur
when a transistor die contacts plastic. The result was a continuing
stream of advancements, including the first plastic-packaged RF power
transistor to operate above 2 GHz, and the first such device to achieve
a continuous operating junction temperature greater than 200o
C (392o F).
The temperature breakthrough was the more technically significant
achievement, since 200o C is the same
temperature at which conventional air-cavity packages for high-power RF
devices are rated. The 200o C
junction temperature is also rated under continuous operating conditions
rather than with short power pulses that are far less stressful to the
device. After more than 3 million hours of testing using the most
challenging standards-based test methods, Freescale’s
plastic packages have an estimated mean time to failure (MTTF) of nearly
2000 years, thereby making them well suited for the most demanding
applications.
With more than 30 million Freescale RF power transistors housed in
over-molded plastic packages in the field, this packaging technology is
market-tested and steadily evolving with respect to achievable power
levels and operating frequencies.
About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:FSL)(NYSE:FSL.B) is a global leader
in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the
automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets.
Freescale became a publicly traded company in July 2004. The company is
based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development,
manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. Freescale,
a member of the S&P 500®, is one of the
world’s largest semiconductor companies with
2005 sales of $5.8 billion (USD). www.freescale.com
Freescale™ and the Freescale logo are
trademarks of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. All other product or service
names are the property of their respective owners. Freescale
Semiconductor, Inc. 2006.
Less than ten years after introducing the industry's first RF
power transistor housed entirely in plastic, Freescale Semiconductor
(NYSE:FSL)(NYSE:FSL.B) has shipped more than 30 million high-power
Laterally-Diffused Metal Oxide Semiconductor (LDMOS) RF transistors in
over-molded plastic packages.
Freescale was the first company to fully exploit the advantages of
over-molded plastic packaging for high-power RF devices, resulting in
greater reliability, lower overall costs, faster manufacturing cycles
and equivalent performance compared to conventional air cavity
packaging. Today, Freescale offers more than 280 LDMOS RF power
devices in over-molded plastic packages, with output power as high as
120W at 2 GHz.
"Freescale was always confident that over-molded plastic-packaged,
high-power LDMOS devices would gain significant market acceptance for
their excellent performance and cost-effectiveness," said Gavin P.
Woods, vice president and general manager, RF Division, Freescale
Semiconductor. "However, we did not expect the acceptance rate to be
so rapid, and I am gratified to see that OEMs are using these devices
in more and more applications."
The path to plastic
Plastic packaging technology had been deployed in semiconductors
for more than 20 years when Freescale introduced the industry's first
RF power transistor housed entirely in plastic. By this time, plastic
packaging techniques had been proven viable, however, technical
challenges remained for RF applications.
The challenge to unseat conventional packages was formidable,
since these traditional technologies exhibited no inherent limit to
maximum junction temperature or operating frequency. At low
frequencies and power levels, plastic-packaged devices could
compensate for the losses incurred by the dielectric properties of the
plastic encapsulant. But at higher power levels, these effects were
significant and had to be overcome in order to achieve the
performance, reliability, and lower cost that plastic packages
promised.
After significant investments in testing and materials evaluation,
Freescale engineers were able to minimize the adverse effects that
occur when a transistor die contacts plastic. The result was a
continuing stream of advancements, including the first
plastic-packaged RF power transistor to operate above 2 GHz, and the
first such device to achieve a continuous operating junction
temperature greater than 200 degrees C (392 degrees F).
The temperature breakthrough was the more technically significant
achievement, since 200 degrees C is the same temperature at which
conventional air-cavity packages for high-power RF devices are rated.
The 200 degrees C junction temperature is also rated under continuous
operating conditions rather than with short power pulses that are far
less stressful to the device. After more than 3 million hours of
testing using the most challenging standards-based test methods,
Freescale's plastic packages have an estimated mean time to failure
(MTTF) of nearly 2000 years, thereby making them well suited for the
most demanding applications.
With more than 30 million Freescale RF power transistors housed in
over-molded plastic packages in the field, this packaging technology
is market-tested and steadily evolving with respect to achievable
power levels and operating frequencies.
About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:FSL)(NYSE:FSL.B) is a global
leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for
the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets.
Freescale became a publicly traded company in July 2004. The company
is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development,
manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries.
Freescale, a member of the S&P 500(R), is one of the world's largest
semiconductor companies with 2005 sales of $5.8 billion (USD).
www.freescale.com
Freescale(TM) and the Freescale logo are trademarks of Freescale
Semiconductor, Inc. All other product or service names are the
property of their respective owners. Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
2006.