On the evening of October 30th, the “2023 Hardcore Core Awards Ceremony” concluded successfully at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center. After three months of online voting and offline scoring, Sappland Microelectronics emerged victorious from 165 companies and 183 products. With years of technical innovation in the RF filter field, the company gained recognition from various sectors and experts. Their independently developed PEBAW filter was honored with the “Best RF Chip of the Year 2023” award.
The “Hardcore Core Awards” in China, recognized for its high innovation and industry impact, aims to discover and commend outstanding Chinese semiconductor enterprises. Launched in 2019, this industry award is the first in China to focus on the hardcore strength of local chip companies. It pioneered the “Five Dimensions + Double Jury” scoring system and has attracted over 300 semiconductor companies to participate over the past five years.
The PEBAW filter, independently developed by Sappland Microelectronics, stands for Performance Enhanced BAW Filter. It belongs to a category of acoustic devices that utilize acoustic resonance to achieve electrical frequency selection. Manufactured using silicon substrates and MEMS technology processes, this filter boasts advantages such as small size, light weight, low insertion loss, good rectangularity, high reliability, and easy mass production. In comparison to traditional LC, dielectric, LTCC filters, and SAW filters, the PEBAW filter can simultaneously meet the requirements of small size and high performance. It has found widespread applications in mobile communication terminals, base stations, radar systems, and other fields.
Sappland Microelectronics has introduced the PEBAW n78 filter product, featuring small size, low insertion loss, excellent out-of-band rejection, and high power capabilities. It operates within the frequency range of 3400-3600MHz, with a maximum input power of 33dBm, and supports temperatures ranging from -40°C to +95°C. The 1.4mm x 1.1mm packaging size is suitable for small base stations, while the smaller 1.1mm x 0.9mm size can be applied to 5G mobile smart terminals.
This product achieves controllable suppression within the frequency range of 0.1-2.7GHz and 3.7-8GHz, at approximately 30dB. In the critical frequency band of 2.4-2.7GHz for WiFi/n41, the suppression exceeds 33dB, and it surpasses 40dB in the n79 band. In addition to its high out-of-band suppression, the product exhibits excellent in-band insertion loss and voltage standing wave ratio. Some technical indicators have reached higher levels compared to products of the same class.
In recent years, with the development of 5G, BAW filters have seen broad prospects. However, compared to foreign manufacturers, China started relatively late in the field of BAW filters, with the market dominated by American companies, holding over 90% of the global share.
The recognition of the PEBAW filter developed independently by ZL Microelectronics is a testament to the industry’s affirmation of the company’s products. Faced with opportunities and challenges, ZL Microelectronics will continue to focus on and conduct ongoing research and development of more 5G frequency products. The company aims to launch products with higher performance and greater market competitiveness, working alongside industry peers to break the monopoly of American and Japanese manufacturers on high-end filters.