Wireless Infrastructure
Meeting the continually evolving demands for 4G LTE & 5G wireless infrastructure applications with RFHIC's gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon carbide (SiC) technology solutions
Combining RFHIC’s GaN Power Amplifier and MaxLinear’s Linearization Technology to Significantly Reduce Power Consumption, Weight, and Size of 5G Radio Units
RFHIC Corporation (KOSDAQ: 218410), a global leader in GaN RF and microwave solutions, has partnered with MaxLinear, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXL), a leading provider of wireless infrastructure semiconductor solutions, to introduce a new power amplifier solution designed to significantly enhance the energy efficiency of 5G macrocell radio units (RUs).
This solution integrates RFHIC’s GaN power amplifier (PA) with MaxLinear’s Sierra single-chip radio SoC and MaxLIN digital pre-distortion (DPD) linearization technology, reducing power consumption, weight, and size. This enables Open RAN vendors to develop smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient RU products. Specifically, the combination of RFHIC’s ID19801D high-efficiency GaN power amplifier and SDM19007-30H driver amplifier with MaxLinear’s Sierra single-chip radio SoC and MaxLIN DPD technology achieves an impressive 55.2% lineup power efficiency while delivering excellent linearized performance (ACLR < -61dBc, EVM < 3%) at 49.6dBm (91W) output in the PCS band (1930 MHz – 1995 MHz) with 2xNR10MHz carriers.
Industry experts anticipate that this solution will enhance the efficiency of 5G network deployment while addressing cost reduction and energy efficiency challenges faced by telecom operators.
Samuel Cho, Founder and CTO of RFHIC, emphasized the growing demand for efficient and scalable network expansion as 5G deployments accelerate worldwide. "RFHIC’s one-stop GaN solution process enables our customers to design and build products faster, helping them bring solutions to market more efficiently. We are committed to continuously providing innovative communication solutions based on cutting-edge GaN RF technology."
Puneet Sethi, Vice President of Wireless Infrastructure at MaxLinear, highlighted the importance of energy efficiency for telecom operators striving to meet operational expenditure (OPEX) and ESG goals. "The combination of MaxLinear’s Sierra radio SoC, MaxLIN DPD technology, and RFHIC’s GaN power amplifiers empowers Open RAN radio vendors to develop high-efficiency RU solutions that drive innovation in wireless networks."
Joe Madden, Principal Analyst at Mobile Experts, pointed out the critical role of integration in modern radio design. "Integrating power amplifiers, digital pre-distortion, and transceivers has become essential in wireless infrastructure. Higher power efficiency leads to smaller heatsinks, which is key in reducing the cost of leasing tower space. As multi-band networks become more prevalent, these efficiency gains will play an increasingly important role in cost management for mobile operators."
Live Demonstration at Mobile World Congress 2025
Maxlinear will showcase RFHIC’s high-efficiency power amplifier solution for high-power PCS macro radios at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, taking place from March 3 to 6 in Barcelona, Spain.
▶ Location: MaxLinear Booth (Hall 2, Meeting Room 2L8MR)
▶ Date: March 3–6, 2025
At the event, visitors will have the opportunity to experience firsthand how this advanced power amplifier technology enhances 5G network performance. Through this demonstration, RFHIC and MaxLinear aim to highlight the performance and economic benefits of high-efficiency power amplifier solutions in the 5G macrocell market.
More about MaxLinear’s Single-Chip Radio Solution
Sierra is an innovative Radio SoC that flexibly supports all major RU applications, including traditional macro, massive MIMO, pico, all-in-one small cells, and more. Sierra integrates the following sub-systems into a single chip, providing a complete software-programmable radio signal processing engine for O-RUs:
RF transceiver supporting up to 8 transmitters, 8 receivers, and 2 feedback receivers
- Digital Front End (DFE) including MaxLIN digital pre-distortion (DPD) and crest factor reduction (CFR), and Passive Intermodulation (PIM) cancellation
- Low-PHY baseband processor supporting 5G, 4G, and NB-IoT air interfaces
- O-RAN Alliance Split 7.2x fronthaul interface
For more information on the Sierra RF Radio SoC or MaxLIN DPD linearization technology,
visit :
About RFHIC
RFHIC Corporation provides innovative GaN solutions that transform how the world operates, communicates, and protects. Our cutting-edge GaN technology is the core foundation of all our inventions for creating a better, faster, and more efficient world. As a global leader in designing and manufacturing GaN RF & Microwave components, we envision spurring a new era of high-powered and reliable devices for the next big change in industrial, cellular, and defense technology. Headquartered in Anyang, South Korea.
RFHIC has a US sales office in Morrisville, North Carolina, and sales distributors throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. RFHIC is an ISO9001 (International quality standard) and ISO14001 (Environmental management standard) certified company, providing reliable and dependable products worldwide. For more information, please visit www.rfhic.com.
RFHIC® is a registered trademark of RFHIC, Inc.
More about RFHIC GaN Power Amplifiers
RFHIC offers a comprehensive range of GaN transistors and turnkey EVB solutions for O-RAN applications, supporting N77 and N79 bands. The ID Series GaN power transistors operate from 1.8GHz to 4.2GHz, with available saturated power levels of 410W, 460W, 700W, and 800W. Additionally, RFHIC provides 2-stage hybrid drive amplifiers (SDM Series)—fully integrated microstrip GaN hybrid modules, internally matched to 50 ohms and housed in a ceramic surface-mount package. These amplifiers cover 1.8GHz to 4.1GHz, with available power levels of 40W, 60W, and 80W. For seamless integration and testing, RFHIC also offers compact ultra-high-power EVB solutions, which include an evaluation test board, pre-drive amplifier, and main transistor.
For more details on RFHIC’s O-RAN technology and solutions, visit our website or contact us at http://www.rfhic.com/contact
About MaxLinear, Inc.
MaxLinear, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXL) is a leading provider of radio frequency (RF), analog, digital, and mixed-signal integrated circuits for access and connectivity, wired and wireless infrastructure, and industrial and multimarket applications. MaxLinear is headquartered in Carlsbad, California. For more information, please visit https://www.maxlinear.com/.
MaxLinear, the MaxLinear logo, any other MaxLinear trademarks are all property of MaxLinear, Inc. or one of MaxLinear's subsidiaries in the U.S.A. and other countries. All rights reserved.
All third-party marks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders/owners.
RFHIC Corporation Press Contact:
Grace Cho
Global Sales & Marketing Head
Tel: +82 10 8069 3105
Gracecho@rfhic.com
MaxLinear, Inc. Press Contact:
Debbie Brandenburg
Sr. Marketing Communications Manager
Tel: +1 669.265.6083
dbrandenburg@maxlinear.com
