The 5G Boom Promotes the Development of RF Devices

In a wireless communication system, there integrated circuits are needed--fundamental frequency (BB), intermediate frequency (IF), and radiofrequency (RF), which convert and transmit the received signal to realize the communication function. Generally speaking, RF is responsible for receiving and transmitting high-frequency signals, the fundamental frequency is responsible for signal processing and storage, etc. The intermediate frequency is the bridge between RF and BB so that the signal can be smoothly converted between high-frequency signals and fundamental frequency signals.

RF devices, the key components of various wireless communication equipment such as mobile phones, are mainly responsible for generating, sending, receiving, and processing high-frequency electromagnetic waves. Unlike AD/DA, which converts analog and binary digital signals, RF technology amplifies weak low-frequency analog signals into high-frequency electromagnetic waves to transmit information and filters the high-frequency electromagnetic waves received from the outside world into low-frequency analog signals for baseband chips to process.

Specific to the RF part, in terms of key technologies, the full spectrum access, large-scale antennas, and carrier aggregation in 5G wireless technology all require the radio frequency part to be implemented with new hardware, which brings new hardware additions to base stations and mobile terminals. On the other hand, the new technology has increased the design difficulty of some RF components and has brought about an increase in the value of individual components. The 5G era will bring about a simultaneous rise in the quantity and price of some RF components.

Requirements for Radio Frequency (RF) Devices in 5G Communications

Now 5G has just entered the commercial stage, and for a long time, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks will coexist simultaneously. Different frequency bands and different standard frequency bands correspond to different RF devices. In the process of 5G upgrading, backward compatibility of technology and application performance should be guaranteed for each generation of the upgrade.

A new RF part is needed to undertake the functions of 5G communication. Adding 5G communication functions will not reduce the demand for the 3G/4G RF part. The RF part of 5G communication is a new increase. For example, 5G mobile phones can receive 4G or 3G signals as well as 5G signals, so the original radio frequency part must be retained. This is why there are more and more RF devices in mobile phones. In addition, due to the increase of frequency, and the complexity of modulation, the performance of RF devices is challenged.

5G adopts spectrum communication of more than 3GHz. Compared with 4G, the biggest difference of RF is the adoption of the high-frequency circuits.

Compared with medium and low-frequency circuits, high-frequency circuits need to be reconsidered and designed from materials to devices, from baseband chips to the entire radio frequency circuit.

The 5G technology revolution is mainly related to the improvement of composite communication technology, while the technology upgrade requirements for basic component units are not so high. In addition to the increase in the volume and integration complexity of the antenna and RF front-end, there is also the increase in the number of unit components, which also brings a new incremental drive to the development of the RF device market.

In terms of communication base stations, the number of 5G macro base stations is about 1.5 times that of 4G. In addition, a large number of small base stations are needed, so the demand for base stations in the 5G era for RF devices will also be very large. 5G will bring about a comprehensive upgrade of RF devices. There is both a need for upgrading and an increase in quantity.

 

The Market for RF Devices in 5G Mobile Phones and Base Stations is Huge

In terms of the development prospect of the 5G RF industry, we should look at the differences between the 5G base station and mobile phone terminal application fields (military and automobile applications are not considered for the time being). In terms of market size, the opportunity of mobile phone radiofrequency is far greater than that of base station radiofrequency. In addition, as the 5G base station requires less integration of RF devices than smartphones, and has a larger space for price decline, while the single RF in the mobile field is already very low, the space for price reduction is actually small.

If the combined market size of mobile phone and base station RF is 1, mobile phone RF will account for 80-90%, because there will be more and more mobile phone RF devices to consider the signal compatibility. In the field of mobile applications, RF devices include filters, duplexers, RF switches, LNA, PA, and so on, among which filters, RF switches, and power amplifiers have a relatively large market.

According to research, adding one more frequency band to a smartphone requires adding 1 PA, 1 duplex, 1 switch, 2 filters, and 1 LNA. 2G phones support 4 frequency bands, 3G supports 6, 4G supports 20, and 5G supports 80. The RF front-end demand is more than twice that of 4G.

Consider 5G base stations, which account for 10-20% of the total market. Consider 5G base stations, which account for 10-20% of the total market. The first is the increase in frequency bands, which increases the use of filters; secondly, the number of 5G base stations increases. It is predicted that 5G macro stations are 1.5 times as large as 4G, and there are 2 times as many small base stations as 4G. In general, base stations also have a great demand for RF.

The radiofrequency system of the base station is mainly composed of base station antenna, tower top amplifier, filter, combiner, etc., which plays the functions of receiving, transmitting, and transmitting wireless signals. In the age of 5G, the antenna of the base station will change greatly, and the antenna of the base station will evolve into the integration of antenna and base station equipment, from passive to active.

In base station applications, RF mainly includes filters, amplifiers, duplexers, and other circuit RF devices (including LNA, couplers, attenuators, peak amplifiers). In the field of filters, the main suppliers of SAW are Broadcom and Qorvo, both of which occupy 60-70% of the market share, while the main suppliers of BAW are Murata and TDK, which occupy over 90% of the market share. In the field of power amplifiers, the main suppliers are Skyworks, Qorvo, Broadcom, and Murata, four of which occupy more than 90% of the market share.

In the radio frequency industry, RF chips are the core, foreign manufacturers have very mature technologies, while domestic manufacturers have weak patent reserves and face many difficulties in independent research and development. Therefore, key RF devices are almost all dependent on imports. In this way, domestic RF device manufacturers in the global market share are still small, but this has also spawned a domestic substitution logic.

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