Infineon Drives down 3G Mobile Phone Production Cost and Size, Introduces Industry’s First BAW Filters Using Wafer-Level Packaging

Jun 12, 2006 | Market News

San Francisco CA - June 12, 2006 - At the MTT International Microwave Symposium, Infineon Technologies AG (FSE/NYSE: IFX), a leading provider of communication ICs, announced the extension of its BAW (Bulk Acoustic Wave) filter product portfolio for UMTS/W-CDMA cell phones. The complimentary pair of new duplexer filters, the NWX2015CR and the NWX2015CT, are the world’s first BAW filters produced using WLP (wafer-level packaging) technology, which reduces production cost and board space requirements in 3G mobile phones.
 
NWX2015CR (passband: 2110 – 2170 MHz) and NWX2015CT (passband: 1920 - 1980 MHz), is designed to maximize receive sensitivity and power efficiency of PA-duplexer RF front-end modules. With insertion loss, stop-band attenuation and isolation being stable over the entire temperature range, and WLP permitting very cost-effective module integration, Infineon’s NWX2015 BAW filters are a critical enabler for 3G UMTS handsets.
 
WLP technology shields the bare die usually sold to customers, simplifying module integration and making costly hermetic encapsulation unnecessary. In consequence, the WLP technology will reduce manufacturing costs of mobile phone front-end modules by up to 25 percent. Additionally, because WLP technology provides a significantly greater flexibility when bonding the filter dies WLP enables manufacturers to reduce the module size by up to 30 per cent.
 
Infineon has already shipped more than 100 million BAW filters to leading handset manufacturers and RF module vendors. The ongoing rollout of high-speed 3G wireless communication networks is spurring interest in small, lightweight 3G mobile phones and fuelling a strong demand for BAW filters.  Based on research by market analysts, the growth rate in this segment of the mobile phone market is four times the projected unit growth rate of the total mobile phone market.
 
“In the worldwide market for BAW filter technology we see Infineon clearly as number two,” said Yoshiyasu Andoh, president of the Japanese market research company Navian Inc.  “We expect the duplexer market to grow from 300 million pieces in 2005 to a total demand of well over 900 million pieces in 2010.”
 
“Infineon has made significant investments to meet our customer’s volume demand needs for BAW filter products,” stated Stefan Wolff, vice president and general manager of Infineon’s RF Engine Business Unit. “The new 8-inch BAW filter production line in Regensburg, Germany, will double the production output and enable us to further increase market share in high-performance filter applications, such as 3G phones.”
 
The NWX2015CR and NWX2015CT UMTS/W-CDMA duplexer filters are sampling now, with full production planned for mid CY2007.  Sample pricing is 0.40 US-Dollar/piece.
 
The devices are being shown in the Infineon booth (number 1023) at the MTT International Microwave Symposium in San Francisco from June 11 to 16.
 
More information and a product brief are available at: http://www.infineon.com/baw

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for automotive, industrial and multimarket sectors, for applications in communication, as well as memory products through its subsidiary Qimonda. With a global presence, Infineon operates through its subsidiaries in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2005 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 6.76 billion with about 36,400 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com. Further information on Qimonda is available at www.qimonda.com.

Information Number

INFCOM200606.068

Press Photos

  • Infineon Drives down 3G Mobile Phone Production Cost and Size, Introduces Industry’s First BAW Filters Using Wafer-Level Packaging<br><br>Infineon reduziert Produktionskosten und Größe von 3G-Mobiltelefonen durch Einführung von BAW-Filtern mit Wafer-Level Packaging
    Infineon Drives down 3G Mobile Phone Production Cost and Size, Introduces Industry’s First BAW Filters Using Wafer-Level Packaging

    Infineon reduziert Produktionskosten und Größe von 3G-Mobiltelefonen durch Einführung von BAW-Filtern mit Wafer-Level Packaging
    INFCOM200606-068b.jpg

    JPG | 467 kb | 1024 x 704 px

  • Infineon Drives down 3G Mobile Phone Production Cost and Size, Introduces Industry’s First BAW Filters Using Wafer-Level Packaging<br><br>Infineon reduziert Produktionskosten und Größe von 3G-Mobiltelefonen durch Einführung von BAW-Filtern mit Wafer-Level Packaging
    Infineon Drives down 3G Mobile Phone Production Cost and Size, Introduces Industry’s First BAW Filters Using Wafer-Level Packaging

    Infineon reduziert Produktionskosten und Größe von 3G-Mobiltelefonen durch Einführung von BAW-Filtern mit Wafer-Level Packaging
    INFCOM200606-068a.jpg

    JPG | 1.65 mb | 2126 x 1535 px