有很多选择时需要考虑的元素the proper components for a Wi-Fi front-end solution. Whether you’re the design engineer building the product, the procurement officer tasked with acquiring the desired parts, or the marketing expert announcing the features and benefits of your company’s devices to the world, you may have different priorities about which parts are chosen and why. In a perfect world, the priorities will all align, and everyone works together as a cohesive team. More often, however, the needs of a single department become the focus, and cross-functional department needs may not surface early enough to ensure components are selected that serve the overall business goals.
While it can be challenging to sift through the myriad of available suppliers looking for just the right components, there are 5 areas of key importance for each role to consider that may help narrow the field:
- Reference design
- Technical specifications
- 能源效率和功耗
- 构成因素
- Cost
We rank them by job function in the following table and then discuss them in depth below.
Areas of Importance by Job Function
1。Reference Designs
为Wi-Fi前端组件选择供应商时，访问文档，如参考设计，数据表和S参数，将大大提高特定产品特征和福利的设计过程，采购可行性和营销。特别是参考设计是关键，因为它们提供了PCB布局，技术特性，系统性能规范和现有前端设计的完整细节。对于工程师来说，这些用于即插即用解决方案或根据需要调整组件以适应特定的内部要求的优异起点。良好的设计还包括电源校准，优化和验证所需的软件等重要的微小。
From a procurement perspective, reference designs provide confirmation that the parts being purchased can do what they’re supposed to do, have met the required specifications and are compliant with regulations. They should also include a bill of materials (BOM) for the referenced layout, and some companies even offer interactive software to show how adjustments for variations in performance will affect costs.
When it comes to marketing, reference designs go a long way in providing needed details around end-product specifications that can translate to user benefits. Improved power efficiency for extended battery life, or lower thermal output can be highly useful sales points. Additionally, reference designs offer insight into a competitor’s product that can provide great options for adding market differentiation.
Using reference designs from a highly reputable source like Qorvo can improve time-to-market by providing a known working circuit, layout, and BOM as a key starting point. However, use caution with designs from less-well-known suppliers as they can add unnecessary constraints, potentially lead engineering teams astray, or trap designers into expecting a layout will work only to find out it doesn’t which then requires additional expense to start over.
2。Technical Specifications
组件的性能rmance parameters such as Tx output power and linearity (error vector magnitude (EVM) floor) are extremely important when deciding on which elements to use in a Wi-Fi front end design. Technical specifications provide guiding metrics on how an RF layout will perform and should be clear and simple to understand. In order to procure components that meet the exact needs of the proposed design, both engineers and purchasing agents should be aligned on the technical requirements and know what can possibly be substituted if a specific part can’t be found. Listed on an RFP/RFQ (Request for Proposal/Request for Quotation), technical specifications act as the basis for an entire RF design and finding suppliers that provide detailed documentation, along with easily accessible technical support, is an important part of choosing where to buy wireless components.
除了工程和采购影响外，规格文件对产品营销管理人员非常有用，因为它们有助于通知关键区别的性能属性。它们还定义了这些性能参数如何直接涉及并效益整体解决方案，并且不仅可以用于推销成品，而且可以通过新设计进行互通用的最终结果进行通信。确切地知道设备可以为消费者做些什么，以及这些功能与市场上的其他设备的功能如何影响定价策略和品牌定位。
Manufacturers like Qorvo provide technical specifications for a variety of transmission rates and system configurations and have technical experts to answer questions and provide design support as needed. When looking for a supply partner, be sure to vet the ease of access and availability of technical specifications. A good vendor partner should always have the specifications at hand and be eager to support requests for design help.
有关Qorvo产品的技术问题吗？访问我们118bet网娱乐 section for relevant information about our Wi-Fi solutions.
3.。Efficiency and power consumption
Today more than ever there is increased pressure to do more with less – packing added performance into smaller and smaller packages. There are many design challenges that accompany these requirements and selecting a FEM with high efficiency and low power consumption is a particularly important part of building successful Wi-Fi solutions. The right FEM can save time-to-market and add to cost savings in an overall system. Thermal management can be a critical expense for a wireless device, especially in 4x4 or 8x8 designs. Wi-Fi performance degrades when system temperature rises, and the cost of managing these temperature increases can build rapidly if not effectively managed.
对于工程师来说，寻找最高效率，最低功耗和最佳热管理的最小部件可以是一个大障碍，但选择检查所有这些盒子的组件将在提高性能和较低的整体解决方案成本中支付股息。具有高效率的FEM，PCB尺寸通常可以平均降低15％。无需添加的风扇，散热器或额外调整，设计布局可以简化和完成更快。
While individual FEMs may not be the least expensive components on the market, increased integration has a direct impact on lowering overall system-level costs which procurement should keep in mind to improve product margins. The ability to source a single part from one supplier also makes accounting and managing the supply chain much less complicated. When choosing an appropriate supplier to purchase from, be sure to confirm their supply far enough into the future to ensure production needs are well accounted for. Those vendors that offer scalable solutions to grow or shrink with the market will be important allies in mitigating unwanted supply surpluses or shortfalls.
For product marketers, time-to-market is a key factor and more integrated parts like FEMs go a long way to reduce overall build times. Additionally, knowing that smaller, sleeker products can be created adds a competitive advantage in the demanding Wi-Fi market where a little less power used per device can result in big wins with clients whose power-consumption habits may be under increased scrutiny.
Consider Qorvo’s Front End Module solutions. Designed for the Wi-Fi needs of today, they provide high efficiency and low power consumption, allowing up to 25% reduced power dissipation which enables compact fan-less and ventless box design.
4.。Form Factor
如上所述，今天的Wi-Fi设备变得越来越小，但仍然需要同样的，或者更好，消费者已经习惯的性能。因此，在确定在无线设计中使用的组件时，表单要素是一个主要的考虑因素。选择高度集成的零件，如有限元件和IFEMS（包括BAW滤波）支持封装尺寸的减少和需要外来或冗余零件。像Qorvo这样的有限元制造商通常可以在较小的形状型部件中提供类似或更好的性能，从而允许更多的产品设计灵活性。购买者欣赏所提供的较低的BOM，添加的集成和产品营销人员鼓掌减少尺寸可以带来的光滑设计。随着这些好处，使用更高级别的预包装，即插即用，完全集成的组件可节省需要在这种小包装中适应如此多的性能的设计工程师所需的时间和精力。
Qorvo Front End Modules cover a wide basis of both market standard form-factors and unique, highly integrated options in terms of size and solution features, which provide customers additional choices in their end product configurations. To Qorvo “Small is Beautiful,” and we strive to have options that enable product differentiation for our customers.
5. Cost
Managing budgetary concerns is always a balancing act. While there are numerous ways to cut costs, it’s important to know the needs of each department so that cuts can be distributed effectively, and key performance requirements are still met within budget. Taking a systems-level, holistic approach to mitigating cost means looking for areas to get more use out of dollars spent. For engineers, choosing highly integrated parts (like the aforementioned FEMs) and high-quality components may cost more on a part-by-part basis, but will add to overall savings as a lower BOM is realized. For purchasers, choosing a supply partner that offers scalability, predictability and reliability can go a long way in providing savings lost in unmet production timelines or redesigns due to component shortages. For product marketers, lower production costs offer additional flexibility in pricing structures where saving the consumer a few dollars on an individual unit can result in making additional profits from increased sales volume. The most important consideration when pricing components and choosing a vendor is quality. A quality supply partner will deliver high-end parts, on time, consistently and provide additional areas to work toward improving process efficiencies together.
Qorvo提供了如此高质量的解决方案，在我们的前端差异化上大写，专注于降低功耗和干扰分辨率，同时在我们的组件中保持高吞吐量和范围。我们创建最有效的解决方案，在竞争形式因素中提供可靠的覆盖范围。
We hope the five areas outlined above provide a helpful guideline for locating, choosing and designing the best front-end solutions. Each of these topics is important by itself, but when considered together, they provide for a much more effective Wi-Fi component sourcing strategy. When procurement, marketing and engineers can approach the design process together from a cross-functional perspective, there is greater success in achieving business goals and creating impressive products that make an impact.