The Business Unit Tuners was the entity that developed all RF modules for Philips Consumer Electronics, but also a main player on the third market. With Alps and Matsushita (Panasonic) it was the top3 manufacturer of RF modules. All products (except the uWave ones) were built from discrete components onserted (SMD's) or hand-inserted (mainly the many air coils) on FR4 PCB board, which was then covered by a tin can frame.

• The main product was the TV tuner, with models for all standards (B/G, I, D/K, M/N). In this period the tuner developed from purely discrete to more and more IC-based: first the mixer-oscillator, then the PLL, while we were introducing the first MOPLL with Philips Semiconductors. In this period the big three standardized the tuner World Standard Pinning, which we introduced with our UV1300 family.
• Splitter-modulators for VCR, and an integrated splitter-tuner.
• Front ends, i.e. tuners plus (multi-standard) video and sound IF
• Digital TV receivers for cable (DVB-C) and terrestrial (DVB-T) reception, supporting the very first system test with these systems
• Satellite front ends (900-2100MHz); at the time satellite was the first o introduce digital TV broadcast (DVB-S) for which we made full RF-IF-demodulator system boards.
• Low Noise Block Converters (LNB) for 10-12GHz Ku-band satellite reception. Single, dual, twin and quatro LNB's. Experimental 40GHz Microwave Video Distribution System transceivers.
• RF modules for cordless (CT0, CT1 and DECT) and mobile phone (AMPS, TACS, the very first GSM front ends) and IEEE802.11 (still without suffix!) Wifi.

Additionally, the R&D-lab was next door to the factories, both in Krefeld (Germany) and Singapore, and manufacturing robustness, reliability, cost and quality were always important elements in the product definition.

• we introduced a new robust PCB manufacturing concept, with good soldering performance for both the increasingly smaller SMD's and IC's (reflow soldering) and the crude wired components and frame connections (wave soldering).
• introduction for the tuner family of partly standardised functional and mechanical IP-blocks/modules for reduced diversity and faster derivative design.

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When with Philips Semiconductors (2003-2006) RF modules became a big topic again. Modules now had a much smaller form factor, destined for mobile and portable devices. The main purpose and benefit of modules was to package multiple, heterogeneous technologies where single-die integration is not possible. Technology was LTCC (for power) or multi-layer FR4 substrates with bare dies and SMD's in over-moulded modules.

• GSM/DCS power amplifier modules (e.g. BGY284 based on GaAs HBT PA, BiCMOS driver and PASSI3 passive antenna matching)
• GSM/DCS PA-FEM (front end modules) including band switches and antenna matching (using pHEMT switches)
• Bluetooth RF+Base Band modules (BGB202, BGB204)
• Wifi 802.11b/g modules (BGW100 RF and BGW200 RF+BB)
• CATV amplifier and power doubler modules using GaAs pHEMT's
• Modules based on silicon passive integration; for this see the section IC-Technology

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One of the fast growing business lines in our BU was RF Power, developing RF power components for the cellular base station and other professional markets (broadcasting, radar).

• High power (200-1000W) RF amplifiers using Silicon LDMOS technology. Developments were driving towards ever more efficient LDMOS next to cost reduction in the power packages without performance compromises.
• Introduction of GaN technology for high efficiency and high frequency amplifiers.
• Introduction of plastic over-mould packages, for medium power amplifiers and MMIC's.

This business is recently spun out from NXP as Ampleon.

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