Axiom Microdevices

Axiom Microdevices is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and manufactures CMOS power amplifiers (CMOS PA) and other RF devices for GSM-based cellular handsets. Through pioneering integrated circuit innovation, Axiom Microdevices' patented technology offers handset manufacturers an intelligent alternative to legacy gallium arsenide power amplifiers (GaAs), enabling customers to benefit from the advantages of CMOS: integration, supply continuity, scalability, power and cost. Additionally, Axiom's PA also integrates the 50 input and output matching circuitry on die also using a patented circuit technique, thus removing the need for a module packaging technology. Once limited to digital-only circuits, CMOS is increasingly used in analog RF transceivers and integrated baseband-transceiver solutions. Until now, within a modern mobile handset, nearly every active component had migrated to CMOS technology with the exception of the power amplifier due to challenges related to low breakdown voltage of CMOS and 50-ohm output matching requirement. Axiom's PA technology now enables the last specialty process component to be replaced with CMOS. The cellular phone market passed through the 1 billion unit per year mark at the end of 2006, thus making guaranteed supply an even bigger challenge to component vendors. ...