QuantalRF, the pioneering developer of RF semiconductor and antenna solutions, announced that it has started sampling the QWX27104, a DPD-efficient linear front-end module (FEM) for Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8 mobile applications, to Tier-1 mobile OEMs and SoC makers. Part of QuantalRF’s Elementum™ Wi-Fi FEM portfolio, the QWX27104 pairs the linear performance of the GlobalFoundries (GF) 8SW RF-SOI power amplifier with reduced digital pre-distortion (DPD) overhead, delivering up to 3 dB higher mask-compliant output power for the complex, wideband modulations that define Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8.
Mobile systems built around incumbent, non-linear GaAs FEMs lean heavily on DPD to correct amplifier distortion. But this approach consumes computational resources, increases power consumption, and erodes design margin, while becoming progressively more difficult to sustain as channel bandwidths widen to 160 and 320 MHz. The QWX27104 inverts that trade-off. Because linearity is engineered into the FEM itself, the device achieves its target error vector magnitude (EVM) with a lower-order, less complex DPD engine. That efficiency translates directly into system headroom: up to 3 dB more mask-compliant output power under the most demanding modulations, greater tolerance to system, temperature and process variations, and a lighter, simpler DPD burden on the host SoC.
“For years the industry has accepted that a ‘linear’ Wi-Fi front end means a non-linear GaAs amplifier propped up by ever-heavier digital correction,” said Dr. Ali Fard, CEO and CTO of QuantalRF. “The QWX27104 shows there is a better path. By building the linearity into a CMOS RF-SOI architecture, we let the system do far less DPD while getting ~3 dB more usable power exactly where Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8 need it most — at 160 and 320 MHz. This is the DPD-efficient future of the mobile front end, and we are just getting started.”
Consistent Linearity Across Every Channel
The QWX27104’s advantage is not a single-channel peak, but performance across the entire band. With DPD applied at 160 MHz bandwidth, the QWX27104 maintains EVM within 0.5 dB across all channels, while competitive GaAs solutions can vary by more than 4 dB from channel to channel. That variation forces designers to reduce output power to guarantee worst-case compliance. At 320 MHz, the QWX27104 sustains up to -47 dB EVM up to 16 dBm and remains spectral-mask-limited to 19.5 dBm, approximately 3 dB higher in output power than the point where conventional FEMs fall below the −40 dB EVM. The result is more real, deployable output power under the wide bandwidth and dense constellations that define next-generation Wi-Fi systems.
Intelligent and Adaptive CMOS RF-SOI Architecture
QuantalRF has spent five years developing its intelligent and adaptive architecture. A multi-loop analog intelligent feedback system allows the FEM to self-optimize in real time, boosting efficiency and linearity across all modes and channel conditions and holding performance even under a 3:1 VSWR antenna mismatch. Built on GF’s commercial 8SW RF-SOI process, the QWX27104 integrates the PA, LNA, switch, and coupler onto a single monolithic die. Its performance is driven by QuantalRF’s disruptive RF architecture, developed in close collaboration with GF to validate and refine the RF device models on 8SW for demanding front-end applications. The QWX27104 joins QuantalRF’s fully linear QWX27105 FEM in the Elementum™ portfolio, extending the company’s CMOS RF-SOI front-end family across a broader range of system architectures.
“QuantalRF has taken a genuinely disruptive approach to the RF front end, and it’s exactly the kind of innovation our 8SW RF-SOI platform was built to unlock,” said Alexandros Margomenos, Senior Director of RF-SOI Product Management at GF. “We’ve invested heavily to optimize 8SW for demanding mobile and wireless applications, and we worked closely with the QuantalRF team to ensure our device models and process were fully validated for their design. Seeing their architecture reach this level of performance in a mainstream SOI process is a proud result of that partnership.”
Key Features & Benefits of QWX27104 FEM
- Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8 compatible — covers the full 5150–7125 MHz range
- Up to 3 dB higher mask-compliant output power – 20 MHz to 320 MHz complex modulations
- EVM consistency across all channels —
- Low-order DPD requirement — the intrinsically linear FEM offloads the host DPD engine
- High linear output power — 22 dBm at HE20 MCS0 with 3 dB SEM margin
- Mobile-optimized supplies — 3.8 V (PA) and 1.8 V (LNA)
- Highly integrated — PA, LNA, switch, and coupler in a single monolithic die
- Small form factor — 2 × 2 mm, 16-pin LGA package; also available as a
- Drop-in compatibility — pin-, power-mode-, and package-compatible with incumbent GaAs FEMs
Availability
QWX27104 samples and evaluation kits are available now; volume-production parts are scheduled for Q1 2027.