Despite decades of R&D investments, a fully integrated, CMOS-SOI RF front-end for high-performance Wi-Fi applications has remained elusive. It’s the RFFE holy grail.

Our new technical white paper, “CMOS-SOI vs. GaAs Power Amplifiers for Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8 RF Front-Ends,” by our CEO/CTO Dr. Ali Arya Fard, explains why. It covers the fundamental physical, materials, circuit-level and systemic barriers that historically prevented CMOS-SOI power amplifiers from displacing GaAs-based solutions in consumer and enterprise Wi-Fi front-ends.

The 24-page paper also includes the breakthrough that changes the equation (see pg. 13): a silicon-proven monolithic CMOS-SOI front-end chipset that:
Meets and exceeds Wi-Fi 7 performance requirements without digital pre-distortion correction
Outperforms the incumbent GaAs solutions under equivalent operating conditions
Uniquely maintains linearity and efficiency under the dynamic antenna impedance conditions of real-world use, holding EVM within 1 dB at 3:1 VSWR where incumbent GaAs degrades by up to 7 dB

Download this technical white paper.

Visit our Knowledge Hub to see more white papers, case studies, and a video gallery.

The October issue of Microwave Journal features an article by our CEO/CTO, Dr. Ali Fard, as its Cover Feature.

The article, “Wi-Fi 8 Without Digital Pre-Distortion: Linear-by-Design CMOS-SOI RF Front-Ends for the Ultra-High Reliability Era,” looks at what Wi-Fi 8 (IEEE 802.11bn) demands of the RF front-end (RFFE).

Wi-Fi 8 is the first generation in three decades focused on reliability rather than higher peak speeds, and that puts the spotlight on how RFFEs perform in real-world conditions, such as 3:1 VSWR.

Inside the article:

The Reliability Pivot
What 4096 QAM Really Asks of a PA
Three Decades of Silicon Falling Short
The Digital Pre-Distortion Tax
Where Reliability Actually Dies: The VSWR Problem
Linear by Design: An Architectural Answer
Measured Results
Architecture Versus Material
The Road to Wi-Fi 8

Read the full article in Microwave Journal.

If it can be done in CMOS, it will be done in CMOS. For high-performance Wi-Fi front ends, it now can.

TechInsights has published an analysis of our Elementum monolithic Wi-Fi 8 front ends, titled “QuantalRF’s CMOS Front Ends Could Shake Up Wi-Fi,” by Christopher Taylor, Director of Mobile Technologies, Communications & Networking.

A preview:

“For Wi-Fi chipset and module vendors, the efficiency gap between CMOS SOI and GaAs HBTs has historically been the primary reason GaAs retained its position in high-performance Wi-Fi front ends. QuantalRF Elementum closes the gap and reverses it. Skyworks Solutions, Inc., Qorvo, Inc., Qualcomm, and Broadcom all ship GaAs-based Wi-Fi FEMs at volume; each now faces a scenario where a CMOS SOI alternative can match and exceed GaAs performance without the compound semiconductor cost structure.”

The report also highlights that Elementum needs no digital predistortion (DPD), reducing power consumption, complexity, board space, and cost for OEMs.

Read the article in the TechInsights platform.

Note: TechInsights subscribers can go deeper and read the full analysis report, “Can QuantalRF’s Analog Linearization Displace DPD in Wi-Fi 8 Front Ends?”

Dr. Fard will present “Enabling Future Wireless with Innovations in RF” on Thursday, Oct. 8, from 17:45 to 18:05 CEST. The final day of the event focuses on the wireless technologies that will define the next decade. In his session, Dr. Fard will explain why RF front-end technology has not kept pace with advances in Wi-Fi standards and how CMOS SOI intelligent, adaptive architectures can improve power efficiency and range while lowering cost for next-generation Wi-Fi access points, mobile devices and edge AI.

“Future wireless systems—from Wi-Fi 8 to satcom and edge AI devices—will demand far more from hardware, especially RF,” said Dr. Fard. “At QuantalRF, we’ve redesigned the RF front end from the ground up to deliver better efficiency and integration on mature silicon processes. I look forward to sharing how these innovations can help the wireless industry close the gap between what Wi-Fi standards promise and what RF hardware can deliver.”

To attend this virtual event, register here.

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 <−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.”

QWX27104 Key Features & Benefits

• 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 — <0.5dB variation at MCS11 160 MHz
• 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 <2 mm² flip-chip die
• 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. Contact QuantalRF for more information.

We’re heading to the Wi-Fi NOW World Congress in Mountain View, CA from April 13-15.

Don’t miss our CEO/CTO, Dr. Ali Fard’s presentation on “High-efficiency linear RF front-ends for AP designs,” on Tuesday, April 14 from 11:20-11:40 a.m. on the Main Stage.

Visit our expo space to learn more about our Wi-Fi FEMs and antennas. See firsthand the measured dynamic EVM of our Wi-Fi 7/8 CMOS FEMs for APs, and learn more about our high isolation Wi-Fi AP CPL antennas.

To schedule a meeting with our team, contact sales@quantalRF.com.

QuantalRF’s DockOn antennas, built on its patented compound planar loop (CPL) technology, deliver high power efficiency up to 90% and provide excellent omnidirectional radiation patterns for reliable performance and stable connectivity. They also offer unprecedented antenna isolation, a key coexistence parameter for MIMO system performance. Available DockOn antennas focus on Wi-Fi mobile and access-point applications, while future antenna models will target GNSS, UWB, ISM and 5G standards. Their ultra-small footprint can be printed directly onto standard PCBs, making these antennas ideal for Wi-Fi access points, wearables, smart home devices, smart meters, and ultra-low power IoT nodes.

Within HFSS component libraries, the QuantalRF antenna models are fully scalable, allowing engineers to modify and adapt them to their specific use case. This flexibility supports both antenna design and system-level integration, enabling teams to implement the models in a variety of form factors and configurations. Engineers can import the antennas as black-box external components for system simulations or request services from QuantalRF to use them as modifiable embedded solutions.

“RF design cycles are under increasing pressure to meet performance specifications, accelerate timelines, and optimize costs,” said Dave Aichele, EVP of sales and business development at QuantalRF. “By integrating our antennas into HFSS, we make it easy for engineers to simulate and iterate their antenna designs for optimal performance in end customer systems. This ultimately accelerates their time-to-market, while allowing them to see the impressive performance benefits, particularly the antenna’s high power efficiency, omnidirection pattern and excellent isolation.”

“Adding innovative products, like QuantalRF’s antennas, strengthens the breadth of our component libraries,” said Sara Louie, Principal Product Manager at Synopsys. “It also reinforces our commitment to delivering holistic system design solutions that accelerate time-to-solution for engineering teams.”

For more information about QuantalRF’s antenna solutions, visit quantalRF.com or contact sales@quantalRF.com.

We’re honored, humbled, and excited to share that QuantalRF has been named Best Wi-Fi Startup in the WiFi NOW 2025 Awards.

Thank you to the WiFi NOW organization and the judges for this recognition. It’s meaningful to be acknowledged by a community that understands the real engineering challenges behind next-generation Wi-Fi.

This award belongs to our QuantalRF team, and to our partners, customers, and collaborators across the entire Wi-Fi ecosystem. As our CEO and CTO, Dr. Ali Fard said in his acceptance remarks, “hardware innovation only moves forward when the ecosystem moves with it.”

Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

Click here to see the full list of award winners and finalists.

For more information about QuantalRF’s antenna solutions, visit quantalRF.com or contact sales@quantalRF.com.

ZURICH— Sept. 23, 2025 —QuantalRF, the pioneering developer of RF semiconductor and antenna solutions, today announced it has joined Wi-Fi Alliance^®, the global network of companies shaping the future of Wi-Fi^®. QuantalRF joins more than 900 member companies working together to drive adoption, certification and interoperability of Wi-Fi technologies. This membership reinforces QuantalRF’s commitment to delivering high-performance, energy-efficient RF front-end solutions that enable Wi-Fi standards to reach their full potential.

Wi-Fi Alliance has helped shape an industry that has shipped nearly 46 billion Wi-Fi products, with almost 4 billion new devices entering the market every year. Members drive the future of Wi-Fi by certifying products, participating in member meetings, advocating for spectrum policies, and accessing technology specifications and roadmaps.

“We welcome QuantalRF to Wi-Fi Alliance,” said Kevin Robinson, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “QuantalRF’s expertise in RF front-end design and power-efficient hardware aligns with our focus on delivering robust, reliable Wi-Fi and a seamless user experience. As the industry rolls out Wi-Fi 7 and prepares for future generations like Wi-Fi 8, RF innovations are more critical than ever.”

“Wi-Fi Alliance has been the backbone of the industry for over 25 years, and its members are the ‘who’s who’ of the Wi-Fi ecosystem,” said Dave Aichele, EVP of sales and business development at QuantalRF. “Wi-Fi Alliance not only certifies devices but also ensures Wi-Fi remains robust, interoperable and secure. We look forward to contributing our RF and analog expertise and collaborating with fellow members to drive the future of Wi-Fi.”

For the Wi-Fi market, QuantalRF designs Wi-Fi 7 and emerging Wi-Fi 8 CMOS front-end modules (FEMs) with industry-leading power efficiency and robust performance in demanding environments. Paired with QuantalRF’s proprietary antenna solutions, these FEMs unlock the full speed and performance potential of Wi-Fi across mobile and access point applications.

 For more information about QuantalRF’s RF solutions, visit quantalRF.com or contact sales@quantalRF.com.

About Wi-Fi Alliance

Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 80,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the Internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Our EVP of Sales & Business Development, Dave Aichele, was interviewed by Claus Hetting, CEO & Chairman of Wi-Fi NOW, on how QuantalRF is bringing back analog RF innovation for Wi-Fi front-end modules.

High-performance RF components—including FEMs and the PAs inside them—are cornerstones of the Wi-Fi evolution. But in recent years, advances in analog RF design have stalled in favor of embracing more digital techniques.

Our CMOS-based linear FEMs deliver:

• Up to 35–50% better power efficiency—without relying on DPD
• Higher linearity for better Wi-Fi performance
• Compact, monolithic chips built on 12-inch CMOS wafers

As Dave said, “The truth is that you don’t need to enter the digital domain at all if you’re looking for big improvements in PA linearity and power efficiency.”

Click here to read the article on the Wi-Fi NOW website.

For more information about QuantalRF’s antenna solutions, visit quantalRF.com or contact sales@quantalRF.com.