London, — Qorvo has introduced a new X-band RF front-end solution for active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar systems at European Microwave Week 2026. The architecture combines transmit power, receive performance and front-end control while reducing the amount of RF electronics required within the array lattice.
The new solution is designed for X-band radar systems, including flat-panel phased-array antennas where the limited spacing between antenna elements restricts the space available for beamformers, front-end modules (FEMs) and power-control electronics.
QPX0252 Beamformer
The main component of the new architecture is the QPX0252, a four-channel CMOS beamformer IC operating from 7.9 to 12 GHz. It supports four radiating antenna elements with dual-beam receive and single-beam transmit capability. The device also provides 6-bit phase and gain control, multiple operating modes selectable through SPI and fast beam steering.
The QPX0252 is supplied in a compact FC-CSP package and integrates with Qorvo's X-band FEMs and bias-control ICs. Qorvo says the device provides bias control, sequencing and telemetry, while its Zero-Cal technology is designed to reduce array calibration time. It also includes quiet-mode operation and health monitoring.
Reducing Components Inside the Array
In conventional designs, external driver amplifiers and separate power-amplifier control and RF-switching circuits can occupy additional space within the antenna lattice.
Qorvo designed the QPX0252 to provide sufficient transmit output power to directly drive compatible FEMs, including the QPF5012. This removes the need for an external driver amplifier at the board level. Companion Qorvo devices provide GaN power-amplifier bias control and RF switching.
The company says its compatible gate-bias, drain-bias and RF switch-control devices support transmit-to-receive switching in less than 100 nanoseconds and are also in customer sampling.
QPF5012 X-Band Front-End Module
The QPX0252 can be paired with Qorvo's QPF5012 X-band front-end module. The QPF5012 operates from 8.5 to 10.5 GHz and integrates a transmit/receive switch, limiter, low-noise amplifier and power amplifier in a 7 × 5 mm package.
According to Qorvo, the module provides 10 W saturated transmit power, 20.5 dB transmit gain, 23 dB receive gain and a 2.1 dB receive noise figure. Its power amplifier and T/R switch use GaN-on-SiC technology, while the limiter and low-noise amplifier use GaAs.
Receive Performance
The architecture is also designed to provide selectable receive performance for high-power radar applications. Qorvo says the FEM establishes a low system noise figure while the QPX0252 can operate in a high-linearity mode.
Based on Qorvo's system analysis, the combination can provide up to 20 dB higher cascaded input 1 dB compression point (P1dB) compared with other market offerings.
Diwakar Vishakhadatta, Qorvo's vice president of Defense & Aerospace Products, said the company developed the QPX0252 as part of a complete X-band front-end architecture rather than as a standalone beamformer, with the transmit, receive and control functions designed around radar system requirements.
Applications and Availability
Qorvo lists the QPX0252 for commercial and defense radar, defense communications and weather radar applications.
Qorvo said QPX0252 samples and evaluation kits are available now. The beamformer is compatible with the company's production X-band FEMs across different power levels and configurations. The supporting gate-bias, drain-bias and RF switch-control devices are also currently sampling.
The new architecture gives radar designers a way to combine beamforming, transmit/receive functions and control electronics within the limited space available in X-band AESA antenna arrays, while reducing the number of separate RF components required inside the array lattice.
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