Broadcom/Avago GaAs MMICs now all NRND or obsolete

[Howardlong]

Bit of a PITA, I'm just gearing up for a new production run, only to find that one of the GaAs MMIC parts I use is now EOL. Stupidly I assumed there'd be an updated replacement, only to discover Broadcom's EOL'd their entire amplifier portfolio.

https://www.broadcom.com/products/wireless/amplifiers/

Avago (now Broadcom) used to be the go-to place for this kind of stuff. Are there any suggestions for alternatives for these kinds of parts? In particular I am looking for broadband low noise preamps.

[xaxaxa]

The same kind of shit has happened with triquint (now qorvo); all of their wideband mixers are discontinued other than a few 20GHz parts for satellite downlink... same with NXP, most of their LNA transistors are discontinued and the suggested replacement costs 3x as much.

Personally I don't mind using EOL parts in my products as long as they remain easy to source. Often EOL parts are even easier to source than new parts and are cheaper (distributors have a lot of stock piled up and need to get rid of it).

[David Hess]

Broadcom/Avago discontinued all of their diodes and some other things last year.  Cry havoc, and release the requalifications of war!

[Howardlong]

Personally I don't mind using EOL parts in my products as long as they remain easy to source.

If only they were easy to source!

[David Hess]

I was hoping that Broadcom/Avago would sell the discrete/MMIC division to someone else so that the parts would continue to be available under a different name but that did not happen.

[Howardlong]

Me too. I don’t know, but I guess it’s a fairly specialised foundry process?

[Howardlong]

Hmm, my board assembler seems to have access to a venerable treasure trove of availablity via NetComponents, which I believe is a subscription service. So much for Octoparts!

[David Hess]

Me too. I don’t know, but I guess it’s a fairly specialised foundry process?

They had been making the diodes for 40+ years so more likely an obsolete process in their case.  Unfortunately their diodes were the only ones with detailed datasheets and application notes.

[Howardlong]

An obvious alternative is Hittite, now Analog.... except Hittite's pricing has always been stratospheric. Nice chips for one offs, but they don't even make if to the grid for consumer gear.

[Gribo]

Some of the devices can be replaced by devices from Infineon (LNAs).  Some of them (HSMS-2xx diodes) have second sources.

[David Hess]

Some of the devices can be replaced by devices from Infineon (LNAs).  Some of them (HSMS-2xx diodes) have second sources.

Oh, I know there are alternatives but actual second sources?

[Gribo]

Sorry, might be a brain fart from me. I am also looking at this, way too many designs with MGAs and HSMS..

[CopperCone]

does this mean better parts are coming?

[Gribo]

Unlikely. Broadcom/Avago would have announced them already. Oh well, I hope Skyworks will not get gobbled up.

[CopperCone]

why do they shut down then? did the market for the parts die? how come no one else is taking over the profit?

[Gribo]

Compared to the competition, the HSMS-285 line had better sensitivity with 0V DC bias. It is quite difficult to get to these levels of performance without the process know how.
There is a somewhat equivalent replacement by Macom/TE, the MA4E2200, but only for SOT-323 footprint. They don't even have a proper S-parameter file.. 

[Howardlong]

why do they shut down then? did the market for the parts die? how come no one else is taking over the profit?

This is as yet unanswered, it does seem a little strange to shut down an entire division in this fashion, without selling it on. I guess I’ll just avoid Broadcom parts now.

Perhaps the market isn’t what it used to be, with increased integration. Having said that, I don’t think handset and comsumer wireless device OEMs have been using discrete MMICs in volume for quite a number of years. I’d have thought there’s still a large market outside of consumer goods though, where integration won’t ever be as high.