Qualcomm claims to have “Made the impossible, possible” by incorporating mmWave technology into the mobile RF front end in a small, highly integrated module.

There are many challenges associated with the use of mmWave componentry, because of a historically reduced signal range due to path loss and attenuation. Signals are easily blocked by obstacles like walls, foliage, and even by hands.

To focus mmWave signals into beams, an array of antennas is required to work together in a process called beamforming; the size of that array has ruled out using mmWave technology in mobile phones—until now.

In the QTM052, Qualcomm combines 5G NR transceivers, power management and RF front-end components including power amplification and a phased antenna array.

We first found the QTM052 in Motorola’s Moto Mod 5G where there is a total of four modules that together provide mmWave beam forming, steering and tracking to address the signal issues inherent at mmwave frequencies.