At IMS 2026, everything RF stopped by the Qorvo booth, where the company showcased a range of RF and microwave innovations through multiple live demonstrations. The demonstrations included Wi-Fi-over-mmWave beamforming connectivity, Ku-band beamformer IC demonstrations, programmable multiplex filter banks, integrated GaN driver solutions for phased array radar, and long-range drone connectivity solutions.
The showcase focused on real-world RF system challenges, including high-data-rate wireless links, beam steering, multi-band filtering, radar front-end design, and long-range communication.
AWMF0247 Ku-Band TDD Beamformer IC
Karen Huang, Principal Systems and Applications Engineer at Qorvo, demonstrated the AWMF0247 Ku-band TDD beamformer IC through a live measurement setup, highlighting its calibration capabilities. In the demo, two transmit channels from the IC were fed into a two-port spectrum analyzer to directly compare their outputs. The measurement showed very minimal variation between channels, demonstrating the effectiveness of Qorvo’s factory digital calibration built into the chip.
This low channel-to-channel variation is critical for phased array systems, as it allows easy array-level calibration and enables techniques like digital pre-distortion (DPD) to be applied from one channel across the entire array. The IC itself integrates four TX and four RX channels, combining phase shifting, gain control, and TDD operation in a compact, low-power design, enabling accurate electronic beam steering for applications such as SATCOM and radar.
Wi-Fi over Millimeter Wave with Beamforming
Assaf Toledano, Director of Applications Engineering at Qorvo, demonstrated a Wi-Fi over millimeter-wave beamforming system, highlighting real-time link performance using a complete RF signal chain.
In the demo, an 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) signal was transmitted from a phased array with eight AWMF0221 beamformers to a second phased array receiver, with performance measured on a spectrum analyzer. The system achieved ~1.5% EVM for 1024-QAM, demonstrating high signal integrity across the full transmit and receive chain. He also noted that similar performance has been achieved over distances up to 3 km, while the show-floor setup replicated this at short range, highlighting the wide linear output power range of the beamformers.
The demo combined beamformers and up/down conversion (AWMF0224) to showcase a complete solution capable of delivering stable, high-data-rate mmWave links for applications such as Wi-Fi, wireless backhaul, and fixed wireless access.
Programmable Multiplex Filter Bank
Assaf also demonstrated a programmable multiplex filter bank designed to provide flexible RF bandwidth selection across a wide frequency range. In the demo, the system covered 2–6 GHz and 8–18 GHz bands, with six independently controllable filter channels. Using a control interface, individual filters were turned on and off in real time, and combinations of filters were activated to modify the overall bandwidth and signal path.
The output was displayed on a spectrum analyzer, where different configurations showed how users can shape and adapt frequency responses dynamically. With six channels enabling up to 64 programmable states, the demo highlighted real-time flexibility in RF filtering. Engineers can dynamically adjust bandwidth and frequency selection without hardware changes, making the solution suitable for multi-band radios, defense systems, and adaptive communication platforms.
Integrated GaN Driver Solutions for Phased Array Radar
Phil Harris, Senior Director, Field Applications Engineering, demonstrated integrated GaN driver solutions, focusing on simplifying the implementation of high-power RF systems for radar applications.
In the demo, the system showcased how Qorvo’s solution controls both gate and drain signals of GaN devices, enabling precise switching at nanosecond-level timing. This level of control is critical for radar systems, where faster switching directly improves resolution and performance. The hardware on display highlighted a highly integrated, compact design, with four transmit and four receive channels implemented within a ~30 mm × 30 mm area, suitable for X-band phased array tiles. The demonstration emphasized how integrating the driver with GaN power stages reduces design complexity and component count, while improving performance and easing adoption. The same approach is also being extended to applications such as drones, communication systems, and electronic warfare, showcasing its broader applicability.
Long-Range Drone Connectivity
Qorvo also demonstrated a long-range drone communication setup, focusing on how RF performance and power levels affect link distance.
In the demo, Qorvo showcased a system combining RF devices operating around 915 MHz (LoRa) with integrated power management, including support for drone motor control. The setup showed how a 2 W RF output can significantly extend communication range. It showed how increased transmit power and optimized RF design enable longer coverage while maintaining signal integrity, with bandwidth and power levels clearly illustrated during the setup. This highlighted how Qorvo’s solutions can improve link robustness and range, making them suitable for applications such as industrial drones, surveillance UAVs, and defense systems.
In addition to the demonstrations, Qorvo briefly outlined its RF and power offerings and where they are used, including areas such as defense, aerospace, SATCOM, and long-range IoT.
Defense, Aerospace, SATCOM, and IoT Portfolio
from Qorvo highlighted the company’s RF portfolio for defense, aerospace, SATCOM, and long-range IoT applications. In the overview, he pointed to technologies including RF front-end devices (such as the QPF5012), filtering, beamformers, and long-range wireless, outlining how these building blocks are used across radar systems, satellite communication, and extended-range connectivity.
RF and Power Portfolio
Doug Bostrom, General Manager at Qorvo, briefly highlighted the company’s broad RF and power portfolio, covering RF front ends, power management, beamforming, and filtering. The overview positioned these technologies as building blocks for applications across wireless, aerospace, defense, and communications systems.
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