For the fiscal year ended April 2, 2022
BUSINESS
Company Overview
Qorvo® is a global leader in the development and commercialization of technologies and products for wireless, wired and power markets.
commercialization : the act of using something to try to make a profit, especially in a way that other people do not approve of
We have two reportable segments: Mobile Products ("MP") and Infrastructure and Defense Products ("IDP"). MP is a global supplier of cellular, ultra-wideband 802.15.4z ("UWB"), Wi-Fi and other wireless solutions for a variety of applications, including smartphones, wearables, laptops, tablets and the Internet of Things ("IoT").
IoT : the connection of devices within everyday objects via the internet, enabling them to share data (the abbreviation for internet of things)
IDP is a global supplier of radio frequency ("RF"), system-on-a-chip ("SoC") and power management solutions for a wide range of markets, including cellular and IT infrastructure, automotive, renewable energy, defense and IoT. Our MP segment supplies RF solutions to global consumer product companies, and our IDP segment supplies a more diverse portfolio of products with generally longer life cycles to a broader base of customers and end markets.
Our design expertise and manufacturing capabilities span multiple process technologies. Our primary wafer fabrication facilities are in North Carolina, Oregon and Texas. Our primary assembly and test facilities are in China, Costa Rica, Germany and Texas. We also source products and materials through external suppliers. We have design, sales and other manufacturing facilities throughout Asia, Europe and North America.
span : to last all through a period of time or to cover the whole of it / to include a large area or a lot of things / to stretch right across something, from one side to the other
external : connected with or located on the outside of something/somebody / happening or coming from outside a place, an organization, your particular situation, etc / coming from or arranged by somebody from outside a school, a university or an organization
In addition to organic growth, our strategy may include the acquisition of businesses, assets and technologies that allow us to complement our existing product offerings and design capabilities to drive growth in new or existing markets. During fiscal 2022, we acquired United Silicon Carbide, Inc. ("United SiC"), a provider of silicon carbide ("SiC") power products, and NextInput, Inc. ("NextInput"), a provider of microelectromechanical system ("MEMS")-based sensing products.
organic growth : the increase in a company's sales and profits that is a result of developing its own business activities, rather than buying other companies
complement : to add to something in a way that improves it or makes it more attractive
Industry Trends, Markets and Products
Global demand for wireless and wired connectivity, supported by the proliferation of smarter, data-driven, connected devices in a variety of form factors, is increasing network data traffic and raising requirements for throughput and efficiency.
proliferation : the sudden increase in the number or amount of something; a large number of a particular thing
throughput : the amount of work that is done, or the number of people that are dealt with, in a particular period of time
At the same time, global environmental initiatives and technology advancements related to energy efficiency, sustainability and conservation are driving investments across a range of consumer and industrial applications that demand maximum power efficiency, including in electric vehicles ("EVs") and renewable energy systems.
These trends support multiyear technology upgrade cycles in our markets and increase the demand for our technologies and products.
Our business is diversified primarily across the following end markets: mobile devices, cellular base stations, power management and conversion, wireless connectivity, defense and aerospace, automotive connectivity and other markets.
To solve our customers’ most critical RF and power-related challenges, our products enhance performance, improve efficiency, increase functionality, reduce complexity, enable smaller form factors and address other critical challenges.
Mobile Devices
Qorvo’s largest market is mobile devices, which is a global market characterized by large volumes. It includes smartphones, wearables, laptops, tablets and other devices.
Advances in mobile devices have transformed how end users around the world access content, interact with their physical and virtual communities and transact commerce.
Mobile devices are migrating to 5G architectures and technologies which increase data throughput, reduce signal latency and enable massive machine-to-machine connectivity.
5G devices operate over a wide range of frequencies and face challenges related to efficiency, linearity, signal coexistence, signal integrity and form factor. 5G architectures are more complex and include Multiple-Input/Multiple-Output ("MIMO"), secondary transmit, higher frequencies with wider bandwidths and new receive paths featuring carrier aggregation.
linearity : the fact that something consists of or is arranged in lines / (computing) the delay before data begins to move after it has been sent an instruction to do so
coexistence : the fact of living or existing together at the same time or in the same place
In each instance, the increased functionality and greater complexity increase RF content and favor high performance and highly integrated solutions.
Mobile device original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") are adopting UWB technology to enhance functionality, including indoor navigation and secure remote access, leveraging UWB's precision-location accuracy. They are also seeking to adopt force-sensing touch sensor technology to enhance human-machine touch interfaces, create new consumer experiences and advance industrial design.
Qorvo’s products for mobile devices include highly integrated RF solutions which incorporate filters, switches, amplifiers, multiplexers and other components in a single package. Our product portfolio also includes RF power management integrated circuits, UWB SoC and system-in-package ("SiP") solutions, MEMS-based sensors, antenna tuners, antennaplexers, as well as discrete multiplexers, duplexers, filters, and switches.
incorporate : to include something so that it forms a part of something / (business) to create a legally recognized company
amplifier : an electrical device or piece of equipment that makes sounds or radio signals louder
multiplexer : a piece of electronic equipment that can send more than one electrical signal using only one connection
Cellular Base Stations
Operators of cellular base stations are migrating to 5G in order to increase capacity, expand coverage and lower the cost per bit of data delivered. This is enabling new data-driven intelligent applications that combine global hyper-connectivity with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. New use cases include industrial automation, robotics, remote medical care, autonomous vehicles and augmented reality/virtual reality ("AR/VR").
5G networks operate over a wide range of frequencies, and deployments can vary with spectrum allocation, regional demographics, geopolitical considerations and other factors. In the U.S., the completion of C-band auctions signaled the start of significant growth for base stations in the sub-7 GHz frequency range.
Many of these base stations will be configured with massive MIMO active antenna arrays which increase the number of RF transmit and receive channels. Base stations operating over millimeter wave frequencies are also being deployed to address the capacity requirements in high-density environments and improve applications such as fixed wireless access.
configure : to arrange something in a particular way, especially computer equipment; to make equipment or software work in the way that the user prefers
The continuing migration to 5G is increasing the content opportunity for Qorvo’s high-performance infrastructure products, including those featuring our gallium nitride ("GaN"), gallium arsenide ("GaAs") and bulk acoustic wave ("BAW") technologies.
Qorvo supports the world’s leading cellular base station OEMs with a broad portfolio of infrastructure solutions to address requirements for increased data capacity and throughput and improved efficiency. Qorvo’s products for cellular base stations include switch-low noise amplifier ("LNA") modules, variable gain amplifiers, integrated power amplifier ("PA") Doherty modules, discrete LNAs and high power GaN amplifiers.
Power Management and Conversion
Power efficiency is a core requirement in all electronics, and power management and power conversion are critical to enhancing efficiency. Industry trends in EVs/hybrid-EVs, renewable energy systems, battery-operated portable devices, EV chargers/on-board chargers, data storage, circuit protection and similar applications, are sharpening the focus on power efficiency and increasing the demand for our power management and power conversion solutions.
conversion : the act or process of changing something from one form, use or system to another
Qorvo’s SiC power devices provide state-of-the-art efficiency in a range of power conversion applications. Our SiC portfolio includes Schottky diodes and transistors ranging in voltage from 650V to 1700V. Power levels vary from 650 watts to hundreds of kilowatts, and markets include automotive, industrial, IT infrastructure and renewable energy.
state-of-the-art : very modern and using the most recent ideas and methods
Qorvo’s power management solutions include programmable power management integrated circuits ("ICs") and power application controllers (PACs®). Our programmable power management ICs provide customers digital and analog power control. They reduce solution size, lower cost, improve system reliability and shorten our customers’ product development time. Our power management products manage voltages from 1.8V to 600V and power up to 4,000 watts.
Wireless Connectivity
The proliferation of data-driven connected devices that sense, process and communicate is increasing demand for wireless connectivity solutions that improve speed, capacity and efficiency. Use cases in consumer, commercial and industrial IoT applications include connected cars, cloud gaming, AR/VR, telemedicine and factory automation. Each benefit from faster throughput, lower latency, more security, greater reliability and smaller form factors.
proliferation : the sudden increase in the number or amount of something; a large number of a particular thing
IoT connected devices allow remote access and control of various functions, including entertainment, comfort, security, energy usage and health or general status monitoring, in home and office environments. These devices can be controlled through a computer, tablet or smartphone, or through a more direct peer-to-peer device such as a voice-enabled remote control.
peer-to-peer : involving sharing files or other resources between computers connected through a network, rather than using a central server (= a central computer that stores files)
In Wi-Fi, new standards feature higher order MIMO architectures and offer greater range and capacity. The adoption of new standards, such as 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7, increases data throughput and enable new use cases.
In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission approved the use of 5.9 GHz to 7.1 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi 6E, and countries outside the U.S. are also making spectrum available for Wi-Fi 6E.
The upcoming Wi-Fi 7 standard will double the channel bandwidth and number of spatial streams available with Wi-Fi 6E and use multi-link operation to combine portions of the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands into a single link. This will enable faster speeds over longer distances than previous standards.
bandwidth : a band of frequencies used for sending electronic signals / (computing) a measurement of the amount of information that a particular computer network or internet connection can send in a particular time. It is often measured in bits per second.
spatial : relating to space and the position, size, shape, etc. of things in it
As standards and architectures evolve, requirements increase for more functional and more highly integrated RF front end solutions. Qorvo’s Wi-Fi portfolio includes PAs, switches, LNAs and BAW filters, as well as integrated solutions including front end modules ("FEMs") and integrated FEMs.
In lower power applications, smart device OEMs increasingly prefer multi-protocol integrated SoCs that enable multiple radios to connect concurrently.
The coexistence of low power wireless protocols, such as Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee, and Thread, in single-placement SoCs reduces form factor, extends battery life and advances the proliferation of IoT devices.
Similarly, Matter is an open and universal smart home protocol expected to simplify and accelerate interoperability across IoT devices and platforms. Lastly, new use cases leveraging the ultra-precise location accuracy and secure access enabled by UWB are advancing the proliferation of UWB in a widening range of applications.
interoperability : the ability of computer systems or programs to exchange information / the ability of military equipment or groups to work together
These trends are increasing demand for Qorvo’s low power wireless and UWB solutions. Qorvo offers multi-standard (Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee and Thread) SoC solutions and single standard UWB SoC and SiP solutions, consisting of SoC hardware, firmware and application software.
Defense and Aerospace
Within the defense and aerospace markets, we focus primarily on high-power phased array radar, electronic military applications and communications systems.
The trend toward phased array radar, the shift to higher frequencies and the sharing of existing frequency bands with cellular communications are expanding the content opportunity for Qorvo’s high-performance defense RF technologies and solutions.
We are a leading supplier of RF products and compound semiconductor foundry services to defense primes and other global defense and aerospace customers. We also engage directly with defense customers to develop next-generation semiconductor and packaging technologies.
Our power amplifiers support phased array radars and communication systems. Our solid-state, high-power products provide highly reliable, efficient broadband solutions for complex applications across a broad frequency spectrum.
Our premium filters optimize frequency spectrum to expand network capacity and extend coverage. We also offer industry-leading standard products and integrated multi-chip modules such as LNAs, mixers, phase shifters, switches, multiplexers and attenuators.
Automotive Connectivity
The automotive industry continues to adopt advanced connectivity and compute technologies. Next-generation wireless technologies are enabling new use cases in automotive wireless connectivity, including vehicle-to-everything ("V2X") applications that enable direct, high-speed communication.
These new use cases require complex RF solutions supporting a range of wireless technologies, including cellular, Wi-Fi, GPS, satellite radio and UWB. UWB enables more secure access than current technologies, helping to prevent so-called "man-in-the-middle" or "relay" attacks.
We provide a variety of automotive RF connectivity products, including BAW filters, LNAs, switches, PAs and front-end solutions as well as UWB SoC solutions. Our products meet or exceed automotive AEC-Q100 quality and reliability standards, and our customers include the leading automotive OEMs, tier-1 suppliers and chipset vendors.
Other Markets
Other markets in which we compete include broadband cable and biotechnology testing. In broadband cable, our DOCSIS solutions increase bandwidth to the home to optimize upstream and downstream data connectivity. In biotechnology testing, we have developed a proprietary BAW-based diagnostic test platform which received an Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in fiscal 2022.
biotechnology : the use of living cells and bacteria in industrial and scientific processes
proprietary : (of goods) made and sold by a particular company and protected by a registered trademark / relating to an owner or to the fact of owning something
diagnostic : connected with identifying an illness or other problem / connected with identifying what a student needs to learn
(the rest omitted)
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