35.5 W at 960 MHz — the PA stage anchor
The MRFE6S9046NR1 is an N-channel LDMOS RF power transistor from NXP, delivering 35.5 W of output power at 960 MHz with 19 dB of gain when biased at 28 V and 300 mA quiescent current. This puts it squarely in the driver or final-stage role for 900 MHz ISM-band amplifiers and cellular uplink transmitters where the 28 V drain rail is the standard LDMOS supply. The 66 V drain-source breakdown rating gives headroom above the 28 V operating point — the device survives load-mismatch transients without avalanche failure, which matters in production PA designs where the VSWR can spike during antenna tuning.
Package and thermal interface
Housed in the TO-270 wide-body (WB-4) package, the MRFE6S9046NR1 uses the exposed metal tab as the drain contact and primary heat path. The wide-body variant provides a larger mounting flange than the standard TO-270, which lowers the thermal resistance to the heatsink — a practical advantage when the PA runs at 35.5 W continuous in a base station or industrial RF generator. The package is supplied in Bulk, not tape-and-reel, which is typical for high-power RF devices that are hand-soldered or reflowed in low-volume production runs. Plan for manual or semi-automated placement rather than high-speed pick-and-place.
The part is ROHS3 compliant, meaning no restricted substances above the threshold limits — no exemption-based carve-outs that could complicate EU or UKCA market entry.
