MaxLinear Showcases Sierra SoC with 20dB PIM Cancellation for Compact FDD Massive MIMO
MaxLinear will demonstrate its Sierra single-chip radio SoC at MWC Barcelona 2026, showcasing on-chip PIM cancellation canceling up to 20dB of interference. Embedded PIM cancellation lets OEMs replace bulky cavity filters with smaller ceramic versions, enabling more compact, lighter Frequency Division Duplex Massive MIMO radio units.
1. MWC Barcelona Presentation
At MWC Barcelona 2026, MaxLinear will host live demonstrations of its Sierra single-chip radio SoC in Hall 2, meeting room 2L8MR, showcasing new Open RAN radio units that leverage its embedded PIM cancellation for FDD Massive MIMO.
2. PIM Cancellation and Filter Replacement
Sierra’s architecture integrates active Passive Intermodulation cancellation capable of removing up to 20dB of PIM on each receive path, allowing OEMs to substitute large, heavy cavity filters with smaller, lighter ceramic filters without sacrificing receiver throughput.
3. Market Impact for MNOs and OEMs
The shift toward high-bandwidth uplink applications has made uplink capacity a critical bottleneck, and Sierra-powered O-RUs promise to reduce size, weight and cost for mobile network operators pursuing practical FDD Massive MIMO upgrades.