Last fall we profiled Black Sand Technologies when they successfully completed raising $8.2 Million in Series A funding. Other than a few appointments of individuals to key positions, there really has not been much news regarding the company since. Needless to say, their web-site has also not been updated with any new product information. But thanks to Forbes.com and Clair Cain Miller who wrote the actual article, we get a little insight on Black Sand’s chief technologist Susanne Paul and her thoughts regarding silicon based power amplifiers.

If you ever wondered what it takes to be a chief technologist, here are a few clues: you ought to be able to work 80-hour weeks, while taking care of several children, and fixing your own car troubles! Anyhow, here is why she believes that silicon based power amplifiers are they way to go in the future. First of all, gallium arsenide, which is currently used for power amplifier design, is much more expensive to manufacture than silicon. The article points out that the cost per wafer for gallium arsenide has been constant over the last 25 years at about $400. In stark contrast, the same waver costs only about $45 for silicon. Additionally, silicon based amplifiers ought to consumer significantly less power then their gallium arsenide counterparts, assuming that engineers will be able to develop algorithms allowing them to vary their broadcasting strength based on transmission distance. They should also be less susceptible to interference, such as tall buildings, and more flexible in accommodating different networks when people are roaming.

Sounds pretty impressive, but should you believe what Susanne is saying? Well how about this quote from the aforementioned article: “She is uniquely qualified, as the only human being in the world ever to have built and put into production a silicon power amp - Venu Shamapant, Austin Ventures” What else do we learn from the article? Well, it seems that Black Sand is expecting to have their first silicon samples later this summer and believe their design will be incorporated into cell phone products in the 2009 time frame. This of course assumes that none of the other startups pursuing similar solutions, or some of the established players in the cellular filed will be able beat them to the punch.