RF switch targets high-performance broadband apps

Peregrine Semiconductor Corp., a fabless provider of high performance radio-frequency (RF) integrated circuits (ICs), has announced its RoHS-compliant PE42551 50? RF Switch for high-performance broadband RF applications such as automated test equipment (ATE), related test and measurement applications, and cellular infrastructure. The device enables to reach a settled state due to the reduction of the phase and insertion loss drift that occurs after a switching event.

"The PE42551 is the third device in Peregrine's UltraCMOS RF Switch family designed for the demanding rigors of high-precision RF applications. This complements our PE42552 high-end ATE switch with high linearity up to 6GHz, high isolation and ease-of-use, at a price point ideal for cost sensitive applications," said Mark Schrepferman, marketing director for Peregrine's high performance solutions business unit.

The PE42551 provides switching time of 7?s (50% CTRL to 0.1 dB final value) which allows systems to respond faster while maintaining linearity over frequency, voltage and power. A typical GaAs-based switch has a well-known gate lag in settling time which is not usually defined in its operational specification. This lag, which develops a phase and insertion loss drift, is insignificant on the UltraCMOS-based PE42551. The PE42551 is available in the 4 x 4 mm 20-lead QFN package.