UltraCMOS™RFIC delivers >50 dB Isolation, eliminates switch matrix designs
San Diego, California, May 25, 2010 — Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation, a leading supplier of high- performance RF CMOS and mixed-signal communications ICs, today announced the new PE42451 SP5T (single pole five throw) RF switch. The newest IC in the RF switch portfolio, designed on Peregrine’s UltraCMOS™ silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) process technology, delivers exceptional isolation of >50 dB, providing an ideal alternative to switch matrix designs in demanding applications such as communications infrastructure and point-to-point radios.
The HaRP™-enhanced 50-Ohm switch features five symmetric, absorptive RF ports. On-chip CMOS decode logic facilitates a three-pin low-voltage CMOS control interface and an optional external Vss feature (VssEXT). In wireless infrastructure applications, the SP5T design allows up to four power amplifiers to share a common Digital Pre-Distortion (DPD) feedback receiver path with an additional RF path for calibration, enabling a single, low- distortion, high-isolation switch to replace multiple SPDT switches.
“Wireless infrastructure equipment manufacturers no longer need to build costly SPDT-based switch matrices to achieve their high isolation switching needs,” said Mark Schrepferman, director of marketing for High- Performance Solutions business unit at Peregrine. “Being able to reduce component count and cost is an ideal solution for today’s high-performance infrastructure applications,” he added.
The new absorptive switch delivers market-leading RF performance across a frequency range of 450 MHz to 4 GHz: IIP3 of +58 dBm, IIP2 of +95 dBm, and Insertion Loss of 1.6 dB (450 MHz). The switch handles maximum +33 dBm input power (across the range) with world-class ESD tolerance of 3.5 kV HBM.
The PE42451, packaged in the 24-lead 4mm x 4mm QFN, is available in volume today and is priced at $2.20 each (100K units).
About UltraCMOS™ Technology
UltraCMOS mixed-signal process technology is a patented advancement of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology on a sapphire substrate providing high yields, competitive costs and a viable alternative to compound semiconductor technologies. UltraCMOS delivers significant performance advantages over competing processes such as GaAs, SiGe BiCMOS and bulk silicon CMOS in applications where RF performance, low power and high levels of integration are paramount. These measureable power and size savings offer advantages for both manufacturers and consumers, including longer battery life, smaller batteries, lower power consumption and bills, less electronic waste…and a greener RF solution. Further, the company’s revolutionary HaRP™ and DuNE™ technologies further exploit the fundamental benefits of silicon-on-sapphire, enabling dramatic improvements in harmonic results, linearity, power handling and overall RF performance which today remain unmatched by any other RF process technology.
About Peregrine Semiconductor
Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets high-performance communications RF ICs for the wireless infrastructure and mobile wireless; broadband communications and infrastructure; and high-rel markets. Manufactured on the Company’s proprietary UltraCMOS mixed-signal process technology, Peregrine products are uniquely poised to meet the needs of a global RF design community in high-growth applications such as LTE, HSDPA and WCDMA digital cellular and mobile TV; broadband communications such as DTV/PCTV/DVR; and in high-reliability applications such as telecom infrastructure, industrial, automotive, military and satellite systems. Peregrine UltraCMOS devices are manufactured under licensed foundry partnerships with CMOS semiconductor manufacturers located throughout the world. The Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, maintains global sales support operations and a worldwide technical distribution network. Additional information is available on the web at www.psemi.com.
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The Peregrine Semiconductor name and logo are registered trademarks and UltraCMOS, HaRP and DuNE are trademarks of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.