Now offering the highest throw count RF CMOS switches available today for multi-mode,multi-band applications, Peregrine enables more streamlined designs with its 0.5 µm and 0.25 µm SP9T switches.
San Diego, California, June 5, 2007 — Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation, a leading supplier of high-performance RF CMOS and mixed-signal communications ICs, today announced the next generation of its world-class UltraCMOS™ products at the MTT-S International Microwave Symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The new 0.5µm PE42693 SP9T RF antenna switch is the highest throw-count RF CMOS antenna switch available on the market today. To support more highly integrated and even smaller WCDMA solutions, Peregrine also announced that it has qualified its 0.25 µm UltraCMOS technology for three new SP9T switches: the wirebond PE42691 and the flip-chip PE42692 and PE42694 devices.
“Peregrine has responded to customer demands for higher-throw, monolithic CMOS switches that enable efficient RF front-end solutions,” said Rodd Novak, vice president of marketing for Peregrine Semiconductor. “The latest multi-band handset designs require a single, high-throw switch with unprecedented linearity and small signal performance, and a minimal footprint. These new switches are changing the way designers architect their modules,” he added.
A key size benefit of the UltraCMOS SP9T is that it does not require off-chip decoder and driver components. This results in as much as a 50% smaller footprint with the 0.5µm PE42693 when compared with a similar GaAs SP9T. Manufactured in 0.25 µm, the PE42691, PE42692, and PE42694 SP9Ts will save yet another 30%.
Mobile handsets continue to grow in complexity, moving rapidly over the past several years from dual band to tri- and now even quad-band phones. In addition, the complexity of the handsets has grown with the addition of peripheral radios, such as Bluetooth, WiFi, and WiMAX. The antenna switch is responsible for controlling antenna access for all of the radio signals moving into and out of a handset on multiple bandwidths. With the introduction of its SP9T switches, Peregrine is supplying a key capability to enable the effective and efficient management of these signals.
PE42693: GSM and GSM/WCDMA Handsets
Designed for quad-band GSM and GSM/WCDMA handsets, the PE42693 die offers maximum flexibility for antenna switch module (ASM) applications with two GSM/PCS/EDGE compliant TX ports, three TRX ports (designed for WCDMA or as transmit/receive ports), and four symmetric RX ports. Multiple antenna pads allow for flexible impedance matching, while a four pin CMOS logic control with integral decoder/driver facilitates both 1.8 V and 2.75 V control. Peregrine’s 50-Ohm PE42693 die provides superior performance, lower insertion loss, smaller footprint, and higher integration as compared to alternative pin-diode or pHEMT-based SP9T designs.
The UltraCMOS -based PE42693 incorporates Peregrine’s revolutionary HaRP™ technology enhancements to deliver exceptional harmonic results, linearity, and overall RF performance. The device features high linearity of +68 dBm IP3; -110 dBm IMD3; 51 dB of TX-RX isolation at 850 MHz; low insertion loss of 0.7 dB at 850 MHz WCDMA. This innovative 2.75V RF switch operates from 100 to 3000 MHz, and features 1500 V ESD tolerance at all ports, no blocking capacitors, and fast switch settling time.
PE42691, PE42692, PE42694: Realizing the Promise of 0.25 µm Technology
The PE42691 wirebond SP9T and the PE42692 and PE42694 flip chip SP9Ts are the latest in a series of high-performance switches designed for quad-band GSM and GSM/WCDMA handset applications. These SP9T switches offer maximum versatility with two GSM/PCS/EDGE compliant TX ports, three TRX ports (designed for WCDMA or as transmit/receive ports), and four symmetric RX ports. The PE42691 wirebond die has multiple antenna pads to allow for flexible impedance matching, while the PE42692 and PE42694 represent two different logic configuration options in a tiny flip-chip package. The availability of a flip-chip version offers significant space savings in ASM designs, which can lead to unprecedented competitive advantages in footprint. Each switch’s four pin CMOS logic control with integral decoder/driver facilitates both 1.8 V and 2.75 V control. Built on the company’s world-class UltraCMOS technology, the devices use Peregrine’s revolutionary HaRP™ technology enhancements to deliver exceptional harmonic results, linearity and overall RF performance.
Key specifications for these 0.25 µm SP9T switches include: IMD3: -112 dBm; second harmonics of -76 dBc; and third harmonics of -76 dBc. IIP3 is specified at +69 dBm; TRX Insertion Loss (850 WCDMA) is 0.55 dB; TX-RX Isolation is 51 dB at 900 MHz and 45 dB at 1900 MHz; and ESD tolerance is 1.5 kV HBM at all ports.
Price and Availability
The PE42693 is sampling now and is slated for volume production in multiple facilities in Q3 ’07, including those of Peregrine’s strategic manufacturing partner, OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan). The device is priced at $0.90 ea. (10K units), and is available in die form from Peregrine’s worldwide sales network. The PE42691, PE42692, PE42694 are scheduled to begin sampling to volume customers in Q3 ’07 with production in Q4 ’07.
Peregrine is known for its high-performance RF CMOS IC products which are ideally suited for a wide range of market segments, including Mobile Wireless; Broadband CATV/DTV; Communications Infrastructure and Aerospace/Defense radio applications. The Company’s innovative CMOS process – UltraCMOS — combines the RF, mixed-signal, and digital capabilities of any other CMOS process, yet tolerates the incredibly high power required for high-performance wireless applications.
About UltraCMOS™ Technology and the HaRP™ Technology Invention
UltraCMOS™ mixed-signal process technology is a proprietary, patented variation of silicon-on insulator (SOI) technology on a sapphire substrate providing with high yields and competitive costs. It combines the RF, mixed-signal, and digital capabilities of any other CMOS process, yet tolerates the high power required for high- performance wireless applications. The Company’s revolutionary HaRP™ technology enables dramatic improvements in harmonic results, linearity and overall RF performance; specifications required by the 3GPP standards body for GSM/WCDMA applications which are unmatched in the industry. In particular, long-awaited accomplishments in Intermodulation Distortion (IMD) handling are now available monolithically to multi-band front-end module and handset manufacturers. These significant performance advantages exist over competing processes such as GaAs, SiGe, BiCMOS and bulk silicon CMOS in applications where RF performance, low power and integration are paramount.
About Peregrine Semiconductor
Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets high-performance communications RF ICs for the wireless infrastructure and mobile wireless; broadband CATV/DTV; communications infrastructure; and aerospace and avionics 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 WCDMA, EDGE and GSM digital cellular, broadband, DTV, DVR and rad-hard space and defense programs. Peregrine UltraCMOS devices are manufactured in its CMOS facility located in Sydney, Australia and in Tokyo, Japan through an alliance with OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd. 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 psemi.com. Contact Peregrine’s worldwide distribution partner, Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL), for sales information at 1-800-737-6937.
###
The Peregrine Semiconductor name, logo and UTSi are registered trademarks and Ultra CMOS is a trademark of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.