Peregrine Semiconductor Corp., founder of RF SOI (silicon on insulator) and pioneer of advanced RF solutions, announces it supplies the UltraCMOS main-antenna tuning switch for Pantech’s Vega Secret Note LTE-A phablet, featuring a fingerprint scanner that secures the lock screen and access to user-specified data. Peregrine’s PE613010, which is also being used for Pantech’s Vega LTE-A smartphone, provides RF performance enhancements that help the phablet increase battery life, boost data throughput and improve connection quality for fewer dropped calls – even when roaming. Optimized for LTE-A networks, Peregrine’s high-linearity switch also enables carrier aggregation and gives consumers access to more networks globally.

“Pantech first started working with Peregrine for this year’s Vega LTE-A smartphone design because the performance was superior to everything else we evaluated,” says Mr. Song, senior engineer at Pantech. “Based on our success with the smartphone design, Peregrine was a natural choice as the main-antenna tuning switch for Pantech’s groundbreaking Vega Secret Note phablet.”

Peregrine’s high-linearity, UltraCMOS antenna-tuning switch enables carrier aggregation and is optimized for the LTE-Advanced standard, which is offered on SK Telecom’s network in Korea. The switch delivers the industry’s lowest on-resistance (Ron) of 1.2 Ohms from 700-2700 MHz. This enables a 1 dB improvement at the antenna, which translates to a 25-percent performance gain.

“Peregrine is the market leader in supplying main-antenna tuning switches for LTE-A devices, and we are pleased to team a second time with Pantech for this innovative LTE-A phablet design,” says Dylan Kelly, vice president of the mobile wireless solutions business unit at Peregrine Semiconductor. “Peregrine delivers the high-performance connectivity and long battery life consumers need to enjoy fully the new security, camera, stylus and mobile-TV features the Vega Secret Note offers.”