Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/27739-peregrine-announces-volume-production-parts-for-ultracmos-60-ghz-rf-soi-switches

Peregrine Announces Volume Production Parts for UltraCMOS 60 GHz 
RF SOI Switches

January 19, 2017

Peregrine Semiconductor Corp., founder of RF SOI (silicon on insulator) and pioneer of advanced RF solutions, announces immediate availability of volume production parts for their UltraCMOS® 60 GHz RF SOI switches. The PE42525 and PE426525 extend Peregrine’s high frequency portfolio into frequencies previously dominated by gallium-arsenide (GaAs) technology.

Peregrine announces volume shipping of their UltraCMOS® 60 GHz RF SOI switches featuring fast switching, high isolation, low insertion loss and excellent linearity.

Both 60 GHz switches deliver exceptional performance in all key RF parameters and have a fast switching speed of only 8 nanoseconds. The PE42525 is ideal for test-and-measurement (T&M) equipment, microwave-backhaul solutions and higher frequency switching in 5G systems. The PE426525 boasts an extended temperature range making it desirable for harsh-environment applications in industrial markets.

“When we announced availability of 60 GHz switch samples and evaluation kits in early October at European Microwave Week, the response was tremendous,” says Kinana Hussain, director of marketing at Peregrine Semiconductor. “These high frequency switches are garnering a high adoption rate in multiple markets including 5G, test and measurement (T&M) and defense. Not only do these switches break paradigms in high frequency, they also break paradigms in SOI fast switching.”

The PE42525 and PE426525 join Peregrine’s high frequency product portfolio, which includes multiple switches, an image-reject mixer and monolithic phase and amplitude controllers (MPACs). Peregrine’s proprietary UltraCMOS technology platform enables these products to reach high frequencies without compromising performance or reliability. 



Features, Packaging, Price and Availability

Supporting a wide frequency range from 9 kHz to 60 GHz, the PE42525 and PE426525 are single-pole double-throw (SPDT) RF switches. The two reflective switches deliver an incredibly fast switching speed of 8 nanoseconds and RF TRISE/TFALL time of 3 nanoseconds. Both switches have low current of 390 nanoamperes. With exceptional performance across all key RF specifications, these switches deliver high port-to-port isolation, low insertion loss, high power handling, high linearity and excellent ESD protection of 1 kV HBM. At 50 GHz, the PE42525 and PE426525 exhibit port-to-port isolation of 37 dB and insertion loss of 1.9 dB. The PE426525 also has an extended temperature range from -55 to +125 degrees Celsius. 

The PE42525 and PE426525 are available as a flip-chip die with 500 microns bump pitch—the best form factor for high frequency performance as it eliminates performance variations due to wire-bond length. 

Production parts and evaluation kits are available now. For 1k-quantity orders, the PE42525 die is $40 each, and the PE426525 is $48 each.


For more information, visit www.psemi.com.