Peregrine's new RF switch takes broadband to new heights
The company's PE42720 silicon on insulator 75Ω RF switch is said to feature exceptional linearity and isolation performance
Manufactured on Peregrine's UltraCMOS technology, the HaRP-enhanced single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) switch features high linearity, leading isolation performance and excellent video feedthrough.
This is a combination that is ideal for supporting higher data rates in cable modem termination systems (CMTS), multi-service headends, cable television (CATV) optical transceivers, fibre hubs, optical network terminals, and CATV amplifier modules.
Optimised for high linearity and isolation performance, the PE42720, pictured at the top of this article, supports increasing data rates as required by the industry transition to DOCSIS 3.1.
High linearity minimises distortion in the cable network to support new modulation schemes such as 4096-QAM, while the ability to support high isolation between RF ports minimises unwanted signal interference.
This combination is critical as DOCSIS 3.1 relies on orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) to improve spectral efficiency, allowing a 50 percent increase in data rates up to 10Gb/s downstream and 1Gb/s upstream.
"As the cable television market moves to OFDM to increase data rates, manufacturers will need to make improvements in efficiency in all parts of the system by reducing noise, intermodulation distortions, and ingress," says Mark Schrepferman, director of the commercial and industrial product line with Peregrine's High performance Solutions Business Unit.
"Peregrine has been supporting these requirements for years in the wireless markets, and we are pleased to bring the exceptional linearity and isolation performance that can only be achieved using Peregrine's UltraCMOS technology and HaRP enhancements to broadband cable applications," he adds.
Peregrine's new switch features high isolation performance of at least 60dB across the entire broadband frequency range of 5MHz to 3 GHz (65dB at 1 GHz (typ) and 64dB at 2GHz).
The device features a video feedthrough of 5mVpp for reduced distortion, and delivers low insertion loss, which enhances overall system performance by reducing the RF path noise figure.
What's more, high linearity with a CTB/CSO of -104 dBc improves dynamic range of CATV systems. The PE42720 supports 1.8V and 3.3V control logic and ESD performance of 2500V HBM on all ports.
Further details of the chip are detailed in the figure below.
Peregrine also announced the availability of the PE42720 Evaluation Kit, pictured below. The kit can be ordered now, through the firm's global direct sales representatives and worldwide distribution partners.
Packaging, Pricing & Availability
The PE42720 is available now in volume production, supplied in a 4x4 mm 20-lead LGA package priced at $1.06 in 10K quantity orders. Samples and volume-production quantities can be ordered today, through Peregrine's global direct sales representatives and worldwide distribution partners.
Peregrine Semiconductor is a fabless provider of high-performance radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). Its solutions leverage its proprietary UltraCMOS technology, an advanced RF Silicon-On-Insulator process.
