Silicon switches offer industry’s lowest insertion-loss

13th June 2018

Analog Devices

Enaie Azambuja

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Analog Devices has announced production release of its 44GHz single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) switches, the ADRF5024 and ADRF5025 in advanced Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology. The two switches are broadband, with the ADRF5024 yielding flat frequency response from 100MHz to 44GHz, while the ADRF5025 from 9kHz to 44GHz, with repeatable characteristics better than 1.7dB insertion loss and 35dB channel to channel isolation.

Both parts support 27dBm power handling for both through and hot-switching conditions. The switches come in a compact, highly reliable, 2.25mm x 2.25mm surface-mount-technology (SMT) compatible package, exhibiting electrical performance beyond incumbent solutions, which will benefit radio frequency (RF) and microwave design experts, saving bias power, eliminating peripheral components and achieving higher integration in systems such as phased arrays, portable instrumentation, high resolution body scanners and next generation millimeter-wave communication infrastructure for emerging 5G and high-constellation satellite networks.

The ADRF5024 and ADRF5025 employ inherent reflective architecture and are characterised for operating temperature range of –40°C to 105°C. All pins incorporate robust Electro-Static-Discharge (ESD) protection.

The devices are nominally powered by ±3.3V, drawing low supply current of less than 120µA typical. The devices use standard positive logic control voltages, simplifying the interface design.

The ADRF5024 and ADRF5025 are suitable replacements for PIN diode-based counterparts, as no external components are necessary for bias generation or matching, and signal pins are internally biased at ground (GND) reference to eliminate the need for direct-current (DC) blocking capacitors.

The ADRF5024 is optimised for fast switching applications with speeds less than 10ns and edge rates at 2ns. Whereas the ADRF5025 is optimised for ultrawideband applications with good low frequency characteristics down to 9kHz.

The other characteristics are the same so the parts are drop-in alternative to each other and can be used interchangeably on the same printed circuit board (PCB) footprint.