Peregrine Semiconductor Unveil Four New Digitally Tunable Capacitors

The monolithic DTCs include integrated bias generation, RF filtering and bypassing, control interface, and ESD protection of 2 kV HBM, all incorporated into a 2 mm x 2 mm package. The devices provide an easy-to-use solution for antenna tuning and impedance matching applications, as well as tunable filters and phase shifters in the Radio Frequency Identification, military radio, Test-and-Measurement, Machine-to-Machine and wireless infrastructure markets.

“The growing complexity of wireless systems continues to drive the need for high-performance tunable products,” said Mark Schrepferman, director of the communications and industrial product line for Peregrine’s High-Performance Solutions business unit. “Since the launch of our first DTCs in 2010, Peregrine has supported this need by providing state-of-the-art ICs that improve RF performance. This latest expansion of our DTC product portfolio allows us to support a greater number of architectures for impedance matching, tunable filters, and phase shifter applications in a variety of markets.”

The PE64906/7/8/9 DTCs support a frequency range of 100 – 3,000 MHz and provide high tuning accuracy, linear step size, and temperature stability. HaRP technology enhancements enable high linearity of IIP3 of >+65 dBm at 50 Ohms, with exceptional harmonic performance of 2fo/3fo = -40/-40 dBm @ 34 dBm RF (900 MHz), and 32 dBm RF (1900 MHz). The devices feature direct battery voltage operation, with consistent performance enabled by on-chip voltage regulation. Low supply and standby currents of 140 and 24 microamperes (VDD = 2.75V), respectively, help to extend battery life in portable devices. The PE64906/7/8/9 devices are controlled through the widely-supported 3-wire (SPI-compatible) interface, making it easy to incorporate them into designs.

Device-Specific Features

The PE64906/7/8 DTCs are 5-bit, 32-state devices. The PE64909 is a 4-bit, 16-state device. Capacitance ranges are 0.9 pF to 4.6 pF (5.1:1 tuning ratio) in discrete 119 fF steps for the PE64906; 0.85 pF to 2.4 pF (2.82:1 tuning ratio) in discrete 50 fF steps for the PE64907; 2.15 pF to 7.7 pF (3.6:1 tuning ratio) in discrete 180 fF steps for the PE64908; and 0.6 pF to 2.35 pF (3.9:1 tuning ratio) in discrete 117 fF steps for the PE64909.

Development Tool Support

Peregrine also announced the PE64906/7/8/9 Evaluation Kits (part #s EK64906-11, EK64907-11, ED64908-11, EK64909-11), today. The kits include an interface board and USB cable to enable quick evaluation, prototyping, and debugging via simple-to-use Graphical User Interface-based control software. They can be ordered today, from Peregrine’s global direct sales representatives and worldwide distribution partners.

Packaging, Pricing & Availability

The PE64906/7/8/9 DTCs are available in an 8-lead, 2 mm x 2 mm QFN package, for $0.60 each in 10k-unit quantities. Samples and volume-production quantities can be ordered today, through Peregrine’s global direct sales representatives and worldwide distribution partners.