RF CMOS antenna switch has highest throw-count says Peregrine

Peregrine has responded to customer demands for higher-throw, monolithic CMOS switches that enable efficient RF front-end solutions, said Rodd Novak, vice president of marketing for Peregrine Semiconductor. The latest multi-band handset designs require a single, high-throw switch with unprecedented linearity and small signal performance, and a minimal footprint. These new switches are changing the way designers architect their modules, he added.

A key size benefit of the UltraCMOS SP9T is that it does not require off-chip decoder and driver components. This results in as much as a 50% smaller footprint with the 0.5µm PE42693 when compared with a similar GaAs SP9T. Manufactured in 0.25 µm, the PE42691, PE42692, and PE42694 SP9Ts will save yet another 30%.

Mobile handsets continue to grow in complexity, moving rapidly over the past several years from dual band to tri- and now even quad-band phones. In addition, the complexity of the handsets has grown with the addition of peripheral radios, such as Bluetooth, WiFi, and WiMAX. The antenna switch is responsible for controlling antenna access for all of the radio signals moving into and out of a handset on multiple bandwidths. With the introduction of its SP9T switches, Peregrine is supplying a key capability to enable the effective and efficient management of these signals.

Designed for quad-band GSM and GSM/WCDMA handsets, the PE42693 die offers maximum flexibility for antenna switch module (ASM) applications with two GSM/PCS/EDGE compliant TX
ports, three TRX ports (designed for WCDMA or as transmit/receive ports), and four symmetric RX ports. Multiple antenna pads allow for flexible impedance matching, while a four pin CMOS logic control with integral decoder/driver facilitates both 1.8 V and 2.75 V control. Peregrine’s 50-Ohm PE42693 die provides superior performance, lower insertion loss, smaller footprint, and higher integration as compared to alternative pin-diode or pHEMT-based SP9T designs.

The UltraCMOS -based PE42693 incorporates Peregrine’s revolutionary HaRP technology enhancements to deliver exceptional harmonic results, linearity, and overall RF performance. The device features high linearity of +68 dBm IP3; -110 dBm IMD3; 51 dB of TX-RX isolation at 850 MHz; low insertion loss of 0.7 dB at 850 MHz WCDMA. This innovative 2.75V RF switch operates from 100 to 3000 MHz, and features 1500 V ESD tolerance at all ports, no blocking capacitors, and fast switch settling time.

The PE42691 wirebond SP9T and the PE42692 and PE42694 flip chip SP9Ts are the latest in a series of high-performance switches designed for quad-band GSM and GSM/WCDMA handset applications. These SP9T switches offer maximum versatility with two GSM/PCS/EDGE compliant TX ports, three TRX ports (designed for WCDMA or as transmit/receive ports), and four symmetric RX ports. The PE42691 wirebond die has multiple antenna pads to allow for flexible impedance matching, while the PE42692 and PE42694 represent two different logic configuration options in a tiny flip-chip package. The availability of a flip-chip version offers significant space savings in ASM designs, which can lead to unprecedented competitive advantages in footprint. Each switch’s four pin CMOS logic control with integral decoder/driver facilitates both 1.8 V and 2.75 V control. Built on the company’s world-class UltraCMOS technology, the devices use Peregrine’s revolutionary HaRP™ technology enhancements to deliver exceptional harmonic results, linearity and overall RF performance.

Key specifications for these 0.25 µm SP9T switches include: IMD3: -112 dBm; second harmonics of
-76 dBc; and third harmonics of -76 dBc. IIP3 is specified at +69 dBm; TRX Insertion Loss (850 WCDMA) is 0.55 dB; TX-RX Isolation is 51 dB at 900 MHz and 45 dB at 1900 MHz; and ESD tolerance is 1.5 kV HBM at all ports.