pSemi enters volume production of first 55GHz single-chip SOI digital step attenuator

Murata company pSemi Corp of San Diego, CA, USA (formerly Peregrine Semiconductor Corp) – a fabless provider of radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) – has announced volume production of the PE43508 6-bit, 50Ω digital step attenuator (DSA).

Originally introduced at the IMS 2018 exhibition in June as a 50GHz product before the stated operating frequency range was extended, the millimeter-wave product is claimed to be the first single-chip silicon-on-insulator (SOI) DSA to support the entire 9kHz to 55GHz frequency range.

“After additional testing, we concluded the original 50GHz DSA name was selling this impressive product short,” says CEO Jim Cable. “The PE43508 delivers exceptional performance beyond 50GHz, further supporting pSemi’s claim that RF SOI can deliver a high-performing and reliable solution at high frequencies,” he adds.

Suitable for 5G test & measurement applications, the PE43508 maintains a monotonic response across the entire frequency range (0.5dB and 1dB monotonicity through 55GHz) and features low insertion loss (covering a 31.5dB attenuation range in 0.5dB and 1dB steps), low attenuation error and good return loss. It also delivers glitch-safe attenuation state transitions, meaning no increased power spike during a state transition.

The PE43508 has an extended temperature range from −40°C to +105°C, an HBM ESD rating of 1kV and an easy-to-use digital control interface supporting both serial addressable and parallel programming. The DSA supports 1.8V control signals and has an optional VSS_EXT bypass mode.

Picture: The PE43508 features low insertion loss across a wide frequency and temperature range.

Offered as a flip-chip die, volume-production parts, evaluation kits and samples are available now. For 1000-quantity orders, each PE43508 is $50.

The 55GHz DSA joins pSemi’s high-frequency portfolio, which includes a 40GHz switch (PE42524) and two 60GHz switches (PE42525 and PE426525) based on the same UltraCMOS technology platform. These monolithic ICs are suitable for applications such as test & measurement and 5G wireless infrastructure, and can be used in more traditional high-frequency applications such as very small-aperture satellite terminals.

Tags: Peregrine CMOS SOI Murata Digital step attenuators

Visit: www.psemi.com