Philadelphia, PA. pSemi Corp. (formerly Peregrine Semiconductor), a Murata company focused on semiconductor integration, announced several products at IMS, including a 40-GHz switch, two 60-GHz switches, and a 50-GHz digital step attenuator, which the company called the world’s first single-chip (DSA) to support the entire 9-kHz to 50-GHz frequency range. The company also introduced a family of switch plus low-noise amplifier (LNA) modules for 5G MIMO base stations and a GaN FET driver for solid-state lidar systems.
Switch + LNA modules
The switch + LNA modules—the PE53111, PE53211, PE53110, and PE53210—support sub-6 GHz 5G NR bands and meet the stringent RF system requirements of massive MIMO base stations. The PE53111 and the PE53211 cover a frequency range from 2.3 to 2.7 GHz (bands 40, 41, n7, n38, and n41), while the PE53110 and PE53210 extend from 3.3 to 3.8 GHz (bands 42, 43, and n78). In a single-channel or dual-channel configuration, the receiver modules integrate 2-channel LNAs with a bypass function and high-power switches. An on-chip, fail-safe switch—with over 5-W average power handling—improves the overall robustness of the receive channels. Design engineers can control each channel individually within the selected frequency band, offering flexibility in the overall system design. Regarding performance, the pSemi switch + LNA modules deliver a low noise figure, high linearity, and low power consumption.
GaN FET driver
The PE29101 GaN FET driver for solid-state lidar systems boasts the industry’s fastest rise times and a low minimum pulse width, the company said, adding that the high-speed driver enables design engineers to extract the full performance and switching speed advantages from GaN transistors.
“As GaN is proving its relevance in applications like solid-state lidar, design engineers are using pSemi high-speed drivers to maximize the fast switching benefits of GaN,” said Jim Cable, chief technology officer of pSemi. “Because of its rise and fall speed, the PE29101 enables the highest possible resolution imagery—something the industry needs for LiDAR to reach its fullest potential.”
LiDAR operates on the same principles as radar but instead uses pulsed lasers to precisely map surrounding areas. Traditionally used in high-resolution mapping, lidar is now used in ADAS and is widely seen as an enabling technology to fully autonomous vehicles. Furthermore, solid-state lidar has emerged as the future leader in the commercialization of lidar systems, largely due to its affordability, reliability and compact size compared to mechanical sensors, the company said.
Digital step attenuators
The PE43508 is a 6-bit, 50-Ω DSA that offers wideband support from 9 kHz to 50 GHz. The PE43508 covers a 31.5-dB attenuation range in 0.5-dB and 1-dB steps, and it is capable of maintaining 0.5-dB and 1-dB monotonicity through 50 GHz. This DSA features low insertion loss, fast switching time, and low attenuation error. The PE43508 also delivers glitch-safe attenuation state transitions, which eliminates the positive glitch.
“For the last several years, our product portfolio has continuously expanded into higher frequencies,” said Jim Cable, CTO at pSemi. “Today, pSemi is introducing a true marvel in mmWave design—the world’s first 50-GHz DSA. Ideal for 5G test and measurement applications, this 50-GHz DSA further extends our product portfolio into mmWave frequencies and applications. Our mmWave solutions are proof that RF silicon on insulator (SOI) can deliver a high-performing and reliable solution at these high frequencies.”
The 50-GHz DSA (PE43508) joins the UltraCMOS 40-GHz switch (PE42524) and two 60-GHz switches (PE42525, PE426525) in delivering high performance at mmWave frequencies, the company said.
The company also announced an expansion of its DSA portfolio with a family of value DSAs. The four value DSAs feature industry-leading attenuation accuracy at an entry-level price point, the company said.
“pSemi has a long, successful history of digital step attenuator development,” said Cable. “Our team introduced the world’s first single-chip DSA in 2004, and now, we are further expanding our DSA portfolio with the introduction of the value, high-performance DSAs. These four new DSAs nicely round out our DSA portfolio and complement our RF catalog parts.”
The value DSA family—the PE43620, PE43650, PE43665, and PE43670—are offered in a 2-bit, 5-bit, 6-bit, or 7-bit configuration. These high-performance DSAs have excellent attenuation accuracy, low insertion loss, and high linearity, the company said. The four products are available in compact QFN packages.
For 1K-quantity orders, the PE43620 DSA (2 bit, 50-Ω) is $0.63 each; the PE43650 (5 bit, 50- Ω) is $1.44 each; the PE43665 (6-bit, 75- Ω) is $1.23 each; and the PE43670 (7-bit, 50- Ω) is $2.02 each. Volume-production parts, samples, and evaluation kits will be available in August.
