A new high-power single-pole/four-throw (SP4T) DC-to-18 GHz switch has been introduced by Menlo Micro for high performance RF switching applications.
Called the MM5120, the switch offers low insertion loss, 25 W power handing and a high linearity that outperforms conventional solid-state switches and electromechanical relays (EMRs).
Menlo Micro said the switch eliminates the need to decide between EMRs or solid-state switches for RF designs as it outperforms EMRs while offering size, reliability and speed of a solid-state switch.
The company claims the MM5120 is the highest power density SP4T switch on the market able to handle RF power levels up to 25 W continuous and 150 W pulsed with insertion losses less than 0.6 dB at 12 GHz.
The switch includes a flexible SPI bus and GPIO digital interface to reduce the cost and complexity of developing RF systems such as RF filters, front-end RF devices, beamforming antennas, radar systems and device interface boards for semiconductor testing. Additionally, the switch can be used in ultra-compact switch matrices for RF and microwave test and measurement applications.
Other features include an IP3 linearity greater than 95 dBm for reductions in distortion for applications such as beam-steering antennas used in 5G network infrastructure.