Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation,a fabless provider of high-performance radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), today announced availability of the PE42720 75-Ohm RF switch for broadband cable systems. Manufactured on Peregrine’s UltraCMOS® technology, the HaRP™-enhanced single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) switch features high linearity, leading isolation performance and excellent video feedthrough – a combination that is ideal for supporting higher data rates in cable modem termination systems (CMTS), multi-service headends, cable television (CATV) optical transceivers, fiber hubs, optical network terminals, and CATVamplifier modules.

Optimized for high linearity and isolation performance, the PE42720 supports increasing data rates as required by the industry transition to DOCSIS 3.1. High linearity minimizes distortion in the cable network to support new modulation schemes such as 4096-QAM, while the ability to support high isolation between RF ports minimizes unwanted signal interference. This combination is critical as DOCSIS 3.1 relies on orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) to improve spectral efficiency, allowing a
50% increase in data rates up to 10Gb/s downstream and 1Gb/s upstream.

“As the cable television market moves to OFDM to increase data rates, manufacturers will need to make
improvements in efficiency in all parts of the system by reducing noise, intermodulation distortions, and ingress,”said Mark Schrepferman, director of the commercial and industrial product line with Peregrine’s High performance Solutions Business Unit. “Peregrine has been supporting these requirements for years in the wireless markets, and we are pleased to bring the exceptional linearity and isolation performance that can only be achieved using Peregrine’s UltraCMOS technology and HaRP enhancements to broadband cable applications.”

Peregrine’s new switch features high isolation performance of at least 60dB across the entire broadband
frequency range of 5MHz to 3 GHz (65dB at 1 GHz (typ) and 64dB at 2GHz). The device features excellent video feedthrough of 5mVpp for reduced distortion, and delivers low insertion loss (0.7 dB @ 1GHz and .8 dB @ 2 GHz), which enhances overall system performance by reducing RF path noise figure. In addition, high linearity with a CTB/CSO of -104 dBc improves dynamic range of CATV systems. The PE42720 supports 1.8V and 3.3V control logic and ESD performance of 2500V HBM on all ports.

Development Tool Support
Peregrine Semiconductor also announced availability of the PE42720 Evaluation Kit. The kit can be ordered now, through Peregrine’s global direct sales representatives and worldwide distribution partners.