Menlo Micro's MM5130 DC-to-26-GHz High-Power RF Switch Eval Kit

Sept. 23, 2021

The MM5130 provides ultra-low insertion loss and excellent linearity as an SP4T from dc to 18 GHz, and greater than 3 billion switching cycles.

Alix Paultre

Related To: Evaluation Engineering

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The MM5130 device is a high-power SP4T micro-mechanical switch offered by Menlo Micro. The company took its Ideal Switch fabrication process and applied it to dc and wideband RF/microwave switch applications. This innovative technology enables highly reliable switches capable of 25-W forward power. The MM5130 provides ultra-low insertion loss and superior linearity as an SP4T from dc to 18 GHz, and greater than 3 billion switching cycles.

The MM5130 also can be configured in Super-Port mode that extends the frequency operation to 26 GHz. The MM5130 is an ideal solution for replacing large RF electromechanical relays, as well as RF/microwave solid-state switches in applications where linearity and insertion loss are critical parameters. The four switch channels are individually controllable by applying a gate voltage to the corresponding RF GATE pin.

About the Author

Alix Paultre | Editor-at-Large, Electronic Design

An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the US military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications in the embedded electronic engineering space. Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Also check out his YouTube watch-collecting channel, Talking Timepieces.