MEMS-Based RF Multiplexers Offer Extended Lifetime, Greater Test Throughput

June 13, 2023

Advances in switching technology bring substantially improved performance to PXI RF multiplexers.

Stemming from its partnership with Menlo Microsystems, Pickering Interfaces introduced new switching technology to a range of PXI RF multiplexers that significantly boosts their performance. The recently released range of modules are well-suited for wireless communications and semiconductor test.

The multiplexers increase lifetime up to 300X and operating speed up to 60X, as well as offering higher bandwidth and enhanced RF power handling versus legacy electromechanical relay alternatives. In addition, insertion loss is lower than that of solid-state switches. The module comes with either SMB or MCX connectors, with a full range of cabling solutions.

Based on the Ideal Switch technology from Menlo Microsystems—the first commercial MEMS components able to support demanding RF test environments—the modules can address the test of semiconductor, consumer wireless devices, and various S-band applications (including mobile services, satellite communications, and radar).

Mux Options

The 40-878 (PXI) and 42-878 (PXIe) are 50-Ω, 4-to-1 RF multiplexers, while the 40/42-878 range features single-, dual-, or quad-channel multiplexers, all occupying a single PXI or PXIe chassis slot. The 40-878 is supported in all of Pickering’s LXI/USB Modular Switching chassis, allowing for the use of a PXI-, LAN-, or USB-controlled switching solution.

According to Steve Edwards, Switching Product Manager at Pickering, “With its operational life of >3 billion operations, the 40/42-878 far exceeds that offered by EMR-based solutions (typically 10 million operations), minimizing system downtime due to relays wearing out or requiring service. Its operating speed of just 50 µs minimizes test cycle time, maximizing system throughput, since multiple transitions can be performed in the time previously required for a single EMR switching operation.”

He added, “Its 4-GHz bandwidth (compared to 3 GHz for existing EMR products) contributes to test system longevity, since the 40/42-878 can support new higher-frequency test requirements. And this increased bandwidth is also provided with increased RF power handling, exceeding the 10-W capability of EMR solutions. Finally, unlike solid-state solutions, the MEMS switches used in the 40/42-878 exhibit low insertion loss, typically <1.4 db at 4 GHz, comparable to EMR solutions, while offering all the benefits of a MEMS-based design.”

The 40/42-878 comes with drivers to support popular software programming environments. All Microsoft-supported Windows versions and popular varieties of Linux operating systems are supported, too, as well as other real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tools.

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.