Peregrine expands line of digital step attenuators

This latest addition to the company's DSA portfolio offers attenuation accuracy and linearity, making it suitable for 4G Tx/Rx applications such as cellular base stations and remote radio heads where a DSA is required to adjust the power level.

In diversity Rx applications, the fast-switching PE43204 protects the receive path and prevents the overdriving of the analogue-to-digital converter.

The PE43204 DSA delivers high linearity over temperature and frequency and is capable of an 18dB attenuation range in 6dB and 12dB steps.

Taking advantage of Peregrine's Harp technology, the PE43204 demonstrates no gate lag or phase drift, delivering fast settling time and an input IP3 of more than +61dBm at 3GHz.

The PE43204 features a typical switching time of 26ns with an attenuation accuracy of +0.2dB across an operating range of DC - 3GHz.

This is a four-fold improvement compared to GaAs-based alternatives, which have switching speeds of up to 130nS, according to the company.

An additional benefit is low current consumption.

The PE43204 DSA is biased from a 3V supply with power supply current of 8uA typical.

The device also features parallel control interface programming logic and a low insertion loss of 0.6dB typical.

As with all UltraCMOS silicon-on-sapphire RFICs, the new DSA offers low-frequency performance, good noise immunity and an ESD tolerance of 2.0kV HBM.

The PE43204 - offered in the ultra-compact, 12-lead, 3 x 3 x 0.85mm QFN package - is available now in volume priced at USD0.70 (GBP0.44).

Evaluation kits are available to qualified customers.