Guerrilla RF Announces New Failsafe SPDT Switch

Guerrilla RF Inc., a leading provider of high performance MMICs, introduces the GRF6011, the first member of the company’s growing list of failsafe switch and amplifier devices. Failsafe refers to the characteristic whereby one switch path defaults to a low loss state, when all power is removed.
A key application for this single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) switch is at the low noise amplifier (LNA) in a tower mounted amplifier (TMA), where this failsafe functionality is typically implemented using expensive mechanical relays or cumbersome Schottky diode switches external to a traditional LNA device. The GRF6011 is well suited for applications including cellular boosters, cellular infrastructure and L-Band satcom. It is offered in an ultra-small 1.5 x 1.5 mm DFN-6 package, and requires a minimal number of external components.

“Guerrilla RF is proud to offer this new high linearity switch which provides a cost effective, high reliability failsafe capability along with a tiny application footprint,” said Alan Ake, vice president of applications and technical marketing at Guerrilla RF. “The device’s flexible biasing capability allows for supply and control inputs anywhere in the 3.0 to 5.0 Volt range.”

According to EJL Wireless, the ability to incorporate the failsafe capability within the GRF6011 switch and also eliminate the external relay or diode switches is a major step forward in reducing the overall size and BOM cost of a typical TMA unit.

About Guerrilla RF’s New Failsafe Switch

GRF6011 provides failsafe operation with one RF path defaulting to a low insertion loss state, with all power removed and the other path defaulting to a high insertion loss state.
The device requires only a few external capacitors for DC blocking, thus providing an extremely compact application footprint.
At 1900 MHz, typical 3.3 Volt RF performance is as follows: Insertion Loss: < 0.45 dB, IP1dB: > 31 dBm, IIP3: >50 dBm.