Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. announced that Monarch Antenna Inc. is using UltraCMOS® PE613010 tuning-control switches in Monarch’s prototype of a compact 4G tunable antenna. Monarch Antenna, a spinout of Delphi Automotive Systems, LLC, selected the PE613010 switch to showcase the “smart” switching capabilities of self-structuring antenna (SSA) technology in mobile handsets.
Patented SSA technology is the culmination of 15 years of R&D, and initial prototypes show superior performance compared to existing antenna solutions. Monarch’s 4G tunable antenna delivers a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which translates into end-user benefits of better connectivity, faster downloads and longer battery life. SSA is a disruptive antenna technology enabling 3G and 4G devices to deliver richer content over a multitude of protocols and to offer higher mobility. SSA continuously monitors the RF signal and adjusts its configuration to increase signal strength and maximize the SNR. This adjustment is accomplished through continuous "smart" switching/selection of a "set" of antenna combinations through its feedback loop. SSA not only simplifies the antenna design process, but it also counteracts some of the compromises, which had to be introduced due to packaging.
For their 4G tunable antenna, Monarch selected a bare die version of Peregrine’s PE613010 switch to minimize parasitic effects and to enable reliable and efficient tuning across the 700 to 800 MHz frequency range. Inside a mobile handset, the antenna is controlled by a baseband processor, which tunes to a particular channel or searches through tuning states to recover from detuning. In Monarch’s antenna, three Peregrine switches provide eight (23 = 8) tuning states, and each state provides communication over a channel 15 MHz wide. The narrowband nature of Monarch’s tunable antenna also makes it more efficient than a passive antenna covering the entire 700 to 800 MHz band. The low on-state resistance (RON) of Peregrine's UltraCMOS switches leads to high radiation efficiency of the antenna.
“To fully demonstrate the advanced tuning capabilities of SSA technology, our team needed to find an SPST switch with low on-state resistance,” says Tayfun Ozdemir, Ph.D., co-founder and chief technology officer of Monarch Antenna. “Our engineers had a long list of desired technical specifications, and Peregrine’s PE613010 was the only switch on the market that could meet our performance demands. Thanks to Peregrine’s RF switches, Monarch’s 4G tunable antenna demonstrates a clear advantage in antenna tunability and efficiency.”