Peregrine Semiconductor Ramps SP6T RF Antenna Switch

PE4269 die on UltraCMOS™ technology complements popular PE4263 sibling

San Diego, California, April 11, 2005 -- Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation, a supplier of the industry's most advanced RF CMOS and mixed-signal communications ICs, today announced the availability of the PE4269 SP6T RF antenna switch die for quad-band GSM Antenna Switch Modules (ASM), a device that showcases the extraordinary flexibility of UltraCMOS™ technology. The PE4269, based on the extremely popular PE4263 antenna switch introduced last fall, has begun shipping into Japan and Korea to fulfill orders in the millions of units. The PE4269 RF switch provides a unique, high-performance solution to the ASM market by offering high power at 41 dBm P1dB and monolithic integration of key elements including a control logic decoder and driver. The PE4269, as with all Peregrine products, is developed on the Company's patented UltraCMOS™ process technology, a technological breakthrough which advances RF designs past traditional roadblocks in performance and size, and allows for semi-custom modifications in order to meet customer's exact specifications.

Peregrine's high-performance RF products offers a simple, and profoundly different approach to solving the toughest high-power, multi-throw cellular switching challenges and are the first and only CMOS-based devices that can be connected directly to the GSM handset antenna. Superior performance, lower insertion loss, smaller footprint and higher integration make Peregrine products ideal alternatives to pin-diode or pHEMT-based designs.

"UltraCMOS has proven itself among the largest OEMs in the world as a technology that delivers fundamental advantages of repeatability, reliability and RF monolithic integration. These benefits are ultimately enjoyed in terms of form, function and price by consumers like you and me," stated Jussi Salminen, wireless sector marketing and business development director at Peregrine.
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"The PE4269 alternative offers board layout flexibility for RF designers, eliminating any need to re-route and thus ensuring peak performance. It's just one more reason engineers don't have to settle for limitations of competing solutions," he added.

The 50-Ohm PE4269 2.6V RF switch operates from 100 – 3000 MHz and features 1500 V ESD tolerance at all ports; no blocking capacitors; 45 dB of isolation; low insertion loss of 0.55 dB at 915 MHz; and fast switch settling time. The PE4269, priced at $0.60 ea. (10K units), is in high-volume production and is and is available in die form (1.24mm x 1.20mm) from Peregrine.

About UltraCMOS™ Technology
UltraCMOS™ mixed-signal process technology is a patented variation of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology on a sapphire substrate providing with high yields and competitive costs. This technology delivers significant performance advantages over competing processes such as GaAs, SiGe BiCMOS and bulk silicon CMOS in applications where RF performance, low power and integration are paramount.

About Peregrine Semiconductor
Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets high-performance communications ICs for the wireless infrastructure and mobile wireless; broadband communications; space, defense and avionics markets. Manufactured on the Company's proprietary UltraCMOS™ mixed-signal process technology, Peregrine products are uniquely poised to meet the needs of a global RF design community in high-growth applications such as WCDMA and GSM digital cellular, broadband, DTV, DVR and rad-hard space and defense programs. Peregrine 0.25ìm and 0.5ìm UltraCMOS devices are manufactured in its 6" CMOS facility located in Sydney, Australia and in Tokyo, Japan through an alliance with OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd. The Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, maintains global sales support operations and a worldwide technical distribution network. Additional information is available on the web psemi.com. Contact Peregrine's worldwide distribution partner, Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL), for sales information at 1-800-737-6937.