10 February 2015

DelfMEMS demos first 12-throw RF MEMS ohmic switch, targeting LTE-A handsets

At GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC15) in Barcelona, Spain (2-5 March), DelfMEMS of Villeneuve d'Ascq, France, which develops RF MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) switches for radio-frequency (RF) communications (targeting next-generation multi-standard, multi-mode, mobile telephony), is demonstrating what it believes to be the first 12-throw RF MEMS ohmic contact switch (SP12T).  

Picture: DelfMEMS SP12T demo board.

"Until now, companies have tended towards the capacitive switch solution route," says CEO Cybele Rolland. "We chose the harder route of contact or Ohmic switching because of the superior performance and have succeeded in creating the world's first, fully functional version," she adds. "This is a key milestone for the company and we have already signed several contracts, with more in the pipeline, and anticipate shipping in the second half of 2016. RF MEMS switches have been known for many years as outstanding potential solutions for mobile handset RF performance, but have so far failed to see any reasonable level of success either due to cost or reliability concerns. We have solved these issues with our FreeFlex MEMS technology."

DelfMEMS says that the benefits of its RF-MEMS switching solution (made using FreeFlex MEMS technology) are being able to deliver the performances required for the next generation of handsets, LTE-A and beyond, with ultra-low insertion loss, outstanding isolation and superior linearity to enable full uplink carrier aggregation.

The early samples of the SP12T switch (on show at MWC) have performance levels that are comparable to the current market-leading solutions, says DelfMEMS. However, for production devices the performance levels will be significantly higher, enabling the full potential of LTE-A and beyond data rates for both upload and download to be achieved, adds the firm.

See related items:

DelfMEMS raises €5.4m in round-C funding

Tags: MEMS

Visit: www.delfmems.com

Visit: www.mobileworldcongress.com