RF switch

Losses greater than 1 or 2 dB will attenuate peak signal levels and increase rising and falling edge times.

As power is expensive at higher frequencies, electromechanical switches provide the lowest possible loss along the transmission path.

At microwave frequencies, the material properties as well as the dimensions of a network element play a significant role in determining the impedance match or mismatch caused by the distributed effect.

The repeatability and reliability of a switch guarantees measurement accuracy and can cut the cost of ownership by reducing calibration cycles and increasing test system uptime.

A 50-ohm load termination is critical in many applications, since each open unused transmission line has the possibility to resonate.

This is important when designing a system that works up to 26 GHz or higher frequencies where switch isolation drops considerably.

When the switch is connected to an active device, the reflected power of an unterminated path could possibly damage the source.

A long operating life reduces cost per cycle and budgetary constraints allowing manufacturers to be more competitive.