everything RF recently interviewed Jason Yoho, the VP of Engineering at HYPERLABS Inc. of Louisville Colorado. Jason received his MS and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1998 and 2001, respectively. His work focuses on the understanding of electromagnetic field theory and the application of a variety of transmission line methodologies to accomplish ultra-wideband component designs. Jason joined HYPERLABS in 2019 where he has been responsible for the creation of an expansive, world-class component line that exceeds frequencies of 110 GHz.
Q: Jason, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you please start us off by telling us a little about your role at HYPERLABS?
Jason Yoho: Hello, thanks for having me. I was hired at HYPERLABS in 2019 as the VP of Engineering to map out a product development path for the future of the company. Working from Colorado, I steered the company towards making a world-class component line based on my past experiences at Picosecond Pulse Labs (PSPL) and Tektronix.
HYPERLABS had already entered the component market with the HL940X series baluns, so it was imperative to build on that product’s success. In the past five years, we have added more engineers to our Colorado team and now our component line boasts over 10 different product SKUs with bandwidths that meet or exceed 100 GHz.
We are continuously adding to the product line with our most recent addition of an industry-leading Wilkinson power divider series with 1 to 67 GHz bandwidth. Keep looking for more products as we finish up 2024.
Q: Can you tell us more about HYPERLABS? When was the company founded and how has it evolved over the years?
Jason Yoho: HYPERLABS was founded in Beaverton, Oregon in 1992 by Agoston Agoston, whom I worked with for some time at PSPL. Agoston has a breadth of knowledge of sampling techniques acquired over his career and especially during his time at Tek Labs and PSPL. Agoston employed his knowledge in this area and developed a line of products that are both USB-controlled and powered to perform TDR and impedance measurements. These instruments come with software to control the devices as well as display and acquire measurements.
Agoston was also contracted by a US-based defense contractor to develop a novel sampler for down-converting harmonic content for radar detection and jamming. It was during this project that he needed a balun to drive the differential inputs of his sampling device and from that the HL940X series baluns were created… sparking the HYPERLABS ultra-broadband component revolution.
We have since developed a 100+ GHz component line with products that lead the industry in both bandwidth and performance.
Q: You’d mentioned HYPERLABS of Colorado. Can you tell us more about what the Colorado division does?
Jason Yoho: After signing on with HYPERLABS, the company set up a shop in my hometown of Louisville, CO. We have a team of design engineers innovating new world-class active and passive components. We also have a team of incredibly talented hybrid assemblers at this location. All our products are designed and manufactured right here in the States.
The engineering team is also working on an entirely new instrumentation platform that will revolutionize our test equipment line. The sky is the limit for what our new platform can achieve and we’re constantly getting customer input while expanding the roadmap of offerings that HYPERLABS can and will develop. Keep an eye out in Q4, 2024 for the launch of our initial instrument offering using this new platform.
Q: HYPERLABS has a pretty expansive line of product offerings. Can you give us some more details about your product portfolio?
Jason Yoho: We certainly have filled the catalog with different offerings since my hire in 2019. We have focused on ultra-broadband products for time domain and datacom applications. For HYPERLABS, it’s all about truly broadband designs that maintain the cleanest data streams. Data is made up of a series of step responses. In order to get a fast and flat step response the part needs to be ultra-broadband, but at the same time, it also needs to have a very flat frequency response. The high-frequency performance is necessary for maintaining fast edges, while the low-frequency performance is needed to keep the top line flat and free of ripples and other perturbations. With HYPERLABS, clean data in, results in clean data out… our company tagline is “Keep Your Eyes Wide Open” because our products are designed to maintain those clean eye diagrams.
Some product highlights from 2024 include the HL5897, a 63 GHz linear amplifier designed to be used in 112 GBPS PAM4 signaling, a 1 - 67 GHz Wilkinson power divider, and more 110 GHz products including expanding the attenuators line and adding terminations.
We have several more designs in the queue, along with some custom designs, to be released in Q4 and throughout 2025.
Q: What differentiates your 110 GHz passive component line from the competition?
Jason Yoho: As the lead designer on the 110 GHz passive line, I have strived to provide a world-class product at the industry’s most competitive pricing. We sell a significant amount of these parts into datacom research laboratories which need the absolute best time domain pulse response. This relates in the frequency domain to sometimes over 6 decades of bandwidth, and as I just eluded to, the response needs to be flat with a smooth roll-off out past the specified bandwidth.
The bandwidth that I refer to is the 3dB point at HYPERLABS on all our products. Unlike some of our competitors, the 3dB bandwidth is the only bandwidth we advertise, as it’s the industry standard definition and then our customers know what they can expect.
Q: With such a rapidly growing components product line, what does 2024 look like for HYPERLABS?
Jason Yoho: With our product line maturing in regard to the number of offerings, we are looking to expand our market reach with some internal shifting of priorities and skills. We are preparing for a successful introduction of our initial instrumentation offering and the sales/support structure that will go along with it.
My experience in working at PSPL, where we made a variety of test instruments, sets me up well to help lead this opportunity and expand my knowledge into the sales side of the business. 2024 has been a very successful year for HYPERLABS and 2025 is looking even stronger. We’re keeping our heads down and we continue working to garner success for our sales channel partners and ultimately for our customers.
Q: Is HYPERLABS actively pursuing even higher bandwidth components? If so, what bandwidths are being targeted and when will these new products hit the market?
Jason Yoho: We are always looking to break the speed barriers. Although we were not the first to market products in the 110 GHz space, some of our components did end up being the first offerings at 110 GHz and are still the only offerings within the space. Looking past 110 GHz, we see that the industry is close to accepting 0.8 mm connectors on designs pushing to 145 GHz, and this is where we plan to go next. Preliminary simulations have shown we can be successful. Coupling this information with our having critical input into the connector designs and implementation is opening the doors to our highest frequency designs yet.
I don’t believe I am going out on a limb to say sometime in 2025 we will roll out some initial offerings into this uncharted territory.
Q: Does HYPERLABS ever engage in developing custom products based on end-user requirements?
Jason Yoho: Absolutely. It’s impossible for us to make every possible variation of our products. However, we routinely get inquiries about custom designs, and although we can’t possibly take on every single design, we strive to help our customers succeed in every opportunity we get.
From preliminary simulations and minimal NRE costs for engineering prototypes, we give our customers the confidence that we can and will accomplish the goals needed for them to succeed in their system designs.
Q: Earlier in the interview, you mentioned that HYPERLABS has an instrumentation lineup including TDRs and Impedance Analyzers. Can you provide some more details on these product offerings and what the future looks like for instrumentation?
Jason Yoho: Yes, as mentioned previously, our instrumentation line was developed by Agoston starting in the early 1990s. For over 30 years, HYPERLABS Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) and Impedance Analyzer instruments have provided high-performance test and measurement capabilities for use in the field or in the lab. These instruments are used for applications such as fault detection in cables and interconnects, impedance characterization, time of flight analysis, water level measurement, and more. Some models are also electrostatic protected up to ESDS Class 2, making them ideal for deployment in harsh maintenance, manufacturing, and data collection environments.
Looking to the future, our new platform will include a Com Express Module for all of the computing power needed in today’s top-level instrumentation. Along with the computing power, we have integrated one of the market’s highest-performing FPGAs with a significant number of high-speed transceivers. We have set up a solid and versatile foundation so that we have the ability to create a world-class instrumentation line and that’s what we plan to do.
Q: We appreciate you taking time out for this interview. In closing, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Jason Yoho: I appreciate any opportunity to discuss HYPERLABS’ growth and success. We have come a long way as a company in the last five years and the next five will be even more impressive. Making the highest quality active and passive components to ensure the success of our customers is a top priority at HYPERLABS. Adding the new instrumentation line will further cement HYPERLABS as a key player in the industry for years to come. I look forward to the future with my eyes wide open.
