SP10T Switch Routes 2G/3G/4G Signals

Smart phones owe some of their multimode, multiband capabilities to multithrow antenna switches. As mobile handsets evolve, a single antenna switch may handle as many as 10 transmit (Tx) and/or receive (Rx) ports. The challenges facing multithrow antenna switches for these applications are not trivial but, fortunately, solutions exist for managing high throw counts while still maintaining excellent RF performance in next-generation mobile handsets. An antenna switch directs transmit signals from a wireless communications system’s power amplifier (PA) to the antenna and routes received signals from the antenna to the system’s receiver block. It must be capable of handling high power transmission from power amplifiers and be extremely linear without generating harmonics and intermodulation distortion (IMD) that would reduce signal integrity and receiver sensitivity, or create interference to other nearby communication devices.