Menlo Microsystems, Inc. announced the formal qualification and production release of the MM5600. This latest product is a double-pole/double-throw (DPDT) switch providing the industry’s highest performance and data rates for high speed differential switching applications, including next-generation AI, machine learning (ML), GPU/CPU, data center and cloud-based applications, as well as automated test equipment device interface boards and high speed computer peripheral interfaces.

“The MM5600 is an enabling technology for the production test and characterization of a broad number of next-gen high speed digital interfaces,” said Chris Giovanniello, co-founder and senior vice president of marketing at Menlo Micro. “This is an important milestone for Menlo, introducing our second product into high-volume production, following the successful introduction of our MM5130 in Q4 2020.  The standard process design kit that we’ve developed for the Ideal Switch is allowing us to significantly accelerate the introduction of new, one-of-a-kind products to multiple end markets.”

The MM5600 DPDT switch offers high speed operation from DC to 20 GHz or 40 Gbps, significantly outperforming conventional electromechanical (EM) relays and solid-state switches. The MM5600 provides a differential switching solution for high speed digital applications based on the latest PCI Express standard, PCIe Gen 5, which doubles interconnect speeds over the PCIe 4.0 specification (32 Gigatransfers per second versus 16 GT/s). The MM5600 switch also can be configured for single-ended operation for RF and microwave applications. Its flexible configuration enables internal differential crossover capabilities, greatly simplifying board routing.

Menlo Micro’s MM5600 represents the culmination of several important industry firsts:

• Fast switching: The MM5600’s ultra-fast switching speed (< 10 µs operation time and < 2 µs release time) is 1000x faster than EM relays, enabling reduced test time and lower cost-of-test
• Reliability: The MM5600 provides unmatched reliability and can operate with more than three billion switching cycles, resulting in reduced downtime, maintenance and cost and a 1000x longer lifetime compared to conventional EM relays
• Compact design: The MM5600’s small-footprint/low-profile design (8 x 8 x 1.6mm QFN package) provides a 90 percent reduction in size over conventional EM relay solutions. This significant reduction enables more parallel tests and easier top and/or bottom routing
• Power efficiency: The MM5600 operates at less than 0.08 mW, a 99 percent reduction in power consumption compared to EM relays, making it the most energy-efficient high speed DPDT switching solution available
• Leading IP3 linearity: The MM5600 achieves an IP3 linearity of more than +90 dBm with a power handling capability of +33 dBm, enabling large reductions in distortion and delivering up to a 10,000x improvement over existing EM relays and solid-state switches. IP3 is the figure of merit in determining how much distortion a switch will introduce into a system, impacting the quality of transmitted or received signals