Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation has introduced its PE9308 rad-hard prescaler, which operates up to 13.2 GHz. Designed for space, high-performance military and infrastructure applications, it is said to be the first CMOS prescaler device to operate in the X and Ku bands.

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The product is tooled in the company’s UltraCMOS technology. This is a patented variation of silicon-on-insulator technology, and is the first commercially qualified use of ultra-thin silicon on sapphire substrates with high yields and competitive costs. Peregrine 0.25 um and 0.5 um UltraCMOS devices are manufactured in its 6-inch CMOS facility located in Sydney, Australia and in Hachioji, Japan through an alliance with OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

The PE9308 also reaches an ultra-low-power milestone, operating at 25 mA (typ.) at 2.5 V which is about one-tenth the power of an equivalent GaAs device, yet delivers superior rad-hard performance, including fixed divide ratio of 4, low SSB phase noise, immunity to single event latchup, and single-event upset of less than 10-9 errors/bit-day--as well as a tolerance to a total-dose radiation of 100 Krads (Si). Also, the prescaler’s output frequency can be fed directly into any of Peregrine’s line of PLLs, thereby enabling a frequency-synthesis capability, from dc through the Ku band.

The PE9308 is offered in an 8-lead, formed flat pack or as a die. Evaluation kits support development with the devices.