Cavendish Kinetics, a San Jose-based provider of high-performance RF MEMS radio components for smartphones, handhelds and wearable devices, announced the completion of its final funding round that saw the company raising US$36 million which will go towards developing its next generation RF components, which will contribute to solving the key radio performance bottlenecks in coming LTE devices
According to the company, its new generation of RF components fully leverage its proven RF MEMS technology, and add a range of virtually loss-less RF MEMS switches to its growing portfolio of industry leading RF MEMS tuners. Together the new components will enable a wide range of radio front-end applications, including the high-performance tuning of antennas, filters and power amplifiers as well as ultra-low loss switching of the RF signal path. The RF MEMS tuners will also be providing increased tuning range and RF voltage handling, enabling additional radio performance gains.
The company said that its new generation RF MEMS components will be available in the first quarter of next year, and ramp into volume production in the second half.
Paul Dal Santo, CEO of Cavendish Kinetics
There is a critical need for low loss RF switching as OEMs design radios for 4G and 5G capability, and commercializing our ultra-low loss RF MEMS switch to meet this need is a major focus for Cavendish, now that our first generation RF MEMS tuners have fully ramped and are shipping commercially. SOI switch technology is fundamentally limited by its high insertion loss, and is not well suited for RF front-ends requiring high voltage handling or high linearity. Our RF MEMS switches will deliver a 10x improved ‘figure of merit’ compared to what today’s SOI switches can achieve, transforming the way LTE radios are designed.
