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Teledyne Relays, a Unit of Teledyne Electronics and Communications, is the world's innovative leader in manufacturing ultraminiature, hermetically sealed, electro-mechanical and solid-state switching products for more than 40 years. The company's comprehensive product line meets a wide range of requirements for industrial, commercial, military and aerospace uses.

TO-5 Relays in Bypass Applications: Teledyne Relays in Europe has contributed with its RF300 relay family in High End Tower Mounted Amplifiers of Cellular Base Stations. The Telecommunication Market has progressed to: improve signal quality and reduce insertion loss by placing the amplifiers adjacent to the antenna provide redundant receiver/amplifiers in case of failure bypass a faulty first stage to a second stage amplifier if there is no redundancy Three operating requirements control the specification of a switching device in a bypass function: Performance, Lifetime and Reliability. Performance: The standard mode of operation requires a very low insertion loss attributable to the switching element between the antenna filter and low noise amplifier to achieve an excellent signal to noise ratio. The overall isolation of the open bypass needs to exceed the amplifier gain by at least 10 dB to prevent any feedback loops. The switching component should also have a high immunity against transients and intermodulation effects. Lifetime: Life is a critical issue. Since the Redundancy Bypass may not be used for years or even a decade, the switching component should be robust against ageing and remain functional, even if not operated for many years. Reliability: This should be close to if not as high as military components. Teledyne's RF300 family has fully met these requirements, as in the 1 to 2 GHz range it demonstrates an insertion loss of 0.2 dB or better and with its Double Pole Double Throw Configuration it is capable of building up the complete bypass functionality in one relay with an isolation of 30 dB.

In addition to high repeatability, the relays feature a metal enclosure for EMI shielding, excellent case grounding, high isolation between control and signal paths, and high resistance to ESD. With the same manufacturing process, identical hermetic encapsulation and contact materials as space and military relays, high reliability factors (MTBF's) and operational security can be achieved even after many years. In order to exceed insertion loss parameters and increase MTBF simultaneously Teledyne developed a special Bypass Relay making external bypass elements like component leads, PCB bypass and solder points redundant. The Bypass is achieved by a direct link between either the Normally Open (RF323) or Normally Closed (RF313) poles of the relay to provide a choice of switching to a bypass function or a default to a bypass function in the event of a loss of power to the amplifier. Teledyne's latest developments for these applications are directed towards new generation "high gain" LNA's where the new SMT GRF172 series can contribute with highly increased isolation of better than 45 dB in the 2 GHz range. If you like to have more information please contact your local Teledyne regional sales manager at www.teledyne-europe.com/contactus/teledyneregionalsales.asp or download data sheets and application notes from www.teledyne-europe.com

Teledyne Coaxial Family - Coaxial switches are available in various versions, including (from left) a SPDT version, a multi-pole version with one input and six outputs, and a transfer version with two inputs and two outputs. Coaxial Switches for Commercial and Mil/Space Applications Teledyne coaxial switches long ago found a niche in military and space applications because improvements in manufacturing methods and processes have allowed them to become increasingly price-competitive. Teledyne Relays is winning a bigger slice of the market share for coaxial switches for several reasons, starting with the company's long experience in military and space applications and its reputation for reliability. The Teledyne coaxial switches themselves provide a range of benefits, such as insertion loss, isolation, repeatability, low intermodulation, and high power switching at the upper end of the performance scale. Coaxial switches as the preferred alternative to RF relays Coaxial switches are used whenever the performance levels of RF relays - frequency, power, switching, isolation and insertion-loss capabilities - do not meet the application requirements. The upper frequency range of RF relays rarely exceeds 5 GHz (although the RF522 from Teledyne offers rates up to 10 GHz). Coaxial switches, on the other hand, handle frequencies up to 33 or even 40 GHz. Similarly, whereas relays can switch up to 50 watts, coaxial switches switch up to 1 kW CW (Figure 1). As far as isolation is concerned, coaxial switches achieve values of >80 dB (at 5 GHz). In this same frequency range, however, even the best RF relays achieve values to a maximum of 30 dB. High isolation, of course, is essential for bypass applications in order to avoid feedback, which may cause oscillation and damage to amplifiers.

Figure 1 .Teledyne Relays Coaxial Switches Performance Chart Power Handling versus Frequency While the insertion loss of high-quality relays at 5 GHz comes to approximately 0.6 dB, the insertion loss of coaxial switches achieves <0.2 dB at the same frequency and 0.5 dB at 12-18 GHz (Figure 2). The repeatability of the isolation and VSWR is +/-0.05 dB or +/-0.5 dB respectively. Figure 2 – Teledyne Relays CCR-33 Performance Chart Isolation versus Frequency Coaxial switches - versatile design choice Coaxial switches can be used in a variety of applications because of their flexibility. In addition to SPDT (single-pole double throw) devices, there are multi-throw versions with, for example, one input and six outputs. A transfer switch with two inputs and outputs each can be compared with a double-pole relay. The transfer switch allows each input to be connected to any output. Coaxial switches are also available as latching and failsafe versions.

Depending on the impedance (50 or 75 ohm) and power, the following connectors can be specified: SMA, SMB (75 ohm), N or TNC. Additionally, terminated coaxial switches can be supplied as suitable for use in transmitter/receiver and other applications and where open lines must be avoided. Terminated coaxial switches have internal terminations providing a 50-ohm matched impedance to ground for all unselected ports. DP3T (double-pole triple-throw) switches can be used when termination of resistors above 1 watt of power have to be used and therefore externally mounted. In addition to standard components, Teledyne Relays can supply complete coaxial switch matrices, including power supply, microcontroller, software and required interface (for example, RS-232 or Ethernet) Applications Commercial coaxial switches can be used in wireless applications, electro-medical equipment (such as MRI scanners) and test and measurement equipment. They are commonly specified in point-to-point radio links, in air traffic control, radio stations or base station combiners, in test adapters, in switch matrices for antennas and in switching multi-channel instrumentation configurations. Boeing has developed an application for which Teledyne Relays has built the switch matrices, allowing worldwide Internet access via satellite communication for airlines and their passengers using the Connexion by Boeing® Service. Internet in the Sky - Connexion by Boeing® provides airline passengers with high-speed internet service via satellite, including e-mail, Web browsing and access to company intranets.

Space and MIL QPL Magnetic Latching Relay - RoHS Compliant The most recent addition to the Teledyne electro-mechanical relay catalogue is the 255 Series. Developed from the original 60's design, the 255 incorporates all the latest engineering and design thinking as well as materials and manufacturing technology that Teledyne has learnt and developed over the last 40 years designing and manufacturing miniature hermetically sealed relays for the Space, Military, and Aviation markets and latterly the Wireless and Test & Measurement markets. The obvious and most FAQ is why .... why did Teledyne invest in a relay which, on the surface, is a mature product with at best a stable, and at worst, a reducing number of applications? The reason is that Teledyne identified a niche in the Space, Aviation and Military markets for a MIL qualified relay of this type, as no MIL part was recently available until Teledyne qualified the J255 in December of 2005. Qualified to MIL-PRF-39016/45, the J255 provides the markets with a source of reliable, traceable product qualified to an accepted benchmark known the world over. With inclusion in the Teledyne TR-HIREL-1 Space Qualification Programme, due in the coming months, the market now has choice in selecting switching products for applications where 'good enough is not enough'. Add to this, the RoHS Compliant versions, DPDT 2A/28VDC load switching with high levels of shock and vibration resistance, a temperature range of -65 to +125ºC and pulse operation, the relay is the perfect match for environmentally tough applications where power is at a premium or when heat dissipation must be kept to a minimum. Following the MIL QPL, the 255 commercial version was introduced in January 06, followed by a DC to 1.0 GHz characterised RF255 version in February 06. Teledyne is planning to introduce the ER255 Established Reliability version to complete the 255 family before the year end. In summary: 255-XXXX for Space J255 for QPL Military and Aviation ER255 for COTS Military and Aviation RF255 for Broadband and Test & Measurement 255 for Commercial The choice is yours; the relay is Teledyne's. Data is available as a download from www.teledynerelays.com/electromechanical/J255.asp; or as hard copy or mini-CD on request to your Regional Office. Samples are available from your local Teledyne Distributor www.teledyne-europe.com/salesrepre&dist.asp or from your Teledyne Regional Sales Manager www.teledyne-europe.com/contactus/teledyneregionalsales.asp.

Teledyne has released the ultraminiature A152 Attenuator Relay. Ultraminiature electro-mechanical relays have been used to switch RF signals for many years. One common RF switching application is to attenuate signals by using a relay to switch the signal to an external attenuator circuit. The external attenuator circuit is generally a resistor network, where the resistor network may be several times larger in size than the relay. This increases the total package size and limits the frequency response of the attenuator relay that incorporates the attenuator circuit and bypass path inside the relay thereby extending the frequency range of the attenuator, while maintaining an ultraminiature package size. The A152 relay has numerous advantages in RF switching applications. Some of the reasons for selecting electro-mechanical relays for attenuator switching are: High isolation between signal path and control voltage Low insertion loss of relay contact. Insertion loss repeatability of +/-0.1dB @ 4.5GHz The large bandwidth allowing usage from dc to 5GHz The schematic is illustrating the A152 in the non-energized position. This is the bypass path, RF In = RF Out. Once the coil is energized, the contacts switch, and the RF In signal will flow through the attenuation path and the signal is attenuated.

The built-in attenuation is accomplished using a thin film resistor network on an alumina substrate. The attenuator network is grounded by way of gold wire bonds from the pad to the A152 header. The A152 construction consists of an all-welded hermetically sealed package. The relay is RoHS compliant. The uni-frame motor design provides high magnetic efficiency and mechanical ruggedness. The precious metal contacts are gold plated utilizing Teledyne's unique in-house plating process. Advanced cleaning techniques reduce the risk of contamination. These features and techniques provide excellent resistance to environmental extremes and overall high reliability. Data is available as a download from www.teledynerelays.com/electromechanical/a152.asp; or as hard copy or mini-CD on request to your Regional Office. Samples are available from your local Teledyne Distributor www.teledyne-europe.com/salesrepre&dist.asp or from your Teledyne Regional Sales Manager www.teledyne-europe.com/contactus/teledyneregionalsales.asp. The New Microwave Switches Selection Guide features details in tabular form on 20 switch families, information on applications and a glossary of terms providing a quick and simple method of product selection. The easy to read digest provides detailed information on relays, transfer switches and single-pole and multi-pole switches up to 26.5 GHz. Data published includes detailed mechanical drawings, charts showing Insertion loss, Isolation, Return Loss and RF power handling capabilities. Additional data on Frequency Range, Contact Life, Operating Voltage, Connector Options, Temperature Range, Shock & Vibration capabilities and switch options is also included. To order your Selection Guide, visit our web site at www.teledyne-europe.com/requestinfo/litrequest.asp.

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