Menlo Micro’s MM5800 Brings Micromechanical Switching to 70 GHz
The SPDT device combines 0.5 dB insertion loss, 95 dBm IIP3, and cryogenic operation for next-generation test, satellite, and quantum applications.
Menlo Micro has introduced the MM5800, a broadband switching platform that spans DC to 70 GHz, a range the company describes as an industry first. At the heart of the platform sits an SPDT micro-mechanical switch built on Menlo Micro’s Ideal Switch technology, intended for microwave and millimeter-wave applications that demand low loss, high linearity, and high-power operation all at once.
The timing is no accident. As data rates scale across AI accelerators, GPUs, high-bandwidth memory, and optical interconnects, system designers and test engineers increasingly encounter signal integrity degradation caused by the switching infrastructure itself. Electromechanical relays fall behind on speed and size at these frequencies, while solid-state switches give ground on linearity. The MM5800 is positioned to replace both in high-performance measurement systems.
Stretching Reliable Switching to Millimeter-Wave Frequencies
The platform extends switching performance to the bandwidths required for high-frequency test systems in silicon photonics, a territory where traditional switching technologies face significant performance limitations. It is optimized for next-generation high-speed test infrastructure supporting PCIe Gen7, 224G SerDes, and emerging high-speed communication and optical standards, and it is rated for more than three billion switching cycles, the kind of operational lifetime automated test systems demand.
Maintaining measurement fidelity across wafer probe, package, and system-level validation has become a critical requirement, so the platform is designed to minimize switch-induced distortion while holding consistent performance across wide bandwidths. The payoff is improved correlation across high-performance measurement environments.
The MM5800 platform extends reliable millimeter-wave switching to high-frequency satellite and defense RF systems. Image used courtesy of Adobe Stock
Loss, Linearity, and Power in a Chip-Scale Package
By the numbers, the MM5800 delivers an insertion loss of approximately 0.5 dB at 40 GHz, a typical IIP3 of 95 dBm, and 30 dB of isolation at 40 GHz, figures aimed at precise RF measurement in demanding test environments. Power handling reaches 4 W continuous-wave and 40 W pulsed, supporting a wide range of RF and microwave applications while maintaining stable performance at high frequencies.
The switch arrives in a compact 2.7 mm × 2.2 mm wafer-level chip-scale package, enabling dense integration in next-generation test systems while trimming board-level parasitics and improving end-to-end channel performance. Two independently controlled switch channels, enabled via RF gate control, support flexible system-level routing architectures.
From Test Benches to Quantum Cryostats
Taken as a whole, the MM5800 pairs millimeter-wave bandwidth with loss, linearity, and power-handling figures that previously forced engineers to pick a compromise. Beyond the lab bench, that combination aligns well with satellite communications infrastructure, aerospace and defense RF systems, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) limiting and protection applications. The device also operates at cryogenic temperatures, opening the door to quantum computing applications, which is not a claim many switches can make. Engineers curious to see the platform in action can catch live demonstrations at IMS 2026 in Boston at Menlo Micro’s booth 13044.
