Peregrine Semiconductor UltraCMOS™ Extends Rad-hard Prescaler Line

Ultra-low power device operates across Ku-band up to 13 GHz

San Diego, California, July 14, 2008 Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation, a leading supplier of high-performance RF CMOS and mixed-signal communications ICs, today released the new PE9309 UltraCMOS™ Prescaler for rad-hard space/satellite, high-performance military and hi-rel commercial infrastructure applications. The new divide-by-four device operates across 3.5 13.0 GHz frequencies, a broad operating range which exemplifies capability of the revolutionary UltraCMOS process technology to enable exceptional broadband performance in its products. This new UltraCMOS device operates in C, X and Ku Band, showcasing the UltraCMOS power consumption advantage at higher speeds.

“Our new Prescaler delivers a dramatic power consumption improvement over competitive options,” stated Dale Robinette, Peregrine’s marketing director for space, military and hi-rel products. “By offering a Ku-band solution which is complementary to our existing PLL line, our customers are getting a very comprehensive design solution and a continued commitment to UltraCMOS products for space,” he added.

The PE9309 Prescaler consumes an exceptionally low 16mA of operating current or 41.6 mW of power, replacing higher power competitive GaAs devices which typically consume 600 mW. The device features Input Power of 0 to +7 dBm; Output Power of 0 dBm (minimum); and a total dose radiation of 100 Krads (Si). The new Prescaler can be used in conjunction with Peregrine’s rad-hard Delta-Sigma Modulated Fractional-N Phase-locked Loop (PLL) Frequency Synthesizer to generate local oscillator frequencies through the Ku-Band.

Peregrine’s PE9309 is currently sampling to select customers in die or the tiny hermetically-sealed 8-lead ceramic formed flat pack package, with flight qualified devices available December 2008. Pricing is available by contacting Peregrine directly.

About UltraCMOS™ Technology for Space

UltraCMOS mixed-signal process technology is a proprietary, patented variation of silicon-on insulator (SOI) technology on a sapphire substrate providing high yields and competitive costs.  It combines the RF, mixed-signal, and digital capabilities of any other CMOS process, yet is inherently rad-hard making it an ideal process for demanding space applications. Single Event Latch up (SEL) is physically impossible and Single Event Upset (SEU) is better than 10-9 errors per bit / day, offering intrinsic radiation tolerance and total dose radiation testing of 100 Krads (Si).Recent advancements on UltraCMOS have enabled significant new product performance in the rad-hard portfolio. These significant performance advantages exist over competing processes such as GaAs, SiGe, BiCMOS and bulk silicon CMOS in applications where RF performance, ultra-low power, reduced size and integration are paramount.

About Peregrine Semiconductor

Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets high-performance communications RF ICs for the wireless infrastructure and mobile wireless; broadband CATV/DTV; communications infrastructure and aerospace markets. Manufactured on the Company’s proprietary UltraCMOS™ silicon-on-sapphire process technology, Peregrine products are uniquely poised to meet the needs of a global RF design community in high- growth applications such as WCDMA, EDGE and GSM digital cellular, broadband, DTV, DVR and rad-hard space and defense programs. The Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, maintains global manufacturing and sales support operations and a worldwide technical distribution network. Additional information is available on the web at www.psemi.com.

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The Peregrine Semiconductor name and logo are registered trademarks and UltraCMOS and HaRP are trademarks of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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