New miniature coaxial reed relay for high-speed RF systems up to 3GHz

Pickering Electronics launches Series 113RF screened relays for digital switching systems that demand low RF losses and low insertion loss

Pickering Electronics, the reed relay company which has pioneered miniaturization and high performance for over 50 years, has launched a new miniature coaxial reed relays for high frequency RF systems up to 3GHz. Series 113RF SIL/SIP reed relays feature a 2mm spacing footprint, enabling them to be stacked at very high densities.

When asked “When would reed relays be the best solution for RF and high speed, digital switching systems?” Kevin Mallett, Technical Specialist at Pickering Electronics answered: “These small, screened reed relays are faster and smaller than electromechanical relays (EMR), have a lower insertion loss and better DC capabilities than solid state relays (SSR), and better hot switching performance than micro-electromechanical machine (MEM) products.”

Series 113RF reed relays are suitable for switching up to 10W, 0.5A. 1 Form A configurations (SPST normally open) are available with 3V or 5V coils with coil resistances of up to 100/300 ohms respectively.

At low levels, the typical life expectancy of Series 113RF reed relays is greater than 250 million reliable operations. The relays employ the highest quality instrumentation grade reed switches with sputtered ruthenium contacts and are ideal for automatic test equipment.

All Series 113RF reed relays feature an internal mu-metal magnetic screen to enable high-density stacking of relays without the risk of adjacent devices interfering with each other resulting in faulty operation.

Pickering now offers a coaxial RF option in many of their small, instrumentation reed relay ranges, up to 5 GHz. More information on the new 3 GHz 113RF is available here.

Pickering offer over a thousand standard catalogue reed relays, but for those that require something a little more bespoke, the company offers many standard build options, all the way to a fully customized part, depending on requirements. For example, if you are interested in the 113RF but require a different footprint, specific coil voltages or resistance figures the company would be happy to work with the designer to meet the exact specification request.