0921 Mw Smiths Interconnects Tsx Fixed Chip Attenuator Promo 613a4ecf77f85

Fixed Chip Attenuators Bring Broadband Performance to 50 GHz

Sept. 9, 2021

These new fixed chip attenuators offer increased power handling in a small 0604 surface-mount package.

Broadband connectivity is a near-ubiquitous feature of modern life, but achieving it requires great attention to detail, even very small details. Consider, for example, a component like fixed chip attenuators, which must deliver on power and frequency specifications for broadband systems to perform as expected. Smiths Interconnect hopes to help designers cross that detail off their lists with its new TSX series of fixed chip attenuators, which are optimized to combine high frequency and power in a small package.

The TSX attenuators are designed to offer excellent broadband performance up to 50 GHz, while delivering increased power handling in a small 0604 surface-mount package. The devices offer wider frequency coverage than traditional components while providing optimized return loss for multiple frequency ranges. Thus, designers may use a single chip in multiple applications, reducing the bill-of-materials (BOM) item count and consequently, the cost of ownership.

The chip attenuator design, available for surface mounting, offers 1 to 3 W of power handling performance and multiple attenuation values of 1 to 10, 15, and 20 dB. The use of a robust, proven all-thin-film process technology on an alumina substrate provides a product suitable for harsh environments, such as those of space and defense applications.

With the reductions in size and weight and boost in power handling, the TSX components fit into a wide range of applications. They provide high attenuation accuracy and reduce overall design footprints, saving space in all manner of designs. Each product is engineered using 3D electromagnetic simulation (EM) software to provide excellent performance.

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.