HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Driving the RF SOI Revolution
The Peregrine Semiconductor story is about many things. 

It is about a willingness to take risks, diligence, innovation, hard work and the nurturing 

of strong partnerships. It is the story of the founders’ ability to look forward and 

understand what would be important tomorrow—the ability to “read the tea leaves,” if you will. 

It is the success story of a semiconductor company that accomplished what the industry thought 

was impossible, and that now leads the market today as a communications company. 

During the 1970s a battle was waged between analog and digital to determine the optimum 

method of electric signal distribution of information. Digital won in 1975 and took over everything 

through the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, driving a literal digital revolution. Computing power followed 

Moore’s Law—named after Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore—which states that the number 

of transistors on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years, driving exponential 

improvement in performance. The digital revolution drove digital electronics into nearly every 

segment of the world economy. The semiconductor market on its own is relatively small, but the 

markets it drives are immense. Today, global semiconductor industry revenues exceed $300 billion 

annually, but it is the semiconductors’ capabilities that drive the global trillion dollar electronics 

industry. In the U.S. alone, the semiconductor industry, one of the country’s top exports, directly 

employs nearly 250,000 people, and the industry supports more than one million additional jobs. 

In the late ’70s, Peregrine’s founders began diligently solving the technical challenges and 

overcoming the barriers required to make advanced silicon on insulator (SOI) commercially 

feasible. Their research initially focused on a sapphire substrate, known by the industry as silicon 

on sapphire (SOS). SOS, in spite of showing great promise, was demonstrating manufacturing 

problems that had led the other semiconductor companies to abandon further development of 

the sapphire substrate. While the rest of the industry deemed it impossible, the founders persisted, 
and, after years of research and development, the “aha moment” came. In 1988, Peregrine founders 

Ron Reedy and Mark Burgener and colleague Graham Garcia published a research paper that 

would serve as the foundation for Peregrine’s UltraCMOS® technology, a patented advanced form 

of SOI. 

Peregrine’s strength in sapphire substrates offered a clear advantage. Sapphire did not interfere with 

RF signals. With radios driving the advancement of wireless communications, Peregrine’s continuing 

development of the UltraCMOS technology was evolving to address the critical integration 

requirements for communications device development.

Today, Peregrine’s technology provides critical communication pathways for devices used around 

the globe and beyond, from the iPhone to the Mars Rover. Peregrine chips have traveled to every 

planet except Uranus. Handheld devices daily deliver conversations and critical data using a 

Peregrine chip. The critical communications channels used by our first responders and military rely 

on the performance of Peregrine’s chips in their devices and networks. 

As the story continues to unfold, 2014 could best be described as the year of UltraCMOS dominance. 

After celebrating 25 years of technology innovation in 2013, Peregrine further enforced its position 

in the marketplace with the addition of several groundbreaking new products. From the industry’s 

first reconfigurable RF front-end system to integrated power limiters that replace GaAs-based 

solutions, Peregrine continues to drive the RF SOI revolution. 
1988 1989

The “Aha Moment”

In January 1988, Ron Reedy, Mark Burgener and Graham 

Garcia, researchers at the Naval Ocean Systems Center 

(NOSC), published their advanced silicon on insulator (SOI)

research findings in the IEEE Electron Device Letters in a 

paper titled “High-Quality CMOS in Thin (100 nm) Silicon on 

Sapphire.” The findings in this paper unveiled the value and 

potential of sapphire as a substrate. This paper also served as 

the foundation for the continued research and development 

for Peregrine’s UltraCMOS® technology. As the paper’s 

abstracts notes, “These results indicate that DSPE-improved 

SOS films thinned to 100 nm are suitable for application to 

high-performance down-scaled CMOS circuitry.”

1 gallon of gas: 91 cents

Movie ticket: $3.50 

U.S. postage stamp: 24 cents 

Dozen eggs: 65 cents 

CDs outsold 

vinyl records 

for the first time. 

The Berlin wall 

came down. 

Motorola 

introduced the 

first flip phone. 
1990

Peregrine Opens Its Doors 

In 1990, Peregrine became a reality for founders Ron 

Reedy, Mark Burgener and Rory Moore. With Reedy and 

Burgener responsible for advancing the technology, 

Moore provided the startup capital and took on the 

role as the company’s first CFO, responsible for finance, 

business development, marketing and human resources. 

He also led the funding efforts of the early investor 

rounds, which totaled more than $18M from friends and 

families of the founders.

In February of 1990, the company incorporated 

in Delaware, and in March, the name Peregrine 

Semiconductor became official. For the first half of the 

year, Peregrine conducted reviews with Intel, Motorola, 

HP, UC and others. In June, Peregrine obtained the 

fundamental UltraCMOS® patent from HP and Caltech. 

In August of that year, the Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreement (CRADA) was submitted to 

the Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC). The company 

continued to focus on development of the business plan 

and refining the market analysis required to move the 

venture forward. They also continued development of a 

6” wafer. 

I had a tenured government job, six weeks 

of paid vacation, a pension and a lab full 

of expensive equipment, but I also had this 

entrepreneurial spirit and a hunch that we 

could accomplish something great. 

Ron Reedy, co-founder of Peregrine

“

”

A space shuttle 

placed the Hubble 

Space Telescope 

in orbit. 

The first in-car 

satellite navigation 

system was sold. 
Commercializing the Technology

The CRADA submitted to NOSC was signed in 

1991. This marked the launch point of Peregrine’s 

commercialization of the UltraCMOS® technology. This 

spirit of cooperation represented NOSC’s willingness 

to allow businesses outside of the Federal Government 

to advance the development and application of unique 

technologies. This agreement enabled the development 

of integrated circuits using thin-film silicon on sapphire 

(TFSOS) sub-micron device technology. Research with 

TFSOS began in 1979 at the NOSC Microelectronics 

Lab. “We are now recognized as the world leader in 

TFSOS technology,” said Dr. Isaac Lagnado, senior 

staff scientist of the Marine Sciences and Technology 

Department at NOSC. “Peregrine will be seeking to 

develop specific applications of commercial value for 

this technology.

1991

The world’s first commercial 

GSM call was made on July 1, 

1991, over a Nokia-supplied 

network. 
1991-1993 1993

Strategic Partnerships

Co-founder Mark Burgener pulled together a top-notch team 

that worked on transferring the R&D technology to mainstream 

production. This included developing a technology that was simple 

to transfer and managing the relationships between Peregrine and 

the fabs. In 1991, Peregrine established a partnership with Union 

Carbide, the world’s leading supplier of silicon on sapphire wafers. 

Over the next few years, Union Carbide would work with Peregrine 

on developing a 6” wafer. In 1993, Peregrine selected IBM as its fab, 

and the UltraCMOS® process was successfully installed at IBM’s 

Rochester, MN, facility. 

The Communication Revolution

In 1993, at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES)—the 

showcase event for emerging technology—Ron Reedy challenged his 

team to observe and document the use of portable computers versus 

cell phones amongst the attendees at the show. When the results 

were tallied, the data demonstrated a sea change—cell phone use 

outpaced computer use by 30:1. The digital revolution was moving to 

the next phase of evolution—the communication revolution. Wireless 

communication was the future, and Peregrine was poised to be a 

leader. 

On July 12, 1993, Peregrine filed its first UltraCMOS patent. Over 

the next 20 years, Peregrine would file more than 150 new patent 

Now that we had the technology, we applications. 

needed to determine what exactly we 

would accomplish. 

Mark Burgener, 

co-founder of Peregrine

“

”
1994 1995

Peregrine Selects 

a New Fab

In 1994, Peregrine selected Asahi Kasei 

Microsystems (AKM) as its new fab. The AKM 

Nobeoka wafer fabrication facility began its 

operation in 1993, and AKM Semiconductor 

Inc. was established in San Jose, CA in 1995. In 

January of 1996, Peregrine signed a six-year 

fab agreement with AKM. 

Peregrine and Xilinx signed a licensing 

agreement allowing Peregrine to 

manufacture and sell its own three-volt, 

UltraCMOS® versions of Xilinx’s XC3000 

field programmable gate array family. This 

was the first demonstration of UltraCMOS 

technology for digital applications. 

First Chip Delivery

In August 1995, Peregrine 

hand-delivered the 

first 100 chips of its 

first product, a 2.5 GHz 

fractional-N frequency 

synthesizer chip, to Tony 

Mauro and Bar-Giora 

Goldberg, CTO at Sciteq 

Electronics. Peregrine 

had begun a strategic 

relationship with Sciteq Electronics in early 1994, and 

the chip design had been finalized in November 1994. 

My entrepreneurial history and 

spirit spurred me to take on this 

challenge—bringing a brand-new 

technology and new products to 

market. But it was quite the challenge. 

It’s amazing Peregrine succeeded .

Mark Burgener, co-founder of Peregrine

“

” The White House launched 

a web page. 

1996

Peregrine Expands 

Executive Team

In 1996, the executive team at 

Peregrine was enriched with 

the addition of Jim Cable as VP 

of Technology and Operations. 

Jim, Peregrine’s current CEO, 

joined the team from Hughes 

Microelectronics Center where 

he managed the technology 

and fab operations for the 

company. 
1997-1998

The Word is Spreading

In the June 29, 1997, issue of BusinessWeek magazine, Peregrine was featured in a story 

about the future of very small communications devices. The communication revolution 

was alive and well, and Peregrine remained poised to make a significant contribution. The 

discussion around the “micro communicator” was growing.

And that was just the beginning. Vertical industry publications were talking about the technology 

innovation; business publications were talking about the applications. Headlines included:

June 2, 1997: EE Times “Sapphire-substrate process applied to SOI” 

July 6, 1997: The Sunday Times Business “Sapphire chips cut the size of phones” 

August 25, 1997: Electronic News “Peregrine Unveils PLL Chip Using Ultra-Thin Process”

January 1998: Microwave Journal “An Ultra-Thin Silicon Technology That Provides 

Integration Solutions on Standard CMOS”

August 1998: Applied Microwave & Wireless “Ultra Low Power PLL from Peregrine 

Semiconductor Makes Its Debut”

And local media outlets were beginning to recognize the results. As the U-T San Diego

explained in an August 1997 article on “San Diego’s Cool 25 for 1997”:

Peregrine likes to call itself the “Microcommunicator Company”...already Peregrine has been able to reduce the 

7-to-10 chips found in a mobile phone to a single chip that uses a tenth of the power to operate.

TINIER PHONES STUDDED WITH CHIPS OF 

SAPPHIRE WRISTWATCH COMMUNICATORS 

could finally become a reality, thanks to new 

technology from startup Peregrine Semiconductor 

Corp. The San Diego-based company has perfected 

a process to build ultrathin silicon chips on a base of 

pure sapphire.

Unlike semiconductor bases, which allow some 

electricity to pass through (hence the name--they 

semi-conduct), the sapphire layer is nonconductive. 

That means that radio frequency and logic circuits 

that previously had to be built in separate chips 

because they interfered with each other can now be 

crammed side-by-side on a single chip. Peregrine has 

licensed the technology to a Japanese chipmaker, and 

the company predicts that by next year, such chips 

could lead to cheaper satellites and mobile phones. 

By 2001, the technology should enable the making of 

tiny portable communicators, such as Dick Tracy-style 

wristwatch phones. Watch out, Pruneface! EDITED 

BY CATHERINE ARNST Andy Reinhardt

Google 

founded.

The world met Dolly the sheep, 

the first mammal to be cloned 

from cells of an adult animal. 
1999 2000

Going Where No Man Has 

Gone Before

To expand European operations, Peregrine 

opened Peregrine Semiconductor Europe in 

1999. 

The PE9601 became the first Peregrine 

product in space. It was launched by NT Space 

(then NEC). This would be the first of many 

Peregrine products that would find their way 

into space—reaching every planet except 

Uranus. 

New Products, New Fab, 

First Million-Piece Order

In 2000, Peregrine launched the PE4120, the 

world’s most linear MOFSET quad mixer. In 

the same year, Peregrine acquired a wafer 

fabrication facility in Sydney, Australia, with 

the goal of significantly increasing production 

capability for their highly integrated radio 

frequency synthesizer and transceiver chips for 

wireless customers. The company also shipped 

its first million-piece order to MiniCircuits. This 

was the first order shipped from the newly 

acquired Australian fab facility.

2001

Fully Integrated 

Switches, New Business 

Unit, Making the 

Investment

In 2001, Peregrine shipped its first RF 

SOI fully integrated switches—the 

PE4210/20/30 for cable TV, military and 

other markets out of the newly acquired 

Australian fab facility. The company also 

announced that year that it had completed 

construction of its clean room upgrade 

to enable the fabrication of .25 micron 

integrated circuits in its Australian fab.

The U.S. Defense Microelectronics Activity 

selected Peregrine Semiconductor to supply 

advanced process technology for radiation 

hardened integrated circuits. The contract 

was valued at $4.8 million. 

The first full internet service 

on mobile phones was 

introduced in Japan by NTT 

DoCoMo. 

The dot-com 

bubble burst. 
2002 2003

New Products, New Partners

After years of success in the military and aerospace markets, Peregrine 

formally formed the Space and Defense Business Unit to address the 

increasing interest and business opportunities being presented in that 

market segment. The unit was led by Ron Reedy. 

That same year, the company introduced the industry’s highest 

performance PLL synthesizers with embedded EEPROM fieldprogrammable memory—the PE3341 and PE3342. The company also 

entered into a strategic UltraCMOS® partnership agreement with Oki 

Electric.

Heading to Mars

Equipped with a Peregrine PLL, the Mars Express Orbiter from 

the European Space Agency began its journey 400 million 

miles into space in 2003.

Euro notes and 

coins were first 

circulated.

The United States 

Department of Homeland 

Security officially began 

operation.

The Spirit Rover launched, 

beginning NASA’s Mars 

Exploration Rover mission.
2004 2005

Entry Into Handsets

In 2004, Peregrine entered into the handset 

market and in August, introduced the 

world’s first high power, high linearity, fully 

integrated RF SOI UltraCMOS® flip-chip 

SP4T handset switch for dual-band GSM 

handsets—the PE4261. Through advanced 

packaging technology, the fully integrated RF UltraCMOS 

handset switch reduced the printed circuit board (PCB) area by a 

factor of nine when compared to conventional wire bonding. 

The company also announced an RF switch for broadband 

applications that exceeded the strict FCC 15.115 regulations. 

In 2004, Peregrine introduced the world’s first single chip digital 

step attenuator (DSA), the PE430x (1-6) family. These DSAs were 

the most linear, most accurate RF CMOS DSAs available and were 

the best chips of its kind for nearly a decade. 

The Rosetta Space Probe from ESA launched in March 2004 

carrying Peregrine radio control chips. The probe will rendezvous 

with the 67P/Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The trip to the 

comet will take 10 years to accomplish and then it will spend two 

years actively investigating. 

In 2004, Peregrine continued to expand its extensive IP portfolio 

with the issuance of the first patent in the RF switch family. 

HaRPTM 

Another Breakthrough for Handsets

In October 2005, Peregrine introduced the patented HaRPTM 

design technology enabling dramatic improvement in harmonic 

performance, linearity and overall RF performance. This breakthrough 

would continue to offer significantly differentiated performance for 

Peregrine products in the years to come. 

In 2005, the Peregrine PE4305 and PE4306 were in mass production. 

YouTube, the popular 

Internet site on which 

videos may be shared 

and viewed by others, 

launched in the 

United States.

Microsoft 

released the 

Xbox 360 

gaming console. 
2006 2007

Heading to Pluto

In 2006, Peregrine was selected by the 

European Space Agency to develop the first PLL 

device that would be integrated in European 

space applications. In April, ESA launched the 

Venus Express with Peregrine parts. 

NASA’s New Horizons space vehicle equipped 

with Peregrine parts was launched for Pluto 

with an anticipated arrival date of July 2015. 

The journey will take New Horizons past Mars, 

Jupiter and Saturn.

Rewarded for Innovation

In August 2007, Peregrine Semiconductor 

was recognized by Frost & Sullivan for 

their commitment to innovation and 

global excellence with receipt of the 2007 

Global Wireless Radio Frequency Emerging 

Technology of the Year Award.

2008

Mobile Antenna Tuning

Peregrine announced the UltraCMOS® DTC 

technology for mobile antenna tuning in 

2008. Peregrine’s digital tunable capacitor 

(DTC) technology provided a solution to 

one of the biggest challenges in RF 

design—antenna impedance matching. 

Peregrine’s UltraCMOS DTC technology 

became the ideal solution for both cellular 

and mobile TV applications. In February, 

Peregrine filed the patent for digitally 

tuning a capacitor in an integrated circuit 

device.

With two critical Peregrine chips inside, 

Motorola announced multi-band, two-way 

radios for first responders. 

Apple released the first 

generation iPhone. 

The first Android-powered 

phone was sold. 

Google acquired 

YouTube for $1.65 

billion in stock. 
2010 2011

The Return of Hayabusa

In May 2003, the unmanned spacecraft 

Hayabusa (literal translation from Japanese is 

“Peregrine Falcon”) carrying Peregrine chips 

for the radio control was launched to asteroid 

Itoawa by the Japanese Space Agency. In June 

2010, the craft returned carrying space dust 

from the asteroid for scientific investigation.

Peregrine partnered with Soitec to develop the new bonded SOS 

substrate that was qualified for use in manufacturing Peregrine’s 

next generation UltraCMOS®5 RF IC semiconductors. 

Big Number, Big Milestones

2011 was a milestone year for Peregrine. The company won several 

awards and announced multiple industry-leading products, but the 

biggest announcement in 2011 was when Peregrine shipped its one 

billionth chip. 

For test and measurement 

applications, Peregrine 

announced an SPDT device 

that operated from 9 kHZ 

to 6.0 GHz. The RF switch 

was used by Rohde & 

Schwarz in the R&S SMA 

100A signal generator. 

NASA launched a one-way 

mission to Jupiter. With an anticipated arrival date of July 4, 2016, 

the Juno mission, equipped with a Peregrine PLL, will orbit Jupiter 33 

times and then intentionally self-destruct into the planet.

Super Bowl XLIV – 

New Orleans Saints 

defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 

to win their first Super Bowl.

Apple released 

the iPad.
2011

IEEE Recognizes Peregrine Founders

Peregrine founders Mark Burgener and Ron Reedy received the Daniel E. Noble Medal for Emerging 

Technology from the IEEE in 2011. The following is taken directly from the IEEE publication announcing 

the award and chronicles the challenges faced, and overcome, to bring silicon on sapphire technology to 

market as a viable commercial product:

The persistence and contributions of Mark L. Burgener and Ronald E. Reedy overcame barriers to 

make silicon on sapphire (SOS) technology commercially feasible for wireless communications. Drs. 

Burgener and Reedy stood by SOS technology that, despite great promise, had initially been abandoned 

by semiconductor market leaders. First discovered during the 1960s, SOS technology presented 

manufacturing problems that prevented companies from pursuing commercialization. The efforts of 

Drs. Burgener and Reedy during the 1980s and 1990s overcame these obstacles, making SOS commercially 

viable for producing integrated circuits with improved speed, lower power consumption, and more 

isolation compared to bulk silicon circuits. Even after demonstrating viable SOS circuits, the pair had 

to erase the stigma associated with the earlier problems. They co-founded Peregrine Semiconductor 

in 1990 to spur their commercialization efforts. They developed the UltraCMOS process, which solved 

critical manufacturing issues and made SOS cost-effective. After an initial shipment of 100 chips in 1995, today Peregrine has sold over 500 million 

UltraCMOS integrated circuits. Both IEEE Members, Dr. Burgener is vice president of advanced research and Dr. Reedy is the chief operating officer at 

Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation, San Diego, Calif.

That same year, Argonne National Laboratory was awarded the R&D 100 Award for an Integrated RF MEMS Switch/CMOS Device. Peregrine was 

credited and cited as a co-developer/contributor to this award-winning technology.

The space shuttle Atlantis 

launched into space. It was 

the final flight of NASA’s 

space shuttle program. 

With the second launch of the 

SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX became 

the first privately held company 

to successfully launch, orbit and 

recover a spacecraft.
2012 2013

Peregrine Goes Public

On August 8, 2012, Peregrine stock began trading on the NASDAQ 

under the ticker symbol “PSMI.” The IPO raised $77 million dollars 

as the company sold 5.35 million shares at $14 each. Peregrine CEO 

Jim Cable rang the opening bell of the NASDAQ on November 27, 

2012.

Collaborative Agreement With Murata

In May 2013, Peregrine signed a collaborative sourcing and licensing 

agreement with Murata Manufacturing Company, the leading 

supplier of RF front-end modules for the global mobile wireless 

marketplace. 

“This agreement marks the first license of Peregrine’s switch-based 

intellectual property to a third party; we look forward to working 

collaboratively with Murata to expand the deployment of UltraCMOS® 

technology.”—Jim Cable, president and CEO of Peregrine

Felix Baumgartner 

broke the sound barrier 

in a 24-mile free fall. 

The world population 

reached 7 billion 

inhabitants according to 

the United Nations.
2013

Celebrating 25 years of Continued Innovation, 2-billion chips & UltraCMOS® 10 

Technology Platform

CableLabs announced 

DOCSIS 3.1 cable TV 

standard.

On October 29, 2013, Peregrine made three 

significant announcements—the 25-year 

anniversary of its technology platform, the shipment 

of 2-billion UltraCMOS chips and the introduction of 

the UltraCMOS 10 technology platform. 

25 Years of Continued Innovation 

Peregrine’s 25-year anniversary celebration brought together Peregrine’s cofounders, investors, executives, partners and customers. San Diego’s former 

mayor, Jerry Sanders, delivered a speech that honored Peregrine’s place in 

the San Diego community and the company’s groundbreaking technology. 

2-Billion Chips 

A few short years after shipping the first billion units, Peregrine 

reached the 2-billion chip mark. The 2-billionth chip was shipped in 

an order to Murata Manufacturing Company. 

Accelerating RF Front-End Design with UltraCMOS 10 Technology 

Platform 

Peregrine, once again, set the worldwide performance standard for 

RF CMOS with the introduction of the UltraCMOS 10 technology 

platform. The 130 nm technology platform delivers both flexibility 

and unparalleled performance for addressing the ever-increasing 

challenges of RF front-end design. For the UltraCMOS 10 technology 

introduction, Peregrine enhanced a long-term relationship and 

leveraged a new one—Soitec’s revolutionary semiconductor 

materials coupled with tier-one fab GLOBALFOUNDARIES’ custom 

fabrication flow. 

Former San Diego mayor 

Jerry Sanders. 

Peregrine Semiconductor founders (from left to 

right) Mark Burgener, Rory Moore and Ron Reedy.
2014—The Year of UltraCMOS® Dominance 
2014

Peregrine Introduces UltraCMOS® 

Global 1 

Leading up to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, 

Peregrine announced UltraCMOS Global 1, the industry’s first 

reconfigurable RF front-end (RFFE) system on February 4, 2014. The 

Global 1 solution will enable OEMs to design LTE smartphones and 

tablets that support all 40+ frequency bands globally on a single, 

silicon chip. This engineering marvel, UltraCMOS Global 1, affects 

the entire wireless ecosystem and will save OEMs substantial 

time and money. Peregrine had been developing integrated RFFE 

components for years, but the final piece was achieved when 

Peregrine’s CMOS-based power amplifier (PA) could meet the 

performance of GaAs-based PAs. 

During Mobile World Congress 2014, Peregrine hosted customers, 

industry analysts and industry media for demonstrations of the 

new integrated RFFE, Global 1. 

Announcing UltraCMOS® Power Limiters 

In early April 2014 at EDI CON in 

Beijing, China, Peregrine announced 

the UltraCMOS power limiters. 

Peregrine’s power limiters represent 

the industry’s first turnkey, 

monolithic solutions to provide an 

alternative to discrete, PIN-diode 

limiters based on gallium arsenide 

(GaAs). In addition to exhibiting at 

the conference, Peregrine delivered 

a “standing room only” workshop 

on the advantages of UltraCMOS 

technology. The company also hosted 12 of China’s premier technical 

editors at a press conference to introduce them to Global 1 and the 

UltraCMOS power limiters. 

MMMB PA

Filter Bank

Filter Bank

Post-PA Switch Antenna Switch Tuner
2014

2014 ECN Impact Award Finalist 

In April 2014, the inaugural 

year of the ECN Magazine 

Impact Awards, Peregrine’s 

PE42820 RF switch was 

selected as a finalist in 

the Market Disruptor 

category. The PE42820 SPDT RF switch was designed to replace 

traditional high-power switch designs utilizing PIN-diodes and 

mechanical relays with a solution that delivers high reliability, 

30W power handling and excellent linearity. Customers now have 

a monolithic, turnkey solution for mission-critical applications.

Monolithic Phase and Amplitude 

Controllers (MPAC) 

In June at the International Microwave Symposium (IMS) 2014, 

Peregrine announced the MPAC product family. Peregrine’s monolithic 

phase and amplitude controllers (MPAC) are integrated RF solutions 

that align the phase and amplitude through a digital interface. 
2014

Murata To Acquire Peregrine 

On August 22, 2014, Murata, the world’s leading provider of RF 

systems solutions, announced their intent to add Peregrine’s 

leadership in advanced RF solutions for mobile and analog 

applications into their long-term strategy for expanding their core 

business. After deal close, Peregrine will become a wholly owned 

subsidiary of Murata and continue with its current business model 

of solving the world’s toughest RF challenges.

Peregrine Further Enhances 802.11ac 

Performance

In late August, Peregrine introduced the PE42424 RF switch. The high 

isolation, SPDT switch is optimized for 802.11ac carrier and enterprise 

Wi-Fi access points. The successor to Peregrine’s groundbreaking 

PE42423, the upgraded switch also offers a 350% faster switching 

speed. The PE42424 is ideally suited for transmit/receive switching 

applications for outdoor Wi-Fi access points that require high-power 

handling and rugged high-temperature performance. These WLAN 

products are now able to realize the promise of 802.11ac—offering 

the highest data throughput in increasingly dense bring-your-owndevice (BYOD) environments.

Goldman Sachs Buys Bonds Back (Aug. 23): Goldman 

Sachs agrees to purchase back the $3.15 billion in 

mortgage bonds it unloaded onto Fannie Mae and 

Freddie Mac before the 2008 financial crisis.

Peregrine’s CEO Jim Cable (left) and Murata’s executive deputy 

president and member of the board of directors Yoshitaka Fujita.
2014

Peregrine Expands Integrated Product 

Portfolio 

In fall 2014, Peregrine announced the 

expansion of its integrated product 

portfolio with the introduction of 

the True DC switch and the X-band 

core chip. The True DC switch is 

the industry’s first and only RF 

integrated switch to achieve true 

DC capability, and the X-band core 

chip is the industry’s first integrated X-band, CMOS core chip to 

utilize monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) design 

techniques. 

The products were introduced in a campaign that highlighted 

Peregrine’s ability to integrate RF, digital and analog components 

onto a single die. While integration has traditionally offered 

high-volume markets the benefit of lower cost, Peregrine uses 

intelligent integration to offer performance advantages such as 

configurability, flexibility, reliability, repeatability, ease-of-use and 

a reduced form factor. 

DOCSIS 3.1 Solution

Addressing the tough challenges of the new DOCSIS 3.1 cable TV 

standard, Peregrine announced the PE42722 RF switch in October 

2014. The high linearity switch offers the first dual-band architecture 

that will allow customer premises equipment (CPE) vendors the 

ability to future-proof their devices to meet the strict linearity 

requirements of the DOCSIS 3.1 cable industry standard. Multi Service 

Operators (MSOs) benefit from the PE42722 switch supporting both 

DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1, allowing for a simple and cost effective transition 

to DOCSIS 3.1. Peregrine’s solution eliminates the need to physically 

change the CPE device to get the hardware necessary to support the 

higher upstream and downstream requirements. The PE42722 high 

linearity switch marks the first time that dual upstream/downstream 

bands can reside in the same CPE device.

Sept. 2014: 

Apple introduced 

Apple Watch
Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation

Corporate Headquarters

9380 Carroll Park Drive

San Diego, CA, 92121

USA

Phone: 858-731-9400

Fax: 858-731-9499

Peregrine Semiconductor Illinois

Midwest Design Center

3135 N. Wilke Road

Suite B

Arlington Heights, IL, 60004

USA

Phone: 847-934-2024

Fax: 847-253-1589

Peregrine Semiconductor Europe

Merlin House, Brunel Rd

Theale, Reading, West Berkshire RG7 4AB

UK

Phone: +44-118-902-6520

Fax: +44-118-902-6401

Peregrine Semiconductor Korea

#C-3004, Kolon Tripolis 210,

Geumgok-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si,

Gyeonggi-do, Korea, 463-480

Phone: +82-31-728-3939

Fax: +82-31-728-3940

Peregrine Semiconductor China

Room 811, Building 3

Lane 58 East Xinjian Road

Shanghai, 201199

China

Phone: +86-21-5836-8276

Fax: +86-21-5836-8550

www.psemi.com