Considerations In RF/Microwave Relay Performance

By Karl Kitts, Director of Development Engineering for High-Performance Relays, TE Connectivity

The hardware designer has unique performance requirements to consider when specifying RF/microwave relays and switches. Signal-level DC and low-frequency AC relays are typically characterized using different specifications than those used for RF/microwave. But the attributes can be compared. One reason for the difference is that the characteristics of microwave relays are frequency-dependent.