Press Release

Menlo Micro Launches Industry’s First Millimeter-Wave Switching Platform for High-Frequency Communication, Optical, and Quantum Compute Infrastructures

June 08, 2026
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New MM5800 switching platform enables next-generation RF and optical infrastructure, including silicon photonics, by removing system-level bottlenecks

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BOSTON, MA — June 8, 2026 — Menlo Microsystems Inc. (Menlo Micro), a leader in high-performance switching solutions, today announced the industry’s first broadband RF switching platform that covers DC to 70 GHz which extends switching performance into the bandwidths required for silicon photonics high-frequency test systems, where traditional switching technologies face significant performance limitations.

The core of the new MM5800 platform is a high-performance SPDT micro-mechanical switch based on Menlo Micro’s Ideal Switch® technology, designed for microwave and millimeter-wave applications requiring low loss, high linearity, and high-power operation.

In addition to extending reliable switching performance from DC to 70 GHz, the MM5800 replaces both electromechanical relays and solid-state RF switches in high-performance measurement systems.

The device supports more than three billion switching cycles, enabling long operational lifetime in automated test systems. Its architecture provides superior linearity and signal integrity compared to solid-state technologies, while delivering switching performance that significantly exceeds traditional electromechanical relay technologies in both speed and size.

The MM5800 is optimized for next-generation high-speed test infrastructure supporting PCIe Gen7, 224G SerDes, and emerging high-speed communication and optical standards.

The MM5800’s combination of millimeter-wave performance, low loss, high linearity, and high-power handling is well suited for many high-frequency markets and applications, including satellite communications infrastructure, aerospace and defense RF systems, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) limiter and protection applications.

The device is also uniquely capable of operating at cryogenic temperatures, making it a critical solution for quantum compute applications as well.

As data rates continue to scale across AI accelerators, GPUs, high-bandwidth memory, and optical interconnects, system designers and test engineers are increasingly constrained by signal integrity degradation imposed by the switching infrastructure itself.

Maintaining measurement fidelity across wafer probe, package, and system-level validation has become a critical requirement, so this platform is designed to minimize switch-induced distortion while maintaining consistent performance across wide bandwidths, enabling improved correlation across high-performance measurement environments.

“Our customers’ needs reflect a significant change in how high-speed and mixed-signal systems are validated,” said Russ Garcia, CEO of Menlo Microsystems.

“As system architectures continue to evolve toward higher bandwidths and tighter integration between electrical and optical domains, there is a growing need for switching infrastructure that enables millimeter-wave frequencies with linearity, insertion loss, and power performance not previously available in a single solution – the MM5800 does exactly that.”

The MM5800 delivers ultra-low insertion loss of approximately 0.5 dB at 40 GHz, superior  linearity with typical IIP3 of 95 dBm, and 30 dB isolation at 40 GHz, enabling precise RF measurement performance in demanding test environments.

High power handling capability of 4 W continuous wave and 40 W pulsed supports a wide range of RF and microwave applications, while maintaining stable performance across high-frequency operations.

The MM5800 is offered in a compact 2.7 mm × 2.2 mm wafer-level chip-scale package, enabling dense integration in next-generation test systems while reducing board-level parasitics and improving end-to-end channel performance.

Two independently controlled switch channels are enabled via RF gate control, supporting flexible system-level routing architectures.

The device will be featured in live demonstrations at IMS 2026 in Boston at Menlo Micro’s booth 13044.

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