Menlo Micro provides electrostatic MEMS switches that replace traditional electromechanical relays and solid‑state switches in RF, power, and cryogenic applications. Their Ideal Switch® technology delivers low insertion loss, high linearity, milliwatt‑level power consumption, and billions of cycles of operation from DC to tens of gigahertz, with variants for RF switching, high‑speed loopback, quantum cryogenic switching, power relays, and integrated subsystems.
Funding
$150M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
7OFSFounders
Product
Problem
Conventional electromechanical relays and solid‑state switches used in RF, power, and cryogenic applications suffer from trade‑offs such as large size, slow actuation, high loss, limited linearity, high power consumption, and short lifetimes, which restrict system performance, reliability, and scalability.
Solution
Menlo Micro’s Ideal Switch® technology replaces traditional relays and solid‑state switches with a miniature electrostatic MEMS architecture that delivers low insertion loss, high linearity, and air‑gap isolation while consuming milliwatts or less of power. The switches operate from DC to tens of gigahertz, handle thousands of watts, and achieve lifetimes exceeding billions of cycles. The technology is available in RF switches, high‑speed loopback modules, cryogenic quantum switches, power relays, and integrated subsystems, providing a unified solution for communications, test equipment, aerospace, defense, and quantum computing. By integrating the switches into compact packages with built‑in control and monitoring, Menlo Micro enables faster testing, reduced system size, lower total cost of ownership, and reliable operation in extreme environments.
Target Audience
Primary customers are system designers and engineers in RF communications (5G, aerospace, defense), high‑speed test and measurement equipment manufacturers, power‑management applications, and quantum‑computing hardware developers requiring reliable, low‑loss, and ultra‑fast switching.
Features
- Electrostatic actuation requiring sub‑microwatt power, eliminating joule heating even at millikelvin temperatures
- Unit‑cell size ~50 µm × 50 µm, allowing dense arrays and scalable series/parallel configurations
- Switching speeds under 15 µs for RF and under 30 µs for high‑speed loopback, reducing test cycle time
- Insertion loss 0.1–1.3 dB, isolation >25 dB (up to 45 dB), and IP3 >90 dBm for superior RF performance
- Lifetime >3 billion cycles (≈1000× longer than conventional relays) with no stiction or contact wear
- Cryogenic operation to 10 mK with near‑zero power dissipation, suitable for quantum hardware testing
- Integrated smart‑relay features: on‑chip monitoring, configurable control, and compatibility with standard PCB footprints