Hyperlabs Expands Its High-Frequency Horizons at DesignCon 2025

Inside the bustling halls of DesignCon 2025 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Jason Yoho, Vice President of Engineering at Hyperlabs, discussed the company’s latest advancements, including a pre-released instrumentation platform and a new isolation balun that extends its lead in high-frequency components.

Hyperlabs, founded in 1992 by Agoston Agoston, has built a reputation as a leader in broadband RF components and high-speed measurement solutions. Over the past five years, the company has significantly expanded its product line, pushing into 145 GHz broadband components while maintaining its strong reputation for precision and innovation. This expansion reflects growing industry demands for higher bandwidth and faster data processing speeds, particularly in telecommunications, defense, and semiconductor testing applications.

A New Era in Instrumentation

At DesignCon, Hyperlabs unveiled a new instrumentation platform that has been in development for the past two years. The platform is built around a COM Express module and an AMD Xilinx UltraScale FPGA, featuring multiple 16 Gbps transceivers. With these capabilities, the platform is designed to support a wide range of applications, including real-time oscilloscopes, sampling oscilloscopes, and arbitrary waveform generators (AWGs), giving engineers an advanced toolset for high-speed testing and measurement.

“We built the platform with flexibility in mind,” Yoho explained. “Our first product on this platform is a variable-width pulse generator featuring an internally designed 8V peak-to-peak DC-coupled output driver, providing a 16V differential signal with variable pulse widths down to 50 picoseconds.”

The new pulse generator offers key advantages over existing solutions, particularly in its low jitter performance. With a jitter measurement of less than 400 fs, it outperforms many alternatives on the market. This improvement is critical for engineers conducting precise timing analyses and high-frequency signal testing. Additionally, the DC-coupled output driver allows high voltage signal generation across a range of applications.

Breaking Barriers in Broadband Components

Hyperlabs has also extended its leadership in broadband components with the release of a new isolation balun, which debuted at DesignCon. Unlike previous designs, which offered limited isolation between output ports, this new model provides 18 dB of isolation, significantly reducing signal degradation caused by reflections and mismatched source impedances.

“Our previous balun line set the standard at 67 GHz, then 85 GHz, and later pushed past 100 GHz,” Yoho said. “This latest product makes high-fidelity differential signal processing even more robust, ensuring better performance across a wider range of applications.”

The new isolation balun uses power splitter technology and pulse inverters to achieve superior isolation which reduces standing waves, which cause interference in high-speed systems. These enhancements are particularly valuable in applications such as high-speed digital testing, telecommunications, and quantum computing, where signal integrity is paramount.

Collaboration with Southwest Microwave and the Push to 145 GHz

Hyperlabs was invited to take an advisory role in the development of Southwest Microwave’s 0.8 mm connector, a key component for next-generation high-frequency applications. As the industry pushes toward 145 GHz, the need for more robust and precisely engineered connectors has grown, and Hyperlabs has been at the forefront of this development.

Yoho, who has been heavily involved in the project, used HFSS software to model the designs and optimize performance. By collaborating with Southwest Microwave, Hyperlabs was able to refine the design to their applications to ensure seamless integration with its upcoming 145 GHz product line.

“As data rates increase, there’s a critical need for higher bandwidth components,” he noted. “AI applications, for example, require massive data throughput, and our solutions help enable this transformation by providing the necessary signal integrity and bandwidth.”

Quality and Customer-Driven Growth

Over the past six years, Hyperlabs has experienced substantial growth, expanding its portfolio to include 110 GHz components that have been recognized for their superior build quality and competitive pricing. The company’s strong reputation in the industry has been reinforced by its commitment to engineering excellence and customer service.

“Customers return to us because our parts last,” Yoho emphasized. “We rarely see failures, and that has earned us a strong reputation in the industry. Our build techniques and in-house quality control ensure that every component meets the highest standards.”

This focus on quality has helped Hyperlabs establish a loyal customer base across industries such as aerospace, defense, and semiconductor manufacturing, where reliability and precision are paramount.

Looking Ahead to 2025

Hyperlabs’ priorities for 2025 include the full release of its new instrumentation platform, the creation and expansion of its 145 GHz component line, and a continued push to make high-frequency test and measurement tools more accessible to a broader range of companies.

“Many test instruments cost upwards of $500,000 to $1 million,” Yoho pointed out. “We aim to offer high-performance alternatives at a price that even smaller companies and startups can afford. By providing cost-effective solutions, we hope to enable more research and development in high-frequency electronics.”

Beyond affordability, the company also aims to advance signal integrity solutions, enabling engineers to work with higher bandwidths without compromising performance. The continued development of its instrumentation platform will play a key role in these efforts, offering solutions that can be adapted to various high-speed applications.

Solving Industry Challenges

Hyperlabs serves industries that face ever-increasing demands for higher speed and bandwidth, particularly in telecommunications and defense. Engineers in these fields require cutting-edge components that can handle extreme frequencies while maintaining stability and precision.

“Recently, the biggest challenge has been to go faster and achieve higher bandwidth, but there are also times when customers come to us with highly specialized requests,” Yoho said. “We take pride in engineering one-off solutions that push the limits of what’s possible, whether it’s for a specific application or a new research initiative in high-frequency communications.”

Hyperlabs also offers both active and passive measurement solutions, each serving distinct needs in high-frequency testing. Passive components such as bias tees and DC blocks are essential for everyday lab work, while active components like amplifiers are used to boost signals and drive optical modulators. Understanding when to use each type is critical for engineers working in high-speed electronics, and Hyperlabs provides guidance to help customers make the right choices.

Where to Find More

For those looking to explore Hyperlabs’ latest offerings, Yoho recommends visiting www.hyperlabs.com or reaching out via LinkedIn. He personally addresses all technical inquiries, ensuring a direct line of communication with the engineering team.

As 2025 unfolds, Hyperlabs appears poised to redefine high-frequency test and measurement, providing the next generation of engineers with the tools they need to push technology even further.

Tags: 145 GHz, balun, DesignCon 2025, Hyperlabs, instrumentation, testing.

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