JFW Industries, Inc. Non-Blocking RF Matrix Switch 50MS-287

A non-blocking matrix switch is constructed with half of the matrix built with power dividers while the other half is built with switches. Whether the switches are on the input port half or the output port half depends on how you need the matrix switch to function. With power dividers on the input ports and switches on the output ports, each input signal is split to all of the output switches. This configuration allows for multiple output ports to be connected to the same input port simultaneously. Example block diagrams for non-blocking matrix switches are shown below the model selection table. The advantage of a non-blocking matrix over a blocking matrix is its greater connection flexibility. An input port (built with a power divider) is always available to be connected to any output port (built with a switch). However, the power dividers cause a non-blocking matrix to have greater insertion loss than a blocking matrix. The power dividers also decrease the isolation between channels. In the event that two output ports (built with switches) are switched to receive the same input signal (input port built with a power divider), the isolation between output ports is determined by the isolation of the power divider. Typical reactive power divider/combiners have 20dB isolation. If you need your matrix switch to have more than 20dB of output port to output port isolation, then you will need to use a blocking matrix instead of a non-blocking matrix.