A high dynamic downconverting mixer in the range of 4GHz to 6GHz has been announced by Linear Technology. The LTC5544 mixer offers high linearity with 25.9dBm IIP3 (Input Third-Order Intercept), high conversion gain of 7.4dB due to its integrated IF amplifier, and a noise figure of 11.3dB. These performance characteristics enable very good dynamic range performance for both main receivers and digital pre-distortion receivers.
The device has an RF input that can withstand strong interference signals without significantly degrading its noise figure. This preserves the receiver sensitivity and enhances robustness. The mixer operates on a single 3.3V supply without compromising performance, while keeping power consumption to a minimum.
The device is ideally suited for wireless systems such as point-to-point broadband microwave links, 5GHz license-free band WiMAX radios, satellite receivers, radar systems, avionics, public safety radios and RF test systems.
The mixer incorporates an on-chip integrated high gain IF amplifier capable of supporting IF frequencies up to 1GHz. Also integrated are an LO buffer along with two RF balun transformers. They enable the RF and LO inputs to operate single-ended and with 50O matching. The LO input requires only +2dBm drive level. These features simplify design and require fewer external components, resulting in a smaller solution size.
The device operates on a single 3.3V supply, drawing 194mA of current. It has a power-down feature with 0.6µs turn-on and turn-off time, supporting Burst Mode operation or TDD (time division duplexed) systems. When disabled, the device consumes a maximum of 500µA. The
