Simplifying Design with High Frequency Wideband Components

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Communications

Traditionally, infrastructure communications OEM (original equipment manufacturers) used I/Q (or IRM) upconverters or downconverters for specific frequency bands and geared their solutions only for those bands. Today, with demand for global wireless growth and the opening up of new spectrum worldwide, most OEMs plan to develop radios for all commercial microwave radio bands between 6-42 GHz. As a result, the base station designs no longer just expect discrete or partially integrated components. The new designs require a platform approach that uses common components that can cover multiple frequency bands and be leveraged for radio designs of various microwave bands.

Analog Devices’ industry leading ADRF6780 (6 – 24 GHz Wideband I/Q modulator) and ADRF6880 (6 – 24 GHz Wideband I/Q demodulator) are a step in this direction. As shown in the figure the two parts offer one common wideband mixing platform to cover multiple radio bands, while also get the best performance and economies of scale. OEMs can now design microwave backhaul radios for nine different radio bands, replacing 8 separate parts between 6 and 24GHz, by using just two frequency converters. ADRF6780 and ADRF6880 integrates an I/Q mixer, selectable LO multiplier, a VVA, a log detector and an SPI programmable quad split buffer in the same package.

The two parts can be used as mixers in traditional heterodyne architectures with IF of 0.8 – 3.5 GHz or in a direct conversion (zero IF architecture) that goes all the way from RF down to baseband with just one part.