Linear Technology’s LTC5551 is an ultra-high dynamic range RF down-converting mixer for applications that demand high performance. It offers very high linearity of +36 dBm IIP3 (input third-order intercept) and low 9,7 dB noise figure comparable to the highest IIP3 passive mixers available.
Unlike passive mixers which typically have 7 dB to 9 dB of conversion loss, the LTC5551 boasts 2,4 dB of conversion gain, substantially improving receiver dynamic range. The device also has broad RF frequency range capability, operating from 300 MHz to 3,5 GHz.
Additionally, passive mixers require high LO (local oscillator) drive to reach their claimed IIP3. The LTC5551 has an integrated LO buffer requiring only 0 dBm drive level, hence external circuitry and costs are minimised. And with the elimination of a high-power LO signal in the user’s receiver, it substantially reduces a potential source of undesirable radiation, thus simplifying filtering and RF shielding requirements.
The IC ensures robust radio performance with its high 1 dB compression point of +18 dBm. Both the RF and LO inputs have integrated balun transformers. The mixer is powered from a single 3,3 V supply with current consumption of 204 mA. If needed, it also has a low-power mode in which current consumption drops by 30% to 142 mA, trading off the IIP3 slightly to +29,3 dBm.
The performance of this mixer is suited for a wide range of mission-critical, high-performance applications that are exposed to strong interference sources, such as multi-carrier GSM, 4G LTE and LTE-Advanced multimode base stations, point-to-point backhauls, military communications, wireless repeaters, public safety radios, VHF/UHF/white-space broadcast receivers, radar and avionics.
The mixer can be conveniently shut down with an enable control pin. When disabled, it draws a maximum of 100 μA standby current. The device turns on and off in 500 ns, suitable for burst-mode receivers. It is specified for operation from -40°C to 105°C case temperature and is supplied in a 16-lead, 4 x 4 mm QFN package.
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