RFICs for 4G and LTE cellular base stations

14 October 2009 Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT

Analog Devices has introduced a series of highly integrated RFICs (radio frequency integrated circuits) designed for LTE lLong term evolution) and 4G cellular base stations.

LTE is a set of enhancements to the UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) standard and is considered to be the last step toward the fourth generation of radio technologies in cellular networks. As worldwide mobile carriers evolve toward 4G technologies, small higher-density radio card form factors are needed to support the delivery of continuous voice and high-data-rate services. AD’s new ADRF660x series of mixers and ADRF670x series of modulators enable these high-density radio cards by combining multiple discrete functional blocks into a single device, while meeting the demanding performance required by higher-capacity base stations.

The ADRF660x and ADRF670x series each début with four pin-compatible devices that cover the commonly used cellular 2G, 3G and LTE frequency bands and ease system design through integration, allowing for a common footprint PCB design for all cellular frequency bands and air interface standards.

The four ADRF670x products integrate a high dynamic range analog I/Q modulator, RF output switch and PLL (phase locked loop) with integrated VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) in one compact RFIC. The modulator input bandwidth of 500 MHz is capable of supporting either a specified band or complex IF up-conversion transmit signal paths. In addition, the modulator output supports a linear high output power level for wideband multicarrier LTE applications.

The four ADRF660x products integrate a high-linearity active RF mixer, RF input balun for single-ended 50 input and a PLL synthesiser with integrated VCO. The active mixer provides a voltage conversion gain of 6 dB, alleviating the need for additional IF amplification. The differential IF output is capable of supporting high IF frequencies up to 500 MHz. The ADRF660x series can be used for receiver path down-conversion and transmit path observation receiver applications.

All eight devices share a common SPI control interface and are software compatible. The integrated PLL is a multimodulus Fractional-N synthesiser designed to support LTE’s 100 kHz channel raster and offers low in-band phase noise. For added flexibility, all devices provide a buffered local oscillator (LO) output and allow the use of an external VCO.

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