Simulated Signals for Wi-Fi RF Channel Test
Often when testing RF systems and components, it is useful to consider the range of options available to perform different tests. One approach is to order the best test equipment for every application. This strategy will certainly support many different test applications with advanced features and precise measurements, but it’s is not the most cost effective and will often result in overkill, draining budgets for capabilities that may not even be used. When selecting test equipment, what is needed is a balanced approach. The type of test being performed, the parameters being measured, and the operator’s budget are all important considerations.
This paper will demonstrate the value of Mini-Circuits’ cost effective, RF peak & average power sensors for measurement of modulated signals, and the useful range of measurement settings that can be applied. It will also summarize the use of Mini-Circuits’ compact signal generator modules as a simple approximation to the time domain properties of a Wi-Fi signal.
Using S-Parameter Files to Model Small- and Large-Signal Amplifier Performance in ADS®
This application note was prepared in part as a response to recent customer requests for guidance and instruction on how to use ADS to model the small- and large-signal performance of Mini-Circuits Amplifiers based on our published S-Parameter data in .s2p format. In the following sections, we will discuss utilizing how to use .sNp and .txt files to model small- and large-signal performance. We will then demonstrate how to model large-signal performance using both the Amplifier2 and AmplifierS2D behavioral models in ADS, including compression parameters and third-order intermodulation distortion (IP3) in the AmplifierS2D model.
The Frequency Diplexer as a Combiner
Frequency diplexers (henceforth simply diplexers) serve to either divide (demultiplex) the frequency spectrum into two major sub-bands or perform the complementary function of frequency multiplexing where the two sub-bands are combined to form a full frequency spectrum. The focus of this article is the latter, the combining of two signals or sub-bands into one contiguous spectrum. Diplexers are a 3-port component comprised of 2 ports for the individual sub-bands and a third port defined as the full-band input or output, depending upon the orientation in which it is applied.
Diplexers are important because they allow two or more devices that operate on disparate frequencies to share a single transmission medium at the same time without interfering with one another. Since they reduce system cabling and complexity, they are considered economical to use for commercial wireless base stations, aerospace and defense systems, satellite communications (SATCOM) terminals, and for consumer electronics devices that operate over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
The Anti-Parallel Series Pair Limiter Topology
The PIN diode itself was invented by Jun-ichi Nishizawa in 19501, just 18 days before R. N. Hall of General Electric. Hall would go on to propose the PIN diode as a rectifier in 19522, and a decade later the anti-parallel PIN diode limiter configuration had essentially become mainstream and was not presented as anything novel.
For more than 6 decades PIN diode limiters have served to enhance the robustness of RF receivers. The anti-parallel configuration is a very popular choice because its insertion loss, recovery time, power handling, flat leakage and frequency response characteristics can be traded off readily by choice of PIN diode. Even increasing the number of PIN diodes utilized in a limiter circuit can affect performance whether they are added in series or in subsequent stages altogether.
Complementary Cumulative Distribution Function (CCDF) in Modern Modulation Measurements
As utilization of wireless communications has accelerated over the past few years, the push to make efficient use of the limited amount of spectrum available has led to the development of more complex modulation schemes. Waveforms have continued to evolve from constant-envelope GSM and IS-95 CDMA of yesteryear to higher order M-QAM and OFDM, which can now be found in all things 5G, Wi-Fi, Satcom and Bluetooth. Minimizing the RF power required is essential to reducing heat dissipation, extending battery life, lowering costs, increasing spectral efficiency and reducing overall system complexity.
Measuring RF power has been standard practice for many years. The most fundamental RF power measurements simply capture a single value at a given point in time. How RF power is measured depends on a priori knowledge of the signal being measured. For example, is it a CW or pulsed waveform? What are the losses in the system? What noise is present? What accuracy and repeatability are required? Perhaps most importantly, how often does the RF signal reach a given peak power, compared to its average power? Read on for a discussion of complex waveform characteristics and some of the functions that are utilized in measuring them.
How Loops and Probes Couple to Cavity Filters
Astonishingly, 200 years ago in France in 1826, Felix Savary observed the oscillatory nature of Leyden jar discharges. This oscillatory behavior is an essential requirement for resonance.1 The theory of resonance would take another 50 years to mature. In 1887, Heinrich Hertz in Germany devoted one section of his papers to describing his experimental observations of what he called “Resonance Phenomena”.1 That is nearly 150 years ago, which is still amazing.
Cavity filters are ubiquitous today, and they are not new to the world of RF and microwave engineering. Cavity filters have been around for almost 80 years, since Fano and Lawson completed their initial work in 1948.2,3 They are widely used in RF and microwave systems where high selectivity, low insertion loss, and excellent power handling are required. They are commonly found in SATCOM, radar, EW, ECM, and even test and measurement systems. One critical aspect of cavity filter design is how energy is coupled into and out of the resonant structure. Among the various techniques available, coupling loops and coupling probes (henceforth, more commonly “loops” and probes”) are the two most common methods. Each method relies on a different electromagnetic coupling mechanism and offers distinct advantages depending on frequency, power level, bandwidth, and mechanical constraints.
This article furnishes the reader with a basic understanding of the operating principles, design considerations, and practical tradeoffs of loop and probe coupling methods for cavity filters.
Band-Optimized Implementations of a MMIC LNA with Shut Down
Optimizing TSS-23ULN+ Performance for Implementations from UHF through L-Band
An ultra-low NF MMIC LNA, the TSS-23ULN+ is shown to be versatile enough to be designed into the 380-480 MHz, 700-800 MHz and 950-1700 MHz bands of operation. To support users’ product selection and design effort, we have published 3 new application notes detailing the ideal application circuit to optimize performance for each use case.
Featuring a NF of a fraction of a dB, 7.5 ns shutdown, 20 dB of gain and an OIP3 of 37.3 dBm, the TSS-23ULN+ MMIC amplifier is an ideal front end part for receivers, where adding minimal noise and distortion to the signal is of paramount importance. Read on to find out how this MMIC LNA fits into your front end receiver chain.
SATCOM Shifts Reference Frequency from 10 to 100 MHz – A System Perspective
Over the last decade, the satellite communications (SATCOM) industry has been evolving to support both wider channel bandwidths (BWs) and higher-order modulations such as higher-order quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). While wider BW naturally enables more data throughput, higher-order QAM packs more bits into each symbol while utilizing the same BW. A wider BW will introduce more noise and consequently degrade system bit error rate (BER) performance by degrading the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The increasing constellation density of higher-order QAM raises its sensitivity to phase jitter, which will also degrade the system BER if lower system phase noise is not first achieved. To achieve higher data throughput by correspondingly reducing system phase noise, many in the SATCOM industry have been moving the reference frequency of their distribution clocks and subsystem timing architectures away from the long-standing 10 MHz reference and toward higher-frequency references such as 100 MHz. Mini-Circuits supports this migration path with our line of bias-tee/diplexers that are ideal for SATCOM installations. Case in point, the Z4BT-2R15GW+ affords the ability to inject a 100 MHz reference and includes a bias-tee as well as wideband RF throughput.
Product Highlight: ZVE 18GB+ Wideband RF Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) with High Linear Output Power
Mini-Circuits’ High-Frequency Product Line Engineering Manager, Dan Ford explains the unique features of the ZVE-18GB+ wideband low noise amplifier (LNA) operating from 0.1 to 18 GHz. This model was designed for modern RF systems requiring high linear output power and low noise performance for improved system signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Operating on a single +15V supply with built-in DC protection features, the amplifier achieves flat gain of ~30 dB across its full bandwidth, greater than 1W output power at 1 dB compression (greater than 2W at saturation), and +40 dBm OIP3.
Understanding Additive Phase Noise in RF & Microwave Amplifiers – Part 4
Mini-Circuits R&D Fellow, Joe Merenda recently presented a tutorial on Amplifier Additive Phase Noise at the 2025 Low-Level Radio Frequency Workshop at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, VA. In this fourth episode of our Additive Phase Noise series, he shares this tutorial for the benefit of the broader RF and microwave engineering community. In this session, Joe explains the measurement setup and reviews fundamentals of additive phase noise theory. He then discusses differences between small signal and large signal behavior and the effect of AM-PM distortion on APN performance. The tutorial concludes with practical cases of additive phase noise performance in various cascade design examples.
