GaAs Switches Are a High-Performance Alternative to SOI for Test & Measurement Instrumentation

The RF switch is an important element in test & measurement instrumentation for routing signals and for filtering them, utilizing switch manifolds and filters. One unique challenge for switches in the test & measurement market is the requirement to pass relatively high-level signals of greater than +20 dBm at very low frequencies, often down to 9 kHz. It seems that 9 kHz is an unusual frequency until you consider that the frequency limits for IEC/CISPR 11, EN 55011 for conducted and radiated emissions of ISM RF equipment are 9 kHz to 400 GHz, and that prevailing test equipment must be capable of measuring to these limits. Speed, including settling time is also of paramount importance in test and measurement, especially for Automatic Test Equipment (ATE). In ATE systems, SOI switch delays that are 100 times greater than the few tens of ns exhibited by GaAs switches must often be avoided, as these delays can become cumulative throughout an instrument’s signal chain and over the course of long, complex measurement routines. The final challenge for the designer is cost containment, particularly when equipment is designed with a significant number of switches.

RF Amplifier and Filter Testing with Mini-Circuits Power Sensors

RF Amplifier and Filter Testing with Mini-Circuits Power Sensors Introduction When measuring common RF components, such as filters and amplifiers, RF power sensors provide an accurate, cost-effective way to obtain meaningful data. For RF filters, parameters such as insertion loss, return loss and desired frequency response (passband and stopband) should be considered. For RF amplifiers, […]

Wideband Amplifiers – Variable and Temperature-Compensated Gain

Wideband Amplifiers – Variable and Temperature-Compensated Gain

Many types of RF systems and applications that span from the upper end of microwave frequencies to the lower end of mmWave have arisen in recent years. Meeting system requirements over such a wide bandwidth and high frequency range, or even a broad sub-band requires that system performance parameters be stable, and the parameter that most often concerns microwave/mmWave system designers is gain. Mini-Circuits addresses these concerns with two amplifier types from our ZVA-series of wideband microwave/mmWave amplifiers that equip the system designer with either variable gain, or temperature-compensated, stable gain. Not only can gain be temperature-stable or variable, but at approximately 50 dB, it is also plentiful. Combine this with a low NF, high linearity and interactive telemetry, and Mini-Circuits’ wideband, variable and temperature-compensated gain amplifiers prove to be one of the highest-performing and most flexible amplifier solutions on the market today. Read on to find out how adjustable or temperature-stable gain and the ability to monitor output power can be beneficial when it comes to designing a system for any one of a number of applications.

Phase-Matched Cable Assemblies

Phase-matched cable assemblies are ubiquitous, and modern-day phase matching requirements serve to drive their growing popularity. As electrical length matching requirements have tightened to less than one or two degrees, the mechanical precision with which various styles of cable are constructed has improved to keep pace. Additionally, dielectrics more exotic than tried-and-true Teflon are being researched and introduced to afford greater phase stability. Volumes have been written on how to phase-match cable assemblies and dozens and dozens of companies practice this discipline. Why is phase-matching so prevalent, and why does it matter so much? In this article we answer these questions by highlighting many phase-matched cable applications and the effect of varying phase length on systems in the RF/microwave domain. We also describe Mini-Circuits’ capabilities in the phase-matching cable arena.

A Dual Band Channel Sounder Module for FR1 & FR3 Band Modelling (6.75 GHz & 16.95 GHz)

While much research has been devoted to exploring millimeter-wave bandwidths for high-data-rate wireless communications, much of the deployment of 5G to date has relied on frequencies in the sub-6 GHz (FR1) region of the spectrum. The channel capacity of the FR2 bands has been used in urban environments with high subscriber demand where infrastructure can be installed with sufficient density to compensate for the short range and poor penetration of high-frequency signals. Meanwhile, network operators still rely on lower-frequency signals for more ubiquitous coverage.

Similar desire for the data capacity and speed of millimeter-wave and sub-THz transmissions with broad network coverage and low power requirements of lower frequencies has spurred strong interest in the FR3 bands (7 to 24 GHz) as a possible “Goldilocks zone” for the next phases of 5G and 6G development.

Professor Ted Rappaport and his graduate research fellows of NYU WIRELESS in Brooklyn, New York are among the leading researchers exploring the propagation characteristics of 5G and 6G frequency bands under consideration for commercial use by the ITU and telecom industry. In 2022 Rappaport and his team visited Mini-Circuits’ facilities in Brooklyn, and Deer Park on Long Island as a test bed for their work to develop the first spatial statistical model for ultra-wideband signals above 100 GHz in a real-world factory environment.

Introduction to RF Power Measurements

Power is a necessary parameter to measure across a wide range of modern applications. Power is defined as work per unit of time. It includes units of measure such as horsepower, watts, calories per second and BTU per second, depending on the domain of interest. Electrical power is typically measured in watts, defined as one Joule per second. With RF circuits, dBm, a logarithmic representation of power level relative to the milliwatt, is often used.

An assortment of instruments and methods are used for measuring power. In this article, we will limit the discussion to electrical power, defined as voltage multiplied by current. We will further narrow the discussion to RF power, which implies higher frequency, say signals greater than 10 MHz, requiring more sophisticated instrumentation than a voltmeter due to the behavior of high-frequency electrical signals.

It is important to select the appropriate technique for measuring RF power in a given scenario. If the signal level is too high, the instrument input will become saturated; distortion, harmonics, spurious and other non-linear signals could occur. If the signal level is too low, the signal will be buried in the noise floor, making it difficult to retrieve.

Group Delay in RF Filters

The concept of group delay as it pertains to RLC networks was first described by Harry Nyquist in 1928.1 The contributions Nyquist made to the field of Communications Theory are well known,2 and still applicable to modern day communications systems. On our way toward understanding group delay in this brief application note, we’ll start by examining phase delay. After mathematically defining phase delay, we will then continue by defining group delay. Illustrations of amplitude response, and phase and group delay response for several ideal filters of various filter topologies are shown. This app note concludes with a display of magnitude and group delay frequency response curves for two real filters designed and manufactured by Mini-Circuits, both of which have the same filter topology.

Selecting VCOs for Clock Timing Circuits – A System Perspective

Timing is critical in digital systems, especially in electronic systems that feature high-speed data converters and high-resolution sampling. A clock source is the “timekeeper” and the system performance depends upon the effectiveness of this component. For some system designers, implementing a clock source automatically means using a crystal oscillator, typically a single-frequency source. But other designers, especially those tasked with synchronizing systems at multiple clock frequencies, have learned to appreciate the flexibility of using voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) as clock sources.

BOOST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO RF LIMITERS – TYPES AND APPLICATIONS EXPLAINED

Radio frequency (RF) limiters are electronic circuits used in RF communication systems to protect sensitive components from excessive RF power levels. Limiters are used to prevent damage to sensitive components, such as amplifiers and mixers, and to improve the overall performance of the system. In this blog, we will discuss the different types of RF limiters and their use.

Fast-Switching GaAs Switches Are a High-Performance, Low-Cost Alternative to SOI

A mistaken belief has arisen in recent years that SOI has somehow taken over as the prevailing technology for fast RF switch applications, but not so fast! Mini-Circuits’ recent introduction of the M3SWA2-63DRC+ and the M3SWA2-34DR+ ultrafast, absorptive RF switches has given cause for designers to reconsider their switch choices. Designers are discovering that it is no longer necessary to bear the expense of an SOI switch just to get the speed they need.

In this application note, we perform a comprehensive, side-by-side, parametric comparison of the Mini-Circuits’ wideband GaAs MMIC M3SWA2-34DR+ switch to two SOI competitive offerings. This comparison leads us to the conclusion that there is no reason to take your foot off the GaAs.