4 April 2017

Pasternack launches IQ mixers with 4-38GHz RF & LO frequency bands

Pasternack Inc of Irvine, CA, USA (which makes both passive and active RF, microwave and millimeter-wave products) has launched six IQ mixers with RF and LO frequency bands ranging from 4GHz to 38GHz and in-phase and quadrature IF bandwidths ranging from DC to 4.5GHz. Typical applications include point-to-point and point-to-multipoint radio, VSAT, military radar, electronic warfare (EW), satellite communications, sensors, and test & measurement equipment.

The new IQ mixer modules are composed of monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC)-based assemblies that use a highly reliable gallium arsenide (GaAs) metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) process that consists of a pair of matched double-balanced mixer cells, a 90° hybrid and a 0° splitter/combiner. This level of integration offers advantages in size and performance compared with discrete module assemblies, says Pasternack. With the addition of an external 90° IF hybrid module, the IQ mixers can be configured as an image reject mixer or single-sideband upconverter mixer. Image rejection and sideband suppression can reduce overall system cost and complexity by removing the need for preselection filtering.

The IQ mixers’ performance as an image reject mixer (IRM) includes low conversion loss ranging from 7.5 to 10dBm, high image rejection up to 35dB typical, and LO to RF isolation up to 42dB typical. The designs offer what is claimed to be excellent linearity, with input 1dB compression as high as +20dB typical and input IP3 as high as +35dB typical. LO drive power ranges from +15 to +19dBm.

The new models are offered in hermetically sealed Kovar drop-in metal packages that are gold-over-nickel-plated and support field-replaceable SMA connectors. All units are RoHS compliant, export classified as EAR99, and guaranteed to meet MIL-STD-883 environmental test conditions for fine and gross leak and temperature cycle.

“Products like these usually command very long lead-times, but Pasternack has all six models ready and available to ship today,” notes active component product manager Tim Galla. The new IQ mixers are in-stock and ready for immediate shipment with no minimum order quantity.

Tags: Pasternack MESFET

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