8
broadband match if so desired at 50
(R
L
= 50
to 2k
) as
well as with tuned medium Q matching networks (L, T etc.).
Stability
The cell, by its nature, has very high gain and precautions
must be taken to account for the combination of signal
reflections, gain, layout and package parasitics. The rule of
thumb of avoiding reflected waves must be observed. It is
important to assure good matching between the mixer stage
and its front end. Laboratory measurements have shown
some susceptibility for oscillation at the upper quad
transistors input. Any LO prefiltering has to be designed
such the return loss is maintained within acceptable limits
specially at high frequencies. Typical off the shelf filters
exhibits very poor return loss for signals outside the
passband. It is suggested that a “pad” or a broadband
resistive network be used to interface the LO port with a
filter. The inclusion of a parallel 2K resistor in the load
decreases the gain slightly which improves the stability
factor and also improves the distortion products (output
intermodulation or 3rd order intercept). The employment of
good RF techniques shall suffice the stability requirements.
Evaluation
The evaluation of the HFA3101 in a mixer configuration is
presented in Figures 6 to 11, Table 1 and Table 2. The layout
is depicted in Figure 5.
The output matching network has been designed from data
taken at the output port at various test frequencies with the
setup as in Table 1. S
22
characterization is enough to assure
the calculation of L, T or transmission line matching
networks.
FIGURE 5. UP/DOWN CONVERTER LAYOUT, 400%;
MATERIAL G10, 0.031
TABLE 1. S
22
PARAMETERS FOR DOWN CONVERSION,
L
CH
= 10
μ
H
FREQUENCY
RESISTANCE
REACTANCE
10MHz
265
615
45MHz
420
- 735
75MHz
122
- 432
100MHz
67
- 320
TABLE 2. TYPICAL PARAMETERS FOR DOWN
CONVERSION, L
CH
= 10
μ
H
PARAMETER
LO LEVEL
V
CC
= 3V,
I
BIAS
= 8mA
8.5dB
Power Gain
-6dBm
TOI Output
-6dBm
11.5dBm
NF SSB
-6dBm
14.5dB
Power Gain
0dBm
8.6dB
TOI Output
0dBm
11dBm
NF SSB
0dBm
15dB
PARAMETER
LO LEVEL
V
CC
= 4V,
I
BIAS
= 19mA
10dB
Power Gain
-6dBm
TOI Output
-6dBm
13dBm
NF SSB
-6dBm
20dB
Power Gain
0dBm
11dB
TOI Output
0dBm
12.5dBm
NF SSB
0dBm
24dB
TABLE 3. TYPICAL VALUES OF S
22
FOR THE OUTPUT PORT.
L
CH
= 390nH I
BIAS
= 8mA (SET UP OF FIGURE 11)
FREQUENCY
RESISTANCE
REACTANCE
300MHz
22
-115
600MHz
7.5
-43
900MHz
5.2
-14
1.1GHz
3.9
0
TABLE 4. TYPICAL VALUES OF S22. L
CH
= 390nH, I
BIAS
= 18mA
FREQUENCY
RESISTANCE
REACTANCE
300MHz
23.5
-110
600MHz
10.3
-39
900MHz
8.7
-14
1.1GHz
8
0
HFA3101