Analog Devices AD8342 specifications Circuit Description

AD8342

CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION

The AD8342 is an active mixer optimized for operation within the input frequency range of near dc to 500 MHz. It has a dif- ferential, high impedance RF input that can be terminated or matched externally. The RF input can be driven either single- ended or differentially. The LO input is a single-ended 50 Ω input. The IF outputs are differential open-collectors. The mixer current can be adjusted by the value of an external resistor to optimize performance for gain, compression, and intermodula- tion, or for low power operation. Figure 39 shows the basic blocks of the mixer, including the LO buffer, RF voltage-to- current converter, bias cell, and mixing core.

The RF voltage to RF current conversion is done via a resistively degenerated differential pair. To drive this port single-ended, the RFCM pin should be ac-grounded while the RFIN pin is ac-coupled to the signal source. The RF inputs can also be driven differentially. The voltage-to-current converter then drives the emitters of a four-transistor switching core. This switching core is driven by an amplified version of the local oscillator signal connected to the LO input. There are three limiting gain stages between the external LO signal and the switching core. The first stage converts the single-ended LO drive to a well-balanced differential drive. The differential drive then passes through two more gain stages, which ensures a lim- ited signal drives the switching core. This affords the user a lower LO drive requirement, while maintaining excellent distor- tion and compression performance. The output signal of these three LO gain stages drives the four transistors within the mixer core to commutate at the rate of the local oscillator frequency. The output of the mixer core is taken directly from its open collectors. The open collector outputs present a high impedance at the IF frequency. The conversion gain of the mixer depends directly on the impedance presented to these open collectors. In characterization, a 100 Ω load was presented to the part via a 2:1 impedance transformer.

The device also features a power-down function. Application of a logic low at the PWDN pin allows normal operation. A high logic level at the PWDN pin shuts down the AD8342. Power consumption when the part is disabled is less than 10 mW.

The bias for the mixer is set with an external resistor (RBIAS) from the EXRB pin to ground. The value of this resistor directly affects the dynamic range of the mixer. The external resistor should not be lower than 1.82 kΩ. Permanent damage to the part could result if values below 1.8 kΩ are used. This resistor sets the dc current through the mixer core. The performance effects of changing this resistor can be seen in the Typical Per- formance Characteristics section.

			EXTERNAL
				BIAS		PWDN
	VPDC RESISTOR
				BIAS
RFIN							IFOP
		V
		TO
RFCM		I					IFOM
								05352-040
					LO	VPLO
				INPUT

Figure 39. Simplified Schematic Showing the Key Elements of the AD8342

As shown in Figure 40, the IF output pins, IFOP and IFOM, are directly connected to the open collectors of the NPN transistors in the mixer core so the differential and single-ended imped- ances looking into this port are relatively high—on the order of several kΩ. A connection between the supply voltage and these output pins is required for proper mixer core operation.

IFOP IFOM

LOIN

RFIN RFCM

COMM 05352-041

Figure 40. AD8342 Simplified Schematic

The AD8342 has three pins for the supply voltage: VPDC, VPMX, and VPLO. These pins are separated to minimize or eliminate possible parasitic coupling paths within the AD8342 that could cause spurious signals or reduced interport isolation. Consequently, each of these pins should be well bypassed and decoupled as close to the AD8342 as possible.

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