Dual SiGe Mixer Reduces Part Counts In 2.5G And 3G Designs

The MAX9981 is touted as the industry’s first active SiGe mixer to include a LO switch and splitter, two LO buffers and on-chip baluns in a dual package. The device promises to replace two mixers, four amplifiers, three baluns, and several other discrete components, reducing the overall size and part count of the mixer circuit by 2.5 times and 52%, respectively. The mixer provides 2 dB of conversion gain, a noise figure of 12 dB, and 26.8 dBm of IIP3 performance over temperature. The baluns and matching circuits accommodate single-ended, 50? termination. The LO switch supports GSM frequency hopping and switching speeds of less than 250 ns. Price is $12.25 each/1,000. MAXIM INTEGRATED PRODUCTS, Sunnyvale, CA. (800) 998-8800.