DACs Tackle Wideband, Direct IF Synthesis

The wideband, direct IF synthesis needed in cellular base stations and high-performance instruments is said to be the forte of two new D/A converters. The DACs-- 16-bit, 100-MSPS MB86060 and 12-bit, 400-MSPS MB86061-- are designed to generate signals accurately over a wide frequency band while exhibiting an outstanding spurious free dynamic range (SFDR).
Typically, SFDRs of 79 dBc are achieved for test signals generated at 20 MHz with an amplitude of -1 dBFS. And an adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) of 74 dB can be achieved for a W-CDMA channel synthesized directly at 32 MHz. The MB86060 DACs have interpolating filters that reportedly provide an excellent analog signal synthesis solution, while MB86061 has ECL-compatible I/Os. The former comes in 80-pin LQFPs and the latter, 64-pin QFPs. Pricing for both begins at under $44.60 each/1000.