Maxim Integrated Products has introduced the MAX2044, a high- performance, fully integrated, 2300 to 4000MHz SiGe passive mixer. Designed specifically for LTE, WiMAX, and MMDS wireless-infrastructure applications, the device delivers a combination of linearity, noise performance, and component integration over a wide band of operation. When configured as a downconverter, this single IC provides 32.5dBm of IIP3, 21dBm of IP1dB, 7.7dB of conversion loss, and an 8.5dB noise figure. It exhibits high second and third order spurious suppression. As an upconverter, the device delivers high performance with 33.5dBm of IIP3, 60.2dBc of LO ±2IF suppression, and a conversion loss of 7.7dB.
The combination of these parameters makes the device suitable for demanding base-station applications, where high linearity and a low noise figure are critical for enhanced receiver and transmitter performance. The device supports both high- and low-side LO injection architectures for 3.1 to 3.9GHz, LTE and WiMAX base stations. The device can be configured for 2.3 to 2.9GHz LTE, WiMAX, and MMDS high-side injection architectures as well.
As a complete SiGe up-/downconverter, the device integrates an advanced, double-balanced mixer core with an LO amplifier and two baluns, plus dozens of discrete components. This integration reduces the total board space used by the device, and reduces the discrete part count. The device's 2RF - 2LO performance of 68dBc with a -10dBm RF tone also eases the filtering requirements of close-in harmonics, thus enabling simple, cost-effective filter designs.
The device is packaged in a compact, 5x5mm, 20pin TQFN that is pin similar to both the MAX2029/MAX2031/MAX2032 650MHz to 1000MHz mixers and the MAX2039/MAX2041/MAX2042 1700 to 3000MHz mixers. This entire family of passive up-/downconverters is suitable for applications in which a common PC-board layout is used for multiple frequency bands.
