Maxim Integrated Products' MAX2062 is a programmable, multi-state, dual-channel, analogue plus digital IF/RF variable-gain amplifier (VGA). The amplifier provides rapid-fire gain selection for four customised attenuation states per path; fast 25ns digital switching; and low digital VGA amplitude overshoot/undershoot. It also provides convenient SPI control for its two analogue attenuators via its on-chip 8bit DACs. It is suitable for fast-attack automatic gain control circuits found in all 2.5G/3G/4G wireless infrastructure transceivers. It can serve as an IF or RF all-purpose VGA, interfacing directly with 50Ohm systems operating over the 50 to 1000MHz frequency range. Because the stages within each path have their own RF input and RF output, the device can be configured to maximise either noise figure (amplifier configured first within the cascade) or linearity (amplifier configured last). It can also be configured to provide a compromise between the two parameters (amplifier configured second). In its typical configuration (digital attenuator to analogue attenuator to driver amplifier), the cascade yields a total gain range of 64dB, a maximum gain of 19.4dB, and a noise figure of 7.3dB. The cascaded linearity is +41dBm of OIP3, +56dBm of OIP2, and +19dBm of OP1dB performance.
