You can't get rid of the mixer in any RF or wireless product. That makes a good mixer the very core of every RF design. But you don't have to worry about that thanks to Linear Technology's LT5560. It can be used for upconversion or downconversion in public service radios, WiMAX transceivers, RFID readers, VHF/UHF transceivers, satellite receivers, or cell-phone basestations.
Its operational frequency ranges from 10 kHz to 4 GHz. Its double-balanced mixer core design maximizes linearity and RF isolation. The local oscillator (LO) port is single-ended (or double ended), and it operates with an input level in the ?6- to +1-dBm range.
The mixer input's buffer provides excellent LO-to-INPUT isolation while boosting conversion gain. The LO-to-INPUT leakage is a low ?57 dBc. Conversion gain is 2.6 dB. Its input IP3 is +9.7 dBm at 900 MHz. And, its noise figure is 10.1 dB or less, depending on frequency. The package is an eight-pin, 3- by 3-mm dual-flat no-lead (DFN). Available now, prices start at $1.56 each in quantities of 1000.
Linear Technology Corp.
www.linear.com