GaAs and Silicon ICs Serve MM-Wave Radios

June 14, 2012

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Millimeter-wave frequencies offer the wide bandwidths needed to support fast wireless data rates, and Hittite Microwave Corp. has made their share of contributions for millimeter-wave radio designers. The firm, showing some of its integrated circuits (ICs) at the 2012 IMS (booth No. 1701), recently developed a highly integrated silicon transceiver chipset. Models HMC6000 and HMC6001 target 60-GHz applications such as metrocell/picocell backhaul, WiGig (IEEE 802.11ad) multi-Gb/s solutions including wireless cable replacement (HDMI, USB 3.0, DisplayPort), wireless docking stations, video/magazine kiosks, and wireless sensors.

The company also recently announced two amplifiers and three mixers for microwave and millimeter-wave radios from 24.0 to 46.5 GHz. Model HMC1040LP3CE is a self-biased GaAs MMIC low-noise amplifier (LNA) with 23-dB gain and 2.2-dB noise figure from 24.0 to 43.5 GHz. It consumes only 70 mA from a +2.5-VDC supply. It is housed in a 3 x 3 mm QFN package. Model HMC1016 is a GaAs PHEMT MMIC amplifier die with 22-dB gain from 34.0 to 46.5 GHz while providing 17% power-added efficiency from a +6-VDC supply.

Models HMC1041LC4 and HMC1042LC4 are in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) MMIC mixers for RF ranges of 17 to 27 GHz and 15.0 to 33.5 GHz, respectively. Model HMC1043LC3 is a triple-balanced mixer which has an intermediate-frequency (IF) range of 16 to 22 GHz and RF range of 26 to 32 GHz. It operates at local-oscillator (LO) levels as low as +9 dBm from 7 to 11 GHz. For more details on these and other ICs, visit Hittite at IMS booth No. 1701. .

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.