LTC Intros New LT5521 RF Active Transmit Mixer

Linear Technology Corp. (LTC, Milpitas, CA) introduced its new LT5521 RF active transmit mixer, which provides linearity and signal-to-noise performance matching that of passive mixers. The LT5521 streamlines basestation design by resolving the high local oscillator (LO) drive level, poor LO suppression and low-conversion gain issues common to passive solutions. In addition to applications in wideband CDMA, UMTS, GSM and PHS base station transmitters, the LT5521's low distortion is suitable for cable downlink infrastructure.

The LT5521 incorporates a differential input and output architecture, supporting superior linearity over a wide operating frequency range from 10 MHz to 3.7 GHz. It also provides flexible operation in either an up-converting or down-converting application. As a transmit (up-converting) mixer, the input third-order intercept is +24.2 dBm at 1,950 MHz, and the noise figure measures 12.5 dB.

The LT5521 needs only a -5 dBm LO signal. The LT5521 offers substantially reduced local oscillator leakage from the LO to other input and output ports. The LT5521 has only 0.5 dB loss, contributing to improved signal-to-noise performance.

The LT5521 operates from either a single 5 V or 3.3 V supply. The device comes in a 16-pin, 4 mm x 4 mm, surface-mount QFP package. Pricing in 1,000-piece quantities is $4.95. The product is available from stock.