[time-nuts] DIY Frequency extension for HP Agilent
Grant Hodgson
grant at ghengineering.co.uk
Mon Feb 16 12:54:27 UTC 2009
Samuel
The NLB-300 and NBB-300 series MMICs from RFMD work very at up to 13GHz
or so, certainly far better than a Mini-circuits ERA- whose gain will
start to roll off at higher frequencies. Designing a broadband gain
stage to work up to 12GHz+ may not be as easy as it seems. However it
is made somewhat easier by the use of broadband chokes from the likes of
Mini-Circuits, wideband inductors from Coilcraft and broadband
capacitors from ATC - to name but three - there may be others as well.
The 4-stage amplifier used by HP not only increases the signal level, it
increases the slew rate (V/uSec) at lower frequencies. It's not just
about signal level, it's about getting fast edges. The Hittite HMC363
/8 is a great IC, using static flip-flops, and will work all the way
down to DC - IF the edges are fast enough. Ironically it may be the
case that the lower frequency limit presents more of a challenge than
the higher frequency limit.
regards
Grant
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