Pasternack Enterprises Inc of Irvine, CA, USA (which makes both passive and active RF, microwave and millimeter-wave products) has added new millimeter-wave (mm-wave) waveguide frequency mixers available in six down-conversion and six up-conversion models that cover full Ka, Q, U, V, E, and W bands. Designs utilize gallium arsenide (GaAs) Schottky barrier beam lead diodes in balanced configurations that require a +13dBm LO drive and display low levels of conversion loss.
Picture: Pasternack's new millimeter-wave waveguide frequency mixers.
The new waveguide mixers (or waveguide converters) are a key building-block component of mm-wave receivers used to down-convert very high-frequency signals to usable RF frequencies for cost-effective signal processing. They are also useful for test & measurement applications to convert signals to frequency levels that can be measured with available equipment. Similarly, the mixers can be used to efficiently up-convert RF signals to millimeter-wave frequencies for point-to-point radio and millimeter-wave radar applications.
The new waveguide mixers operate over RF and LO frequency bands ranging from 26.5 to 110GHz with an IF frequency covering DC to 18GHz. Depending on the model, conversion loss ranges from 6dB to 9dB typical with 20dB typical RF to LO isolation. Maximum RF input power is +5dBm and performance is specified over an operating temperature of 0-50°C. Rugged gold-plated package designs are thermally stable for high reliability and feature compact dimensions with integrated waveguide sizes ranging from WR-28 to WR-10.
Signal conversion applications include radar, communication systems and test instrumentation, notes Active Components product manager Tim Galla. "Our comprehensive in-stock selections of up- and down-converter waveguide mixers deliver low conversion loss levels across full Ka, Q, U, V, E, W bands," he adds.
