Pasternack Enterprises Inc of Irvine, CA, USA (which makes passive and active RF, microwave and millimeter-wave products) has launched new lines of USB-controlled microwave and millimeter-wave components, including amplifiers, attenuators and PIN diode switches.
The new components are controlled and powered by a USB 2.0 port with driverless installation, so no external power supply is required. The attenuators and PIN diode switches require a downloadable software program that interfaces with any Windows computer. The firm is releasing two models each of the amplifiers, switches and attenuators, covering extremely wide frequency bands up to 40GHz. The modules are 50 Ohm hybrid MIC (microwave integrated circuit) designs that do not require any external matching components.
The new USB-controlled amplifiers offer typical performance of 12dB gain, 10dBm output power (P1dB), a 4.5dB noise figure, and operate over a 50MHz to 18GHz band or 50MHz to 40GHz band.
The attenuators offer typical performance of 30dB attenuation, 5-8dB of insertion loss, a 1dB step size and are available in two programmable models that cover 100MHz to 18GHz and 100MHz to 40GHz.
Lastly, the single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switches offer typical performance 3-5dB of insertion loss, 65-70dB isolation, a 6μs switching speed, and are available in two models that cover 500MHz to 18GHz and 500MHz to 40GHz.
All models operate over a broad temperature range of -40°C to +85°C and (depending on the frequency) are available with either female SMA or 2.92mm connectors.
"Pasternack now offers a complete selection of high-performance broadband USB-controlled amplifiers, attenuators and switches," says Active RF Components product manager Tim Galla. "The USB 2.0 connection is convenient and innovative, utilizing a computer interface to power and control these devices for ease of use," he adds.
