RF driver amp has power to perform

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Feb 8, 2008

Enables RF designers to more quickly bring cost-effective highly efficient wireless infrastructure equipment to market.

New from Analog Devices, the ADL5321 is a high-performance low-power RF driver amplifier that claims the industry's best combination of power and performance in 2.3 to 4.0GHz wireless infrastructure designs for LTE, WiMAX and WiBro applications.

The ADL5321 increases signal linearity, and consumes less power, relative to competing RF amplifiers.

When implemented in a system, such as a basestation, radio or satellite equipment, the ADL5321 eliminates up to four external passive components, which eases design complexity and enables RF designers to more quickly bring cost-effective highly efficient wireless infrastructure equipment to market.

With an output OIP3 of 40dBm and output compression point of 25dBm at 2600MHz, the ADL5321 driver provides the highest linear output drive level for a given transmitted output power.

Consuming just 84mA, which is a 30% to 50% power savings over competing devices, the ADL5321 also features on-chip active bias circuitry, which further reduces the external component count.

The driver amplifier's Class 3A 4kV ESD rating also provides an exemplary degree of robustness for high-volume manufacturing.

For lower-frequency applications the ADL5321 has a companion product, the ADL5320, which operates across a 400 to 2700MHz frequency range.

The ADL5320 also offers the advantageous combination of high performance and low power consumption.

Both driver amplifiers complement ADI's growing RF amplifier portfolio, which also includes low noise amplifiers, intermediate frequency amplifiers, gain blocks and power amplifiers.

Combined with ADI's industry-leading RF power detectors, modulators, demodulators, mixers and synthesiser products, the ADL5321 allows designers to implement complete signal chain solutions, simplifying the design process, streamlining supply chain logistics and shortening time to market.

When coupled with ADI's other RFICs, the ADL5321 enables the design and implementation of advanced RF radio architectures for a wide range of performance-driven applications.

The ADL5321 is sampling now with production quantities available in May 2008.

The device is priced at US $2.55 per unit in 1000-piece quantities and is available in a 3-pin SOT-89 (small-outline transistor) package.