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Down convertor aids microwave sensitivity testing

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Jun 16, 2005

A new 40GHz microwave down convertor claims the industry's best noise performance.

A new 40GHz microwave down convertor launched by Aeroflex claims the industry's best noise performance.

Until now, there have been no commercial microwave down-convertors that provide the unparalleled combination of high bandwidth with low noise performance suited for radar, commercial wireless, satellite terrestrial microwave links and calibration labs.

The Aeroflex PN9276 is a 1 to 40GHz down-convertor that plugs into any Aeroflex PN9000 phase noise analyser or PN9500 wideband jitter and phase noise analyser.

Because of its IF (intermediate frequency) range, the PN9276 allows phase noise measurements up to 200MHz offset, making the PN9500 phase noise tester with a PN9276 down convertor the highest performance phase noise test system in the industry.

This combination allows system sensitivity testing not possible before.

The "smart convertor" scheme employed by Aeroflex in the down-convertor's architecture offers a noise floor performance as low as -168dBc/Hz up to 2GHz.

Performance at 9GHz is -95dBc/Hz at 100Hz offset, -131dBc/Hz at 10kHz offset and -159dBc/Hz at 10MHz offset.

The PN9276 includes a microwave mixer and a low noise, YIG-based, 100MHz step synthesiser.

This synthesiser generates a 4 to 9GHz signal from a 100MHz crystal oscillator phase-locked to a 10MHz crystal oscillator.

This provides a low noise reference close in and far away from the carrier without loss of spectral purity.

Phase noise performance for the PN9276 come in three modes-wide, narrow and standard-corresponding to three locking bandwidths for the output microwave YIG oscillator.

Wide mode is optimised for the lowest close-in noise, up to 100kHz from the carrier.

Narrow mode is optimised for the lowest noise far away from the carrier.

Standard mode allows the best compromise between the two modes.

The PN9276 is immediately available and units are already shipping.

The unit has three available options: the PN9276-00, 1 to 18GHz; the PN9276-01, 1 to 26.5GHz; and the PN9276-02, 1 to 40GHz.

Prices begin at US $57,750.

The PN9276 unit plugs into any Aeroflex PN9000 automatic phase noise test system or PN9500 wideband jitter and noise analyser test system.

The base price of either the PN9000 or the PN9500 phase noise test systems is US $43,000.