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Down convertor runs up to 50GHz

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Oct 7, 2005

Aeroflex has boosted the frequency of the PN9276 microwave down convertor to 50GHz to enable phase noise testing for higher frequency applications.

Aeroflex has boosted the frequency of the PN9276 microwave down convertor to 50GHz to enable phase noise testing for higher frequency applications.

The Aeroflex PN9276 microwave down convertor, first launched in June 2005, works with the company's PN9500 to provide the industry's best noise performance.

Aeroflex phase noise products provide a unique 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 50GHz down convertor that plugs into any Aeroflex PN9000 phase noise tester or PN9500 wideband jitter and noise analyser.

Because of the IF (intermediate frequency) range, the PN9276 with the PN9500 system allows phase noise measurements up to 200MHz offset, the highest in the industry.

This combination allows system sensitivity testing that is only available from Aeroflex.

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 down convertor 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 on 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 specifications 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 makes the best compromise of wide and narrow modes.

The PN9276 microwave down convertor is available immediately on receipt of order and is shipping now.

The PN9276 is available in four versions: the PN9276-00 1 to 18GHz down convertor, the PN9276-01 1 to 26.5GHz down convertor, the PN9276-02 1 to 40GHz and the PN9276-03 1 to 50GHz down convertor.

The 18GHz down convertors are priced beginning at US $57,750 and the new 50GHz down convertors begin at $79,050.

The PN9276 down convertors all plug into any Aeroflex PN9000 automatic phase noise test system or PN9500 wideband jitter and noise analyser.

The base price for either the PN9000 or PN9500 phase noise test systems at 1MHz offset is US $43,000.