Digital attenuator promises top accuracy

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Mar 21, 2007

A GaAs MMIC-based connectorised digital attenuator module that provides excellent accuracy over its wide bandwidth of DC to 13GHz.

New from RF and microwave component specialist Link Microtek is a GaAs MMIC-based connectorised digital attenuator module that provides excellent accuracy over its wide bandwidth of DC to 13GHz.

Manufactured by Hittite Microwave Corp, the HMC-C025 is a 6bit digital attenuator with bit values of 0.5 (LSB), 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16dB, providing a total attenuation of 31.5dB.

The device has a typical attenuation accuracy of +/-0.3dB, a typical insertion loss of 4dB and an input IP3 of +38dBm.

The HMC-C025 uses removable SMA connectors to deliver maximum design flexibility.

With the connectors in place, the device can be mated with standard coaxial cable assemblies.

Alternatively, the SMA connectors can be quickly detached to allow direct connection of the I/O pins to a microstrip or grounded coplanar PCB.

Housed in a hermetically sealed module, the HMC-C025 attenuator has an operating temperature range of -55 to +85C and is particularly suitable for applications in military radio, radar, ECM and space systems.