Upconverting mixer supports LTE wireless broadband

The LT5578 active upconverting mixer delivers high-dynamic-range performance from 400MHz to 2.7GHz, supporting all of the allocated LTE (Long-Term Evolution) wireless-broadband services.

At 900MHz, the mixer offers 27dBm output IP3 linearity and noise floor of -160.5dBm/Hz at an output level of -5dBm, enabling high transmitter dynamic range.

The mixer has 1.4dB conversion gain with integrated RF balun transformers that provide a single-ended RF output and LO (Local Oscillator) input to simplify designs while reducing external component count.

The device's LO input is internally buffered, requiring a drive level of -1dBm and resulting in a LO-to-RF leakage of -43dBm.

The LT5578 is designed to satisfy the requirements of next-generation LTE wireless basestation transmitters and improves the performance of wireless equipment, including W-CDMA / UMTS, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000, CDMA and GSM/EDGE basestations.

The mixer is also suitable for a range of communications gear such as cable headend transmitters, microwave-broadband transmitters, wireless repeaters, military radios, digital-video broadcast systems, 2.4GHz ISM band transmitters, test instrumentation, and micro-cell and pico-cell basestation applications.

Compared to alternative passive mixers' more than 8dB of conversion loss, the LT5578's 1.4dB conversion gain produces 9dB higher signal power without the need of an external high-power, high-linearity RF output-amplifier stage.

Additionally the device can deliver an output level of -5dBm with an output-noise floor of -160.5dBm/Hz.

This feature enables users to deliver maximum transmitter signal power while preserving dynamic-range performance so that optimum ACPR (Adjacent Channel Power Ratio) performance can be attained.

The LT5578 operates from a single 3.3V supply and typical quiescent supply current is 152mA.

The device comes in a 24-lead 5 x 5mm plastic QFN surface-mount package.

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