Analog Devices has introduced a 28 nm D/A converter as part of a new series of high speed digital-to-analogue converters, designed to address the requirements of gigahertz bandwidth applications and provide the spectral efficiency needed for 4G/5G multi-band base stations and 2 GHz E-band microwave point-to-point backhaul platforms.
Based on 28 nm CMOS technology, the new AD9172 device is claimed to set performance benchmarks in terms of dynamic range, signal bandwidth and low power consumption.
Analog Devices’ dual 16-bit AD9172 product supports 12 GSPS and provides direct-to-RF synthesis up to 6 GHz, eliminating the IF-to-RF up-conversion stage and LO generation to simplify the overall RF signal chain and reducing system cost. The device is designed to maintain superior linearity and noise performance across the RF frequencies to allow a high level of configurability.
In addition, independent numerically controlled oscillator (NCO), digital gain control and a range of interpolation filter combinations per input channel provide a suite of signal processing options to allow flexible signal chain partitioning between the analogue and digital domains, enabling the development of software defined platforms. The AD9172 is complemented by the AD9208 28 nm analogue-to-digital converter.
Key features of Analog Devices’ new AD9172 device, which is offered in a 10 x 10 mm 144-ball BGA-ED package, include:
1. Support for single- and multi-band wireless applications with 3 bypassable complex data input channels per RF DAC at a maximum complex input data rate of 1.5 GSPS with independent NCO per input channel.
2. Selectable interpolation filters enabling up to 8x configurable data channel interpolation and up to 12x configurable final interpolation to support a full set of input data rates.
3. Final 48-bit NCO that operates at the DAC rate to support frequency synthesis up to 6 GHz.
4. Flexible 8-lane 15 Gbit/s JESD204B (subclass 0 and 1) interface that supports 12-bit high density mode for enhanced data throughput.
5. Low noise on-chip PLL clock multiplier that supports 12 GSPS DAC update rate and provides observation ADC clock driver with selectable divide ratios.
In conjunction with the AD9172, Analog Devices also introduced its dual 14-bit AD9208 product optimised to deliver wide input bandwidth, high sample rate, excellent linearity and low power in a small package. With sampling speeds up to 3.0 GSPS, the A/D converter is designed to facilitate direct RF signal processing architectures and enable high oversampling.
The device’s full power bandwidth supports IF signal sampling up to 9 GHz (-3 dB point), with up to 96-tap programmable finite impulse response (FIR) filter block that can be configured for channel equalisation and/or quadrature error correction. In addition, four integrated wide-band decimation filters and 48-bit NCO blocks enable support for multi-band receivers.
