The LTC 5599 is a new low power I/Q modulator from Linear Technology that has been designed for low power wireless applications from 30 MHz to 1.3 GHz. It can be used in a wide range of battery-powered radios and wireless communications applications that are exposed to strong radio interference. These include wireless professional microphones, frequency hopping narrowband and broadband portable field radios, public safety radios, train communications, as well as broadband VHF/UHF white space modems, software-defined radios, portable RF test equipment, picocell base stations, low-power microwave backhaul, small wireless repeaters and satellite modems.
The LTC5599 modulator requires a single 2.7 V to 3.6 V supply and draws only 28 mA current which is 60% less than most alternatives. It has -52.6dBc sideband suppression and -51.5dBm carrier leakage without calibration. With on-chip calibration resources, performance can be further improved to –60dBc (Sideband Suppression) and –65dBm (Carrier Leakage). Moreover the device has an excellent noise floor of –156dBm/Hz with an OIP3 of 20.8dBm, delivering high transmitter performance.
The gain of the modulator can be set via an on-chip serial port. The gain can be adjusted in 1dB steps, from –19dB to 0dB. Varying the modulator gain enables device supply current from 8mA to 35mA, allowing the device to be set to lower power consumption with slightly reduced gain and performance, as needed for specific applications. Once set, the gain can be automatically temperature compensated by activating the on-chip temperature correction feature.
The LTC5599 supports narrowband and wideband radio applications. Its I and Q inputs are each capable of –1dB modulation bandwidth of up to 37MHz, supporting a total of 74MHz RF bandwidth at 900MHz frequency. This modulator is available in a 4mm x 4mm QFN package, providing a compact footprint. The product is specified for case operating temperature from –40°C to 105°C, supporting reliable operation in extended temperature environments. The device can be conveniently shut down with an enable control pin. When disabled, the device conserves power by drawing a typical of 0.7μA standby current.
The product is planned for the release on 11th of August and will be starting at $4.45 each in 1,000-pieces quantities.
