Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/15048-2-18-ghz-down-converter-for-ew-and-ecm-applications

2-18 GHz Down Converter for EW and ECM Applications

January 17, 2011
SUNNYVALE, CA--Endwave Defense Systems, a manufacturer of RF subsystems and components for defense and homeland security applications, has announced the release of a new down converter module that operates over a broad frequency range of 2-18 GHz, making it ideally suited for Electronic Warfare (EW) and Electronic Counter Measures (ECM). The module down-converts the broadband RF input signal to a UHF frequency on the IF output. A high isolation buffer amplifier at the LO input, along with tight filtering on RF, LO, and IF ports, helps to minimize spurious signals at all inputs and outputs. A broadband limiter is incorporated on the RF front-end for receiver protection, and temperature compensation is used to provide a stable RF-IF gain response over an extended military operating temperature range. Typical performance for the down converter includes a conversion gain of 20 dB, a noise figure (NF) of 5 dB, an input one dB compression point (P1dB) of -15 dBm, and an input 3rd order intercept (TOI) of -5 dBm. Special attention has been paid to the mechanical design of the microwave subsystem to provide over 50 dB of LO rejection to the RF input port. For more information on Endwave Defense Systems' up and down converter subsystems, call an applications specialist at 408-522-3180.