Microwave Journal
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HMC1010LP4E & HMC909LP4E RMS Power Detectors

January 17, 2011

hmc909lp4_100Hittite launches two low cost, highly flexible RMS power detectors. Supports cellular, LTE/ WiMAX/4G, test equipment and military applications to 5.8 GHz.

Hittite Microwave Corporation, the world class supplier of complete MMIC based solutions for communication & military markets, has launched two new low cost, highly flexible RMS Power Detectors for RF power measurement/control in Cellular/3G, LTE/WiMAX/4G, broadband, test equipment and military applications between DC and 5.8 GHz. The HMC1010LP4E offers 60 dB dynamic range over DC to 3.9 GHz and is priced $1.99 each at 10,000 piece volumes. The HMC909LP4E offers a broadband single-ended RF input with 40 dB dynamic range over DC to 5.8 GHz and is priced $1.49 each at 10,000 piece volumes. Both products have improved modulation performance and power dissipation coupled with an industry first 4-bit programmable integration bandwidth control interface eliminating the need for cumbersome analog control voltages.

Ideal for the measurement of complex modulated waveforms with large, dynamically changing crest factors, the HMC1010LP4E RMS Power Detector provides 60dB of dynamic range, a nominal logarithmic slope of 37mV/dB and a nominal intercept of -68dBm. The HMC1010LP4E exhibits superior detection accuracy of ±1dB compared with any RMS detector in the market for a price point of only $1.99 at 10,000 piece volumes. It exhibits less than 0.1dB modulation error at 900 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2200 MHz. Temperature stability is excellent with less than ±1 dB total error from -40 to +85°C maintained over the entire DC to 3.9 GHz frequency band.

The HMC909LP4E Single-Ended RMS Power Detector provides 40 dB of dynamic range, a nominal logarithmic slope of 37 mV/dB and a nominal intercept of -70 dBm over its entire DC to 5.8 GHz range. The HMC909LP4E combines superior detection accuracy and better modulation performance than the competition at a price point of only $1.49 at 10,000 piece volumes. It exhibits less than 0.1 dB modulation error at 900 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2200 MHz, and 3500 MHz and 0.4 dB at 5800 MHz. Temperature stability is excellent with less than less than ±1 dB total error from -40 to +85°C maintained over the entire DC to 5.8 GHz frequency band.

Flexibility and dynamic control features have been designed into both the HMC1010LP4E and HMC909LP4E RMS Power Detectors. Both products introduce a new digitally programmable integration bandwidth feature which permits the use of different integration bandwidth settings on the same system platform. The new interface is controlled through 4-bit digital inputs allowing the integration bandwidth (or integration time constant) to be set to a static state or dynamically changed as the system commands. This eliminates the fixed external capacitors and analog voltages required by other competing RMS power detector solutions.

The HMC1010LP4E and HMC909LP4E also feature an internal op-amp at their output stage, which can be used to adjust the log slope and log intercept characteristics of the RMS output. The internal op-amp can also be used to configure either of these new RMS Power Detectors as RF power controllers for closed loop applications.

The RF inputs of both the HMC1010LP4E and HMC909LP4E are externally matched to 50 Ohms. Both products are very stable over temperature, operate from a +5V single supply and are housed in a 4x4 mm plastic leadless surface mount package.

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