Conversion loss ripple comes from your VSWR, not our VSWR
I’ve posted about this before, but there is a persistent myth in the industry that conversion loss ripple comes from bad mixer VSWR. In this post we will dispel that myth. First we start with a thought...
View ArticleSuppression vs. Isolation
In making the datasheets for the first Microlithic frequency doubler (MLD-1640), it occurred to us that not enough has been made about the difference between isolation and suppression. In mixers and...
View ArticleWhat is the deal with IP2 in mixers?
Every day we work on high linearity mixers: high IP3, high P1dB, and high spurious suppression. Every once in a while we get a request for a high IP2 mixer. This is much more rare than complaints about...
View ArticleHow to think about IQ mixers
There are many ways to think about IQ modulation, and all of them rely on math. This is because ‘quadrature’ modulation is a mathematical construct, a way of thinking about how time domain signals can...
View ArticleThe T3: A High Dynamic Range Mixer for 4G, LTE, and 5G testing
Spectral regrowth is a big deal for you. In order for the wireless revolution to continue apace, enabling you to watch funny cat videos faster in more crowded environments, spectral regrowth must be...
View ArticleAll About Mixers as Phase Detectors
Some of the most common questions we receive here are about using mixers as phase detectors. We previously discussed this topic in the post, “DC Offset and Mixers as Microwave Phase Detectors”. In this...
View ArticleAll About Mixers as Phase Modulators
In our last post we showed the physical basis for how mixers are used as phase detectors, concluding by showing that IQ mixers make ideal phase detectors due to their ability to unambiguously identify...
View ArticleWhat happens when you underdrive a mixer?
The oldest question in mixer tech support is probably “what happens when I drive the mixer with X dBm LO?”, where X is some number lower than what we recommend. In general, and particularly in the...
View ArticleThe Why and When of IQ Mixers for Beginners
Sometimes you need a mixer; sometimes you need an IQ mixer. How do you know which one to buy? Before answering this question, I recommend reading the Mixer Basics Primer to get a good understanding of...
View ArticleNew MMIC Mixers from Marki Microwave Cover 3-24 GHz
Marki is bringing advanced mixer designs to a broader market with four new models of GaAs Schottky diode double balanced mixers covering S and K band applications. These designs combine the legendary...
View ArticleRepeatability of T3 Mixers and Other Handmade Microwave Components in Six Charts
T3 mixers are the highest dynamic range mixer available. They are also handbuilt parts, subject to unit to unit and lot to lot variability. In this blog post we attempt to quantify that variability....
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Microwave mixers are active devices
One of the misconceptions we frequently encounter is the idea that a mixer is a passive device. Since it has loss and there is no DC bias, it is considered passive unless a gain element is added. We...
View ArticleDoes Mixer VSWR Matter?
In microwave engineering, the fundamental problem is coaxing your waves to move through your system without reflecting. This is described by the return loss from a junction, that is how much power is...
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Does a mixer add phase noise?
We get a lot of questions about phase noise and noise figure, and it is a topic of interest for Ferenc Marki. The question comes up often, what kind of noise does the mixer add during the conversion...
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How to Test for Intermodulation Distortion
Intermodulation distortion is a tough thing to measure. We encounter this problem every day trying to measure the IP3 of the T3, the world’s highest linearity mixer. This is also why we developed the...
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How to Perform a Mixer Spur Test
When you put two signals into a mixer, the IF and LO for example, you don’t just get out the product that you are looking for (the 1×1 or fundamental as it is called). You also get out every other...
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How to Measure Spurs (with actual measurements)
In this post we gave a block diagram for how to measure spurs from a microwave mixer. This post is to show some actual data for it. Experimental Setup: I measured an M1-0620NP using two Anritsu...
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How to Measure Isolations
As detailed in our Mixer Basics Primer, the isolations of a mixer refer to how well a balanced mixer cancels out each of the arms inputs from the outputs of the other arms. There are three isolations...
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DC Offset and Mixers as Microwave Phase Detectors
Fairly often we receive questions (generally from grad students) about how to use the mixer as a phase detector. The basic idea is that the output of a mixer will inherit the phase from both the LO and...
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Conversion loss ripple comes from your VSWR, not our VSWR
I’ve posted about this before, but there is a persistent myth in the industry that conversion loss ripple comes from bad mixer VSWR. In this post we will dispel that myth. First we start with a thought...
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