The ADL6010 is a versatile, broadband envelope detector covering the microwave spectrum. It provides state-of-the-art accuracy with very low power consumption (8 mW) in a simple, easy to use 6-lead format. The output is a baseband voltage proportional to the instantaneous amplitude of the radio frequency (RF) input signal. It exhibits minimal slope variation of the RF input to envelope output transfer function from 0.5 GHz to 43.5 GHz.
The detector cell uses a proprietary eight Schottky diode array followed by a novel linearizer circuit that creates a linear voltmeter with an overall scaling factor (or transfer gain) of nominally ×2.2 relative to the voltage amplitude of the input.
Although the ADL6010 is not inherently a power responding device, it remains convenient to specify the input in this way. Thus, the permissible input power, relative to a 50 Ω source input impedance, ranges from −30 dBm to +15 dBm. The corresponding input voltage amplitudes of 11.2 mV to 1.8 V generate quasi-dc outputs from about 25 mV to 4 V above common (COMM).
A subtle aspect of the balanced detector topology is that no even-order distortion, caused by nonlinear source loading, occurs at the input. This is an important benefit in applications where a low ratio coupler is used to extract a signal sample and is a significant improvement over traditional diode detectors.
The power equivalent of a fluctuating RF input amplitude can be extracted by the addition of an rms-to-dc converter IC. Alternatively, the baseband output can be applied to a suitably fast analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and the rms value (and other signal metrics, such as peak to average ratio) calculated in the digital domain.
The output response accuracy is insensitive to variation in the supply voltage, which can range from 4.75 V to 5.25 V. The ultralow power dissipation contributes to its long-term stability.
The ADL6010ACPZN is specified for operation from −40°C to +85°C, and the ADL6010SCPZN is specified for operation from −55°C to +125°C. Both are available in a 6-lead, 2 mm × 2 mm LFCSP package.
Applications
- Microwave point to point links
- Microwave instrumentation
- Radar-based measurement systems
