ADPA1116

• 2-layer Rogers 4350B evaluation board with heat spreader
• End launch, SMA, RF connectors
• Through calibration path (depopulated)

The ADPA1116-EVALZ is a 2-layer printed circuit board (PCB) fabricated from a 10 mil thick Rogers 4350B copper clad mounted to an aluminum heat spreader. The heat spreader provides thermal relief to the ADPA1116 and mechanical support to the PCB. Mounting holes on the heat spreader allow it to be attached to larger heatsinks for improved thermal management. The RFIN and RFOUT ports are populated by Subminiture Version A (SMA) female coaxial connectors, and their respective RF traces are of 50 Ω characteristic impedance. The ADPA1116-EVALZ is populated with components suitable for use over the entire operating temperature range of the ADPA1116.

The RF traces are 50 Ω grounded coplanar waveguide, and the package ground leads connect directly to the ground plane. Multiple vias are used to connect the top and bottom ground planes. Multiple vias under the package paddle ensure adequate electrical and thermal conduction.

The power supply decoupling capacitors shown in Figure 6 represent the configuration that was used to characterize the device. For full details on the ADPA1116, see the ADPA1116 data sheet, which should be consulted in conjunction with this user guide when using the ADPA1116-EVALZ evaluation board.

• Complete Bias Control and Sequencing Solution for Pulsed GaN Radar Power Amplifiers
• Pin Compatible with ADI's existing Pulser Board and with ADI's GaN Power Amplifier Evaluation Boards
• Operation in Drain Pulsed Mode or Gate Pulsed Mode
• Optional Crowbar Circuit for Fast Turn Off in Drain Pulsed Mode
• Single 24 V to 50 V Power Supply with on-board Negative Gate Voltage Generation.
• Drain Current Monitoring Circuit

Pulser Plus is a reference design for biasing Gallium Nitride RF Power Amplifiers. It plugs directly into Analog Devices’ GaN PA evaluation boards such as ADPA1106 and ADPA1107. The only input signals required to control and operate the board are a power supply voltage between 24 V and 50V and a 0V/3V signal on the Drain Pulse Enable or Gate Pulse Enable digital inputs.

Pulser Plus was specifically designed to enable fast pulsing of GaN Radar Power Amplifiers. It can support RF pulses as short as 1us and with rise and fall times of less than 100 ns in both Drain Pulsed mode and Gate Pulsed Mode.