The ADPA9002-EVALZ consists of a dual-layer printed circuit board (PCB) fabricated from 10 mil thick, Rogers 4350B, copper clad mounted to an aluminum heat sink. The heat sink assists in providing thermal relief to the ADPA9002 as well as mechanical support to the PCB. Mounting holes on the heat sink allow attachment to larger heat sinks for improved thermal management. The RFIN and RFOUT ports on the ADPA9002-EVALZ are populated with 2.9 mm, female, coaxial connectors (J1 and J2) and the corresponding RF traces have a 50 Ω characteristic impedance. The ADPA9002-EVALZ is populated with components suitable for use over the entire −40°C to +85°C operating temperature range of the ADPA9002. To calibrate board trace losses, a through calibration path is provided between the J5 and J6 connectors. J5 and J6 must be populated with RF connectors to use the through calibration path. Refer to Table 2 and Figure 3 for the through calibration path performance.
The device ground path and gate control voltage are accessed through the 4-pin headers, J3 and J4 (see Table 1 for header connections).
The RF traces on the ADPA9002-EVALZ are 50 Ω, grounded coplanar waveguide. The package ground leads and the exposed pad connect directly to the ground plane. Multiple vias connect the top and bottom ground planes with particular focus on the area directly beneath the ground paddle to provide adequate electrical conduction and thermal conduction to the heat sink.
The power supply decoupling capacitors on the ADPA9002-EVALZ represent the configuration that was used to characterize and qualify the device. A scope can be used to reduce the number of capacitors, but the scope varies from system to system. It is recommended to first remove or combine the largest capacitors that are farthest from the ADPA9002 when modifying the capacitor configurations.
For full details on the ADPA9002, see the ADPA9002 data sheet, which must be consulted in conjunction with this user guide when using the ADPA9002-EVALZ.
