The ADPA7006-EVALZ evaluation board consists of a 2-layer printed circuit board (PCB) fabricated from a 10 mil thick, Rogers 4350B, copper clad mounted to an aluminum heat sink. The heat sink provides thermal relief to the device 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 ADPA7006-EVALZ are populated by 2.9 mm, female coaxial connectors. The respective RF traces of the ports have a 50 Ω characteristic impedance. The ADPA7006-EVALZ is populated with components suitable for use over the entire −40°C to +85°C operating temperature range of the device. To calibrate evaluation board trace losses, a through calibration path is provided between the J3 and J4 connectors. J3 and J4 must be populated with RF connectors to use the through calibration path. See Table 1 and Figure 3 for the through calibration path performance.

The power, ground, gate control voltages, and detector output voltages are accessed through two 8-pin headers (see Table 1).

RF traces are 50 Ω grounded, coplanar waveguide. Package ground leads and the exposed paddle 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 ADPA7006-EVALZ represent the configuration used to characterize and qualify the device. It is possible to reduce the number of capacitors with a scope, but the scope varies from system to system. It is recommended to first remove or combine the largest capacitors that are farthest from the device.

For more information about the ADPA7006, refer to the ADPA7006 data sheet. Consult the data sheet in conjunction with this user guide when using the ADPA7006-EVALZ evaluation board.