The HMC553 devices are passive (HMC553) and general purpose (HMC553LC3B) double-balanced mixers that are available in a chip (HMC553) and a leadless RoHS compliant SMT package (HMC553LC3B), both of which can be used as an upconverter or downconverter between 7 GHz and 14 GHz. These mixers are fabricated in a GaAs metal semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET) process, and require no external components or matching circuitry. The HMC553 devices provide excellent LO to RF and LO to IF isolation due to optimized balun structures and operates with LO drive levels as low as 9 dBm. Measurements were made with the HMC553 chip mounted into in a 50 Ω test fixture and includes the parasitic effects of wire bond assembly. Connections were made with a 1 mil wire bond with minimal length (<12 mil). The RoHS compliant HMC553LC3B eliminates the need for wire bonding, and is compatible with high volume surface mount manufacturing techniques.

Applications

• Point-to-point radios 
• Point-to-multipoint radios
• Test equipment and sensors 
• Military end use
• Microwave radio 
• Space
• Communications, radar, and electronic warfare (EW)