Low-Power, High-Performance, Fully Integrated
Octal Ultrasound Receiver (Octal LNA, VGA,
AAF, ADC, and CWD Beamformer)
MAX2079
22
Maxim Integrated
Detailed Description
Modes of Operation
The device requires programming before it can be used.
The operating modes are controlled by 17 8-bit registers
(00h to 10h).
Table 3 shows the functions of these pro-
gramming registers.
Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA)
Each of the device’s LNAs is optimized for excellent
dynamic range and linearity performance characteristics,
making it ideal for ultrasound imaging applications. When
the LNA is placed in low-gain mode, the input resistance
(RIN), being a function of the gain A (RIN = RF/(1 + A)),
increases by a factor of approximately 2. Consequently,
the switches that control the feedback resistance (RFB)
have to be changed. For instance, the 100I mode
in high gain becomes the 200I mode in low gain
Variable-Gain Amplifier (VGA)
The device’s VGAs are optimized for high linearity, high
dynamic range, and low output-noise performance, all
of which are critical parameters for ultrasound imaging
applications. Each VGA path includes circuitry for adjust-
ing analog gain, as well as an output buffer with differ-
ential output ports that drive the AAF and ADC. The VGA
gain can be adjusted through the differential gain-control
input (GC+ and GC-). Set the differential gain control
input voltage at -3V for minimum gain and +3V for maxi-
mum gain. The differential analog control common-mode
voltage is 1.65V (typ).
Overload Recovery
The device is also optimized for quick overload recovery
for operation under the large input-signal conditions that
are typically found in ultrasound input-buffer imaging
for an illustration of the rapid recovery time from a
transmit-related overload.
Dynamic offsets or DC offsets in the device can be
removed by enabling the digital HPF function contained
within the ADC. The unique structure of the digital HPF
allows for the removal of up to Q117mV of dynamic or
static DC offset, without reducing the dynamic range of
the ADC.
Octal Continuous-Wave (CW) Mixer
The device CW mixers are designed using an active
double-balanced topology. The mixers achieve high
dynamic range and high-linearity performance, with
exceptionally low thermal and jitter noise, ideal for ultra-
sound CWD signal reception.
The octal array exhibits quadrature and in-phase dif-
ferential current outputs (CQ+, CQ-, CI+, CI-) to pro-
duce the total CWD beamformed signal. The maximum
differential current output is typically 3mAP-P and the
mixer output-compliance voltage ranges from 4.5V to 12V.
Each mixer can be programmed to 1 of 16 phases; there-
fore, 4 bits are required for each channel for programming.
Each CW channel can be programmed to an off state by
setting bit CW_SHDN_CHn to 1. The power-down mode
(SHDN) line overrides this soft shutdown.
After the serial shift registers have been programmed,
the CS signal, when going high, loads the phase informa-
tion in the form of 5 bits per channel into the I/Q phase
divider/selectors. This presets the dividers, selecting the
appropriate mixer phasing. See
Table 40 for mixer phase
configurations.
CW Mixer Output Summation
The outputs from the octal-channel mixer array are
summed internally to produce the total CWD summed
beamformed signal. The octal array produces eight
differential quadrature (Q) outputs and eight differential
in-phase (I) outputs. All quadrature and in-phase outputs
are summed into single I and Q differential current out-
puts (CQ+, CQ-, CI+, CI-).
CWD beamforming is achieved using a single 8 x LO
high-frequency master clock that is divided down to the
CWD frequency using internal dividers. The beamformer
provides
λ/16 resolution with an 8 x LO clock using both
edges of the clock, assuming a 50% duty cycle. An eas-
ily available low-phase-noise 200MHz master clock can
therefore be used to generate the necessary CWD fre-
quencies with adequate resolution.
LO Phase Select
The LO phase dividers can be programmed through the
shift registers to allow for 16 quadrature phases for a
complete CW beamforming solution.