
M
ments were calculated assuming a 600MHz source fre-
quency. Capacitor C
TERM
provides an AC termination
for the complementary input IFINB. Resistor R
TERM
pro-
vides superior noise figure performance by optimizing
the tradeoff between thermal induced noise and the
gain of the input amplifier. This network also provides
ancillary rejection of out-of-band energy, improving the
receiver noise figure and resulting SNR. The topology
shown above produces a VSWR less than 1.7:1 over
the intended UHF band. Do not DC couple the inputs to
ground, as this would result in saturation of the input
stage.
More elaborate matching networks can be designed
depending on the need of the receiver system.
__________Applic ations Information
V oltage-Controlled Osc illator Equivalent
Input Network and Resonator Issues
The MAX2101 performs the quadrature demodulation
and digitizing functions within a digital receiver system.
A vital component of the quadrature detection function
is the generation of a local oscillator (LO) frequency.
This signal is typically generated by a VCO controlled
by a phase-locked loop. The VCO topology normally
used for high dynamic range receivers is the negative
resistance amplifier and resonator, due to superior
phase-noise performance. The MAX2101 provides the
negative resistance amplifier on-chip, and can be easi-
ly interfaced with an off-chip resonant network.
The MAX2101’s VCO amplifier uses a differential topol-
ogy for several reasons. The differential interface with
the resonator network provides superior rejection of
spurious signals that might otherwise add to or distort
the resulting LO. The differential interface minimizes the
effect of parasitic package-related elements that affect
the resonant frequency and the loaded Q of the net-
work. The differential-drive network minimizes second-
harmonic distortion that might create undesirable
mixing products within the signal chain.
Figure 15 shows the simplified input network of the
negative impedance amplifier, configured as a Wilson
oscillator. The amplifier is a simple differential emitter
coupled pair with emitter degeneration for controlled
open-loop gain. The positive feedback necessary to
create the negative input impedance is performed with
the feedback capacitors, C
F
, and the coupling capaci-
tors, C
C
. The capacitors ensure operation over the
intended 400MHz to 700MHz spectrum, and add mini-
mal noise to the system. R
B1
provides a proper bias
voltage for the capacitors (partially constructed with
voltage-dependent pn junctions) and provides for DC
interface with a shunting resonant inductor. Note that
biasing networks are simplified for brevity.
The MAX2101’s negative impedance amplifier expects
a parallel resonant network. Figure 5 shows an example
of a tunable resonant network. The resonator is driven
from the phase-locked loop filter output, as noted. The
loaded Q of the resonant network, and to a lesser
extent the absolute values of the resonant elements,
determine the VCO’s phase-noise performance. As a
result, take care during the design of the resonator to
maximize the loaded Q. To achieve the phase-noise
6-Bit Quadrature Digitizer
18
______________________________________________________________________________________
MAX2101
IFIN
IFINB
C
SH
1pF
(-47dBmto -7dBm
V
S
(f
S
= 600MHz)
R
TERM
25
C
TERM
10nF
R
S
50
C
C
10nF
L
SER
8nH
90
91
Figure 14. Example of Input Network to Minimize VSWR and Noise Figure