Industry's Only Integrated RF MESFET Bias Controllers for Point-to-Point Communications
| Note to the Editor: The MAX11014/MAX11015 are the first and only integrated RF MESFET bias controllers for point-to-point communication and microwave base stations. Available in a 48-pin, 7mm x 7mm x 0.8mm thin QFN package, these controllers uniquely integrate all the functions needed for closed-loop drain-current control (class A and class AB) of MESFET amplifiers. They allow drain current adjustment independent of MESFET drain supply voltage. As all the blocks in the IC are designed and tested to work with each other, the user can achieve the best system-level performance with minimal design effort and cost. |
SUNNYVALE, CA-March 1, 2006-Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ: MXIM) introduces the MAX11014/MAX11015* ICs that set and control bias conditions for dual MESFET power devices found in point-to-point communication and other microwave base stations. The MAX11014 integrates closed-loop drain-current control for class A MESFET amplifier operation, while the MAX11015 sets the MESFET gate voltage for class AB operation. Both devices integrate SRAM look-up tables (LUTs) that can be used to store temperature and drain-current compensation data.
The MAX11014/MAX11015 are unique in their unmatched level of integration. Each device includes dual, high-side, current-sense amplifiers to monitor the MESFET drain currents through the voltage drop across the sense resistors in the 0 to 625mV range. External diode-connected transistors monitor the MESFET temperatures, while an internal temperature sensor measures the local die temperature. An internal DAC sets the voltages across the current-sense resistors by controlling the gate voltages. The internal 12-bit SAR ADC digitizes internal and external temperature, internal DAC voltages, current-sense amplifier voltages, and external gate voltages. Two of the eleven ADC channels are available as general-purpose analog inputs for analog system monitoring. An internal reference provides a well-regulated, low-noise, +2.5V reference for the ADC, DAC, and temperature sensors while still allowing the flexibility to operate from the ADC's and DAC's individual external references.
The MAX11014's gate-drive amplifier functions as an integrator for the drain-current control loop, while the MAX11015's gate-drive amplifier functions with a gain of -2 for class AB applications. The current-limited gate-drive amplifier can be fast clamped to a programmable analog voltage independent of the digital input from the serial interface. Both the MAX11014 and MAX11015 include self-calibration modes to minimize error over time, temperature, and supply voltage.
These two bias controllers communicate over a 20MHz SPI™-compatible 4-wire serial interface or a 3.4MHz I2C**-compatible serial interface (pin-selectable). They operate from a +4.75V to +5.25V analog supply, a +2.7V to +5.25V digital supply, and a -4.5V to -5.5V gate-drive supply. The MAX11014/MAX11015 are available in 48-pin, thin QFN packages specified over the -40 degrees Celsius to +105 degrees Celsius temperature range. Prices start at $10.60 (1000-up, FOB USA).
SPI is a trademark of Motorola, Inc.
*Future product-contact factory for availability.
**Purchase of I2C components from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., or one of its sublicensed Associate Companies, conveys a license under the Philips I2C Patent Rights to use these components in an I2C system, provided that the system conforms to the I2C Standard Specification defined by Philips.
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