BRUSSELS — Hittite Microwave Corporation has announced a family of dual mode digitally controlled variable gain amplifiers (DVGA) for microwave radio and military applications that operate in the frequency band of DC to 6 GHz. The amplifiers are an ideal choice for use in cellular infrastructure, test and measurement or military radio systems where an accurate signal level control and a low noise figure contribution is required.

The HMC625LP5E is a 0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-Bit digital variable gain amplifier that delivers a selectable gain range of 31.5 dB and an output 1 dB compression point of +19 dBm. An output third order intercept point of +33 dBm makes the it a popular choice within many transceivers that operate within the DC to 6 GHz frequency range.
The HMC627LP5E is a 6-bit digital variable gain amplifier that delivers peak performance below 1 GHz with 20 dB of gain control, +36 dBm OIP3 and a low 4.3 dB noise figure contribution is achieved. Both the HMC625LP5E and the HMC627LP5E incorporate a dual mode interface that is CMOS/TLL compatible and accepts either 3-wire serial input or a 6 bit parallel word.
For higher gain requirements, the HMC626LP5E provides 43 dB of gain control between DC to 500 MHz and 35 dB from 500 MHz to 1 GHz. In addition to the attenuation range of 31.5 dB, the device provides a noise figure performance of 4 dB and a typical OIP3 of +36 dBm. This single positive control line DVGA achieves DC operation making it suitable for a wide variety of RF and IF applications.
All three amplifiers are conveniently housed in a 5x5-mm RoHS compliant QFN leadless package, require no external matching components and are specified for operation over -40 to +85 °C.
Data sheets for the HMC625LP5E, HMC626LP5E and HMC627LP5E are available.