The World Leader in High Performance Signal Processing Solutions
Mini Circuits TCM1-63-1+ Balun
Evaluation
(400 MHz to 6 GHz)
Qui Luu
November 9, 2012
New Mini Circuits 1:1 Balun Covering
400 MHz to 6000 MHz

One balun covers the entire frequency range with no gaps


Same foot print as the TC1-1-13M+ and the TC1-1-43+


More attractive solution for the customer where one solution can take care of the
entire RF bandwidth
This implies no evaluation board redesign
Potentially open doors to new product definitions for wider bandwidth demods.
S11: Return Loss
-5
dB(S(5,5))
dB(S(3,3))
-10
-15
Balun Only
-20
-25
Balun + ADL5380
-30
-35
1E9
6E9
freq, Hz
TCM1-63-1+: Magnitude and Phase Balance
1.0
Magnitude and phase error
between the positive and negative
terminals of the balun’s differential
outputs
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
6
-1.5
4
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
freq, GHz
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
2
180-PhaseBal
MagBal
0.5
0
-2
-4
-6
-8
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
freq, GHz
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
ADL5380 Gain
0.0
S21: New Balun
dB(S(4,5))
-0.5
-4
-4.5
-1.0
TC1_1_13
-1.5
TC1_1_43+
NewBalun
-2.0
-5
Gain Flatness: ~2 dB
TC1-1-43+
-2.5
-5.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
freq, GHz
Power Gain (dB)
-6
-6.5
New Balun
-7
-7.5
TC1-1-13M+
-8
Gain Flatness: ~3.5 dB
2 dB from Balun
1.5 dB from ADL5380
-8.5
Test Conditions:
IF= 10 MHz
Freq Step Size: 10 MHz
RF Pwr at pins: fixed 0dBm
-9
400
1400
2400
3400
Frequency (MHz)
4400
5400
ADL5380: I/Q Phase Error
2
Test Conditions:
IF= 4.5 MHz
Freq Step Size: 100 MHz
RF Pwr at pins: fixed -1 dBm
1.5
1
Phase Error (Degrees)
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
ETC-1-1-13
ETC-1-1-43
-1.5
NewBalun_Brd1
NewBalun_Brd2
-2
-2.5
-3
500
1500
2500
3500
LO Frequency (MHz)
4500
5500
ADL5380: I/Q Magnitude Error
0.2
Test Conditions:
IF= 4.5 MHz
Freq Step Size: 100 MHz
RF Pwr at pins: fixed -1 dBm
Magnitude Error (dB)
0.15
0.1
0.05
ETC-1-1-13
0
ETC-1-1-43
NewBalun_Brd1
NewBalun_Brd2
-0.05
500
1500
2500
3500
LO Frequency (MHz)
4500
5500
ADL5380: Harmonic Distortion (HD2)
110
Test Conditions:
IF1= 10 MHz
Freq Step Size: 10 MHz
RF Pwr at pins: fixed 0 dBm
100
90
TC1_1_43+
TC1_1_13M+
Harmonic Distortion (dBc)
80
NewBalun
Single-Ended
70
60
50
40
30
20
400
1400
2400
3400
Frequency (MHz)
4400
5400
ADL5380: IIP2
90
IIP2: TC1_1_43+
IIP2: TC1_1_13M+
80
IIP2: NewBalun
IIP2: Single-Ended
70
IIP2 (dBm)
60
50
40
30
20
Test Conditions:
IF1= 10 MHz
IF2 = 9 MHz
Freq Step Size: 10 MHz
RF Pwr at pins: fixed -5dBm per tone
10
0
400
1400
2400
3400
Frequency (MHz)
4400
5400
ADL5380: IIP3
40
IIP3: TC1_1_43+
IIP3: TC1_1_13M+
35
IIP3: NewBalun
IIP3: Single-Ended
30
IIP3 (dBm)
25
20
15
10
Test Conditions:
IF1= 10 MHz
IF2 = 9 MHz
Freq Step Size: 10 MHz
RF Pwr at pins: fixed -5dBm per tone
5
0
400
1400
2400
3400
Frequency (MHz)
4400
5400
Conclusions
 TCM1-63-1+
Balun Performance from 400 MHz to 6 GHz
 Return loss < -10 dB
 Magnitude and phase balance
Magnitude and phase balance of the balun does not have an impact
on image rejection but affects harmonic and linearity performance
 Gain Flatness ~ 2 dB
Improve flatness by potentially degrading performance at low
frequencies to obtain a flatter response.
 Fulfill
Customer’s Needs for a Single Balun Solution
 Improved
HD2 performance over single-ended drive
 No degraded performance
 Direct
 Does
Placement in Existing Footprint
not require board spin. Direct replacement into TC1-1-13M+
and TC1-1-43+ baluns.