HMC624LP4 - Hittite Microwave Corporation

AttenuAtors - sMt

For price, delivery and to place orders: Hittite Microwave Corporation, 2 Elizabeth Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373 Order On-line at www.hittite.com

Application Support: Phone: 978-250-3343 or apps@hittite.com

HMC624LP4 / 624LP4E

0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-BIT

DIGITAL ATTENUATOR, DC - 6 GHz

v12.0812

Functional Diagram

Electrical Specications,

TA = +25° C, 50 Ohm System, with Vdd = +5V & Vctl = 0/+5V (Unless Otherwise Noted)

The HMC624LP4(E) is a broadband 6-bit GaAs IC

Digital Attenuator in a low cost leadless SMT package.

This versatile digital attenuator incorporates off-chip

AC ground capacitors for near DC operation, making

it suitable for a wide variety of RF and IF applications.

The dual mode control interface is CMOS/TTL

compatible, and accepts either a three wire serial

input or a 6 bit parallel word. The HMC624LP4(E) also

features a user selectable power up state and a serial

output port for cascading other Hittite serial controlled

components. The HMC624LP4(E) is housed in a

RoHS compliant 4x4 mm QFN leadless package, and

requires no external matching components.

Parameter Frequency (GHz) Min. Typ. Max. Units

Insertion Loss DC - 3 GHz

3.0 - 6.0 GHz

1.8

2.8

2.4

3.8

Attenuation Range 31.5 dB

Return Loss (ATTIN, ATTOUT, All Atten. States) DC - 6 GHz 15 dB

Attenuation Accuracy: (Referenced to Insertion Loss)

All Attenuation States

DC - 0.8 GHz

0.8 - 6.0 GHz

± (0.10 + 5% of Atten. Setting) Max.

± (0.30 + 3% of Atten. Setting) Max.

Input Power for 0.1 dB Compression DC - 6 GHz 30 dBm

Input Third Order Intercept Point

(Two-Tone Input Power = 10 dBm Each Tone) DC - 6 GHz 55 dBm

Switching Speed

tRise, tFall (10 / 90% RF)

rON , tOFF (50% LE to 10 / 90% RF)

DC - 6 GHz 100

150

Typical Applications Features

General Description

The HMC624LP4(E) is ideal for:

• Cellular/3G Infrastructure

• WiBro / WiMAX / 4G

• Microwave Radio & VSAT

• Test Equipment and Sensors

• IF & RF Applications

0.5 dB LSB Steps to 31.5 dB

Power-Up State Selection

High Input IP3: +55 dBm

Low Insertion Loss: 2.2 dB @ 3.5 GHz

TTL/CMOS Compatible, Serial, Parallel

or Latched Parallel Control

±0.25 dB Typical Step Error

Single +3V or +5V Supply

24 Lead 4x4mm SMT Package: 16mm2

AttenuAtors - sMt

For price, delivery and to place orders: Hittite Microwave Corporation, 2 Elizabeth Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373 Order On-line at www.hittite.com

Application Support: Phone: 978-250-3343 or apps@hittite.com

Output Return Loss [1]

(Only Major States are Shown)

Input Return Loss [1]

(Only Major States are Shown)

Normalized Attenuation [1]

(Only Major States are Shown)

-35

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0123456

NORMALIZED ATTENUATION (dB)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

31.5 dB

16 dB

8 dB

Insertion Loss vs. Temperature [1]

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0123456

+25 C

+85 C

-40 C

INSERTION LOSS (dB)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

[1] Data taken with bias tees on input and output RF ports. Vdd = +5V & Vctl = 0/+5V.

[2] C1, C6 = 330pF. Vdd = +5V & Vctl = 0/+5V.

[3] C1, C6 = 330pF. Vdd = +3V & Vctl = 0/+3V.

-40

-35

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0123456

RETURN LOSS (dB)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

31.5 dB

16 dB

-40

-35

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0123456

RETURN LOSS (dB)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

16 dB

1 dB

31.5 dB

8 dB

2 dB

Bit Error vs. Frequency [2]

(Only Major States are Shown)

Bit Error vs. Attenuation State [2]

-2

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0.5

1.5

0123456

BIT ERROR (dB)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

31.5 dB

-1

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32

BIT ERROR (dB)

ATTENUATION STATE (dB)

500MHz

4GHz

2GHz, 3GHz 100MHz, 1GHz

HMC624LP4 / 624LP4E

v12.0812

0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-BIT

DIGITAL ATTENUATOR, DC - 6 GHz

AttenuAtors - sMt

For price, delivery and to place orders: Hittite Microwave Corporation, 2 Elizabeth Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373 Order On-line at www.hittite.com

Application Support: Phone: 978-250-3343 or apps@hittite.com

Worst Case Step Error

Between Successive Attenuation States [2]

-1

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

0123456

STEP ERROR (dB)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

16 dB

4 dB

8 dB

IP3 @ Major Attenuation States [2]

0123456

IP3 (dBm)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

HMC624LP4 / 624LP4E

v12.0812

0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-BIT

DIGITAL ATTENUATOR, DC - 6 GHz

IP3 vs. Temperature, Min. Attn State [2]

0123456

+25 C

+85 C

-40 C

IP3 (dBm)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

P0.1dB vs. Temperature, Min. Attn State [2]

0123456

+25 C

+85 C

-40 C

P0.1dB (dBm)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

IP3 vs. Temperature, Min. Attn State [2]

(Low Frequency Detail)

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

+25 C

+85 C

-40 C

IP3 (dBm)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

P0.1dB vs. Temperature, Min. Attn State [2]

(Low Frequency Detail)

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

+25 C

+85 C

-40 C

P0.1dB (dBm)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

[1] Data taken with bias tees on input and output RF ports. Vdd = +5V & Vctl = 0/+5V.

[2] C1, C6 = 330pF. Vdd = +5V & Vctl = 0/+5V.

[3] C1, C6 = 330pF. Vdd = +3V & Vctl = 0/+3V.

AttenuAtors - sMt

For price, delivery and to place orders: Hittite Microwave Corporation, 2 Elizabeth Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373 Order On-line at www.hittite.com

Application Support: Phone: 978-250-3343 or apps@hittite.com

HMC624LP4 / 624LP4E

v12.0812

0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-BIT

DIGITAL ATTENUATOR, DC - 6 GHz

Serial Control Interface

The HMC624LP4E contains a 3-wire SPI compatible digital interface (SERIN, CLK, LE). The serial control interface

is activated when P/S is kept high. The 6-bit serial word must be loaded MSB rst. The positive-edge sensitive CLK

and LE requires clean transitions. If mechanical switches are used, sufficient debouncing should be provided. When

LE is high, 6-bit data in the serial input register is transferred to the attenuator. When LE is high CLK is masked to

prevent data transition during output loading.

When P/S is low, 3-wire SPI interface inputs (SERIN, CLK, LE) are disabled and the input register is loaded with

parallel digital inputs (D0-D5). When LE is high, 6-bit parallel data changes the state of the part per truth table.

For all modes of operations, the state will stay constant while LE is kept low.

IP3 vs. Temperature, Min. Attn State [3]

0123456

+25 C

+85 C

-40 C

IP3 (dBm)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

P0.1dB vs. Temperature, Min. Attn State [3]

0123456

+25 C

+85 C

-40 C

P0.1dB (dBm)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

IP3 vs. Temperature, Min. Attn State [3]

(Low Frequency Detail)

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

+25 C

+85 C

-40 C

IP3 (dBm)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

P0.1dB vs. Temperature, Min. Attn State [3]

(Low Frequency Detail)

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

+25 C

+85 C

-40 C

P0.1dB (dBm)

FREQUENCY (GHz)

AttenuAtors - sMt

For price, delivery and to place orders: Hittite Microwave Corporation, 2 Elizabeth Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373 Order On-line at www.hittite.com

Application Support: Phone: 978-250-3343 or apps@hittite.com

HMC624LP4 / 624LP4E

v12.0812

0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-BIT

DIGITAL ATTENUATOR, DC - 6 GHz

Bias Voltage

Vdd (V) Idd (Typ.) (mA)

31.8

52.0

PUP Truth TablePower-Up States

Control Voltage Input Reference

Insertion

Loss

D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0

High High High High High High 0 dB

High High High High High Low -0.5 dB

High High High High Low High -1 dB

High High High Low High High -2 dB

High High Low High High High -4 dB

High Low High High High High -8 dB

Low High High High High High -16 dB

Low Low Low Low Low Low -31.5 dB

Any combination of the above states will provide an attenuation

equal to the sum of the bits selected.

Truth Table

Timing Diagram (Latched Parallel Mode)

Parallel Mode

(Direct Parallel Mode & Latched Parallel Mode)

Note: The parallel mode is enabled when P/S is set to low.

Direct Parallel Mode - The attenuation state is changed by the control voltage inputs D0-D5 directly. The LE (Latch

Enable) must be at a logic high at all times to control the attenuator in this manner.

Latched Parallel Mode - The attenuation state is selected using the control voltage inputs D0-D5 and set while the

LE is in the Low state. The attenuator will not change state while LE is Low. Once all Control Voltage Inputs are at the

desired states the LE is pulsed. See timing diagram above for reference.

LE PUP1 PUP2 Relative Attenuation

000 -31.5

010 -24

001 -16

011 Insertion Loss

1X X 0 to -31.5 dB

Note: The logic state of D0 - D5 determines the power-

up state per truth table shown below when LE is high

at power-up.

If LE is set to logic LOW at power-up, the logic state of

PUP1 and PUP2 determines the power-up state of the

part per PUP truth table. If the LE is set to logic HIGH

at power-up, the logic state of D0-D5 determines the

power-up state of the part per truth table. The attenu-

ator latches in the desired power-up state approxi-

mately 200 ms after power-up.

Power-On Sequence

The ideal power-up sequence is: GND, Vdd, digital

inputs, RF inputs. The relative order of the digital

inputs are not important as long as they are powered

after Vdd / GND

Parameter Min. [1] Ty p. [1]

Min. serial period, tSCK 70 ns

Control set-up time, tCS 15 ns

Control hold-time, tCH 20 ns

LE setup-time, tLN 15 ns

Min. LE pulse width, tLEW 10 ns

Min LE pulse spacing, tLES 630 ns

Serial clock hold-time from LE, tCKN 10 ns

Hold Time, tPH. 0 ns

Latch Enable Minimum Width, tLEN 10 ns

Setup Time, tPS 2 ns

Control Voltage Table

State Vdd = +3V Vdd = +5V

Low 0 to 0.5V @ <1 µA 0 to 0.8V @ <1 µA

High 2 to 3V @ <1 µA 2 to 5V @ <1 µA

[1] Vdd = 5V

AttenuAtors - sMt

For price, delivery and to place orders: Hittite Microwave Corporation, 2 Elizabeth Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373 Order On-line at www.hittite.com

Application Support: Phone: 978-250-3343 or apps@hittite.com

Absolute Maximum Ratings

RF Input Power (DC - 6 GHz) 28 dBm (T = +85 °C)

Digital Inputs (P/S, CLK, SERIN,

LE, PUP1, PUP2, D0-D5) -0.5 to Vdd +0.5V

Bias Voltage (Vdd) 5.6V

Channel Temperature 150 °C

Continuous Pdiss (T = 85 °C)

(derate 9.8 mW/°C above 85 °C) [1] 0.635 W

Thermal Resistance 102 °C/W

Storage Temperature -65 to +150 °C

Operating Temperature -40 to +90 °C

ELECTROSTATIC SENSITIVE DEVICE

OBSERVE HANDLING PRECAUTIONS

Outline Drawing

NOTES:

1. LEADFRAME MATERIAL: COPPER ALLOY

2. DIMENSIONS ARE IN INCHES [MILLIMETERS]

3. LEAD SPACING TOLERANCE IS NON-CUMULATIVE.

4. PAD BURR LENGTH SHALL BE 0.15mm MAXIMUM.

PAD BURR HEIGHT SHALL BE 0.05mm MAXIMUM.

5. PACKAGE WARP SHALL NOT EXCEED 0.05mm.

6. ALL GROUND LEADS AND GROUND PADDLE MUST BE

SOLDERED TO PCB RF GROUND.

7. REFER TO HITTITE APPLICATION NOTE FOR SUGGESTED

LAND PAT TERN.

Part Number Package Body Material Lead Finish MSL Rating Package Marking [3]

HMC624LP4 Low Stress Injection Molded Plastic Sn/Pb Solder MSL1 [1] H624

XXXX

HMC624LP4E RoHS-compliant Low Stress Injection Molded Plastic 100% matte Sn MSL1 [2] H624

XXXX

[1] Max peak reow temperature of 235 °C

[2] Max peak reow temperature of 260 °C

[3] 4-Digit lot number XXXX

Package Information

HMC624LP4 / 624LP4E

v12.0812

0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-BIT

DIGITAL ATTENUATOR, DC - 6 GHz

AttenuAtors - sMt

For price, delivery and to place orders: Hittite Microwave Corporation, 2 Elizabeth Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373 Order On-line at www.hittite.com

Application Support: Phone: 978-250-3343 or apps@hittite.com

HMC624LP4 / 624LP4E

v12.0812

0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-BIT

DIGITAL ATTENUATOR, DC - 6 GHz

Pin Number Function Description Interface Schematic

1P/S

See truth table, control voltage

table and timing diagram.

2CLK

3SERIN

4LE

5, 14 GND These pins and package bottom

must be connected to RF/DC ground.

6, 13 ATTIN,

ATTOUT

These pins are DC coupled and matched to 50 Ohms.

Blocking capacitors are required. Select value based

on lowest frequency of operation.

7 - 12 ACG1 - ACG6

External capacitors to ground is required. Select value for

lowest frequency of operation. Place capacitor as close to

pins as possible.

15 SEROUT Serial input data delayed by 6 clock cycles.

16, 17

19 - 24

PUP2, PUP1

D5, D4, D3,

D2, D1, D0

See truth table, control voltage

table and timing diagram.

18 Vdd Supply voltage

Pin Descriptions

AttenuAtors - sMt

For price, delivery and to place orders: Hittite Microwave Corporation, 2 Elizabeth Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373 Order On-line at www.hittite.com

Application Support: Phone: 978-250-3343 or apps@hittite.com

Application Circuit

HMC624LP4 / 624LP4E

v12.0812

0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-BIT

DIGITAL ATTENUATOR, DC - 6 GHz

AttenuAtors - sMt

For price, delivery and to place orders: Hittite Microwave Corporation, 2 Elizabeth Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824

Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373 Order On-line at www.hittite.com

Application Support: Phone: 978-250-3343 or apps@hittite.com

HMC624LP4 / 624LP4E

v10.1011

0.5 dB LSB GaAs MMIC 6-BIT

DIGITAL ATTENUATOR, DC - 6 GHz

Evaluation PCB

The circuit board used in the application should

use RF circuit design techniques. Signal lines

should have 50 Ohm impedance while the package

ground leads and exposed paddle should be con-

nected directly to the ground plane similar to that

shown. A sufficient number of via holes should be

used to connect the top and bottom ground planes.

The evaluation circuit board shown is available from

Hittite upon request.

List of Materials for Evaluation PCB 117212 [1]

Item Description

J1, J2 PCB Mount SMA Connector

J3 18 Pin DC Connector

J8, J11 DC Pin

C1, C6 330 pF Capacitor, 0402 Pkg.

C7, C8 1000 pF Capacitor, 0402 Pkg.

R1 - R14 100 kOhm Resistor, 0402 Pkg.

SW1, SW2 SPDT 4 Position DIP Switch

U1 HMC624LP4(E) Digital Attenuator

PCB [2] 117210 Evaluation PCB

[1] Reference this number when ordering complete evaluation PCB

[2] Circuit Board Material: Arlon 25FR