Specifications are as follows:
- Operating band: 22.5 – 39.9 GHz (upper mW / lower mmWave territory)
- Channel spacing / Number of operating frequencies: 200 MHz / 88
- Reference frequency / Range: 400 MHz (fixed)
- Phase continuity: Continuous for adjacent channel step phase and frequency
- Stability: Phase margin (fm) > 45°, gain margin (Gm) > 10 dB
- Single-side-band (SSB) phase noise: < 350 mdeg, integrated over offset frequencies from 100 Hz to 40 MHz
- Spurious:
- −60 dBc within ±500 MHz of carrier
- −90 dBm within ±(500 to 2,000) MHz offset from carrier
- Switching time: < 25 ms between any two random channels, from unspecified transient overshoot to steady-state frequency offset of < 100 kHz (< 5.75 PPM over full (end-to-end) operating band and < 500 PPM between adjacent channels) and to within output power window of +12 ±4 dBm
- Output power and flatness: +12 ±4 dBm over operating band (without active power leveling)
- DC operating power: 12.5 W maximum
- Environment: Operating temperature range of −20 to +70°C case
Because of the high frequency and high performance of the synthesizer, the components used are all discrete. Also, all parts are of the packaged surface-mount variety (i.e., hybrid chip-and-wire technology isn’t used). These are, of course, the electrical and environmental specifications only; mechanical specifications aren’t included.
The above information will be used in the upcoming Part 2, where the example synthesizer general design approach and detailed design, which incorporates the technique, will be discussed.
Acknowledgements
This paper represents the coalescence, organization, and technical writing by the author of the work done by a number of top technical professionals with expertise in frequency synthesizers, radio/radar, and communications systems. It especially represents the work done by a particular staff scientist and subject-matter expert in these areas who initiated the synthesizer concept and original design, and who produced a prototype unit.
It was a pleasure for the author to have worked with and to have exchanged ideas with these professionals and, particularly, the staff scientist. It allowed the author to assume leadership of the synthesizer with his own team, thereby adding his own ideas and developing it to its final production condition. This gave the author the ability to write this paper and, in doing so, further solidified and expanded his knowledge of the subject of PLLs and indirect (PLL) synthesizers.
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