Data Sheet

ADRF5046

Rev. 0 | Page 11 of 15

APPLICATIONS INFORMATION

EVALUATION BOARD

The ADRF5046-EVALZ is a 4-layer evaluation board. The outer

copper (Cu) layers are 0.5 oz (0.7 mil) plated to 1.5 oz (2.2 mil)

and are separated by dielectric materials. Figure 23 shows the

evaluation board stackup.

0.5oz Cu (0.7mil)

RO4003

0.5oz Cu (0.7mil)

1.5oz Cu (2.2mil)

1.5oz Cu (2.2mil)

W = 14mil

G = 7mil

T = 2.2mil

H = 8mil

1.5oz Cu (2.2mil)

1.5oz Cu (2.2mil)

Figure 23. Evaluation Board Cross Sectional View

All RF and dc traces are routed on the top copper layer, whereas

the inner and bottom layers are grounded planes that provide a

solid ground for the RF transmission lines. The top dielectric

material is 8 mil Rogers RO4003, offering optimal high

frequency performance. The middle and bottom dielectric

materials provide mechanical strength. The total board

thickness is 62 mil, which allows 2.4 mm RF launchers to be

connected at the board edges. Figure 24 shows the top view of

the evaluation board.

Figure 24. Evaluation Board Layout (Top View)

The RF transmission lines were designed using a coplanar

waveguide (CPWG) model, with trace width of 14 mil and

ground clearance of 7 mil to have a characteristic impedance of

50 Ω. The RF transmission lines are extended by 8 mil from

package edge to the tapered line used for RF pin transition as

shown in Figure 25. For optimal RF and thermal grounding, as

many plated through vias as possible are arranged around

transmission lines and under the exposed pad of the package.

8mil

7mil

Figure 25. RF Transmission Lines

Two power supply ports are connected to the VDD and VSS test

points, control voltages are connected to the V1 and V2 test points,

and the ground reference is connected to the GND test point.

On the supply traces, a 100 pF bypass capacitor is used to filter

the high frequency noise. Additionally, unpopulated components

positions are available for applying extra bypass capacitors.

On the control traces, there are provisions for the resistor

capacitor (RC) filter to eliminate dc-coupled noise, if needed, by

the application. The resistor can also improve the isolation

between the RF and the control signal.

The RF input and output ports (RFC, RF1 to RF4) are

connected through 50 Ω transmission lines to the 2.4 mm RF

launchers. These high frequency RF launchers are by contact

and not soldered onto the board.

A thru calibration line (THRU CAL) connects the unpopulated

RF launchers. This transmission line is used to calibrate out the

board loss effects from the ADRF5046-EVALZ evaluation board

measurements to determine the device performance at the

packaged pins. Figure 26 shows the typical board loss at room

temperature, the embedded insertion loss, and the de-embedded

insertion loss for the ADRF5046.

0

–8

050

FREQUENCY (GHz)

–7

–6

–5

–4

–3

–2

–1

5

101520

253035

4045

THRU LOSS

EMBEDDED INSERTION LOSS

DEEMBEDDED INSERTION LOSS

Figure 26. Insertion Loss vs. Frequency

Figure 27 shows the ADRF5046-EVALZ assembly drawing with

component placement and Figure 28 shows the schematic.