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)
TOTAL THICKNESS
–62mil
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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.
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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.
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8mil
7mil
8mil
7mil
14mil
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 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
INSERTION LOSS (dB)
FREQUENCY (GHz)
–7
–6
–5
–4
–3
–2
–1
5 1015202530354045
THRU LOSS
EMBEDDED INSERTION LOSS
DEEMBEDDED INSERTION LOSS
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Figure 26. Insertion Loss vs. Frequency
Figure 27 shows the ADRF5046-EVALZ assembly drawing with
component placement and Figure 28 shows the schematic.