A new 80 Msps, 14-bit analog to digital converter (ADC) from Linear Technology provides designers of cellular base stations with an improvement in dynamic performance, according to a company press release. The LTC1750 simplifies the design and reduces the cost of cellular base stations by eliminating the second intermediate frequency (IF) downconversion stage. The device provides wide input bandwidth and excellent dynamic performance for direct IF digitizing applications. The LTC1750 undersamples up to 500 MHz input frequencies and delivers 84 dB spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) with 140 MHz inputs and 74 dB SFDR with 350 MHz inputs. The device's wide bandwidth and AC performance make it suitable for use in cellular base stations and broadband software radios, where it can directly digitize the first IF and eliminate the second IF downconversion stage.

The ADC offers the flexibility to configure the input and the output specifically for the application. An on-chip programmable gain amplifier (PGA) allows multiple input ranges to optimize the performance. The larger input range offers low noise, and the smaller range lowers the gain requirements on the drive circuitry, making it easier to meet the IP3 requirements. If the input ever goes out of range, there is automatic indicator on the overflow pin. A separate digital output supply pin allows connection to low-voltage DSPs, FIFOs or logic as low as 0.5 V.

For more information, visit www.linear-tech.com.