VGA and VVA Fit Surface-Mount Packs

Two devices with variable outputs, a voltage variable attenuator (VVA) and a variable gain amplifier (VGA), are available from Hittite Microwave Corp. in RoHS-compliant 3 x 3 mm QFN plastic surface-mount-technology (SMT) packages. The attenuator, model HMC973LP3E, provides as much as 26 dB attenuation from 500 MHz to 6 GHz. Attenuation is tuned by means of control voltages from 0 to +5 VDC. It offers input third-order intercept of +35 dBm for excellent linearity. The amplifier, model HMC972LP5E, uses a single control voltage from 0 to +5 VDC to control as much as 35 dB signal attenuation and as much as 15 dB small-signal gain, for a total amplitude range of 50 dB. It has a noise figure of 7.5 dB and output third-order intercept to +28 dBm.