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Richardson RFPD RadioCarbon RFPD-RC-4450-50 Quick Start Manual

2w linear front-end design accelerator
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RFPD-RC-4450-50 4.4-5 GHz, 2W Linear
Front-End Design Accelerator
Quick Start Guide

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Summary of Contents for Richardson RFPD RadioCarbon RFPD-RC-4450-50

  • Page 1 RFPD-RC-4450-50 4.4-5 GHz, 2W Linear Front-End Design Accelerator Quick Start Guide...
  • Page 2 RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide Table of Contents Introduction - About This Document ......................3 RFPD-RC-4450-50 Module – Standalone Mode ..................4 RF Bench Setup –Standalone Transmit ....................... 5 Hardware Setup – Standalone Transmit...................... 6 DC Power Supply Connection ........................6 Digital/Control - USB/TTL Cable Connection ....................

  • Page 4: Introduction - About This Document

    This document serves as a Quick Start Guide to assist users in powering up and performing Bench level testing/evaluation of the “RadioCarbon” RFPD-RC-4450-50 RF Frontend module from Richardson RFPD in standalone mode. The RFPD-RC-4450-50 Frontend module serves as a “Design Accelerator” platform targeting RF Frontend communications applications in the 4.4 to 5 GHz frequency band.

  • Page 5: Rfpd-Rc-4450-50 Module - Standalone Mode

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide RFPD-RC-4450-50 Module – Standalone Mode In Standalone mode, the input RF Transmitter signal to the RFPD-RC-4450-50 module is sourced from a Signal Generator and is applied at the 50 Ohm TX_IN Port (J19) as shown in the picture in below which shows Figure 2 the actual RFPD-RC-4450-50 module with the various input/Output connections.

  • Page 6: Rf Bench Setup -Standalone Transmit

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide DC Power to the module is provided via an external DC Power Supply and is applied at the DC Voltage (VIN) port J2 ( above). This power supply input feeds a series of on-board switching regulators that generate the Figure 2 additional voltages required for the individual circuits used (including MCU and PA Bias Controller ICs) onboard the RFPD-RC-4450-50 module.

  • Page 7: Hardware Setup - Standalone Transmit

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide For optimum RF performance it is recommended that high quality, low loss 50 Ohm cables, adaptors and connections are used. All RF interfaces on the RFPD-RC-4450-50 module are 50 Ohms. The RF output Attenuator needs to have at least 30dB attenuation and be able to handle 50W CW power.

  • Page 8: Digital/Control - Usb/Ttl Cable Connection

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide Digital/Control - USB/TTL Cable Connection Software control is provided via a RadioCarbon software APP running on a PC so a serial USB to UART/TTL cable needs to be connected between the PC and the module as illustrated in Figure 5. o Connect the USB to TTL/UART Serial Cable provided (Error! Reference source not found.) between USB p ort on the PC to the 6-pin header (J15) on the RFPD-RC-4450-50 module (Figure 6).

  • Page 9: Software Setup - Standalone Transmit

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide Software Setup – Standalone Transmit The RFPD-RC-4450-50 Software GUI that comes with the KIT handles the sequencing of the Gate and Drain voltages on the GaN power devices in the Power Amplifier. It also provides the user the ability to establish and monitor the Quiescent Idq currents of the driver device (CGHV1F006S) and both final stage devices (CGHV1F025S) for optimum PA performance.

  • Page 10: Figure 8: Main Screen

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide Figure 8: Main Screen o Verify that the appropriate COM port shows up and that the Attached Box is Checked as highlighted below ( Figure 9 Figure 9: COM port Highlighted Note: If COM port is not visible, check the serial USB/TTL cable, USB driver, and hardware connection on RFPD-RC-4450-50 at the 6-pin header J15.

  • Page 11: Biasing The Radiocarbon Pa

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide Fig X Auto Refresh Box Checked Figure 10: Auto Refresh Box Checked Biasing the RadioCarbon PA To assist the user in biasing the PA, the GUI provides 3 scroll wheels (Figure 11) which set the Gate to Source voltage (VGS) for the Driver stage and for the Final stage devices.

  • Page 12: Figure 12: Pa Bias "Quick View

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide o For class AB operation, set the VGS voltage for the Driver and the Final Stage A and B devices to match the IDQ quiescent currents shown in Table 1 Table 1: PA Bias Settings for Class AB operation Once the VGS values are all set, the resulting IDQ current values can be observed on the main window both in the schematic section (next to the scroll wheel) as highlighted in Figure 12 but also near the top of the GUI in the area labeled “PA Bias Quick View”.

  • Page 13: Turn Rf Signal On

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide Note that there may be slight differences from one RadioCarbon board to another in the exact VGS values that corresponds to the desired IDQ values. This variation is primarily due to the device-to-device differences in forward transconductance and threshold values, VGS(th), that will likely exist between the GaN devices used in the PA.

  • Page 14: Hardware Setup - Receiver Operation

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide Figure 14: Idq Verification o To save the VGS Bias voltage , Hit the “Store Settings” button o Exit the GUI by clicking the “close wondow” X o Turn OFF the 45V DC Power supply input. Hardware Setup –...

  • Page 15: Software Setup - Receiver Operation

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide Figure 15: Receiver Test bench Setup As illustrated above, the specific RX test performed will determine what test equipment is required. For example, for Noise Figure (NF) testing, it’s recommended to use a Noise Figure Analyzer with the configuration shown in Figure 15.

  • Page 16: Turn Receiver Off

    RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – Quick Start Guide o Launch the RFPD-RC-4450-50 software GUI and follow steps for making Initial connection to the module as outlined in the Transmitter Section 5.2. o The GUI’s “RX Frontend” ( ) Tab allows the user to choose the LNA “Bypass” mode as well Figure 16 as the configuration of the RF Switch (TX or RX).

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