Hittite's Intros Industry’s First Complete
Class-A Amplifier Biasing & Monitoring Solution
Excellent Bias Stability over Supply, Temperature & Process Variations
 Chelmsford,
MA, 06/11/2010 – Hittite Microwave Corporation, the world class supplier of complete MMIC based solutions
for communication & military markets has launched the
HMC920LP5E - the first product in its exciting new DC Power Management product line. The
HMC920LP5E is the industry’s first complete Class-A amplifier biasing and monitoring solution, and is ideal
for power management and control in automotive telematics, Cellular/3G, LTE/WiMAX/4G, broadband, military and test
equipment applications.
The
HMC920LP5E is an Active Bias Controller which can be used to bias depletion and enhancement mode amplifiers
operating in Class-A regime. This unique IC houses an integrated LDO to regulate the Drain supply of the targeted
amplifier and a negative voltage generator for depletion mode devices. The gate voltage of the targeted amplifier
is automatically adjusted to keep the quiescent current of the amplifier constant over supply, temperature and
threshold drifts.
 The control block in the
HMC920LP5E manages the correct power-up and power-down sequence of the targeted amplifier to safely turn it on
or off. It constantly monitors the quiescent current of the amplifier and generates an alarm if the current
exceeds a higher or a lower threshold.
The
HMC920LP5E features an Enable pin to quickly turn the targeted amplifier on or off. A Trigger-out signal is
generated when the targeted amplifier achieves stable quiescent operation. Using Enable and Trigger-out signals,
multiple
HMC920LP5E devices can be daisy chained to bias a cascaded amplifier, which makes it possible to enable or
disable the cascaded stages in a controlled and sequential manner.
The
HMC920LP5E features many built-in safety features to protect both itself and the targeted amplifier from
possible unintentional shorts to ground. The
HMC920LP5E limits the power dissipation of the device with a power fold-back protection scheme. It constantly
checks for failures and shorts to ground at Vdrain, Vnegative, and other important pins, disabling the system if a
fault condition arises.
Housed in a compact and RoHS compliant, 5 x 5 mm QFN SMT package, the
HMC920LP5E is specified for operation from -40°C to +85°C and is ideal for biasing Hittite’s broad line of
amplifiers.
Samples and evaluation PC boards for all SMT packaged products are available from stock and can be
ordered via the company’s e-commerce site or via direct purchase order. Released data sheets are available on-line
at
www.hittite.com.
About Hittite
Hittite Microwave Corporation is an innovative designer and
manufacturer of analog, digital and mixed-signal ICs, modules, subsystems and instrumentation for digital, RF,
microwave and millimeterwave applications covering DC to 110 GHz. Our Digital/RFIC/MMIC products are developed
using state-of-the-art GaAs, GaN, InGaP/GaAs, InP, SOI, SiGe, CMOS and BiCMOS semiconductor processes utilizing
MESFET, HEMT, pHEMT, mHEMT, HBT and PIN devices. Our custom and standard products support a wide range of wireless
/ wired communications and radar applications for Automotive, Broadband, Cellular/4G, Fiber Optics, Microwave &
Millimeterwave Communications, Military, Test & Measurement, and Space markets.
Contact
Beth McGreevy
MarCom Manager
mcgreevy@hittite.com
Hittite Microwave Corporation
20 Alpha Road
Chelmsford, MA 01824
Phone: 978-250-3343
Fax: 978-250-3373
sales@hittite.com www.hittite.com
Posted 6/15/2010 |