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Copyright: 1996 - 2024 Webmaster:
Kirt Blattenberger,
BSEE - KB3UON
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Electronic Warfare and Radar Systems Engineering Handbook - Mixers and Frequency Discriminators - |
[Go to TOC]
MIXERS AND FREQUENCY DISCRIMINATORS
Mixers are used to convert a signal from one frequency to another. This is done by combining the original RF signal with a local oscillator
(LO) signal in a non-linear device such as a Schottky-barrier diode.
The output spectrum includes:
- The original inputs, LO and RF
- All higher order harmonics of LO and RF
- The two primary sidebands , LO ± RF (m,n = 1)
- All higher order products of mLO ± nRF (where m,n are integers)
- A DC output level
The desired output frequency, commonly called the intermediate frequency (IF), can be either the lower (LO-RF) or upper (LO+RF) sideband.
When a mixer is used as a down converter, the lower sideband is the sideband of interest.
A microwave balanced mixer makes use of the
3 dB hybrid to divide and recombine the RF and LO inputs to two mixing diodes. The 3 dB hybrid can be either the 90° or 180° type. Each has
certain advantages which will be covered later. The critical requirement is that the LO and RF signals be distributed uniformly (balanced) to
each mixer diode.
Figure 1 is a typical balanced mixer block diagram. The mixer diodes are reversed relative to each other; the desired
frequency (IF) components of each diode are then in-phase while the DC outputs are positive and negative respectively.
The two diode
outputs are summed in a tee where the DC terms cancel and only the desired IF component exists at the IF port. 
Figure
1. Mixer Block Diagram
Other types of mixers exist, including the double-balanced mixer, and the Ortho-Quad® (quadrature fed dual) mixer. The relative advantages
and disadvantages of each of the four types are summarized in Table 1. Table 1. Mixer Comparison
90° Hybrid |
good |
lowest |
poor |
poor-fair |
high |
wide |
180° Hybrid |
poor |
low |
good |
good |
high |
wide |
Double- Balanced |
poor |
low |
very good - excellent |
very good |
high |
extremely wide |
Ortho Quad |
good |
low |
very good |
fair |
high |
wide |
NOTES: (1) Poor = 2.5:1 typical ; Good = 1.3:1 typical (2) Conversion loss: lowest: 5-7 dB typical; Low
7-9 dB typical (3) Poor: 10 dB typical ; Good: 20 dB typical ; Very Good: 25-30 dB typical ; Excellent: 35-40 dB typical (4) Poor: partial
rejection of LO/RF even harmonics Fair: slightly better Good: can reject all LO even
harmonics Very Good: can reject all LO and RF even harmonics
Used in various circuits, mixers can
act as modulators, phase detectors, and frequency discriminators.
The phase discriminators can serve as a signal processing network for
systems designed to monitor bearing, polarization, and frequency of AM or FM radiated signals.
A frequency discriminator
uses a phase discriminator and adds a power divider and delay line at the RF input as shown in Figure 2. The unknown RF signal "A" is divided
between a reference and delay path. The differential delay (T) creates a phase difference (θ) between the two signals which is a linear function
of frequency (f) and is given by θ = 2πfT.
When the two output signals are fed to the horizontal and vertical
input of an oscilloscope, the resultant display angle will be a direct function of frequency.
Table of Contents for Electronics Warfare and Radar Engineering Handbook
Introduction |
Abbreviations | Decibel | Duty
Cycle | Doppler Shift | Radar Horizon / Line
of Sight | Propagation Time / Resolution | Modulation
| Transforms / Wavelets | Antenna Introduction
/ Basics | Polarization | Radiation Patterns |
Frequency / Phase Effects of Antennas |
Antenna Near Field | Radiation Hazards |
Power Density | One-Way Radar Equation / RF Propagation
| Two-Way Radar Equation (Monostatic) |
Alternate Two-Way Radar Equation |
Two-Way Radar Equation (Bistatic) |
Jamming to Signal (J/S) Ratio - Constant Power [Saturated] Jamming
| Support Jamming | Radar Cross Section (RCS) |
Emission Control (EMCON) | RF Atmospheric
Absorption / Ducting | Receiver Sensitivity / Noise |
Receiver Types and Characteristics |
General Radar Display Types |
IFF - Identification - Friend or Foe | Receiver
Tests | Signal Sorting Methods and Direction Finding |
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) / Reflection Coefficient / Return
Loss / Mismatch Loss | Microwave Coaxial Connectors |
Power Dividers/Combiner and Directional Couplers |
Attenuators / Filters / DC Blocks |
Terminations / Dummy Loads | Circulators
and Diplexers | Mixers and Frequency Discriminators |
Detectors | Microwave Measurements |
Microwave Waveguides and Coaxial Cable |
Electro-Optics | Laser Safety |
Mach Number and Airspeed vs. Altitude Mach Number |
EMP/ Aircraft Dimensions | Data Busses | RS-232 Interface
| RS-422 Balanced Voltage Interface | RS-485 Interface |
IEEE-488 Interface Bus (HP-IB/GP-IB) | MIL-STD-1553 &
1773 Data Bus | This HTML version may be printed but not reproduced on websites.
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