Great minds think alike in the microwave industry as they do elsewhere. Take, for instance, the plethora of impressive synthesizers that debuted over the past 12 months. These instruments boast the outstanding switching speed, low noise, and broad bandwidths that are required to satisfy everything from automatic test equipment (ATE) to the most stringent military applications. Another theme in 2008 was integration, as many instruments and devices combined functions while shrinking the size of the package. Of course, the microwave industry produces a nearly constant stream of impressive products. These 14 were chosen because of their broad applicability across different application areas. Check out this year’s Top Product picks to see where new performance heights were reached, novel capabilities and features were included, or an industry first was made a reality (see table).
Of the long list of frequency synthesizers introduced in 2008, the four chosen here stand out in various performance areas. Anritsu’s MG37020A frequency synthesizer tunes from 10 MHz to 20 GHz with frequency switching speed of 100 s/point (January cover, p. 97). To achieve this speed, the company created an architecture based on a low-noise, voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) rather than the traditional yttriumindium- garnet (YIG) oscillator used in broadband signal generators. Yet the instrument maintains the superb phase-noise performance that is associated with YIG sources.
The January issue also spotlighted the model SMS-DU direct-digital synthesizer (DDS) from Spinnaker Microwave [p. 104]. It delivers output frequencies as high as 40 GHz in bandwidths as wide as 25 percent in an enclosure the size of a paperback book. The DDS boasts 1-Hz resolution and 1-µs switching speed.
