Hi, all, Just a heads-up: MCL has come out with a designer's kit with 10 each of 10 pHEMT (SAV and TAV series) part numbers, for 70 bucks. Not super cheap, but well under half of the onesies price, and nicely organized. <https://www.minicircuits.com/WebStore/dashboard.html?model=K1-SAV_TAV%2B> Cheers Phil Hobbs -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net http://hobbs-eo.com
Mini-circuits pHEMT designer's kit
Started by ●November 4, 2021
Reply by ●November 4, 20212021-11-04
Phil Hobbs wrote:> Hi, all, > > Just a heads-up: MCL has come out with a designer's kit with 10 each of > 10 pHEMT (SAV and TAV series) part numbers, for 70 bucks. Not super > cheap, but well under half of the onesies price, and nicely organized. > > <https://www.minicircuits.com/WebStore/dashboard.html?model=K1-SAV_TAV%2B>One very nice piece of info--the kit includes the new SAV-331+, a _depletion_ pHEMT that they claim has a typical NF (unmatched!) of 0.5 dB in the flatband and 0.9 dB down to 40 MHz. Cheers Phil Hobbs -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net http://hobbs-eo.com
Reply by ●November 4, 20212021-11-04
On Thu, 4 Nov 2021 21:57:57 -0400, Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:>Phil Hobbs wrote: >> Hi, all, >> >> Just a heads-up: MCL has come out with a designer's kit with 10 each of >> 10 pHEMT (SAV and TAV series) part numbers, for 70 bucks.� Not super >> cheap, but well under half of the onesies price, and nicely organized. >> >> <https://www.minicircuits.com/WebStore/dashboard.html?model=K1-SAV_TAV%2B> > >One very nice piece of info--the kit includes the new SAV-331+, a >_depletion_ pHEMT that they claim has a typical NF (unmatched!) of 0.5 >dB in the flatband and 0.9 dB down to 40 MHz. > >Cheers > >Phil Hobbsmakes no sense. Idss is 228 uA and operating point is 60 mA at -0.69 on the gate. The 228 uA is a funny font too. Of course, being an RF part, we get no DC curves. There should be a profession, Data Sheet Checker Consultant. The state of data sheets is a disgrace. -- Father Brown's figure remained quite dark and still; but in that instant he had lost his head. His head was always most valuable when he had lost it.
Reply by ●November 5, 20212021-11-05
jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote:> On Thu, 4 Nov 2021 21:57:57 -0400, Phil Hobbs > <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote: > >> Phil Hobbs wrote: >>> Hi, all, >>> >>> Just a heads-up: MCL has come out with a designer's kit with 10 each of >>> 10 pHEMT (SAV and TAV series) part numbers, for 70 bucks. Not super >>> cheap, but well under half of the onesies price, and nicely organized. >>> >>> <https://www.minicircuits.com/WebStore/dashboard.html?model=K1-SAV_TAV%2B> >> >> One very nice piece of info--the kit includes the new SAV-331+, a >> _depletion_ pHEMT that they claim has a typical NF (unmatched!) of 0.5 >> dB in the flatband and 0.9 dB down to 40 MHz. >> >> Cheers >> >> Phil Hobbs > > makes no sense. Idss is 228 uA and operating point is 60 mA at -0.69 > on the gate. The 228 uA is a funny font too. > > Of course, being an RF part, we get no DC curves. > > There should be a profession, Data Sheet Checker Consultant. The state > of data sheets is a disgrace. > > >Yeah, it isn't the biasing that's cool--it's the hint at a much lower 1/f corner than the other parts. If we ignore current noise (probably okay for a pHEMT at low frequency), in an unmatched system (as shown in the datasheet), the flatband 0.5 dB noise figure corresponds to a voltage noise 'density' of e_N = 0.91 nV/sqrt(Hz) * sqrt(10**0.05 - 1) = 0.32 nV/sqrt(Hz) and the 40-MHz value of 0.9 dB corresponds to 0.44 nV/sqrt(Hz), just about exactly 3 dB above the flatband value. So we expect these guys to be better than the CPH3910 (0.9 nV) down to about 10 MHz. I use pHEMT bootstraps quite a lot, because their behaviour is a good match--their low frequency noise gets killed by the increasing reactance of the source capacitance, and their high-frequency noise is 10 dB better. The old Avago parts (RIP, *sniff sniff*) were about like that, but the Skyworks SK65050 is around 4 dB noisier at low frequency. Cheers Phil Hobbs -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net http://hobbs-eo.com
Reply by ●November 5, 20212021-11-05
On Fri, 5 Nov 2021 08:35:31 -0400, Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:>jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: >> On Thu, 4 Nov 2021 21:57:57 -0400, Phil Hobbs >> <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote: >> >>> Phil Hobbs wrote: >>>> Hi, all, >>>> >>>> Just a heads-up: MCL has come out with a designer's kit with 10 each of >>>> 10 pHEMT (SAV and TAV series) part numbers, for 70 bucks.� Not super >>>> cheap, but well under half of the onesies price, and nicely organized. >>>> >>>> <https://www.minicircuits.com/WebStore/dashboard.html?model=K1-SAV_TAV%2B> >>> >>> One very nice piece of info--the kit includes the new SAV-331+, a >>> _depletion_ pHEMT that they claim has a typical NF (unmatched!) of 0.5 >>> dB in the flatband and 0.9 dB down to 40 MHz. >>> >>> Cheers >>> >>> Phil Hobbs >> >> makes no sense. Idss is 228 uA and operating point is 60 mA at -0.69 >> on the gate. The 228 uA is a funny font too. >> >> Of course, being an RF part, we get no DC curves. >> >> There should be a profession, Data Sheet Checker Consultant. The state >> of data sheets is a disgrace. >> >> >> >Yeah, it isn't the biasing that's cool--it's the hint at a much lower >1/f corner than the other parts.Another graph opportunity! RF people can't seem to imagine their parts being used for anything but small-signal high-freq amplifiers. The data sheet says the usual "adjust the gate voltage until you get the drain xx mA that we tested it at." We have to test these parts ourselves and trust they are repeatable. In the case of some MiniCircuits mmics, they weren't. I suppose if you want to keep changing fabs, it's better to not commit much. "min" and "max" are so confining.> >If we ignore current noise (probably okay for a pHEMT at low frequency), >in an unmatched system (as shown in the datasheet), the flatband 0.5 dB >noise figure corresponds to a voltage noise 'density' of > >e_N = 0.91 nV/sqrt(Hz) * sqrt(10**0.05 - 1) = 0.32 nV/sqrt(Hz) > >and the 40-MHz value of 0.9 dB corresponds to 0.44 nV/sqrt(Hz), just >about exactly 3 dB above the flatband value. So we expect these guys to >be better than the CPH3910 (0.9 nV) down to about 10 MHz. > >I use pHEMT bootstraps quite a lot, because their behaviour is a good >match--their low frequency noise gets killed by the increasing reactance >of the source capacitance, and their high-frequency noise is 10 dB better.We might have an opportunity to collaborate on something like that...> >The old Avago parts (RIP, *sniff sniff*) were about like that, but the >Skyworks SK65050 is around 4 dB noisier at low frequency. > >Cheers > >Phil HobbsIt amazes me that a transistor can have so much less noise than a 50 ohm resistor. -- Father Brown's figure remained quite dark and still; but in that instant he had lost his head. His head was always most valuable when he had lost it.
Reply by ●November 6, 20212021-11-06
On Friday, November 5, 2021 at 1:55:58 PM UTC+11, jla...@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote:> On Thu, 4 Nov 2021 21:57:57 -0400, Phil Hobbs > <pcdhSpamM...@electrooptical.net> wrote: > > >Phil Hobbs wrote: > >> Hi, all, > >> > >> Just a heads-up: MCL has come out with a designer's kit with 10 each of > >> 10 pHEMT (SAV and TAV series) part numbers, for 70 bucks. Not super > >> cheap, but well under half of the onesies price, and nicely organized. > >> > >> <https://www.minicircuits.com/WebStore/dashboard.html?model=K1-SAV_TAV%2B> > > > >One very nice piece of info--the kit includes the new SAV-331+, a > >_depletion_ pHEMT that they claim has a typical NF (unmatched!) of 0.5 > >dB in the flatband and 0.9 dB down to 40 MHz. > > > >Cheers > > > >Phil Hobbs > makes no sense. Idss is 228 uA and operating point is 60 mA at -0.69 > on the gate. The 228 uA is a funny font too. > > Of course, being an RF part, we get no DC curves. > > There should be a profession, Data Sheet Checker Consultant. The state > of data sheets is a disgrace.John Larkin's capacity to read data sheets carefully isn't great. He recently complained that the data sheet for a transmission gate gave three different values for feed-though capacitance, which it did - but the first one was a single number of the on the first page, which emphasised what you could get if you picked the operating point carefully. The next one was a worst case range for a particular operating point, and the third instance was a graph that showed how feed-through capacitance varied with operating point, for a particular part, which should have caught his attention. From my point of view there wasn't any contradiction between the three - progressively more informative - pieces of information. None of them told you as much as you would like to know, but nobody wants to spend the time it would take to put together a comprehensive data sheet, and variation from device to device would limit the usefulness of such a document. -- Bill Sloman, Sydney
Reply by ●November 11, 20212021-11-11
> Another graph opportunity! RF people can't seem to imagine their parts > being used for anything but small-signal high-freq amplifiers. > > The data sheet says the usual "adjust the gate voltage until you get > the drain xx mA that we tested it at." We have to test these parts > ourselves and trust they are repeatable. In the case of some > MiniCircuits mmics, they weren't. > > I suppose if you want to keep changing fabs, it's better to not commit > much. "min" and "max" are so confining. > >Hi John, IOW: why 'loosely documented' parts cost lower than one might otherwise expect. They pass the qualification testing onto the customer. Oh, of course, the select class of major customers, they care most about - those who buy 1M+ units. For them MC will hold it to a tight spec, do the selection, etc. regards, RS
Reply by ●November 12, 20212021-11-12
"the concepts "male" and "female" are essentially social constructions" (Bill Sloman) "the Mueller investigation was about Trump only because Trump made it so" (Bozo paraphrased) In this post, as it often does, Bozo Bill bashes an engineer who has done 1000* more in the real world than Bozo ever did... -- Anthony William Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:> X-Received: by 2002:a05:622a:194:: with SMTP id s20mr48921733qtw.66.1636251988086; Sat, 06 Nov 2021 19:26:28 -0700 (PDT) > X-Received: by 2002:a25:68b:: with SMTP id 133mr66451557ybg.468.1636251987734; Sat, 06 Nov 2021 19:26:27 -0700 (PDT) > Path: eternal-september.org!reader02.eternal-september.org!news.misty.com!border2.nntp.dca1.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!news-out.google.com!nntp.google.com!postnews.google.com!google-groups.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail > Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design > Date: Sat, 6 Nov 2021 19:26:27 -0700 (PDT) > In-Reply-To: <7s69og9h5vnt59rq9r2ku8lhrs07n3241i@4ax.com> > Injection-Info: google-groups.googlegroups.com; posting-host=203.213.69.109; posting-account=SJ46pgoAAABuUDuHc5uDiXN30ATE-zi- > NNTP-Posting-Host: 203.213.69.109 > References: <1c9714aa-9e76-a96f-36ef-808417ddbda1@electrooptical.net> <e55ab9db-852e-c997-7fad-02c8b9a87390@electrooptical.net> <7s69og9h5vnt59rq9r2ku8lhrs07n3241i@4ax.com> > User-Agent: G2/1.0 > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Message-ID: <a2876840-215f-4c8e-b08f-f5b2e06df583n@googlegroups.com> > Subject: Re: Mini-circuits pHEMT designer's kit > From: Anthony William Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> > Injection-Date: Sun, 07 Nov 2021 02:26:28 +0000 > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > Lines: 50 > Xref: reader02.eternal-september.org sci.electronics.design:651727 > > On Friday, November 5, 2021 at 1:55:58 PM UTC+11, jla...@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: >> On Thu, 4 Nov 2021 21:57:57 -0400, Phil Hobbs >> <pcdhSpamM...@electrooptical.net> wrote: >> >> >Phil Hobbs wrote: >> >> Hi, all, >> >> >> >> Just a heads-up: MCL has come out with a designer's kit with 10 each o > f >> >> 10 pHEMT (SAV and TAV series) part numbers, for 70 bucks. Not super > >> >> cheap, but well under half of the onesies price, and nicely organized. > >> >> >> >> <https://www.minicircuits.com/WebStore/dashboard.html?model=K1-SAV_T > AV%2B> >> > >> >One very nice piece of info--the kit includes the new SAV-331+, a >> >_depletion_ pHEMT that they claim has a typical NF (unmatched!) of 0.5 > >> >dB in the flatband and 0.9 dB down to 40 MHz. >> > >> >Cheers >> > >> >Phil Hobbs >> makes no sense. Idss is 228 uA and operating point is 60 mA at -0.69 >> on the gate. The 228 uA is a funny font too. >> >> Of course, being an RF part, we get no DC curves. >> >> There should be a profession, Data Sheet Checker Consultant. The state >> of data sheets is a disgrace. > > John Larkin's capacity to read data sheets carefully isn't great. He recently complained that the data sheet for a transmission gate gave three different values for feed-though capacitance, which it did - but the first one was a single number of the on the first page, which emphasised what you could get if you picked the operating point carefully. The next one was a worst case range for a particular operating point, and the third instance was a graph that showed how feed-through capacitance varied with operating point, for a particular part, which should have caught his attention. > > From my point of view there wasn't any contradiction between the three - progressively more informative - pieces of information. None of them told you as much as you would like to know, but nobody wants to spend the time it would take to put together a comprehensive data sheet, and variation from device to device would limit the usefulness of such a document. > > -- > Bill Sloman, Sydney > >
Reply by ●November 12, 20212021-11-12
The John Doe troll stated the following in message-id <sdhn7c$pkp$4@dont-email.me>:> The troll doesn't even know how to format a USENET post...And the John Doe troll stated the following in message-id <sg3kr7$qt5$1@dont-email.me>:> The reason Bozo cannot figure out how to get Google to keep from > breaking its lines in inappropriate places is because Bozo is > CLUELESS...And yet, the clueless John Doe troll has itself posted yet another incorrectly formatted USENET posting on Fri, 12 Nov 2021 14:59:10 -0000 (UTC) in message-id <smlvfu$7ls$6@dont-email.me>. KGyA/A3mpGHx
Reply by ●November 13, 20212021-11-13
On Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 1:59:16 AM UTC+11, John Doe wrote:> Anthony William Sloman <bill....@ieee.org> wrote:=20 > > On Friday, November 5, 2021 at 1:55:58 PM UTC+11, jla...@highlandsnipte=chnology.com wrote:=20> >> On Thu, 4 Nov 2021 21:57:57 -0400, Phil Hobbs=20 > >> <pcdhSpamM...@electrooptical.net> wrote:=20 > >>=20 > >> >Phil Hobbs wrote:=20 > >> >> Hi, all,=20 > >> >>=20 > >> >> Just a heads-up: MCL has come out with a designer's kit with 10 eac=h o=20> > f=20 > >> >> 10 pHEMT (SAV and TAV series) part numbers, for 70 bucks. Not super==20> >=20 > >> >> cheap, but well under half of the onesies price, and nicely organiz=ed.=20> >=20 > >> >>=20 > >> >> <https://www.minicircuits.com/WebStore/dashboard.html?model=3DK1-SA=V_T=20> > AV%2B>=20 > >> >=20 > >> >One very nice piece of info--the kit includes the new SAV-331+, a=20 > >> >_depletion_ pHEMT that they claim has a typical NF (unmatched!) of 0.=5=20> >=20 > >> >dB in the flatband and 0.9 dB down to 40 MHz.=20 > >>=20 > >> makes no sense. Idss is 228 uA and operating point is 60 mA at -0.69==20> >> on the gate. The 228 uA is a funny font too.=20 > >>=20 > >> Of course, being an RF part, we get no DC curves.=20 > >>=20 > >> There should be a profession, Data Sheet Checker Consultant. The state==20> >> of data sheets is a disgrace.=20 > >=20 > > John Larkin's capacity to read data sheets carefully isn't great. He re=cently complained that the data sheet for a transmission gate gave three di= fferent values for feed-though capacitance, which it did - but the first on= e was a single number of the on the first page, which emphasised what you c= ould get if you picked the operating point carefully. The next one was a wo= rst case range for a particular operating point, and the third instance was= a graph that showed how feed-through capacitance varied with operating poi= nt, for a particular part, which should have caught his attention.=20> >=20 > > From my point of view there wasn't any contradiction between the three =- progressively more informative - pieces of information. None of them told= you as much as you would like to know, but nobody wants to spend the time = it would take to put together a comprehensive data sheet, and variation fro= m device to device would limit the usefulness of such a document.=20 <snipped John Doe"s usual drivel> =20> In this post, as he often does, Bill bashes an engineer who has done 10=00* more in the real world than Bozo ever did...=20 In John Doe's under-informed opinion. I've got my name on three patents, an= d two of them were all my own work, which puts me a long way ahead of John = Larkin. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-0233/7/11/015/meta has been cited by 24 other peer-reviewed publication (only two of them mine= ). Again, this is something that John Larkin can't claim. I've probably got fewer example of working hardware that I designed out in = the field than John Larkin has - he has claimed that his products typically= take a fortnight to design and document. Mine were a little more timing co= nsuming - like the milli-degree thermostat described in the paper above - a= nd some of them (like the improvements to the Cambridge Instruments electro= n-beam microfabricator, or the Metals Research GaAs crystal puller) have be= en rather more consequential. All three each represented closer to a year'= s work (not that I worked full time on any of them at the time, though they= did tend to take up a lot of my time while they were being developed). -- Bill Sloman, Sydney=20
