MICA Microwave — Mixer Products
General Information

MICA Microwave features a complete product line of Mixers and Frequency Doublers ranging in frequency from 1.0 GHz to 26.5 GHz. Our mixer products are used in telecommunication, multi-channel receiver and biphase/pulse modulation systems. MICA is one of the leading designers and manufacturers of microwave receiving and signal processing components for military and commercial applications. Our dedicated technical staff has many years of experience in developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art microwave mixers and doublers. MICA mixer products are designed and built with quality and reliability as key ingredients. The company’s experienced technical staff, unique manufacturing technology, and large investment in microwave test equipment, provide MICA with the unique capability to meet custom mixer design requirements at a low cost. MICA has a series of mixer designs to cover all microwave frequency bands from communication to ultra broad bands for military applications with a wide selection of IF bands and input power levels. Monolithic Schottky barrier quads integrated into unique matching structures provide low conversion loss and high isolation. Many standard items are available from stock for quick delivery. Included in this catalog are descriptions of our standard products. Contact our technical staff with your special requirements, and we will design a mixer to meet your specifications quickly and affordably. All mixers are individually tested and are guaranteed to comply with specifications.

Custom Products

MICA Microwave has a full line of custom products available, including:

• Iso Mixers (Isolator Mixer Assemblies)
• IQ Mixers
• Image Reject Mixers
• Up and Down Converters
• Custom Surface Mount Packaging

Connectors

All standard products listed in this catalog utilize removable SMA connectors. The microstrip mixers can be soldered directly into the systems and can be provided with test fixtures at nominal cost, so that they can be tested by the customer before integration. Other connectors and configurations are available on special request.

Quality Assurance

All MICA Microwave products are tested to meet stated electrical/mechanical specifications and are manufactured in accordance with MIL-I-45208 standards. Mixers can be fully screened in accordance with MIL-STD-883 and MIL-28837 if required. A certificate of conformance is supplied with delivered parts. Complete test data is available on request.

Warranty

MICA Microwave warrants to the original purchaser all components manufactured and sold to be free from defects in material and workmanship. This warranty does not apply to any product which has been subject to abuse, accident, or alteration. Our obligation under this warranty is limited to the repair or exchange of the component for a period of one year beginning on the date of shipment.

MIXER Terminology

• Conversion Loss (Gain): The ratio in decibels (dB) of the output power to the input power. It essentially is a measure of the efficiency with which the mixer converts the signal from RF to IF, for down conversion, or from IF to RF, for up conversion.
• VSWR and Return Loss: The VSWR is a measure of the reflected power at a specified port relative to the input power at that port. The return loss (dB) is another means of classifying this power relation and can be calculated directly from the measured VSWR. Typical VSWR values for MICA mixers are less than 2.0:1.
• 1dB Compression Point: The RF input power at which the conversion loss is 1dB higher than the small signal (-10dBm) input conversion loss.
• Noise Figure: The ratio in (dB) of the signal to noise ratio at the mixer input, whether IF or RF, divided by the signal to noise ratio at the output. The noise figure is normally about 0.5dB higher than the conversion loss.
• Third-Order Input Intercept Point: An imaginary point where the desired output signal and the third order intermodulation products are equal.