MODULATORS - BI-PHASE - CHIP
5
5 - 14
For price, delivery, and to place orders, please contact Hittite Microwave Corporation:
20 Alpha Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824 Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373
Order On-line at www.hittite.com
HMC137
GaAs MMIC BI-PHASE
MODULATOR, 6 - 11 GHz
v03.0304
General Description
Features
Functional Diagram
Chip Integrates Directly into MIC Designs
Carrier Suppression: 20 dB
Direct Modulation in the 6 - 11 GHz Band
Functions also as a Phase Detector
Die Size: 1.45 x 1.30 x 0.1 mm
Electrical Speci cations, TA = +25° C, 5 mA Bias Current
Typical Applications
The HMC137 is suitable for:
• Wireless Local Loop
• LMDS & VSAT
• Point-to-Point Radios
• Test Equipment
The HMC137 Bi-Phase Modulator is designed to
phase-modulate an RF signal into reference and 180
degree states. Device input is at the RF port and out-
put is at the LO port. The polarity of the bias current
at the control port (IF port) de nes the phase states.
Excellent amplitude and phase balance provided by
closely matched monolithic balun and diode circuits
delivers 20 dB of carrier suppression in a tiny mono-
lithic chip.
The device also functions as a demodulator or phase
comparator. As a demodulator, data emerges at the
control port when a modulated signal at the RF port
is compared to a reference signal at the LO port. As a
phase comparator, the phase angle between two sig-
nals applied to the RF and LO ports is represented
by an analog voltage at the control port. Except for
carrier suppression, the data presented here was
measured under static conditions in which a DC bias
current (nominally 5 mA) is applied to the control port.
Parameter Min. Typ. Max. Units
Frequency Band 6 - 11 GHz
Insertion Loss 911dB
Return Loss, RF and LO Ports 2.5 3.0 dB
Amplitude Balance 0.25 0.50 dB
Phase Balance 10 15 deg
Carrier Suppression (When driven with a 1 MHz square wave, 1.4 Vp-p) 15 20 dBc
Input Power for 1 dB Compression 4 8 dBm
Third Order Intercept, Input 10 15 dBm
Second Order Intercept, Input 25 40 dBm
Bias Current (Bias current forward biases internal Schottky diodes providing approximately 0.6 V at
the control port). 2510mA
MODULATORS - BI-PHASE - CHIP
5
5 - 15
For price, delivery, and to place orders, please contact Hittite Microwave Corporation:
20 Alpha Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824 Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373
Order On-line at www.hittite.com
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
INSERTION LOSS (dB)
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
FREQUENCY (GHz)
-2
-1
0
1
2
AMPLITUDE BALANCE (dB)
456789101112
FREQUENCY (GHz
)
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
PHASE BALANCE (Deg)
456789101112
FREQUENCY
(
GHz
)
0
10
20
30
40
50
CARRIER SUPPRESSION (dBc)
6789101112
CARRIER FREQUENCY (GHz)
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
RETURN LOSS (dB)
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
FREQUENCY (GHz)
Return Loss
Insertion Loss Amplitude Balance
Phase Balance Carrier Suppression *
* (For 1.4 Vp-p Square Wave Modulation at 1 MHz)
HMC137
v03.1007 GaAs MMIC BI-PHASE
MODULATOR, 6 - 11 GHz
MODULATORS - BI-PHASE - CHIP
5
5 - 16
For price, delivery, and to place orders, please contact Hittite Microwave Corporation:
20 Alpha Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824 Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373
Order On-line at www.hittite.com
Compression vs Frequency * Compression vs Bias at 9 GHz
Third Order Intercept vs Frequency * Third Order Intercept vs Bias at 9 GHz
Suggested TTL Driver for a Bi-Phase Modulator
Notes
1. VAAlternates Between
+ 2.4 Vdc
± IA = 2.4 - 0.6 = ± 5 mA
360 Ohm
2. HCT04 and HC04 are QMOS HEX
Inverters.
*R1 =300 to 620 ± 2% Select R1 To
Supply ±3 to ±6 mA to the IF Port.
* (For 5 mA Bias Current)
2.2K
TTL
VCC
GND
GND
VCC
HCT04 HC04
.01 uF
.01 uF
-2.5 Vdc
+2.5 Vdc
+5 Vdc
*R1
MODULATOR
I, Q PORTS
HITTITE
MODULATOR
VA
IA
VZ= 2V
0.6V
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
P1dB (dBm)
FREQUENCY (GHz)
67 89101112
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
P1dB (dBm)
012345678910
BIAS CURRENT (mA)
0
5
10
15
20
25
IP3 (dBm)
6 7 89101112
CARRIER FREQUENCY (GHz)
0
5
10
15
20
25
IP3 (dBm)
01234567 8910
BIAS CURRENT (mA)
HMC137
v03.1007 GaAs MMIC BI-PHASE
MODULATOR, 6 - 11 GHz
MODULATORS - BI-PHASE - CHIP
5
5 - 17
For price, delivery, and to place orders, please contact Hittite Microwave Corporation:
20 Alpha Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824 Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373
Order On-line at www.hittite.com
Outline Drawing
NOTES:
1. ALL DIMENSIONS ARE IN INCHES [MM].
2. TYPICAL BOND PAD IS .004” SQUARE.
3. BOND PAD SPACING IS .006” CENTER TO CENTER.
4. BACKSIDE METALIZATION: GOLD.
5. BACKSIDE METAL IS GROUND.
6. BOND PAD METALIZATION: GOLD.
7. CONNECTION NOT REQUIRED FOR UNLABELED BOND PADS.
Die Packaging Information [1]
Standard Alternate
WP-3 (Waffle Pack) [2]
[1] Refer to the “Packaging Information” section for die
packaging dimensions.
[2] For alternate packaging information contact Hittite
Microwave Corporation.
ELECTROSTATIC SENSITIVE DEVICE
OBSERVE HANDLING PRECAUTIONS
HMC137
v03.1007 GaAs MMIC BI-PHASE
MODULATOR, 6 - 11 GHz
MODULATORS - BI-PHASE - CHIP
5
5 - 18
For price, delivery, and to place orders, please contact Hittite Microwave Corporation:
20 Alpha Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824 Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373
Order On-line at www.hittite.com
HMC137
v03.1007 GaAs MMIC BI-PHASE
MODULATOR, 6 - 11 GHz
Pad Number Function Description Interface Schematic
1IF
This pin is DC coupled. For applications not requiring oper-
ation to DC, this port should be DC blocked externally using
a series capacitor whose value has been chosen to pass
the necessary IF frequency range. For operation to DC this
pin must not source or sink more than 2mA of current or die
non-function and possible die failure will result.
2 RF DC coupled and matched to 50 Ohms.
3 LO DC coupled and matched to 50 Ohms.
Pad Descriptions
MODULATORS - BI-PHASE - CHIP
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For price, delivery, and to place orders, please contact Hittite Microwave Corporation:
20 Alpha Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824 Phone: 978-250-3343 Fax: 978-250-3373
Order On-line at www.hittite.com
HMC137
v03.1007 GaAs MMIC BI-PHASE
MODULATOR, 6 - 11 GHz
Mounting & Bonding Techniques for Millimeterwave GaAs MMICs
The die should be attached directly to the ground plane eutectically or with
conductive epoxy (see HMC general Handling, Mounting, Bonding Note).
50 Ohm Microstrip transmission lines on 0.127mm (5 mil) thick alumina
thin  lm substrates are recommended for bringing RF to and from the chip
(Figure 1). If 0.254mm (10 mil) thick alumina thin  lm substrates must be
used, the die should be raised 0.150mm (6 mils) so that the surface of
the die is coplanar with the surface of the substrate. One way to accom-
plish this is to attach the 0.102mm (4 mil) thick die to a 0.150mm (6 mil)
thick molybdenum heat spreader (moly-tab) which is then attached to the
ground plane (Figure 2).
Microstrip substrates should be placed as close to the die as possible in
order to minimize bond wire length. Typical die-to-substrate spacing is
0.076mm to 0.152 mm (3 to 6 mils).
Handling Precautions
Follow these precautions to avoid permanent damage.
Storage: All bare die are placed in either Waffle or Gel based ESD protec-
tive containers, and then sealed in an ESD protective bag for shipment.
Once the sealed ESD protective bag has been opened, all die should be
stored in a dry nitrogen environment.
Cleanliness: Handle the chips in a clean environment. DO NOT attempt
to clean the chip using liquid cleaning systems.
Static Sensitivity: Follow ESD precautions to protect against ESD
strikes.
Transients: Suppress instrument and bias supply transients while bias is
applied. Use shielded signal and bias cables to minimize inductive pick-
up.
General Handling: Handle the chip along the edges with a vacuum collet or with a sharp pair of bent tweezers. The
surface of the chip has fragile air bridges and should not be touched with vacuum collet, tweezers, or  ngers.
Mounting
The chip is back-metallized and can be die mounted with AuSn eutectic preforms or with electrically conductive epoxy.
The mounting surface should be clean and  at.
Eutectic Die Attach: A 80/20 gold tin preform is recommended with a work surface temperature of 255 deg. C and a
tool temperature of 265 deg. C. When hot 90/10 nitrogen/hydrogen gas is applied, tool tip temperature should be 290
deg. C. DO NOT expose the chip to a temperature greater than 320 deg. C for more than 20 seconds. No more than
3 seconds of scrubbing should be required for attachment.
Epoxy Die Attach: Apply a minimum amount of epoxy to the mounting surface so that a thin epoxy  llet is observed
around the perimeter of the chip once it is placed into position. Cure epoxy per the manufacturer’s schedule.
Wire Bonding
RF bonds made with 0.003” x 0.0005” ribbon are recommended. These bonds should be thermosonically bonded
with a force of 40-60 grams. DC bonds of 0.001” (0.025 mm) diameter, thermosonically bonded, are recommended.
Ball bonds should be made with a force of 40-50 grams and wedge bonds at 18-22 grams. All bonds should be made
with a nominal stage temperature of 150 °C. A minimum amount of ultrasonic energy should be applied to achieve
reliable bonds. All bonds should be as short as possible, less than 12 mils (0.31 mm).
0.102mm (0.004”) Thick GaAs MMIC
Ribbon Bond
0.076mm
(0.003”)
RF Ground Plane
0.127mm (0.005”) Thick Alumina
Thin Film Substrate
Figure 1.
0.102mm (0.004”) Thick GaAs MMIC
Ribbon Bond
0.076mm
(0.003”)
RF Ground Plane
0.150mm (0.005”) Thick
Moly Tab
0.254mm (0.010” Thick Alumina
Thin Film Substrate
Figure 2.