Wideband RF PLLs boast integrated voltage-controlled oscillators

Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) today introduced the industry’s highest-performance phase-locked loops (PLLs) with integrated voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs). Delivering the lowest phase-noise performance in the industry, the LMX2582 and LMX2592’s single-chip architecture helps designers achieve a level of performance previously possible only through several discrete devices.

These new wideband devices support output frequencies of up to 9.8 GHz, allowing a single device to support various frequency bands in end applications including test and measurement, defense, microwave backhaul, satellite, and wireless communications equipment.

Key features and benefits

• Best-in-class VCO phase-noise performance: With 1.8-GHz carrier open-loop VCO phase noise of -144.5 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset, these devices are the industry’s first PLLs with integrated VCO to meet the multicarrier wireless Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communication standard.
• Superior PLL phase-noise performance: Featuring the industry’s lowest normalized PLL noise floor at -231 dBc/Hz and the highest phase-detector frequency of 400 MHz, the devices enable a very low integrated noise of 47 fs RMS jitter. The devices meet the low noise floor requirements for clocking high speed data converters like TI’s industry-leading RF sampling ADC12J4000.
• Expanded frequency range: Eliminating the need for multiple narrowband devices, the LMX2592 supports 20 MHz to 9.8 GHz, and the LMX2582 supports up to 5.5 GHz, allowing designers to use one PLL for a range of wideband system designs.
• Improved spur performance: The devices’ spur-removal technique can eliminate integer boundary spurs (IBS), enabling designers to improve channel density of their designs.
• Integrated architecture: Low-dropout regulators (LDOs) manage power-supply variations and improve noise immunity. A channel divider lets designers configure up to two differential outputs.