ADL8120

• 4-layer, Isola 370HR evaluation board
• End launch, 2.9 mm RF connectors
• Through calibration path (depopulated connectors)

The ADL8120-EVALZ and ADL8120-EVAL1Z are 4-layer printed circuit boards (PCBs) fabricated from 0.254 mm (10 mil) thick, Isola 370HR, copper clad, forming a nominal thickness of 1.58 mm (62 mils). The ADL8120-EVALZ is designed to operate from 10 MHz to 20 GHz, whereas the ADL8120-EVAL1Z extends the frequency range down to 30 kHz and still supports operation up to 20 GHz. The RFIN and RFOUT ports on the ADL8120-EVALZ and ADL8120-EVAL1Z are populated with 2.9 mm, female coaxial connectors. The ADL8120-EVALZ and ADL8120-EVAL1Z are populated with components suitable for use over the entire −55°C to +125°C operating temperature range.

To calibrate out board trace losses, a through calibration path is provided between the J1 and J2 connectors. J1 and J2 must be populated with RF connectors to use the through calibration path. Refer to Figure 11 and Table 1 for the through calibration path performance for both the ADL8120ACPZN-EVALZ and ADL8120ACPZN-EVAL1Z.

To calibrate out board trace losses, a through calibration path is provided between the J1 and J2 connectors. J1 and J2 must be populated with RF connectors to use the through calibration path. Refer to Figure 11 and Table 1 for the through calibration path performance for both the ADL8120-EVALZ and ADL8120-EVAL1Z.

Access the ADL8120-EVALZ and ADL8120-EVAL1Z ground and drain voltage through the surface-mount technology (SMT) test point connectors, GND and VDD. A supplementary test point for VRBIAS is included for simple access on the RBIAS pin (see Figure 12 and Figure 14 for the test point locations).

The RF traces on the ADL8120-EVALZ and ADL8120-EVAL1Z are 50 Ω, grounded, coplanar waveguide. The package ground leads and the exposed pad connect directly to the ground plane. Multiple vias connect the top and bottom ground planes with particular focus on the area directly beneath the ground paddle to provide adequate electrical conduction and thermal conduction.

The power supply decoupling capacitors on the ADL8120-EVALZ and ADL8120-EVAL1Z represent the configuration used to characterize and qualify the device.

For full details on the ADL8120, see the ADL8120 data sheet, which must be consulted in conjunction with this user guide when using the ADL8120-EVALZ and ADL8120-EVAL1Z.