AN-10-005
Application Note on
Surface Mount LTCC Quadrature Splitters
Lu. Chen
Daxiong J.
Mini-Circuits
Engineering Department,
P.O. Box 350166,
Brooklyn, NY 11235
AN-10-005 Rev.: OR M79726 (05/22/02) File: AN10005.doc Sht. 1 of 4
This document and its contents are the property of Mini-Circuits.
Introduction
Transmission line 900 splitters (also called quadrature splitters) are quarter-wave in length.
Thus, the overall length is dictated by the frequency of operation. Folding the line like a
meander or like a spiral can reduce the mechanical length. Interaction of transmission
lines in various layers and between the folded lines can cause problems unless design is
done well, and it is not simple. Full electromagnetic analysis has to be performed to
optimize the performance to account for the interaction effects. Such splitters can now be
realized using LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic) technology. LTCC technology
uses thin layers of ceramic on which conductors are printed using noble metals. Various
layers are bonded to each other by firing around 8500 C. This technique provides two
important properties. First, insertion loss is lower than that can be realized in a
conventional high temperature ceramic technology, as the noble metals provide lower loss.
Second, it provides a hermetic seal. Hence, these splitters are ideal for demanding
environments and applications such as military. But, they are equally usable in
commercial environments due to their low cost. Use of ceramic as material helps heat
dissipation and performance variation over temperature. For the QBA-07, the package
consists of ten leads attached to the substrate, forming a robust and reliable assembly.
These leads are solder plated for excellent solderability. Figure 1 is a photograph of the
splitter and fig 2 shows an X-ray view.
Performance
Requiring 0.25 by 0.3 inch of PC board mounting area, the low profile (0.050 in)
QBA-07 splitter operates from 340 to 680 MHz. The average insertion loss is typically
0.8 dB across the full band, amplitude balance is 0.7dB, with phase unbalance of 3
degrees. Isolation is 22 dB across the band. As mentioned before, one of the major
advantages of LTCC is the stability of performance over temperature range. Variation is
typically of the order of 0.1dB for insertion loss, 1 dB for isolation, and 0.5 0 for phase
unbalance over –400 C to 850 C. Recommended footprint is provided in the data sheet of
the splitter and can be down loaded from the Mini-Circuits website,
http://www.minicircuits.com in “What is new”. Table I shows the specifications of the
other splitters available in this family.
These splitters can operate up to 25 watts of input power, enabling their use in moderate to
high power circuits. The solder melting temperature determines power handling of these
splitters. The unit itself can withstand much higher power. Power capability tests were
conducted on a similar splitter in the series, QBA-12N, and indicate that the unit is
capable of handling greater power than rated (50W) at room temperature. With 120W of
RF input power, the leads became detached from the motherboard due to the melting of
the solder connection. The unit was reattached, and it performed as before with no
noticeable change in performance. Continuous operation of this splitter at 50W for a week
indicated no performance degradation.
AN-10-005 Rev.: OR M79726 (05/22/02) File: AN10005.doc Sht. 2 of 4
This document and its contents are the property of Mini-Circuits.
Conclusion
LTCC quadrature splitters present a major technological advance by offering
improvements in performance, size, power handling capability, and temperature stability.
In addition, availability is off the shelf and they are price competitive for both military and
commercial environments.
Fig 1: LTCC Power Splitter
AN-10-005 Rev.: OR M79726 (05/22/02) File: AN10005.doc Sht. 3 of 4
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Fig2: X-Ray view of the Splitter
Table I ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS
ISOLATION INSERTION LOSS † PHASE AMPLITUDE POWER PRICE
(dB) (dB) UNBALANCE UNBALANCE (W) $
MODEL FREQ. (Deg.) (dB) below Qty.
NO. RANGE 25°C (10-49)
(MHz) fL fU
Typ. Min. AVG. AVG. SIGMA Max Max
340-680 22 16 0.8 -- 0.1 7.0 2.0 21**
QBA-07 6.95
340-530 23 18 0.5 -- 0.1 4.0 2.0 27*
QBA-12N 800-900 28 20 0.25 0.30 .02 3.0 1.0 50 6.95
QBA-12 800-1200 23 14 0.25 0.44 .02 6.0 1.2 50 6.95
QBA-20 1800-2000 23 18 0.47 0.54 .02 4.0 0.7 25 6.95
QBA-20W 1500-2200 23 16 0.41 0.58 .02 5.0 1.2 25 6.95
QBA-24 1900-2400 21 17 0.54 0.71 .02 6.0 0.8 20 6.95
QBA-24W 1700-2400 21 15 0.49 0.71 .02 6.0 1.2 20 6.95
† Includes test fixture losses.
* Derate linearly to 12W at 100°C
** Derate linearly to 9W at 100°C
AN-10-005 Rev.: OR M79726 (05/22/02) File: AN10005.doc Sht. 4 of 4
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