June 10, 2014 – Analog Devices ( www.analog.com , NASDAQ: ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, announced the AD-FMCADC2-EBZ FMC module, featuring HDL code and software drivers for rapid design prototyping and interoperability with Xilinx FPGAs. The AD-FMCADC2-EBZ board includes the accompanying 12-bit, 2.5GSPS AD9625-2.5 A/D converter, input balun, power supply, and software stack. This module provides outstanding broadband dynamic performance and integrated functionality, enabling the development and prototyping of modern RF sampling architectures. With a spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) of 76 dBc in a 1.8 GHz Ain thin film, the AD9625-2.5 delivers the highest level of broadband dynamic performance, enabling designers to capture and process a spectrum that is four times cleaner than what existing competitors offer.

Olivier Fouquet, CEO of Ingespace SARL, stated, “At Ingespace, we have developed broadband data acquisition systems based on multiple AD9625-2.5s,” and evaluated, “It is clear that the AD9625-2.5 GSPS is the highest-performing component on the market to date, as it provides excellent DC linearity per 1 GHz band and an SFDR of approximately 80 dB.” He also stated, “Selecting the JESD204B interface allows several AD9625-2.5s to be combined with the same Virtex7 FPGA, which lowers complexity and total system cost, ultimately leading to improved performance,” adding, “Consequently, thanks to its small size and low power consumption, it is ideal for creating compact solutions that require very low power consumption.” Furthermore, CEO Puke said, “By developing a DC coupling solution on analog inputs, it has become possible to achieve instantaneous bandwidth of over 2 GHz using complex sampling, and this type of solution holds great potential in the communications, space, and defense sectors.”

The AD9625-2.5 A/D converter is the third GSPS data converter product released by ADI last month and the latest addition to ADI's broadband RF signal processing solution family. Unlike previous products, this solution family provides enhanced dynamic performance over wider bandwidths when extracting signals, even in noisy RF environments.

The AD-FMCADC2-EBZ FMC module incorporates the AD9625-2.5 GSPS data converter, input balun, clock oscillator, and power management supply into a verified signal chain design, enabling the reduction of prototyping time from months to just a few hours while decreasing project risk. This module provides comprehensive reference designs, software, HDL code, and more to save time regardless of the application being programmed or designed.

The AD9625 provides enhanced noise performance with a noise floor of 150.0 dBFS/Hz and a dynamic range raised to the Nyquist range at 80 dBc SFDR. Thanks to these improved performance levels, designers can capture signals at only one-quarter of the level of conventional signals, even in the presence of noise, clutter, blockers, and interferers. In addition, the AD9625 can be used in the latest designs for communications, instrumentation, and defense/space applications. Performance evaluation boards and FMC modules are also available for sale, which can simplify system prototyping and platform-level design and layout processes.

The AD9625-2.5 is designed for sampling broadband analog signals and is compatible with up to the third Nyquist region. Thanks to the AD9625-2.5's extended input bandwidth, analog frequency down-conversion steps and the associated noise and cost factors can be reduced in high-specification RF sampling architectures. As the system architecture is simplified, the need for multiple A/D converters to achieve required performance is eliminated, enabling the development of a reconfigurable platform. The AD9625-2.5 simplifies digital connectivity by integrating two digital-down converters (DDCs), two numerically controlled oscillators (NCOs), and a JESD204B serial link for configurable output data. These industry-leading products lower output data rate requirements and streamline board-level design and layout processes, thereby enhancing usability and functionality.

Analog Devices also announced the ADA4961 RF differential A/D converter driver amplifier along with the AD9625-2.5. This product delivers heavy loads above 1.5 GHz and achieves IMD3 performance of -90 dBc at 500 MHz and -87 dBc at 1.5 GHz. The newly released amplifier, featuring very low output noise (6.8 nV/rt Hz), provides SFDR performance of 133 dB/Hz at 1.5 GHz and establishes a new standard between dynamic range and power consumption.

Thanks to the outstanding RF performance of the ADA4961, optimal performance can be achieved in broadband RF GSPS converters while minimizing driver amplifier constraints or the overall power limitations typically associated with GaAs amplifiers. Using the ADA4961, high-speed converters ranging from 10 to 16 bits can be easily driven, and there is no need to use anti-aliasing filters in various receiver applications.