Fabless semiconductor startup mmTron, Inc. announced the release of the TMC160 digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface IC. The IC amplifies and converts the differential output of a high-speed DAC to a clean, low noise, single-ended signal to drive the RF chain of a transmitter.

“High speed DACs now have sample rates above 10 GSPS and require low noise, highly linear microwave interfaces to filter and convert their differential outputs to feed the single-ended RF transmit chain,” said Seyed Tabatabaei, mmTron’s CEO and founder. "mmTron’s TMC160 DAC interface IC was designed for this purpose." With 16 GHz bandwidth, the TMC160 integrates anti-alias lowpass filtering, low noise amplification, and a balun that converts the differential DAC output to a single-ended 50 Ω output compatible with traditional RF signal chains. The differential architecture provides high common-mode rejection.

The TMC160 has 10 to 16 dB nominal gain to 16 GHz, a noise figure under 5 dB, and 30 dBm output third-order intercept (IP3). The built-in anti-alias filter rejects the clock and intermodulation signals from the DAC. The TMC160 quasi-differential LNA is biased with 5 V and nominally draws 250 mA. To bias the gates of the LNA, a low current negative supply is also required. As the input and output are DC coupled, the design includes an internal bias T to eliminate the need for an external inductor, simplifying the bias interface at the balun. The multichip module is packaged in a 7 x 7 mm air-cavity QFN.