Aeroflex/Metelics has announced the release of a family of surface-mount GaAs and Silicon Schottky mixer/detector diodes for high volume pick and place applications. These control devices are delivered in a plastic SMT package with standard 45 mils W x 75 mils L x 31 mils H dimensions. Their performance and mechanicals allow them to be easily dropped into existing designs.

The Aeroflex/Metelics SMGS family of detectors and mixers includes GaAs model SMGS11 which is ideal for temperature compensation applications. This device operates at > 26.5 GHz and features a minimum breakdown voltage of 5 V, a typical capacitance of 0.10 pF and a maximum resistance of 7 ohms. The family also features GaAs model SMG21, which is an anti-parallel pair ideal for use in doubler and harmonic mixer designs. SMG21 also operates at > 26.5 GHz and offers a typical capacitance of 0.15 pF, a forward voltage min/max of 620/760 mV, and a max resistance of 7 ohms.

Silicon zero bias Schottky diodes SMS201 and SMS202 are designed for broadband detector applications as they require no DC bias and offer excellent sensitivity of -54 dBm typical. Model SMS201 operates at > 26.5 GHz and offers a minimum breakdown voltage of 1 V, typical capacitance of 0.08 pF, a forward voltage minimum/maximum of 60/120 mV, and a maximum resistance of 80 ohms. Model SMS202 operates at < 18 GHz and offers a minimum breakdown voltage of 1 V, typical capacitance of 0.18 pF, a forward voltage minimum/maximum of 60/120 mV, and a maximum resistance of 80 ohms.

These mixer/detector diodes are ideal when low cost plastic packaging is a key driver in applications such as test instrumentation, sensors, and wireless infrastructures such as point-to-point radio and FWA.