Maxim's New 16-Bit, 80Msps ADC Has the Best Noise Floor (-82dBFS) at Half the Power and One Quarter the Size.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ:MXIM) announces the MAX19586, a 16-bit 80Msps analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that sets new industry standards in the elite class of ADCs that achieve 80dB or greater signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The MAX19586 offers superior dynamic performance including a noise floor of -82dBFS, 80dB SNR, and 96dBc spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) at an input frequency of 10MHz (-2dB input amplitude). This performance is several dBs better than the competition in noise floor, SNR, and SFDR. This ADC can also sample input frequencies beyond 170MHz. "Maxim leveraged its leadership data-converter technology to produce a high-speed ADC that advances the state of the art along both the dynamic performance and power axes," explains Ted Tewksbury, Managing Director, High-Speed Signal Processing Business Unit. This remarkable performance is achieved at half the power required by the nearest competitor in a package that is one quarter the size.

The MAX19586 is a 3.3V ADC with a fully differential wideband track-and-hold (T/H) and a 16-bit converter core. Not only designed for excellent operation in the 2nd Nyquist region, the MAX19586 is also optimized for use with high-IF input frequencies. This makes the part ideal for high-performance digital receivers. The part has as 1.8V digital supply voltage and a 2.56VP-P full-scale input range.

Maher Matta, Business Manager for the Company's high-speed converter products, explains that: "It is one thing to advance dynamic performance, but it is another thing to do that at almost half the power." At 1.1W power dissipation, the MAX19586 uses 48% less power than the nearest competitor. This part is also packaged in a space-saving 56-pin QFN-EP, one fourth the size of that same competitor. This device is specified for the -40 degrees Celsius to +85 degrees Celsius industrial temperature range. "No other vendor has been able to provide this level of performance at such low power and in such a small footprint," Tewksbury added.

The superior performance of the MAX19586 makes it ideal for high-performance broadband applications. Examples include cellular base-station transceiver systems (BTS), multicarrier and multistandard communication receivers, E911 location receivers, antenna array processing, and high-end test and measurement instrumentation. (See Figure 1.)

Today's Performance Challenge for High-End Data Converters

Designers and manufacturers of today's best performing equipment are faced with the evermore challenging problem of performing accurate dynamic testing on their products. One cannot measure the performance of tomorrow's high-end medical instrument or communications device with yesterday's data converter. Therefore, customers are demanding faster sampling rates and higher dynamic performance. Designers need all this improved performance in ICs that consume less power and require only a small footprint.

The Design Benefits of the MAX19586

The MAX19586 provides the best combination of SNR and SFDR in the industry. This allows system engineers to design communication receivers with extra sensitivity and aids the design of multicarrier receivers. The excellent 96dBc SFDR performance eases filtering requirements, and less expensive filters reduce system costs. The large dynamic range can also be utilized to simplify system design by eliminating the need for variable gain attenuators (VGA) or automatic gain control (AGC) blocks in the receiver. This is especially important in systems where the receiver is expected to digitize both weak (far) and strong (near) signals. With over 80dB of dynamic range, the system can capture both signals without having to change gain ranges.

In subsampling applications, the MAX19586 offers superior performance at high IF (77.2dB SNR at an input frequency of 168MHz), which allows system designers to eliminate RF down-conversion stages without sacrificing overall system performance. In instrumentation applications, the superb noise floor will quickly yield instruments with more measurement sensitivity than before. (See Figure 2.)

Broad, Immediate Application Potential

The MAX19586 16-bit 80Msps ADC joins the Company's recently announced MAX1215, the world's fastest 12-bit ADC that samples up to 250Msps. Maxim now offers over 100 high-speed ADCs and DACs optimized for most equipment segments and applications.

It is important to note that the MAX19586 is in production and samples are available, so the Company's claims about exceptional performance can be applied by customers immediately. Pricing is $59.25 (1000-up, FOB USA). Evaluation kits are available to shorten design time; contact the factory to request an EV kit.

Maxim Integrated Products is a leading international supplier of quality analog and mixed-signal products for applications that require real world signal processing. For more information, contact Maxim at 120 San Gabriel Dr., Sunnyvale, CA 94086. Telephone: [phone] or our URL: www.maxim-ic.com.

DATA SHEET: A preliminary Data Sheet for this product is available on the web.

http://www.maxim-ic.com/MAX19586

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http://www.maxim-ic.com/PRGraphics/images/PR19586.jpg

JPEG (300 dpi, high quality, RGB color)

http://www.maxim-ic.com/PRGraphics/images/19586.jpg

TIFF (300 dpi uncompressed CMYK TIF, in a .ZIP archive(a))

http://www.maxim-ic.com/PRGraphics/images/19586-cmyk-tif.zip

FIGURE 1

http://www.maxim-ic.com/MAX19586Fig1

FIGURE 2

http://www.maxim-ic.com/MAX19586Fig2

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