DAC provides high resolution radar images

Thanks to its audio to 6GHz frequency coverage, the AD9164 DAC moves the tester market one step closer to a universal wireless test platform.

The AD9164 DAC delivers 100 to 1,000 times improved spectral purity versus previous-gen ADI solutions (20 to 30dB better). The device also offers higher agility with frequency change time now a 100 times shorter than traditional ADI PLL systems.

The reduction in solution component count and thus size enables element level digital beamforming advanced radar solutions. With the same performance specifications as the already released AD9162, the AD9164 also includes an on-chip Direct Digital Synthesiser (DDS) that ensures phase-coherent fast frequency hopping of less than 300ns for up to 32 different frequencies. This makes the DAC well-suited for testing anything from AM broadcast band or Japanese FM band, to 5.8GHz UNII band.

The AD9164 features a 2x interpolator (FIR85), which enables configurability for lower data rates and converter clocking to reduce overall system power and ease filtering requirements. In mix-mode operation, this DAC can be configured to reconstruct RF carriers in the 2nd and 3rd Nyquist zones up to 7.5GHz while maintaining exceptional dynamic range.

The AD9164 also comes with a unique remote evaluation tool, allowing designers to “test-drive” the DAC’s performance. The remote tool is available here.

The AD9164 is supplied in 8x8mm CSP-BGA, 11x11mm CSP-BGA or 11x11mm CSP-BGA SnPb packages. Available now for sampling and in production quantities, the DAC are priced at $295 each in 1,000 unit quantities ($334 for the 11x11mm CSP-BGA SnPb package option).