White Paper: An Innovative Approach In The Design Of Fast-Switching Microwave Synthesizers

By Alexander Chenakin, Suresh Ojha, and Iqbal Sihra, Phase Matrix, Inc.

The frequency synthesizer is a key element of virtually any microwave measurement setup. It generates a stimulus signal or is used as a local oscillator on the receiver side. Phase noise and spurious generated by the frequency synthesizer are critical parameters that impose the ultimate limit in the system's ability to resolve signals of small amplitude. Another key parameter of the synthesizer that impacts overall system performance is the frequency switching speed. The time spent by the synthesizer transitioning between frequencies becomes increasingly valuable since it cannot be used for data processing. This article presents a compact, broadband frequency synthesizer module, which covers 0.1 to 10 GHz frequency range with a 0.001 Hz step size.