Mixer Basics Primer: A Tutorial For RF & Microwave Mixers

By Ferenc Marki & Christopher Marki, Ph.D.

Microwave mixers translate the frequency of electromagnetic signals. This functionality is vital for an enormous number of applications ranging from military radar and surveillance to radio astronomy to biological sensing. Despite their ubiquity, however, microwave frequency mixers remain one of the most misunderstood components available in the RF/microwave engineer’s toolbox.

This Mixer Basics Primer intends to shed light on the “dark art” of microwave mixers to help our customers better understand, select, and ultimately use Marki Microwave mixers.