Spectrum Control Announces 18 GHz - 40 GHz mmWave Block Converter With Integrated Digital Control In Surface Mount BGA Package

New RF+ SiP Delivers Wideband mmWave Down Conversion in a High-Volume Design

Spectrum Control introduces a new standard product to its RF+ System in Package (SiP) platform. The SCRS-00-1001 RF+ SiP down converts wideband millimeter wave (mmWave) signals between 18 GHz - 40 GHz into standard 2 GHz - 18 GHz bands for direct sampling and processing. This first standard SiP expands Spectrum Control’s RF+ SiP platform that delivers unrivaled miniaturization of integrated microwave assemblies (IMAs), and was designed, tuned, and tested inside the company's new RF+Digital development pipeline, which reduces the typical IMA productization timeline by 75%.

The mmWave block converter SiP includes 10 RF amplifiers, two digital attenuators, an RF detector, and 11 RF filters. It is tuned, monitored and managed using an Altera FPGA through an open standard software interface for easy integration into a system and for in-mission adaptation. It also includes integrated power management using a single 9 VDC input.

It is ideally utilized as a co-processor to direct sampling devices and FPGAs or as frontend to Spectrum Control’s 3U VPX microwave wideband tuner/transceiver. It can be used in any mmWave application where size, weight, power consumption, and cost (SWaP-C) are of paramount importance, such as smart antennas. Because it is a surface-mount device, engineers can model and integrate the device into a much more efficient design and manufacturing process for overall time-to-market benefits.

“Spectrum Control's family of RF+ SiPs is the culmination of our interdisciplinary team of RF and digital technologists, material scientists, and process engineers working together to create mass-producible, surface-mount solutions that can be easily integrated into guidance, jamming, and other high-volume electronic warfare systems,” said Ian Dunn, Spectrum Control chief technology officer. “These innovative, miniaturized solutions can also play a key role in providing unified signal conditioning and conversion at the edge to enable rapid data-to-effect along with ML and AI.”

Availability
The SCRS-00-1001 block converter is sampling now. Customization options are available. For more information, visit spectrumcontrol.com/sci-blocks.

About the SCi Blocks Family
Spectrum Control’s SCi Blocks (pronounced “sky blocks”) RF+Digital architecture revolutionizes how RF is integrated into digital defense systems. Platform elements include SiPs, RF-on-mezzanine and SOSA-aligned 3U OpenVPX modules. Each offers a dramatic reduction in size, weight, and power (SWaP) and an open-standard digital interface for tuning, monitoring, and control, as well as vastly simplified system integration. For more information, visit spectrumcontrol.com/sci-blocks.

About Spectrum Control
Ensuring highly reliable and high-fidelity radio signal transmission can be the difference between life and death in mission-critical applications. Spectrum Control offers the world’s most comprehensive portfolio of high reliability products for controlling that electromagnetic spectrum – components, IMAs, subsystems, RF+Digital blocks, and custom solutions. The company is leveraging its design and manufacturing prowess to create disruptive new products that deliver revolutionary size and performance advantages. Leading companies and governments trust Spectrum Control to help them design, engineer, and build the devices and solutions that connect and protect our world.