Highest-performance phase locked loop offers lowest phase noise

Mouser is now stocking the Texas Instruments (TI) LMX2592 wideband frequency synthesizer - the industry's highest-performance phase-locked loop (PLL) with integrated voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs). Delivering the lowest phase-noise performance in the industry, the LMX2592's single-chip architecture removes the need for multiple discrete devices in high-performance systems, including test and measurement, defence, microwave backhaul, satellite, and wireless communications equipment, says the company. The TI LMX2592 synthesizer supports a frequency range from 20MHz up to 9.8GHz, both fractional-N and integer-N modes, and includes a 32-bit fractional divider to allow fine frequency selection. In Fractional-N mode, the device can adjust the output phase by a 32-bit resolution. For applications that need fast frequency changes, the device supports a fast calibration option, which takes less than 25 µs. The device includes low-dropout regulators (LDOs) that manage power-supply variations and improve noise immunity as well as a channel divider that lets designers configure up to two differential outputs. The device features a best-in-class 1.8GHz carrier open-loop VCO phase noise of -144.5dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset, meeting the multicarrier wireless Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communication standard. With the industry's lowest normalized PLL noise floor (-231dBc/Hz) and the highest phase-detector frequency (400MHz), the device enables a very low integrated noise of 47fs RMS jitter and meets the low noise floor requirements for clocking high-speed data converters TI’s LMX2592EVM Evaluation Module, also available from Mouser, allows designers to test the onboard LMX2592 PLL. The LMX2592EVM is designed so engineers can easily customize the loop filter, and an LED indicates the PLL lock status. With an on-board oscillator, the setup process only requires a 3.3V power supply and an included USB2ANY module. The software is simple, with an intuitive and user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI), says the company.