High-Current, Active Bias Controller

The HMC980LP4E is an active bias controller that can automatically adjust the gate voltage of an external amplifier to achieve constant drain current. Using an integrated controller, the HMC980LP4E allows safe power-up/power-down, and disable/enable of an external amplifier, ensuring the safe powering of the amplifier. The HMC980LP4E can be used to bias any enhancement or depletion type Class A amplifier operating with drain voltages from 5 V to 16.5 V and drain currents up to 1.6 A, thus offering a complete biasing solution.

The HMC980LP4E allows stable RF amplifier biasing over supply, temperature, and process variations, and eliminates the required calibration procedures usually employed to prevent RF performance degradation due to variations in amplifier drain current.

The HMC980LP4E is housed in an RoHS compliant 4 mm × 4 mm LFCSP leadless package with an exposed backside pad to improve thermal characteristics.

APPLICATIONS

* Microwave radio and very small aperture terminals (VSATs)

* Military and space

* Test instrumentation

* Fiber optic modulator driver biasing

* CATV laser driver biasing

* Cellular base station

* Wireless infrastructure equipment

* Automatic gate voltage adjustment (no calibration)* Supply voltage (5 V to 16.5 V)* Bias enhancement or depletion mode devices* Adjustable drain current up to 1.6 A* Sink or source gate current* Optional internal negative voltage generation