Analog Devices' new RF design tools simplify RF system development

BANGALORE, INDIA: Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) announced new releases of two popular RF design tools. The ADIsimRF design tool is the software accompaniment to ADI’s complete portfolio of RF-to-digital functional blocks, allowing engineers to model RF signal chains using devices from across ADI’s RF IC portfolio.

The ADIsimRF Rev. 1.5 enhancements include more visibility into signal levels within the signal chain, the ability to set RMS and peak-power warning thresholds, and calculators for measuring inter-stage power loss. ADIsimPLL Version 3.4 development software has been upgraded to support new products in ADI’s industry-leading PLL portfolio, the ADF4351 PLL for base station and general-purpose applications and the ADRF6850 integrated broadband receiver for satellite applications. The new versions of these design tools are available from ADI’s web site free of charge.

The ADIsimRF design tool provides calculations for the most important parameters within an RF signal chain, including cascaded gain, noise figure, IP3, P1dB, and total power consumption. The ADIsimRF tool also contains embedded data from many of ADI’s RF ICs, which designers can easily access using pull-down menus. Device tables assist in component selection.