ANI-002: Synthesizer Evaluation Board Application Note

The Synthesizer Evaluation Kit is designed for evaluating M/A-COM's synthesizers. The kit consists of two PCB assemblies, a data cable and the software to program the synthesizer. The motherboard supplies a clean, regulated voltage level to the VCO and PLL of the synthesizer and buffers the DATA signal received from the computer. The voltage regulator steps down the 12V input to a clean 5V. The motherboard includes a switch to provide the option of either 5V or 3.3V for the PLL. There is a Power Indicator LED and a Lock Indicator LED. The motherboard regulators may be bypassed by removing R30 & R32 and connecting the voltage supply directly to test points T3, T4 & T5. The motherboard also features a Trigger Test Point (T6 & T7). This is to allow the switching speed of the unit to be measured. The daughterboard includes decoupling capacitors. The motherboard and daughterboard may be connected directly together or connected using a serial cable. The serial cable allows the DUT to be placed in a temperature chamber without compromising the performance of the motherboard.