19-4221; Rev 0; 7/08
MAX2838 Evaluation Kit
General Description
The MAX2838 evaluation kit (EV kit) simplifies testing of
the MAX2838 receive and transmit performance in
WiMAX™ applications operating in the 3.3GHz to
3.9GHz ISM band. The EV kit provides 50Ω SMA con-
nectors for all RF and baseband inputs and outputs.
Differential to single-ended and single-ended to differ-
ential line drivers are provided to convert the differential
I/Q baseband inputs and outputs to single ended.
Features
o
On-Board Line Driver and Voltage Reference
o
50Ω SMA Connectors on All RF and Baseband Ports
o
PC Control Software Available at
www.maxim-ic.com/evkitsoftware
Evaluates: MAX2838
Ordering Information
PART
MAX2838EVKIT+
TYPE
EV Kit
+Denotes
lead-free and RoHS compliant.
Component List
DESIGNATION
C3, C8, C24, C28,
C30, C33, C38,
C41–C44, C47,
C75, C77
C4–C7, C10, C13,
C17, C18, C40,
C45, C46, C59,
C60, C67
C9, C16, C31,
C70, C74, C86,
C89
C11, C23, C26,
C32
C12, C53, C55,
C66
QTY
DESCRIPTION
DESIGNATION
C37, C39
QTY
2
DESCRIPTION
2.2µF
±10%
ceramic capacitors
(0603)
Murata GRM188R61A225K
3.3pF
±0.1pF
ceramic capacitors
(0402)
Murata GRM1555C1H3R3B
4.7pF
±0.1pF
ceramic capacitors
(0402)
Murata GRM1555C1H4R7B
120pF
±5%
ceramic capacitor
(0402)
Murata GRM1555C1H121J
2.4pF
±0.1pF
ceramic capacitors
(0402)
Murata GRM1555C1H2R4B
Not installed, 2 x 13-pin header
DB25 horizontal male PCB
connector
AMP 5747238-4
2.2nH ±0.1nH inductor (0402)
Murata LQP15MN2N2B02
Not installed, inductors
4.7nH ±0.1nH inductor (0402)
Murata LQP15MN4R7B02
200Ω ±1% resistors (0402)
205Ω
±1%
resistors (0402)
226Ω
±1%
resistors (0402)
49.9Ω
±1%
resistors (0402)
0
Not installed, capacitors
14
0.1µF
±10%
ceramic capacitors
(0402)
Murata GRM155R61A104K
0.033µF
±10%
ceramic
capacitors (0402)
Murata GRM155R71A333K
0.01µF
±10%
ceramic capacitors
(0402)
Murata GRM155R71E103K
10µF
±10%
tantalum capacitors—
R-case
AVX TAJR106K006R
2200pF
±10%
ceramic capacitor
(0402)
Murata GRM155R71H222K
0.15µF
±10%
ceramic capacitors
(0402)
Murata GRM155R61A154K
1.0µF
±10%
ceramic capacitors
(0805)
Murata GRM155R60J105K
1000pF
±5%
ceramic capacitor
(0402)
Murata GRM1555C1H102J
2.2µF
±10%
tantalum capacitor—
R-case
AVX TAJR225K006R
C48, C49
2
C68, C69
2
7
C79
1
4
C81, C83
J17
J18
2
0
1
4
C14
1
L1
L2, L4, L5
L7
R1, R7
R2, R5, R6, R38
R3, R10
R4, R26
1
0
1
2
4
2
2
C19, C88
2
C20, C29, C35
3
C25
1
C27
1
WiMAX is a trademark of WiMAX forum.
________________________________________________________________
Maxim Integrated Products
1
For pricing, delivery, and ordering information, please contact Maxim Direct at 1-888-629-4642,
or visit Maxim’s website at www.maxim-ic.com.
MAX2838 Evaluation Kit
Evaluates: MAX2838
Component List (continued)
DESIGNATION
R8, R11, R15, R19,
R23, R24, R25,
R27, R28, R30,
R35, R39, R41,
R43, R45–R50,
R52–R64, R66
R12, R31, R40,
R42, R65, R67
R20, R51
R21, R22
R33, R36
R34
R37
R44
R68
T1, T2
T3
U1, U3
U2, U6
QTY
DESCRIPTION
DESIGNATION
B1–B7, CSB, DIN,
DOUT, ENABLE,
PABIAS, RXHP,
RXTX, SCLK,
TPCLKOUT,
TPSPIDOUT,
TXENOUT/RSSI,
VCM
CLKCOUT, RXBBI,
RXBBQ, RXRF,
TXBBI, TXBBQ,
TXRF, VCOIO
FREF
GND1, GND2
JPB1–JPB7,
JPSHDNB,
RXBBBUF
JP2CSB,
JPENABLE,
JPRXHP, JPRXTX,
JPSHDNB,
JPSPICLK,
JPSPIDIN
VCCCP, VCCDB,
VCCDIG, VCCLNA,
VCCLO, VCCPAD,
VCCREF, VCCRXFL,
VCCRXMX,
VCCRXVGA,
VCCTCXO,
VCCTXMX,
VCCVCO, JPRXBBI+,
JPRXBBI-,
JPRXBBQ+,
JPRXBBQ-,
JPTXBBI+, JPTXBBI-,
JPTXBBQ+,
JPTXBBQ-, TUNE
+5V, -5V, VBAT,
VCCAUX
—
—
QTY
DESCRIPTION
0
Not installed, resistors
19
Test points, PCB mini-red
Keystone 5000
0
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
2
Not installed, resistors
750Ω ±5% resistors (0402)
61.9Ω ±1% resistors (0402)
1kΩ trimmer potentiometers
Bourns 3296W-1-102LF
620Ω ±5% resistor (0402)
301Ω ±1% resistor (0402)
10Ω ±5% resistor (0402)
0Ω ±5% resistor (0402)
3.6GHz RF baluns
Murata LDB213G6010C-001
4.5GHz RF balun
Murata LDB184G5010C-110
Low-noise differential ADC drivers
ADI AD8139ARDZ
Maxim MAX4444ESE+
(16 narrow SO)
Maxim MAX2838ETM+
(48 Thin QFN-EP,
6mm x 6mm x 0.8mm)
Low-dropout linear regulator
Maxim MAX8887EZK29+
(5 SOT23)
SN74LVTH244ADB
Texas Instruments
SN74LVTH244ADBR
Low-dropout voltage reference
Maxim MAX6062AEUR+
(3 SOT23)
40MHz TCXO
Kyocera
KT3225N40000ECV28ZAA
Ultra-low-noise LDO
Maxim MAX8510EXK29+
(5 SC70)
Not installed, ultra-low-noise LDO
8
SMA edge-mount connectors,
round
Johnson 142-0701-801
Not installed, SMA edge-mount
connector
Test points, PCB black
Keystone 5011
1 x 3-pin headers
Sullins PEC36SAAN
0
2
9
0
Not installed, 1 x 3-pin headers
U4
1
U7
1
0
Not installed, 1 x 2-pin headers
U8, U9
2
U10
1
U11
1
4
8
1
Test points, PCB red
Keystone 5010
Shunts (JPB1–JPB7, RXBBBUF)
Sullins SSC02SYAN
MAX2838 EV Kit+ PCB
U13
U14
1
0
2
_______________________________________________________________________________________
MAX2838 Evaluation Kit
Component Suppliers
SUPPLIER
Analog Device
Digi-Key Corp.
Keystone Electronics Corp.
Murata Mfg. Co., Ltd.
PHONE
800-262-5643
800-344-4539
800-221-5510
770-436-1300
WEBSITE
www.analog.com
www.digikey.com
www.keyelco.com
www.murata-northamerica.com
Evaluates: MAX2838
Note:
Indicate that you are using the MAX2838 when contacting these component suppliers.
Quick Start
Recommended Test Equipment
This section lists the recommended test equipment to
verify the operation of the MAX2838. It is intended as a
guide only and substitutions may be possible:
• DC supply capable of delivering +5V and 250mA of
continuous current
• DC supply capable of delivering -5V and 250mA of
continuous current
• DC supply capable of delivering +3.3V and 250mA
of continuous current
• One HP 8648 or equivalent signal source capable of
generating 0dBm up to 3.9GHz
• Two HP or equivalent arbitrary waveform generators
• One HP 8561E or equivalent RF spectrum analyzer
with a minimum 100kHz to 3GHz frequency range
• One TDS3012 or equivalent oscilloscope with
200MHz bandwidth
• One HP 437B power meter and power head
• A user-supplied Windows
®
95/98/2000/XP (or later)
PC with an available parallel port
• One female-to-male 25-pin parallel straight-through
cable
3) With the power supply turned off, connect the +3.3V
power supply to VBAT and VCCAUX. Connect the
power-supply ground to the header labeled GND.
4) With the power supply turned off, connect the +5V
power supply to the +5V pin and the -5V power
supply to the -5V pin. Connect the power-supply
ground to the header labeled GND. Connect all the
power-supply grounds together.
5) Set the RXBBBUF jumper across pins 1-2 to enable
the Rx baseband buffers.
6) Turn on the +3.3V power supply, and the +5V and
-5V power supplies.
7) In the Enables panel of the software, check the
EN_SPI box to enable the 3-wire interface.
8) Adjust the Tx common-mode potentiometer (R36)
until measuring 0.9V common-mode voltage at the
VCM test point.
9) In the Registers panel of the software, set ENABLE
to 0 and RXTX to 1 to put the IC into standby mode.
10) In the Synth panel of the software, set the LO fre-
quency to 3600MHz.
Connections and Setup
The MAX2838 EV kit is fully assembled and factory test-
ed. Follow the instructions below to test the devices.
This section provides step-by-step instructions for get-
ting the EV kit up and running in all modes:
1) Install and run the MAX2838 control software.
Select MAX2838 for MAXIM IC type under Options.
2) To control the EV kit through the 4-wire interface,
connect the female-to-male 25-pin parallel straight-
through cable between the PC and the EV kit.
Receive Mode
1) Use the power meter to calibrate the RF signal gen-
erator to deliver -98dBm at 3601MHz. After calibra-
tion, turn the RF signal generator off, disconnect it
from the power meter, and connect it to the RXRF
port of the MAX2838 EV kit.
2) Connect either the I or the Q baseband output to a
spectrum analyzer. Set the center frequency to be
1MHz and the span to be 1MHz.
3) In the Registers panel of the software, enter the rec-
ommended register setting shown in Figure 1 for
operating the MAX2838 in steady-state receive
mode bench measurement. This setup fixes the
VGA highpass corner at 1kHz.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3
MAX2838 Evaluation Kit
Evaluates: MAX2838
4) Press the SEND ALL button.
5) In the Registers panel of the software, set ENABLE
and RXTX to be 1 to activate the receive path.
6) In the RX panel of the software, toggle the LNA gain
enable and the baseband VGA enable both to be
SPI. Set both of the gain controls to be max.
7) Turn on the RF signal source. The output CW tone
at 1MHz should be approximately 0dBm.
2) Connect a 1MHz I/Q signal to pins TXBBI and
TXBBQ, respectively. Set the input amplitude of
each channel to 90mV
RMS
with 90 degrees phase
shift.
3) In the Registers panel of the software, set ENABLE to
be 1 and RXTX to be 0 to activate the transmit path.
4) In the Registers panel of the software, enter the rec-
ommended register setting shown in Figure 2.
5) Press the Send All button.
6) Enable the output of the baseband signal sources.
The desired tone, LO leakage, and the sideband
appear at 3601MHz, 3600MHz, and 3599MHz,
Transmit Mode
1) Connect the spectrum analyzer to the TXRF port.
Set the center frequency to be 3600MHz and the
span to be 5MHz.
Figure 1. Receive Mode Register Setting
4
_______________________________________________________________________________________
MAX2838 Evaluation Kit
respectively. In the TX panel of the software, toggle
TXVGA to be SPI. Set the Tx VGA gain to be 3dB
back from the max gain. The power level of the
desired tone is approximately -1.5dBm in the spec-
trum analyzer marker reading, assuming that the
balun on board contributes a 1dB loss.
Power-Supply Layout
To minimize coupling between different sections of the
IC, use a “star” power-supply routing configuration with
a large decoupling capacitor at a central V
CC
node.
The V
CC
traces branch out from this node, each going
to a separate V
CC
node in the circuit. Place a bypass
capacitor as close to each supply pin as possible. This
arrangement provides local decoupling at each V
CC
pin. Use at least one via per bypass capacitor for a low-
inductance ground connection. Do not share the
capacitor ground vias with any other branch.
Evaluates: MAX2838
Layout Considerations
The MAX2838 EV kit can serve as a guide for board
layout. Keep PCB trace lengths as short as possible to
minimize parasitic inductance. Also, keep decoupling
capacitors as close to the IC as possible with a direct
connection to the ground plane.
Figure 2. Transmit Mode Register Setting
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5