Richardson RFPD RadioCarbon RFPD-RC-4450-50 User manual

Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 1
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
RFPD-RC-4450-50 4.4-5 GHz, 2W Linear
Front-End Design Accelerator
User Guide

RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 2
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
1Contents
2 Introduction - About This Document...........................................................................................................5
3 RFPD-RC-4450-50 - Overview ....................................................................................................................5
4 Additional Heatsink .....................................................................................................................................6
5 RFPD-RC-4450-50 Configuration – Standalone Mode.................................................................................9
5.1 RFPD-RC-4450-50 Initial Configuration – Standalone Mode.....................................................................10
6 Standalone Transmit..................................................................................................................................12
6.1 RF Bench Setup –Standalone Transmit .....................................................................................................13
6.2 Hardware Setup – Standalone Transmit....................................................................................................14
6.2.1 DC Power Supply Connection........................................................................................................................ 14
6.2.2 Digital/Control - USB/TTL Cable Connection................................................................................................. 15
6.2.3 RF Port Connections...................................................................................................................................... 16
6.3 Software Setup – Standalone Transmit.....................................................................................................17
6.3.1 Launch RFPD-RC-4450-50 Software App....................................................................................................... 18
6.3.2 Sequencing RFPD-RC-4450-50 PA ................................................................................................................. 20
6.3.3 Biasing the RFPD-RC-4450-50 PA .................................................................................................................. 22
6.3.4 Turn RF signal ON.......................................................................................................................................... 25
6.3.5 Real Time Current and Voltage Monitoring.................................................................................................. 25
6.3.6 Real Time Temperature Sensing ................................................................................................................... 26
6.4 RF Detector Calibration and Measurements.............................................................................................27
6.5 Observation RX ..........................................................................................................................................33
6.6 RF Transmitter Performance .....................................................................................................................34
6.7 Transmitter Turn OFF Sequence................................................................................................................38
7 Hardware Setup – Receiver Operation......................................................................................................39
7.1 RX Port Selection .......................................................................................................................................40
7.2 Software Setup – Receiver Operation .......................................................................................................41
7.3 RX Frontend configuration ........................................................................................................................42
7.4 RX Tunable Bandpass filter ........................................................................................................................43
7.5 Turn ON Receiver.......................................................................................................................................45

RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 3
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
7.6 Receiver Performance ...............................................................................................................................45
7.7 Turn Receiver OFF......................................................................................................................................48
8 Alternate Configurations ...........................................................................................................................48
8.1 Alterative Configurations – RF Connections for Standalone vs. BytePipe vs. Tunable Filter....................49
8.2 Alterative Configurations – Digital Hardware Control - RFPD-RC-4450-50 Micro/GUI vs. BytePipe ........52
9 Reference Information ..............................................................................................................................54
List of Figures
Figure 1: High-level RFPD-RC-4450-50 system block diagram................................................................................ 6
Figure 2: Additional heatsink with thermal tape and screws for additional heat dissipation.................................7
Figure 3: Heatsink Alignment.................................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 4: Tighten Screws......................................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 5: Final Assembly ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 6: RFPD-RC-4450-50 RF Front end with Input/Output interfaces..............................................................12
Figure 7: RFPD-RC-4450-50 RF Front end: Transmit Section – Standalone Mode ............................................... 13
Figure 8: Suggested configuration for RFPD-RC-4450-50 transmit evaluation .................................................... 14
Figure 9: DC Voltage VIN connection.................................................................................................................... 15
Figure 10: ISB to TTL/UART cable.......................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 11: Serial cable connection to J15 ............................................................................................................. 16
Figure 12: Position of coupling capacitor C213 for Standalone Mode................................................................. 17
Figure 13: Software icon ....................................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 14: Main Screen ......................................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 15: COM port highlighted .......................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 16: Auto refresh box checked.................................................................................................................... 20
Figure 17: PA = OFF →Control box is Green ........................................................................................................ 21
Figure 18: PA = ON →PA Control box is Red........................................................................................................ 22
Figure 19: Main Screen – Setting PA bias ............................................................................................................. 23
Figure 20: PA bias “Quick View” ........................................................................................................................... 24
Figure 21: PA bias “Monitor” ................................................................................................................................ 25
Figure 22: Driver and final stage VGS/IDS values ................................................................................................. 26
Figure 23: RFPD-RC-4450-50 GUI temperature sensor readings.......................................................................... 27
Figure 24: Main Screen – Detector calibration..................................................................................................... 29

RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 4
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
Figure 25: Default calibration ............................................................................................................................... 29
Figure 26: Power detector calibration.................................................................................................................. 30
Figure 27: Calibration of all 3 frequency points saved and stored....................................................................... 31
Figure 28: Forward RF detector frequency selection and power level readout .................................................. 32
Figure 29: RFPD-RC-4450-50 ACPR - BytePipe™ SoM DPD and 10 MHz LTE with 9 dB PAR ................................ 34
Figure 30: RFPD-RD-4450-50 Tx Gain (dB) vs. Frequency (MHz) – 5 Systems...................................................... 35
Figure 31: RFPD-RC-4450-50 Tx Pout (dBm) vs. Pin (dBm) 4.7 GHz – 5 devices .................................................. 35
Figure 32: RFPD-RC-4450-50 Tx Pout (dBm) vs. Pin (dBm) 4.4 GHz – 5 devices .................................................. 35
Figure 33: RFPD-RC-4450-50 Tx Pout (dBm) vs. Pin (dBm) 5.0 GHz – 5 devices .................................................. 36
Figure 34: RFPD-RC-4450-50 Tx Gain (dB) vs. Pin (dBm) 4.7 GHz – 5 devices...................................................... 36
Figure 35: RFPD-RC-4450-50 Tx Gain (dB) vs. Pin (dBm) 4.4 GHz – 5 devices...................................................... 36
Figure 36: RFPD-RC-4450-50 Tx Gain (dB) vs. Pin (dBm) 5.0 GHz - 5 devices...................................................... 37
Figure 37: RFPD-RC-4450-50 Tx Pin (dBm) vs. Efficiency (%) 4.7 GHz – 5 devices ............................................... 37
Figure 38: RFPD-RC-4450-50 Tx Pin (dBm) vs. Efficiency (%) 4.4 GHz – 5 devices ............................................... 37
Figure 39: RFPD-RC-4450-50 Tx Pin (dBm) vs. Efficiency (%) 5.0 GHz – 5 devices ............................................... 38
Figure 40: PA Power-Down................................................................................................................................... 38
Figure 41: Idq Verification..................................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 42: Receiver test bench setup ................................................................................................................... 40
Figure 43: RFPD-RC-4450-50 RF Front end: receive section – standalone mode................................................. 41
Figure 44: Main Window – Rx filter ...................................................................................................................... 42
Figure 45: GUI configuration for receiver front end............................................................................................. 43
Figure 46: Main Window – Rx filter ...................................................................................................................... 44
Figure 47: Filter tuning screen .............................................................................................................................. 44
Figure 48: Receive S-Parameters, Filter=5.88V..................................................................................................... 45
Figure 49: Receive S-Parameters, Filter=4.27V..................................................................................................... 46
Figure 50: Receive S-Parameters, Filter=4.27V, Second stage LNA Bypassed...................................................... 47
Figure 51: Receive S-Parameters, Filter=7.17V..................................................................................................... 48
Figure 52: RFPD-RC-4450-50 RF front end: receive section – Standalone Mode................................................. 50
Figure 53: C176/C213 Placement to control Tx input from BytePipe™ vs. external signal source...................... 51
Figure 54: Configuration for board in Rx “Standalone Mode” with tunable filter included ................................ 51
Figure 55: Location of all capacitors that control RF configuration ..................................................................... 52
Figure 56: Digital hardware control configurations – RFPD-RC-4450-50 Micro/GUI ........................................... 54

RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 5
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
List of Tables
Table 1: GUI Initial Settings................................................................................................................................... 10
Table 2: RF Signal Path Hardware Configuration – Standalone Mode/Filter not Bypassed ......................... 10
Table 3: Digital Control Hardware Configurations - RFPD-RC-4450-50 Micro Control......................................... 10
Table 4: RFPD-RC-4450-50 IO Availability............................................................................................................. 11
Table 5: PA Bias Settings for Class AB operation .................................................................................................. 23
Table 6: RF Signal Path Hardware Configuration.............................................................................................. 49
Table 7: Digital Control Hardware Configurations - RFPD-RC-4450-50 Micro/GUI vs. BytePipe ......................... 53
2Introduction - About This Document
This document serves as a User Guide to assist in powering up and performing bench level testing/evaluation
of the “RadioCarbon” RFPD-RC-4450-50 RF Frontend from Richardson RFPD. The RFPD-RC-4450-50 Frontend
serves as a “Design Accelerator” platform, targeting RF Frontend applications in the 4.4 to 5 GHz frequency
band.The design was intended for lab use only and the user may need to attach the included heatsink if they
plan on using it for non-pulsed high average power applications over an extended time.
3RFPD-RC-4450-50 - Overview
A high-level systems block diagram of the RFPD-RC-4450-50 Frontend is shown in Figure 1and a picture of the
actual board with its input/outputs labeled is shown in Figure 6.As stated, it operates from 4.4 – 5.0 GHz but
can be modified for other frequency bands, with a change of the PA/Driver match. All design files are available
under license. The platform features a single channel transmitter and receiver, including a circulator, RMS
Power detector, and digitally tunable filter. Users are welcome to add an external filter to optimize it for specific
applications. Transmit circuitry includes a high performance 2 stage Wolfspeed GaN on SiC power amplifier
implemented in a balanced configuration. An onboard bias generation and protection IC provides additional
levels of configuration. Receive circuitry includes an LNA, bypassable second stage LNA (GUI controlled), and
bypassable tunable filter (bypass done through hardware configuration setup). The included software GUI
provides for additional levels of configuration.

RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 6
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
RFPD-RC-4450-50
GRF5511
Pre-Driver
X4C50F1-30S
30dB Coupler
GRF4142
LNA with Bypass
4400 – 5000 MHz
50Ω
A
SKYFR-002061
Circulator
GRF2093
0.65dB NF LNA
1
2
Σ
PD4859J5050S2HF
Forward
“Pi”
10 dB
ADRF5132
SPDT Switch
RMS Power Detect
In 90°
0°Iso
Hybrid
In90°
0° Iso
Hybrid
CGHV1F025S
CGHV1F025S
50Ω
A
50Ω
A
X4C45J1-03G
A
50Ω
A
##
Ω
##
nF
DC4759J5020AHF
20dB Coupler
Forward Detect
LTC5583
Forward
Reverse Detect
VSWR Detect
CGHV1F006S
Driver
J13
(ANT)
SMA
J19 MCX
TX IN
HMC892A
C213
5.6 pF
C176
Open
J20 SMPM
TX IN
SoM
“Pi”
15 dB
J1 MCX
Aux RX Out
C210
5.6 pF
C209
Open
J22 SMPM
RX2A
(RX Port 2 of SoM)
Splitter
25W PSAT HPA
25W PSAT HPA
3dB Hybrid Coupler
X4C45J1-03G
3dB Hybrid Coupler
J17 MCX
RX TunFil Out
C212
5.6 pF
C211
Open
J16 SMPM
RX1A
SoM RX TunFil Out
C75
5.6 pF
J4 MCX
RX Out
C76
Open
C203
Open
J3 SMPM
RX1B
SoM
ADUCM3027
Microcontroller
AD7293BCPZ
Power Amplifier
Current Controller
WR-40SB-VFH30-N1
SoM Connector
BIAS CTL
6 pin Conn
WR-120S-VFH30-N1
SoM Connector
JTAG/UART
ETHERNET
USB Micro-B
SD CARD
DISPLAY PORT
USB A 2.0
VIN
60-42 V
LT3864
DC/DC
40V
J15 UART SPI J21
J11
0Ω
0Ω
Open
Open
Forward Detect
Reverse Detect
VSWR Detect
Open
Open
Open
0Ω
0Ω
0Ω
R175
R193
R192
R174
R219
R189
R207
R220
R208
R221
J2
0Ω
Open
R217
R216
0Ω
0Ω
Open
Open
Open
0Ω
R114
R163
R29
R148
R118
R172
50Ω
Figure 1: High-level RFPD-RC-4450-50 system block diagram
4Additional Heatsink
When using the RFPD-RC-4450-50 for applications where the PA is likely to exceed its maximum temperature
(for example CW signals with an average input power higher than 3dBm), an additional heatsink (with thermal
tape applied) and 4 screws shown in Figure 2have been included in the kit.

RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 7
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
Figure 2: Additional heatsink with thermal tape and screws for additional heat dissipation
The additional heatsink is attached directly to the RFPD-RC-4450-50. To attach, remove the blue tape from the
thermal tape, insert the 4 screws into the holes in the heatsink, and stand on end. Align PCB assembly on end
and slide close enough to heatsink to start threading screws into PCB assembly standoffs as shown in Figure 3.

RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 8
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
Figure 3: Heatsink Alignment
Tighten screws equally and PCB assembly will pull towards heatsink, as shown in Figure 4. Once screws are
tightened, press PCB assembly firmly down onto heatsink for proper adhesion of thermal tape.
Figure 4: Tighten Screws

RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 9
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
The final assembly should look like Figure 5.
Figure 5: Final Assembly
5RFPD-RC-4450-50 Configuration – Standalone Mode
As illustrated, this RF Frontend was designed with the flexibility to accommodate multiple configurations, some
of which are controlled by the GUI and some by the placement of external capacitors and 0 Ohm resistors. The
RFPD-RC-4450-50 GUI controls the TX PA / driver biasing, power detector calibration, LNA bypass, receive filter
center frequency, and receive protection/power detection. Hardware changes enable the ability to plug-in the
BytePipe SoM (a credit card sized 0.03-6 GHz integrated transceiver with FPGA System on Module that uses
the ADRV9002 Integrated Transceiver and a FPGA) and have it control the RFPD-RC-4450-50, as well as the
ability to bypass the tunable receive filter. A full description of the possible hardware changes for the RFPD-
RC-4450-50 are described further in Section 8: Alternate Configurations but the following is a summary:
Standalone vs. BytePipe Direct Mount (Section 8.1- Alterative Configurations – RF Connections for Standalone
vs. BytePipe vs. Tunable Filter)Bypass capacitors can be placed to route the transmitter, receiver, and auxiliary
receiver to either MCX connectors or SMPM connectors. The SMPM connectors are configured to mount the
BytePipe SoM directly to the RFPD-RC-4450-50.

RFPD-RC-4450-50 Design Accelerator – User Guide
Available exclusively from Richardson RFPD - 800-737-6937 (U.S. & Canada) - 630-262-6800 (International)
Or visit www.richardsonrfpd.com. See important product notice on last page of this document.
Internal Richardson Document #
RFPD-RC-4450-50 UG
Origination Date:07/2022
Rev C
Date: 11/2022
Page 10
© 2022 Richardson RFPD
Tunable Filter Bypass (Section 8.1 Alterative Configurations – RF Connections for Standalone vs. BytePipe vs.
Tunable Filter)The receive section of the RFPD-RC-4450-50 can be configured to bypass the tunable filter
through the proper placement of bypass capacitors. Note that the bypass capacitor placement is different
depending on if the BytePipe SoM is attached or not.
RFPD-RC-4450-50 MCU Control vs. BytePipe Control (Section 8.2 Alterative Configurations – Digital Hardware
Control - RFPD-RC-4450-50 Micro/GUI vs. BytePipe)0 ohm resistors can be placed to allow the BytePipe SoM
to control the RFPD-RC-4450-50 when it is attached
5.1 RFPD-RC-4450-50 Initial Configuration – Standalone Mode
When a RFPD-RC-4450-50 is purchased by itself (it can also be purchased with the BytePipe attached), it is in
the “Standalone” configuration, where the bypass capacitors are placed to route the transmitter, receiver, and
auxiliary receiver to MCX connectors on the board. (MCX to SMA adaptors are included in the kit). The tunable
filter is not bypassed, and the board is controlled by its MCU. When the board is brought up, it has the initial
setting listed in Table 1, Table 2and Table 3.
Parameter/Component
Default Setting
RX/Power Detector Switch
Power Detector
LNA Bypass Switch
LNA
Tunable Filter Center Frequency
3.25 GHz
GaN PA IDS
150 mA
GaN Driver IDS
60 mA
Power Detector Calibration Level
0.0 dBm
•The Bandwidth for the tunable filter is currently change by presenting a voltage on connector J11 so initial setting is 0V unless it is supplied a voltage
Table 1: GUI Initial Settings
C203
C76
C75
C211
C212
C209
C210
C176
C213
No BytePipe -
Tunable Filter
Open
Open
5.6 pF
Open
5.6 pF
Open
5.6 pF
Open
5.6 pF
Table 2: RF Signal Path Hardware Configuration – Standalone Mode/Filter not Bypassed
R174
R175
R189
R207
R208
R193
R192
R221
R220
R219
R217
R216
R114
R118
R163
R172
R29
R148
Standalone
Control
Open
Open
Open
Open
Open
0-ohm
0-ohm
0-ohm
0-ohm
0-ohm
0-ohm
Open
0-ohm
0-ohm
Open
Open
0-ohm
Open
Table 3: Digital Control Hardware Configurations - RFPD-RC-4450-50 Micro Control