Analysis and Measurement Technique for 1- dB Compression Point of Single Balanced RF Mixer

Abstract

The present paper discusses the basic working and operation of RF Mixers being used broadly for communication purposes. In the present paper we have discussed various important parameters of Mixer and elaborately described the instrument setup and measurement techniques for measuring the most vital parameter for analyzing performance of mixer i.e., 1-dB Compression Point (P1dB). 1- dB compression point is very significant parameter as it indicates the power level that causes the gain to drop by 1 dB from its small signal value. In this paper we have described test set up for measuring this important parameter with various measuring instruments and has obtained good agreement between the predictions and experimental data.

Index Terms- Single diode mixers, 1 dB Compression Point (P1dB), Down Converter, VM-3 Receiver, Power meter, Attenuator