Analysis of Hybrid Ring Coupler Double-Balanced Mixer and MMIC Double-Balanced Mixer for Ka-Band Wireless Communication Systems

This paper reports the architecture design of 26 - 32 GHz downconverter passive double-balanced mixers used for RF front-end circuit design. The performance of the simulated lumped hybrid-ring coupler double-balanced mixer and the monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC)double-balanced mixer are going to be compared throughout this paper. Both designs are compared based on the conversion gain, intermediate frequency (IF) return loss and RF to IF signals isolation. The MMIC surface mount package is mounted in a 50 Omega test fixture which eliminates the need for wire bonding.