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LA7577N
No. 4037—15/16
Sanyo SAW Filters
Two types of surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter built on
different piezoelectric substrates can be used with the
LA7577N—Lithium Tantalate and Lithium Niobate.
Lithium Tantalate (LiTaO
3
) SAW filters
LiTaO
3
SAW filters have a low temperature coefficient of
18ppm/
°
C and good stability, but have high insertion
loss. An external coil is required at the output for level
matching as shown in Figure 31.
LiTaO
3
SAW filters cover the Japanese and American
bands, which both have relatively high IF frequencies.
These filters have part numbers of the form TSF1
×××
or
TSF2
×××
.
Lithium Niobate (LiNbO
3
) SAW filters
LiNbO
3
SAW filters have a relatively high temperature
coefficient of
72ppm/
°
C, but have an insertion loss
approximately 10dB lower than LiTaO
3
filters. A matching
circuit is, therefore, not required at the output, as shown in
Figure 32. As a result of the lower insertion loss, the pass-
band ripple is higher. However, the low impedance and low
feedthrough of these filters make them less susceptible to
Figure 31. LiTaO
3
SAW filter
stray capacitance effects caused by external components
and PCB layout, resulting in greater stability.
LiNbO
3
SAW filters cover the PAL and American bands,
which have relatively lower IF frequencies. These filters
have part numbers of the form TSF5
×××
.
VCO Tank Circuit
VCO tank circuit with built-in capacitor
When the IC power supply is switched ON, the heat gener-
ated by the IC is conducted by the PCB, including into the
VCO tank. The tank coil legs effectively act as a heatsink
and the heat is dissipated, such that an insignificant amount
of heat is conducted into the VCO tank capacitor. As a
result, the effect on VCO drift is made smaller.
Even so, it is recommended that the inductor and capacitor
be chosen so that their temperature characteristics effec-
tively cancel. Accordingly, it is preferable to use inductors
with low temperature coefficient cores and low tempera-
ture coefficient capacitors.
Figure 32. LiNbO
3
SAW filter
VCO tank circuit with external capacitor
If using an external capacitor, the heat generated by the
IC is conducted by the PCB, including to the external
capacitor. If this happens, the heat affects the capacitor
and changes its capacitance value.
However, because the VCO tank coil is not significantly
affected, the VCO tank tuning point changes.
In this case, it is highly preferable to use inductors with
low temperature coefficient cores and low temperature
coefficient capacitors.