18
MAX19794
10MHz to 500MHz Dual Analog Voltage Variable 
Attenuator with On-Chip 10-Bit SPI-Controlled DAC
Table 1. Attenuator Control Logic States
Detailed Description
The  MAX19794  is  a  dual,  general-purpose  analog 
voltage variable attenuator (VVA) designed to interface 
with 50I systems operating in the 10MHz to 500MHz 
frequency  range.  Each  attenuator  provides  22.4dB  of 
attenuation range with a linear control slope of 8dB/V. 
Both attenuators share a common analog control and can 
be cascaded together to yield 44.7dB of total dynamic 
range with a combined linear control slope of 16dB/V. 
Alternatively,  the  on-chip,  4-wire  SPI-controlled  10-bit 
DAC can be used to control both attenuators. In addition, 
a  step-up/down  feature  allows  user-programmable 
attenuator  stepping  through  command  pulses  without 
reprogramming the SPI interface.
Application Information
Attenuation Control and Features
The device has various states that are used to control the 
analog attenuator along with some monitoring conditions. 
The  device  can  be  controlled  by  an  external  control 
voltage, an internal SPI bus, or a combination of the two. 
The various states are described in Table 1. The SPI bus 
has multiple registers that are used to control the device 
when not configured for the analog only mode. For the 
cases where CTRL is used, the control range is 1V to 4V 
for V
CC 
= 5V, and is 1V to 2.5V for V
CC 
= 3.3V.
Up  to  22.4dB  of  attenuation-control  range  is  provided 
per  attenuator.  At  the  insertion-loss  setting,  the  single 
attenuators  loss  is  approximately  1.5dB.  If  a  larger 
attenuation-control range is desired, the second on-chip 
attenuator  can  be  connected  in  series  to  provide  an 
additional 22.4dB of gain-control range.
The on-chip control driver simultaneously adjusts both 
on-chip attenuators. It is suggested that a current-limiting 
resistor be included in series with CTRL to limit the input 
current  to  less  than  40mA,  should  the  control  voltage 
be applied when V
CC
 is not present. A series resistor 
of greater than 200I provides complete protection for 
+5.0V control voltage ranges.
Analog Mode Only Control
In  Table  1  state  (0,  0),  the  attenuators  are  controlled 
using a voltage applied to the CTRL pin of the device and 
the on-chip DAC is disabled. In the case where none of 
the features of the SPI bus are needed, the part can be 
operated in a pure analog control mode by grounding 
pins 14 through 25.
DAC Mode Control
In Table 1 state (1, 0), the attenuators are controlled by 
the on chip 10-bit DAC register. See the Register/Mode 
section. In this condition, no signal is applied to the CTRL 
pin and the load on the CTRL pin should be >100kI. The 
DAC is set using the SPI loaded code in the registers 
along with the setting of the mode pin.
Analog Mode Control with Alarm Monitoring
In  Table  1  state  (0,  1),  the  attenuators  are  controlled 
using a voltage applied to the CTRL pin of the device. 
See Register/Mode section. In this condition, the DAC 
DAC_LOGIC
RDBK_EN
(D9, REG3)
INTERNAL 
SWITCH STATES
ATTENUATOR
10-BIT DAC
0
0
S1 = closed
S2, S3, S4 = open
Controlled by external analog voltage on CTRL 
(pin 11).
Disabled
1
0
S1, S3, S4 = open
S2 = closed
Controlled by on-chip DAC. No voltage applied 
to pin 11.
Enabled
0
1
S1, S3, S4 = closed
S2 = open
Controlled by external analog voltage on CTRL 
(pin 11). CTRL is compared with DAC output. 
Comparator drives COMP_OUT (pin 17).
Enabled (update DAC 
code to estimate CTRL 
voltage on pin 11)
1
1
S1, S2 = closed
S3, S4 = open
Controlled by on-chip DAC. The DAC output is 
connected to pin 11. Use this state to test the 
DAC output. In this condition, no voltage can 
be applied to pin 11 and the load on pin 11 
must be > 100kI.
Enabled