Analog Devices has launched a new family of direct digital synthesizer (DDS) devices intended for wireless communication applications requiring fast frequency hopping and/or sweeping, The new DDS devices can operate at clock rates three times as fast as previous devices. Featuring a high-speed on-chip 12-bit D/A converter, the AD9914 tops out at 3.5 GSPS, while the AD9915 runs up to 2.5 GSPS. Both device cores support advanced digital programmable technology capable of synthesizing frequency-agile, sinusoidal analog output waveforms at frequencies up to 1.4 GHz.

The DDS devices have a 32-bit parallel port for extremely quick changes to the frequency, phase and amplitude of the output signal, as well as a programmable modulus function that significantly extends the use of DDS devices into application areas requiring exact ratio relationships, such as signal generators and other lab equipment.

The AD9914 and AD9915 settle in nanoseconds with granularity well below 200 pHz and provide exceptional SFDR performance (better than -50 dBc), which is difficult to match at frequencies above 1 GHz with alternative approaches using FPGAs and discrete D/A converters.