Mixers

A mixer is a three-port nonlinear device that translates an RF signal up or down in frequency by multiplying it with a local oscillator (LO). Mixers are the workhorses of every superheterodyne radio — receivers use them to bring the RF signal down to a manageable IF where filtering and demodulation happen, and transmitters use them to lift a modulated baseband or IF up to the antenna's operating band. Selection comes down to balancing conversion gain (or loss), linearity under in-band and adjacent-channel signals, LO drive (active mixers ease this dramatically), noise figure, and port-to-port isolation.

Guerrilla RF's mixer portfolio focuses on active mixers — integrated, internally matched parts that need only a few external components and run from a low LO drive level (typically 0 dBm or below). That contrasts with traditional passive double-balanced mixers, which need +7 to +17 dBm of LO and add 6 to 8 dB of conversion loss. The active approach trades a small amount of supply current for a much simpler, lower-cost system: no LO buffer amplifier, fewer matching networks, and a smaller PCB footprint.

Common applications include cellular and IoT receive front ends, defense and SatCom radios, point-to-point microwave backhaul, broadband CATV / HFC down-conversion, and instrumentation. Both up- and down-conversion are supported.

The table below lists the active mixer portfolio sorted by SKU, with RF/IF frequency range, LO frequency range, LO drive, conversion gain, IIP3, and package. Click any SKU for the full data sheet, S-parameters, and reference designs.