Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Decals/Footprints – For BBTLine’s Surface Mount RF Splitters And Coupler
PCB Decals/FootPrints (Gerber File Format) For Three Popular Dielectrics Are Available Below
Rogers-4350B-10-mil
Rogers-4350B-20-mil
Rogers-3003-10-mil
If You Are Using A Different Dielectric Than Shown Above, Use The Gerber Files For The PCB Decals/FootPrints Below As Simulator Design Start-Points.
Import The PCB Decal/Footprint Gerber File Into Your Simulator And Adjust The RF Trace Widths Until Better Than 30 dB Return Loss Is Achieved In the Simulator over the 500 MHz to 7 GHz frequency range.
For the best performance from BBTLine’s Surface Mount RF Power Dividers, it is recommended that the PCB Decals/Footprints below be followed as closely as possible.
The ground via structure is very important for overall RF Splitter performance. If the larger 93 mil diameter ground vias cannot be provided, then substitute at least four smaller vias per each larger ground via – the more the better when it comes to ground vias. A 75 mil by 75 mil grid of ground vias will also work well to counter any board resonances over the 500 MHz to 7 GHz frequency range.
The radius of curvature for the RF breakout traces is also important in order to minimize trace parasitics. Maintain the radius of curvature of the RF traces in the gerber files. A tighter radius of curvature will result in higher parasitics and worse overall return loss.
For Higher Power RF Splitter Applications (greater than 500 milliwatt internal splitter power dissipation), it is recommended to use “plates” over the splitter shield cans in order to provide extra heat-sinking. Details of these “plates” can be found in the gerber files below. Also, see the images for the evaluation boards.
More notes geared towards Splitter Alignment and Soldering Details:
PCB Footprint And Soldering Notes For RF Splitters
RF Splitter Alignment And Soldering Guidelines
PCB Decal/FootPrint For :
Two Way (2-Way) – RF Splitter – Surface Mount (SMT)
PCB Decal 2-Way Splitter On Rogers 3003 10 mil Dielectric
PCB Decal 2-Way Splitter On Rogers 4350B 10 mil Dielectric
PCB Decal 2-Way Splitter On Rogers 4350B 20 mil Dielectric
PCB Decal/FootPrint For :
Four Way (4-Way) Version 1 – RF Splitter – Surface Mount (SMT)
Version 1 4-Way has all five ports on one side of the device
PCB Decal/FootPrint For :
Four Way (4-Way) Version2 – RF Splitter – Surface Mount (SMT)
Version 2 4-Way has the common port on the opposite side of the four other ports
PCB Decal/FootPrint For :
Eight Way (8-Way) Version 1 – RF Splitter – Surface Mount (SMT)
Version 1 8-Way has all nine ports on one side of the device
PCB Decal/FootPrint For :
Eight Way (8-Way) Version 2 – Splitter | Combiner | Power Divider – Surface Mount (SMT):
Version 2 8-Way has the common port on the opposite side of the eight other ports
Note: for the Rogers 4350B 10 mil and Rogers 4350B 20 mil cases, follow the same general approach shown in the gerber files for the Version 1 8-Way Splitter. That is, use the same RF trace widths found in the Version 1 8-Way gerber files
PCB Decal/FootPrint For :
Bi Directional RF Coupler – Surface Mount (SMT)
