Maxim moves SiGe products from the exotic to the norm

This review of three SiGe based products is more than a review of a low noi se amplifier (LNA), a mixer and a VCO. As well as benchmarking the success of one company, Maxim, in making the manufacture and production of SiGe dev ices routine and normal, it also clearly benchmarks the industry as a whole moving into an era where the product options will plain vanilla silicon or Silicon-Germanium (SiGe). What will now surely follow is a flood of compon ents from both Maxim and others, and although the manufacture of SiGe is no w the norm, we can still expect some exotic and record breaking application s and performance as designers move forward to adopt the new devices.