MAX7036
Detailed Description
The MAX7036 CMOS RF receiver, and a few external 
components, provide the complete receiver chain from 
the antenna to the digital output data. Depending on 
signal power and component selection, data rates as 
high as 33kbps Manchester (66kbps NRZ) can be 
achieved.
The MAX7036 is designed to receive binary ASK/OOK 
data modulated in the 300MHz to 450MHz frequency 
range. ASK modulation uses a difference in amplitude 
of the carrier to represent digital data.
Voltage Regulator
For operation with a single 3.0V to 3.6V supply voltage, 
connect AVDD, DVDD, and V
DD
to the supply voltage. 
For operation with a single 4.5V to 5.5V supply voltage, 
connect VDDto the supply voltage. An on-chip voltage 
regulator drives the AVDD pin to approximately 3.2V. 
For proper operation, connect DVDD and AVDD together. Bypass VDDand AVDD to GND with 0.1µF capacitors placed as close as possible to the device. Bypass 
DVDD to GND with a 0.01µF capacitor (see the 
Typical
Application Circuit
).
Low-Noise Amplifier
The LNA is an nMOS cascode amplifier. The LNA and 
mixer have a combined 55dB voltage gain. The gain 
and noise figures are dependent on both the antennamatching network at the LNA input and the LC tank network between the LNA output and the mixer inputs.
L2 and C1 comprise the LC tank filter connected to 
LNAOUT (see the 
Typical Application Circuit
). L2 also 
serves as a bias inductor to LNAOUT. Bypass the 
power-supply side of L2 to GND with a capacitor that 
provides a low-impedance path at the RF carrier frequency (e.g., 220pF). Select L2 and C1 to resonate at 
the desired RF input frequency. The resonant frequency is given by:
where L
TOTAL
= L2 + L
PARASITICS 
and C
TOTAL
= C1 +
C
PARASITICS
.
L
PARASITICS
and C
PARASITICS
include inductance and 
capacitance of the PCB traces, package pins, mixer 
input impedance, LNA output impedance, etc. At high 
frequencies, these parasitics can have a dramatic 
effect on the tank filter center frequency and must not 
be ignored. The total parasitic capacitance is generally 
4pF to 6pF. Adjust L2 and C1 accordingly to achieve 
the desired tank center frequency.
Automatic Gain Control (AGC)
The AGC circuit monitors the RSSI output. The AGC 
switches to its low-gain state when the RSSI output 
reaches 2.2V. The AGC gain reduction is typically 
29dB, corresponding to an RSSI voltage drop of 
435mV. The LNA resumes high-gain mode when the 
RSSI level drops back below 1.67V for 13ms for 
315MHz and 10ms for 433MHz operation. The AGC has 
a hysteresis of 5dB. With this AGC function, the 
MAX7036 can reliably produce an ASK output for RF 
input levels up to 0dBm, with modulation depth of 
30dB.
Mixer
The mixer cell is a double-balanced mixer that performs 
a downconversion of the RF input to a typical IF of 
200kHz from either a high-side or a low-side injected LO. 
The mixer output drives the input of the on-chip IF filter.
Phase-Locked Loop (PLL)
The PLL block contains a phase detector, charge 
pump, integrated loop filter, VCO, asynchronous clock 
dividers, and crystal-oscillator driver. Besides the crystal, this PLL does not require any external components. 
The VCO generates the LO. The relationship between 
the RF, IF, and reference frequencies is given by:
where fLO= fRF±f
IF
Received-Signal-Strength Indicator (RSSI)
The RSSI circuit provides a DC output proportional to 
the logarithm of the input power level. RSSI output voltage has a slope of about 14.5mV/dB (of input 
power).The RSSI monotonic dynamic range exceeds 
80dB. This includes the 30dB of AGC.
Applications Information
Crystal Oscillator
The crystal (XTAL) oscillator in the MAX7036 is 
designed to present a capacitance of approximately 
4pF between XTAL1 and XTAL2. In most cases, this 
corresponds to a 6pF load capacitance applied to the 
external crystal when typical PCB parasitics are added. 
The MAX7036 is designed to operate with a typical 
10pF load capacitance crystal. It is very important to
use a crystal with a load capacitance equal to the 
capacitance of the MAX7036 crystal oscillator plus 
PCB parasitics. If a crystal designed to oscillate with a
different load capacitance is used, the crystal is pulled 
away from its stated operating frequency, introducing