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narrow results by employing the same
methodology on multiple performance
criteria simultaneously. In cases where
no exact match exists for all specified
criteria, Yoni2 prompts the user rank
her top two search criteria by priority
to produce the closest possible match.
Just as this example illustrated how
Yoni2 includes a model whose spec
understates actual performance within
a particular bandwidth, it may also
exclude models with specs that meet
a design requirement but characteristic
performance that underperforms at
certain frequencies. This is less likely
to be the case, as specs are always
conservative, but it should instill
confidence in the accuracy of the search
results Yoni2 generates.
Better Search Tool, Faster
Design Cycle
The Yoni2 advanced search engine
uses a more sophisticated search
methodology than other RF component
search engines. By searching based on
characteristic performance, comprising
millions of points of actual measured
test data, Yoni2 is less prone to false
positive and false negative results
inherent to searches based on simple
supplier specs.
This gives designers a tool that
dramatically speeds up their design
cycle in two ways. Yoni2 reduces the
time and effort required for component
selection by orders of magnitude
by generating model lists that meet
the specified performance criteria in
seconds. Further, because the search
produces candidate models whose
actual performance is more certain
to conform to the requirements of a
system design, Yoni2 reduces false
starts with products that don’t perform
as expected on the test bench. The
bottom line is that a faster, easier
component search process with
more accurate results means a faster
transition from evaluation stages to
working designs.
Figure 5: Rank ordering of search criteria when no exact match
exists for all criteria
Taking PGA-103+ as an example again,
we know the model has a gain spec of
11 dB, but we already know that actual
gain is higher than this at the low end
of the frequency range. Say a customer
has a 13 dB minimum gain requirement
for an application band from 50 to 1000
MHz. The customer would enter search
criteria into Yoni2 on the Mini-Circuits
website as shown in Figure 2
A search based on the 11 dB gain
spec would reject PGA-103+, since
the customer has specified a 13
dB minimum. However, since the
characteristic gain performance of the
part exceeds 13 dB within the customers
specified bandwidth of 50 to 1000 MHz
as shown in figure 3, we expect Yoni2
to include PGA-103+ in the results.
The search returns many models which
meet this customer’s requirement, but
as we expect, PGA-103+ is included
among those results, shown in Figure 4.
The user interface displays a complete
spec table for all valid models as a
convenience to the customer for easy
browsing and comparison. But notice
that while the spec tableshows a gain
value for PGA-103+ that falls beneath
the 13 dB minimum requirement,
Yoni2 includes this model because it’s
characteristic performance is quite
suitable for the customer’s needs. The
search is smarter than the specs.
For simplicity, this example presented
in this article only involves one simple
search criterion, but Yoni2 allows
users to refine their search and
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