Case Study: Analog Devices achieves six-month design-time savings and de-risked MxFE front ends with Keysight PathWave System Design

Optimizing MxFE Front Ends with Complex Gain Control Settings

Analog Devices faced the challenge of accurately modeling and optimizing complex wideband mixed‑signal RF front ends for its MxFE™ platform so customers could tune designs before committing to hardware. To de‑risk 2–24 GHz transmitter/receiver chains and capture interactions across many tunable elements, ADI turned to Keysight and its PathWave System Design (integrated with MATLAB) together with ADI’s Sys‑Parameter component models.

Using Keysight PathWave System Design, ADI built a reusable, virtual MxFE reference design with automatic gain control lookup tables, broadband frequency sweeps, and multi‑domain EM simulation; Keysight teams also helped streamline tunable‑filter models and PathWave capabilities. The result was a flatter 2–24 GHz gain response, improved noise and EVM performance, close agreement between simulation and hardware, and an “early look” workflow that ADI customers report can save six months or more in design time.

Analog Devices

David Brown

Systems Integration Engineer