The HMC712 devices are absorptive, voltage variable attenuators (VVAs) which operate from 5 GHz to 26.5 GHz or 30 GHz and are ideal in designs when an analog dc control signal must be used to control RF signal levels over a 28 dB or 30 dB amplitude rate. They feature shunt-type attenuators which are controlled by two analog voltages, VCTRL1 and VCTRL2. Optimum linearity performance of the attenuator is achieved by first varying VCTRL of the first attenuation stage from −3 V to 0 V with VCTRL2 fixed at −3 V. The control voltage of the second attenuation stage, VCTRL2, should then be varied from −3 V to 0 V, with VCTRL1 fixed at 0 V. However, if the VCTRL1 and VCTRL2 pins are connected together, it is possible to achieve the full analog attenuation range with only a small degradation in input IP3 performance. Applications include AGC circuits and temperature compensation of multiple gain stages in microwave, point-to-point, and VSAT radios. The voltage variable attenuator is housed in an RoHS compliant, 3 × 3 mm, QFN, leadless package.ApplicationsPoint-to-point radiosVSAT radioTest instrumentationMicrowave sensorsMilitary, ECM, and radar