Today’s weekly roundup is all about SAW filters

Not sure why, but it has been a while now probably years that I have received a press release related to the SAW (sound acoustic wave) filter.

These parts are used mostly in RF applications. They operate by converting an RF signal to a sound signal, which gets filtered. Than the filtered sound signal get converted back to an RF signal.

There are about six parameters a designer needs to know in order to select a SAW filter. It is the center frequency (fo), passband width (Bp), amplitude ripple over passband width (AR), group delay (ns), transition bandwidth (Bt), rejection (rej), and insertion loss.

I noticed that some companies provide a worksheet to fill out with the design parameters for the SAW filter. After receiving the form, the company will get back to you within a day or so, providing both pricing and lead times.

Some companies that manufacture SAW filters are:

Amplitronix (www.amplitronix.com)

Anatech Electronics (www2.eem.com/Anatech_Electronics_Inc_.aspx)

ECS (www2.eem.com/ECS_Inc_International.aspx)

EPCOS (http://www2.eem.com/Epcos_Inc.aspx)

Epson Toyocom (www.epsontoyocom.co.jp)

Filtronetics (www2.eem.com/Filtronetics_Inc_.aspx)

Kyocera (www2.eem.com/Kyocera_America_Inc_.aspx)

MtronPTI (www2.eem.com/MtronPTI.aspx)

Oscilent (www2.eem.com/Oscilent_Corporation.aspx)

Panasonic Electronic Components (www2.eem.com/Panasonic_Electronic_Components.aspx)

RFM ( www2.eem.com/RF_Monolithics_Inc_.aspx)