RF Upconverters, RF Downconverters & RF Signal Conversion Solutions

Our team brings over 35 years of experience in the microwave and millimeter-wave RF industry, spanning design, prototyping, manufacturing, and system integration. We work closely with customers to help turn concepts into production-ready solutions, supporting a wide range of RF technologies. Contact us today to discuss RF upconverters, RF downconverters, transceivers, LNBs, low noise block upconverters, and custom RF sub-assembly systems.

Mi-Wave has designed, built, and supported numerous custom RF and millimeter-wave projects that require upconverters, downconverters, and integrated RF components within complex systems. From initial design and prototyping through full-scale manufacturing, our team supports every step of the development process. Contact us to discuss your project requirements and let Mi-Wave help engineer, manufacture, and deliver your RF assemblies with confidence.

RF Upconverters and Downconverters

RF upconverters and RF downconverters are fundamental components in radio frequency and microwave systems. Their primary role is to translate signals from one frequency range to another so the signal can be efficiently transmitted, received, or processed by the rest of the system.

An RF upconverter takes a lower-frequency signal, often referred to as an intermediate frequency (IF), and shifts it to a higher RF frequency suitable for transmission. In many transmit systems, the upconverter is followed by an RF power amplifier (PA) to increase the signal power before it is radiated by an antenna. When an RF upconverter and a power amplifier are integrated into a single unit, the combination is known as a Block Upconverter (BUC). BUCs are commonly used in applications such as satellite uplinks, microwave radio links, radar transmitters, and other systems where stable output frequency, controlled gain, and clean spectral performance are required.

An RF downconverter performs the opposite function. It receives a high-frequency RF signal and converts it down to a lower intermediate frequency that can be more easily filtered, digitized, or demodulated. In sensitive receiver systems, the downconverter is often paired with a low noise amplifier (LNA) at the input to boost weak signals while adding as little noise as possible. This integrated assembly is called an LNB (Low Noise Block downconverter). LNBs are widely used in satellite receivers, telemetry systems, radar receivers, and test and measurement equipment, where preserving signal integrity and minimizing noise figure are critical.

Together, RF upconverters, RF downconverters, BUCs, and LNBs form essential building blocks of modern RF signal conversion systems. By carefully managing frequency translation, gain, and noise performance, these components allow complex RF and microwave systems to operate efficiently across a wide range of frequencies and applications.