Though traditional digitally-based broadband synthesizers have led the industry in performance, they have also led in high NRE and recurring costs and long cycle times. The new WaveCor™ Synthesizer from ITT Microwave Systems eliminates this cost/performance tradeoff.   The WaveCor Synthesizer is realized by leveraging ITT's proprietary low-spurious WaveCor Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) technology. This advanced WaveCor DDS technology provides orders of magnitude of improvement over competitive DDS technology. WaveCor technology provides a unique combination of high spurious free dynamic range, low phase noise, precise frequency control and ultra-fast switching.   Digitally based synthesizers have, historically, required extensive mix/divide circuitry to compensate for the inferior performance offered by competitive DDS technology. Given the limitations of available DDS technology, it was also necessary for this additional circuitry to be highly customized for a specific application. This customization typically required significant non-recurring engineering funding and lead times for new synthesizer applications. With the advent of WaveCor technology, custom mix/divide circuitry is no longer required to improve the DDS generated signal.   The elimination of this custom circuitry paves the way for an innovative step forward in synthesizer design-the WaveCor Synthesizer. The WaveCor Synthesizer is based upon a flexible, general-purpose architecture that is easily adapted to most Radar or Electronic Warfare (EW) applications. The WaveCor Synthesizer integrates WaveCor technology with generic high purity / low noise frequency expansion circuitry and a unique mechanical design. This elegant design enables simple and quick modifications to meet customer-specific requirements. This technical brief presents a detailed description of WaveCor™ technology, synthesizer architecture, mechanical design, and the associated performance and cost benefits.