ISSUE DATE: MAY 2009  OPTIONS
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May 2009 - In This Issue

[Cover Story]
Agile Sources Reach 50 GHz
MMillimeter-wave test signals are essential for evaluating a wide range of systems and their components, including aerospace, defense, and satellite communications systems. Those test signals should feature low phase noise, minimal harmonics and spurious content and, ideally, fast switching speed to cut the time needed for production testing of components. To fill those requirements, Giga-tronics (www.gigatronics.com) has introduced a new line of six frequency-agile synthesized...  — Jack Browne

[News]
IMS Returns To The Cradle Of Liberty
Boston, which was incorporated in 1822, is one of America’s oldest cities. Its sites are quite varied, as they range from historic places like Faneuil Hall and Chinatown to the New England Aquarium. A culturally diverse mix of dining options also has emerged in Boston, although all of New England is known for seafood. From June 7 to the 12, the city’s sites and restaurants will be enjoyed by attendees of this year’s ...  — Nancy Friedrich

[News]
Understanding Benefits Of MIMO Technology
Multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems are used in modern wireless standards, including in IEEE 802.11n, 3GPP LTE, and mobile WiMAX systems. The technique supports enhanced data throughput even under conditions of interference, signal fading, and multipath. The demand for higher data rates over longer distances has been one of the primary motivations behind the development of MIMOorthogonal- frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM)...  — David A. Hall

[News]
Networking RF Tests With LXI
Automatic-test-equipment (ATE) systems have operated with a wide range of control schemes over the years, from standards such as the General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) to customized interfaces. The LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI) standard, however, is an attempt to use proven network practices over a Local Area Network (LAN) to link and control electronic test equipment. Developed by the member companies of the ...  — Jack Browne

[Design Features]
System Simplifies Multiport S-Parameter Measurements
Standard RF/microwave vector network analyzers (VNAs) are designed for testing twoport devices, such as amplifiers and, in some cases, components with as many as four ports, such as a power divider or combiner. But in the case of a device under test (DUT) with as many as 62 ports, special modifications are required. Such a specialized VNA-based system was developed recently by In-Phase Technologies (Clarksburg, NJ) for a custom requirement. At the heart...  — Howard Salvesen

[Design Features]
Sending Surface Waves Along Coaxial Cables, Part 1
Coaxial cables had once been thought to support only a single transverse-electromagnetic (TEM) propagation mode. But a solution to the Maxwell-Heaviside equations supports the existence of a propagating transverse-magnetic (TM) surface-wave mode as well. This mode is suppressed by the outer conductor in coaxial cables of conventional impedance, but is dominant in higher-impedance coaxial cables and also on a single uninsulated and unconditioned...  — Glenn Elmore

[Design Features]
Tunable IF Aids Bluetooth Flexibility
Bluetooth has evolved from a low-throughput-rate (723 kb/s) short-range wireless link at 2.40 to 2.4835 GHz transmitting simple frequencyhopped, Gaussian frequency-shiftkeying (FSK) modulated signal. This early version of the unlicensed wireless standard (Bluetooth 1.2) shifts carriers by ±160 kHz to represent the data bit, using frequency hopping at 1600 times/second onto one of 79 channels, each spaced 1 MHz apart. Newer versions of Bluetooth...  — JIm Wight

[Design Features]
Hit Minimum SAR With EM Software
Electromagnetic (EM) energy and human health issues have long been a concern with the growing use of portable wireless devices. Because of this, many countries now require compliance with specific absorption rate (SAR) specifications for EM radiation. Fortunately, by using SAR simulation software, designers can estimate SAR performance at the initial stages of product concept and development, saving countless design iterations (and cost) in order to comply...  — Weidong Hao , et al.

[Design Features]
Translinear Circuits Tackle RF Signals
Translinear circuits were originally developed for nonlinear analog signal processing, as circuits with inputs and outputs in the form of currents.1 Another simplified interpretation of a translinear circuit stems from the fact that the transconductance of a bipolar transistor is linearly proportional to its collector current. Essentially, a translinear circuit works in the current domain rather than the voltage domain, requiring a...  — Louis Fan Fei

[Design Features]
Build LPFs With Dot-Terminations
Lowpass filters with maximally flat group delay are ideal for digital signal transmission systems, since they allow pulsed signals to rise and fall smoothly and settle rapidly to final values without distortion. Filters such as the Bessel-Thomson lowpass filter have been used in these applications, although the configuration is reflective at stopband frequencies and can cause signal distortion with impedance mismatches. A better solution is...  — Tom H. Roberts

[Design Features]
Printed Dipole Delivers High Gain For WLANs
Wireless local area networks (WLANs) provide the means of Internet access for millions of users worldwide. The technology has undergone a great deal of change since its inception, requiring antennas that are versatile and can provide high performance in a compact size. By following a simple design strategy, it is possible to increase the gain of a printed dipole antenna so that it can support a variety of different WLAN standards. The...  — Bau-Yi-Lee , et al.

[Design Features]
Miniature Frequency Synthesizer Operates To 12.5 GHz
APPLICATIONS IN COMMUNICATIONS, radar, and instrumentation can take advantage of the SLSM5 family of frequency synthesizers. These synthesizers operate to 12.5 GHz and cover as much as octave bandwidths. They boast phase noise of –95 dBc/Hz offset 10 kHz from the carrier at the X-band and spurious performance starting at –60 dBc. With 1-kHz steps and frequency controlled via an RS-485 interface, the SLSM5 synthesizers are system-friendly components. They operate...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Product Technology]
Radios Tune At UHF And 1.3 GHz
Military electronics systems often require an embedded radio to communicate voice or data to and from the system and a command post. But such radios must be small in size and low in power, especially for portable and tactical systems. Fortunately, the latest UHF and 1.3-GHz radios from FreeWave Technologies pack generous power into small footprints. The firm’s new MM2-M13 and MM2-MU circuitcard ...  — Jack Browne

[Product Technology]
USB Digital Attenuators Control 63 dB To 6 GHz
Complementing a line of compact Lab Brick Universal Serial Bus (USB) powered and controlled signal generators, Vaunix Technology Corp. has announced a family of Lab Brick Digital Attenuators with 63 dB of programmable attenuation through 6 GHz. The first two standard models are the LDA-102, with frequency coverage of 0.1 to 1000.0 MHz, and the LDA-602, with a frequency range of 6 to 6000 MHz. Both...  — Scott Blanchard , et al.

[Product Technology]
Broadband Dividers Split Power To 65 GHz
Power dividers provide a critical signal-processing function in military electronic systems. They allow a single input signal to be subdivided into two or more output signals, so that detailed analysis can be performed, for example, on captured radar or intelligence signals. One of the better-known suppliers of broadband RF/microwave power dividers is Electromagnetic Technologies Industries (ETI) which...  — Jack Browne

[Product Technology]
Laser-Based System Creates Fast Prototypes
Circuit design and prototyping can be a tedious series of steps, developing layout files, sending them to a fabrication house, and waiting for the return of printed-circuit boards (PCBs) for evaluation. There is a way to eliminate the delays, by using the ProtoLaser S system from LPKF Laser & Electronics for in-house fabrication of PCBs from standard layout files. Prototyping systems can bring...  — Jack Browne

[Editorial]
Comparing Notes At The Boston MTT-S
Each year at this time, the high-frequency industry prepares for the ritual known as the Microwave Theory & Techniques Society (MTT-S) Symposium & Exhibition, this year scheduled for early June in Boston, MA. For most companies, it is not a question of whether to attend, but who to send. For some, it is an opportunity to unveil new products. For others, it is important to be there, among friends and competitors, and to assess the company’s achievements...  — Jack Browne

[Feedback]
Feedback
Remembering Old MMICs Dear Editor, In my article in the March issue, “Recalling Early GaAs MMIC Developments” (p. 68), I noticed that the image for the GaAs MMIC switch in Figure 13 was severely cropped and did not show the full details of the device. In addition, the article shows the block diagram for the GaAs T/R module in Figure 14, and mentions the actual device as Figure 15, but neglected to include the Figure 15 image for...  — Various Readers

[The Front End]
Digital-Radio Growth Shifts To Emerging Asian Markets
SCOTTSDALE, AZ—According to an In-Stat report, “Worldwide Demand for Digital Radio Continues to Rise,” the worldwide market for digital radios experienced year-overyear growth of 85 percent between 2007 and 2008. Such growth is impressive because consumer confidence was at its weakest point in more than a decade. The Asia/Pacific region —primarily Korea— was the main driver of the growth seen over this time period. “Moving into 2009,...  — Dawn Hightower

[The Front End]
Wireless Patient Monitoring Is On The Rise
WELLINGBOROUGH, UK—Although they have generally been negative, the economic downturn and the growing cost burdens placed on the healthcare industry have had a somewhat positive effect. They have driven opportunities for the use of wireless technologies within the healthcare industry. By investing in telehealth opportunities, a positive pro-active approach offers potential cost and time-saving benefits when monitoring patients who are suffering from...  — Dawn Hightower

[The Front End]
Colorado State University Beams Weather Radar Data
GREELEY, CO—The Colorado State University CHILL (CSU-CHILL) National Weather Radar Facility has deployed Exalt Communications’ EX-2.4i microwave radio system to reliably deliver real-time weather radar data from its remote location to researchers on the CSU campus. The system allows campus researchers to monitor live weather events. It also eliminates the need to manually transfer data on storage disks between the remote site and the campus. “Our researchers...  — Dawn Hightower

[Financial News]
Harris Buys Tyco’s Wireless Systems Business
HARRIS CORP. HAS signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tyco Electronics’ (formerly known as M/A-COM) Wireless Systems business for $675 million in cash subject to post-closing adjustments. The goodwill arising on completion of this acquisition will be an allowable tax expense with an estimated net present value of $60 million, resulting in an effective purchase price of $615 million. Tyco Electronics Wireless Systems, a business segment of Tyco...  — Dawn Hightower

[Company News]
Company News
CONTRACTS Quantum Signal—Has kicked off four projects with a value of $2.9 million for the US Army. The projects, through the US Department of Defense Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, are Phase 2. They were awarded based on outstanding research and development activities and results during their initial phase. Raytheon Co.—Has been...  — Dawn Hightower

[People]
People
Buckley Is Named Harris Fellow RICHARD BUCKLEY has been named the 2009 recipient of the Harris Fellow Award, the highest recognition for engineering achievement at Harris Corp. Buckley, a Senior Scientist with the RF Communications division in Rochester, NY, is a 25-year veteran of Harris. He is being honored for his technical expertise, leadership skills, and continuous contributions toward achieving and sustaining Harris’ leadership...  — Dawn Hightower

[Educational Meetings]
Educational Meetings
MEETINGS 2009 National Conference on Microwave and Millimeter Wave in China May 23-26, 2009 (China) Xi’an Qujiang International Conference and Exhibition Center, P. R. China For more information contact: Mr. Wei Zilun Phone: 86-755-83655339 FAX: 86-755-836290073 E-mail: kingradio@163.net, mwrf@vip.163.com Or visit: ...  — Dawn Hightower

[R&D Roundup]
Jumping Genes Tackle UWB-Antenna Design Requirements
Wideband-antenna design can be quite formidable— especially for the handheld terminal, as compromises must be made for frequency band, size, pattern, gain, and simplicity. Recently, a planar UWB monopole antenna was proposed by the City University of Hong Kong’s Xue-Song Yang, Kai Tat Ng, Sai Ho Yeung, and Kim Fung Man. This antenna was designed using a newly developed evolutionary optimization algorithm. One recently proposed multi-objective optimization ...  — Nancy Friedrich

[R&D Roundup]
Generate Ultrashort Pulses At 50 Attoseconds And Beyond
Researchers are increasingly leveraging ultrashort light pulses in areas as diverse as high smallscale lithography and high-speed switching and communications. In fact, a simple system for attosecond pulse generation using optic devices known as multistage microring resonators has been proposed by P.P. Yupapin and S. Chaiyasoonthorn from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology (Ladkrabang, Bangkok) and N. Pornsuwancharoen from both King Mongkut’s and Rajamangala...  — Nancy Friedrich

[R&D Roundup]
Decoupling Network Raises Antenna Port Isolation
Through the use of multi-element antennas, wireless systems are accommodating increasingly higher data rates. At National Chiao Tung University (Hsinchu, Taiwan), a compact decoupling network for enhancing the port isolation between two closely spaced antennas has been investigated by Shin-Chang Chen, Yu-Shin Wang, and Shyh-Jong Chung. Using the proposed decoupling structure, two examples of printed antennas at 2.45 GHz were created. Isolation between the...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Application Notes]
Eliminate External Sources To Measure DUT Noise
If a device’s additive phase-noise contribution is known, engineers can more easily select individual components for their signal chain. They will feel confident that those devices—in aggregate—meet the phase-noise requirements for their complete system. In an application note titled, “The Residual Phase Noise Measurement,” Analog Devices’ David Brandon and John Cavey describe a technique to evaluate device-under-test (DUT) noise by removing external noise sources....  — Nancy Friedrich

[Application Notes]
Get More Connected With The LXI Interface
LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI) does more than specify a local-area-network (LAN) interface on a standalone instrument. It was spawned to replace the aging General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) as the industry standard for connecting test and measurement equipment. The LXI standard also was developed to specify a complete modular standard with requirements for size, cooling, multi-device synchronization, triggering, and more. The LXI specification...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Editor's Choice]
Modulator Combines Four Devices To Cover 950 To 1575 MHz
TYPICALLY, BROADBAND-SATELLITE-COMMUNICATION designs required a variety of RF integrated circuits (ICs) to form an intermediate-frequency (IF) signal path. In contrast, the ADRF6750 modulator integrates an analog in-phase/ quadrature (I/Q) modulator, fractional-N phase-locked-loop (PLL) synthesizer, voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), and digitally controlled RF attenuator in an 8-x-8-mm LFCSP package. Covering 950 to 1575 MHz with a single 5-V power supply, the ADRF6750...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Editor's Choice]
PA Delivers 5 W From 14.5 To 16 GHz
TO TARGET MEDIUM-POWER Ku-band applications, a four-stage power amplifier (PA) provides 5 W of saturated output power. Dubbed the XP1058-BD, this gallium-arsenide (GaAs), monolithic-microwave-integrated-circuit (MMIC) PA achieves 27 dB small signal gain and +37 dBm saturated output power. The high-power amplifier uses a dual-sided bias architecture, covers 14.5 to 16 GHz, and achieves an output third-order intercept point of +44 dBm. The chip has surface ...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Editor's Choice]
Receiver Module Supports Data Links To 64 kb/s
WHEN USED IN CONJUNCTION with the matching TX3B-869-64 transmitters, the RX3G ultra-high-frequency (UHF) radio data-receiver device facilitates the implementation of wireless infrastructure that can support speeds of 64 kb/s and transmission ranges to 75 m within buildings or 300 m over open ground. The RX3G is a phaselocked- loop (PLL) synthesizer-based, miniature printed-circuit-board (PCB) -mounted radio data-receiver device. It exhibits receive...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Focus]
Passive Simulation Models Gain Accuracy and Scalability
 — Ashok Bindra

[Focus]
Broadwall Directional Couplers Span 2.6 To 40 GHz
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
Antenna Enclosures Target Broadband Wireless Equipment
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
20-W Chip Attenuator Quells Levels To 30 dB
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
AWS-Band Diplexer Offers 45-dB Tx-Rx Isolation
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
Achieving Effective Amplifier Designs
 — Nancy Friedrich

[Focus]
VCO Delivers +2 dBm Output Power From 1370 To 1400 MHz
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
X-Band PA Delivers +46 dBm At 40 W
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
3.3-V OCXOs Serve Frequencies To 38.88 MHz
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
IF Amplifier Delivers 25 dB Gain From 0.1 To 2.6 GHz
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
Copper Cable Assemblies Challenge Optical Performance
 — Ashok Bindra

[Focus]
Online Tools Configure Coaxial And Fiber-Optic Cabling
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
Contacts Eliminate Replacements Due To Misalignment
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
Connectors Operate From -270° To +200°C
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF

[Focus]
Type N Panel Receptacles Feature Single-Piece Construction
 — The Editors of Microwaves & RF