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ISSUE DATE: MARCH 2009 | |
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March 2009 - In This Issue [Cover Story] Rack-Mount Amplifiers Power 0.5 To 31.0 GHz Rack-mount amplifiers serve a variety of purposes in commercial, industrial, and military systems, where power, gain, efficiency, and linearity are important. In line with these requirements, noted amplifier supplier CTT, Inc. (www. cttinc.com) has expanded its lines of rack-mount power amplifiers to cover the frequency range of 500 MHz to 31 GHz with as much as 50 W output power. The amplifiers can be used for antenna profiling, dielectric heating, ... — Jack Browne [News] Microwave Materials Move Beyond Thermal Management Materials are not just tasked with bonding and separating circuit traces and ground lines on circuit boards. They must also channel life-shortening heat away from components. In addition, materials must provide stable foundations for circuits over both time and temperature even as new designs call for higher power and increased thermal stability. To enable future designs, materials are growing increasingly sophisticated and promising increased... — Nancy Friedrich [News] Learn The Meaning Of Amplifier Linearity Linearity in an RF/microwave amplifier is a term synonymous with “fidelity” in an audio amplifier. In both cases, the term refers to the essential job of an amplifier, to increase the power level of an input signal without otherwise altering the content of the signal. The term linearity derives from an amplifier’s linear relationship of input power to output power which, in an ideal amplifier, would be precisely related by the gain of the amplifier. Of... — Jack Browne [News] An Interview with Alexander Chenakin Frequency synthesizers are among the most challenging of high-frequency designs. Many approaches have been developed to generate clean output signals, although techniques that achieve low noise often suffer from limited tuning speed. Dr. Chenakin’s design team at Phase Matrix is developing solutions to these design trade offs, and Microwaves & RF spoke recently with him to hear his thoughts on the current state of microwave frequency synthesis. ... — Jack Browne [Design Features] Analyze Bearing Accuracy Of A Monopulse System Amplitude monopulse direction- finding (DF) systems depend on tight component tolerances to achieve a high degree of bearing accuracy. By using an amplitude monopulse system with four-monopulse antenna and switched beam-forming network as an example, it is possible to better understand the effects of the RF/microwave components on the overall system peak and rootmean- square (RMS) bearing accuracy. The first portion of this two-part article will show... — Leo G. Maloratsky [Design Features] Recalling Early GaAs MMIC Developments Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a well-established device technology now at the heart of many commercial and military systems. The technology is now more than 40 years old, with early diffused-gate transistors with lower-Megahertz gains reported over four decades earlier.1 Those earlier research efforts resulted in a significant leap forward in 1971 when GaAs transistors with 1-µm gate lengths (Fig.... — Ray Pengelly [Design Features] Analyze Requirements For WEDGE Receivers Third-generation (3G) cellular networks offer unprecedented functionality and services for consumers, but also a host of challenges for handset designers. To provide the many services available, a mobile handset must work seamlessly across multiple wireless networks, such as wideband codedivision- multiple-access (WCDMA) and GSM/EDGE systems. Ideally, for reduced design cycle time and lower bill-of-material (BOM) costs, a practical transceiver... — Louis Fan Fei [Design Features] SIR Approach Yields UWB Microstrip Filter Ultrawideband (UWB) communications technology provides a practical means of low-power, high-data-rate transmissions over short distances, such as in personal-area networks (PANs). The technology is also suitable for longer-range applications, such as radar systems. High-performance filters with adequate bandwidths are essential in order for UWB systems to co-exist with current wireless communications systems. The design of such filters is not... — K. Nagachenchaiah , et al. [Product Technology] Propagation Simulator Models Airborne Coms Communications links operating in airborne and aerospace environments must overcome the stress of high velocity and acceleration in addition to the usual challenges of interference and fading. Fortunately, the EB Propsim C8 propagation simulator from Elektrobit Corp., when equipped with the firm’s ASO tool, can create the complex signal conditions needed to emulate communications channels in... — Jack Browne [Product Technology] Sizing Up Advances In Frequency Synthesizers Microwave frequency synthesizers are shrinking. To summarize the major trend in the technology, modern frequency synthesizers offer better performance than units many times their size from a decade earlier. Most are designed upon modular platforms, allowing customization of step size, control logic, power supplies, and even choice of reference source, for ease of integration into modern systems. In addition to smaller sizes, customers are seeking... — Jack Browne [Product Technology] Palm-Sized Generators Pack High Performance Signal generators are found in almost every RF/microwave test lab but, more and more, they are also needed in the field. Unfortunately, most RF/microwave signal generators are designed for fixed, rack-mount installations. That is, except for the Lab Brick compact portable signal generators from Vaunix Technology Corporation. These low-cost test signal sources provide precise, stable output signals from 50 MHz to 6 GHz and can go where the test signals... — Scott Blanchard , et al. [Product Technology] Digital Scopes Capture 30 GHz Broadband signal capture with a high-speed oscilloscope can reveal a great deal about the electronic “health” of a component or system. And in terms of measurement power, few oscilloscopes can compare with the new WaveMaster 8 Zi series of digital oscilloscopes from LeCroy Corp. With models covering bandwidths of 4 to 30 GHz, edgetrigger capability of 15 GHz, and sampling rates to 80 GSamples/s, these... — Jack Browne [Product Technology] Tiny Transistors Route Wireless Signals Packaged transistors serve a multitude of analog-signal- processing purposes in wireless systems, from amplification to switching. The latest additions to a line of packaged devices from California Eastern Laboratories cram a great deal of performance into miniature surface-mount housings that are suitable for mobile handset applications through 5.8 GHz. For example, model UPA828TD is a “twin... — Jack Browne [Editorial] Be Proactive About Passive Components Passive components are largely ignored in highfrequency circuits, until they become a problem. They are the fundamental building blocks of electronic circuits and, like bricks and lumber in the building industry, are assumed to perform as advertised. It is not by accident that this issue features a special report on materials by Editor Nancy Friedrich (see p. 28). The focus of that story is on numerous refinements made to composites to increase their... — Jack Browne [Feedback] Feedback Measuring Phase Noise Dear Editor, I read with great interest your report on phase noise in the February issue of Microwaves & RF. For the most part, the article made valid points about the vagaries of phase-noise specifications in product data sheets. The phase noise decreases with distance from the carrier frequency. In some systems, close-in phase-noise performance is not critical and the further-out ... — Various Readers [The Front End] Mobile Data Infrastructure Market Prepares For Sharp Decline In 2009 AUSTIN, TX—The mobile data infrastructure market is expected to experience a double-digit decline in revenues this year, according to a recent study by IMS Research. In the report, titled “Mobile Broadband: 4G Network Evolution,” IMS Research points out that mobile WiMAX may be hardest hit as credit markets dry up, jeopardizing many of the smaller WiMAX vendors’ most important customers. This economic downturn comes at a time when many operators are... — Dawn Hightower [The Front End] Labtech Microwave Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary United Kingdom—Labtech Microwave is pleased to be celebrating its 25th anniversary. The firm was established in 1984 at Presteigne in Wales with the aim of specializing in non-standard printed-circuitboard (PCB) production. It soon became one of the first independent companies in the UK to manufacture polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) metal-backed microwave PCBs. Labtech Microwave was bought by Intelek plc in 1990. It received the Queen’s Award for Export... — Dawn Hightower [The Front End] Alcatel-Lucent’s Alternative Energy Program Is Solution For Wireless-Base Station Deployment BARCELONA, SPAIN—Alcatel-Lucent has launched an “Alternative Energy Program” to enable the high-volume deployment of wireless base stations powered by alternative energy sources. The program will help to ensure that service providers can quickly and cost-efficiently deploy wireless networks—even to areas that are not served by electrical power—in all ranges of climates and geographies and under all deployment conditions. The company is establishing a... — Dawn Hightower [Financial News] Joint Venture ST-Ericsson Is Born ST-ERICSSON HAS BEEN born out of the 50/50 joint venture that united the wireless semiconductor division of STMicroelectronics and the mobile platform division of Ericsson. This announcement follows the closing of the agreement announced from both parent companies in August 2008 to merge Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST-NXP Wireless. ST-Ericsson, which will be headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is expected to be a driving force in the wireless... — Dawn Hightower [Company News] Company News CONTRACTS Alcatel-Lucent—Has been chosen by Chuan Wei (Cambodia) Co. Ltd, to deploy a nationwide WiMAX Rev-e (IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard) wireless broadband network— Cambodia’s first. Commercial services are set for launch in mid-2009. Chuan Wei, part of the Thai Boon Roong Ltd. conglomerate, is counting on the Alcatel-Lucent solution to meet its target of serving one million subscribers—roughly 80 percent of the... — Dawn Hightower [People] People Fawson Is Founder Of RF Connections RUTH FAWSON has founded RF Connections in Tampa, FL. Fawson, the President and Founder of RF Connections, worked alongside some of the pioneers of the RF connector industry for more than 40 years and has extensive experience with RF connector and cable-assembly design. In fact, Fawson ... — Dawn Hightower [Educational Meetings] Educational Meetings MEETINGS WCNC 2009 IEEE Wireless Communications & Networking Conference April 5-8, 2009 (Budapest, Hungary) For registration, conference, and hotel information, visit: www.ieee-wcnc.org/2009 28th IEEE INFOCOM: Conference On Computer Communications April 19-25, 2009 (Rio de Janeiro,... — Dawn Hightower [R&D Roundup] Antennas Are\ Printed On Foam-Dielectric Material METALLIZED FOAM MAY be a way to reduce antenna manufacturing complexity and cost. For example, a microstrip-patch antenna embedded in a rectangular cavity, inspired by the Koch island geometry, has all metallic parts (patch, cavity, and feeding probe) metallized on foam. This work was conducted by Jaume Anguera, Carmen Borja, Josep Mumbrú, and Carles Puente from Fractus (Barcelona, Spain) together with Jean-Pierre Daniel and Tiphaine Leduc from... — Nancy Friedrich [R&D Roundup] MEMS Transceiver Satisfies Low-And Medium- Data-Rate Uses WIRELESS AND NETWORKING capability have not been seamlessly integrated into tiny devices for short-distance wireless applications. Such low-datarate (LDR) applications, which typically operate at 10 kb/s, include wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and wireless body-area networks (WBANs). Also suffering from this lack of integration are 1-Mb/s medium-data-rate (MDR) applications, such as audio streaming, medical devices, miniature drug delivery... — Nancy Friedrich [R&D Roundup] Mast Antenna Enhances Satellite Radio Reception TO IMPROVE DIGITAL satellite-radio reception, a novel topology has been proposed for a vehicular circular-polarization mast antenna. This antenna does not require a groundplane. In addition, leftand right-hand circular polarization are possible with the same design by inverting the symmetry of the printed dipoles. This antenna was proposed by Yves Cassivi and Yves Demers from MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (Montreal, Canada), Jean-Jacques... — Nancy Friedrich [Application Notes] Use RF CMOS For Single-Chip Wireless Solutions DEPENDING ON THE APPICATION, an RF system’s baseband processor or controller is a system-ona- chip (SoC) device that contains one or more central processing units (CPUs), memories, complex logic, and analog circuits. Normally, the digital baseband processor is implemented in advanced complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process technologies. The RF transceiver is generally manufactured using a silicongermanium (SiGe) BiCMOS process while... — Nancy Friedrich [Application Notes] Subharmonic Mixers Best Serve Millimeter-Wave Radios WITH THE INCREASING DEMANDS in the microwave and very-small-aperture-terminal (VSAT) radio market, the frequency band of operation has risen while modulation schemes have grown more complex. To design a millimeter-wave radio that can provide the required performance at lower cost than its predecessors, manufacturers have replaced hybrid-mixer technology with solutions based on monolithic-microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). In a seven-page... — Nancy Friedrich [Editor's Choice] SiGe Mixers Suit Base Stations From 700 To 4000 MHz DESIGNED USING A PROPRIETARY silicon-germanium (SiGe) process, a new line of mixers provides input thirdorder intercept point performance to +24.8 dBm. With 2RF-2LO spurious rejection to -79 dBc, these monolithic devices can ease the filtering requirements of close-in harmonics. In addition, conversion gain to 9 dB enables the elimination of a complete intermediate-frequency (IF) amplifier stage within the receiver lineup. Noise-figure values range... — Nancy Friedrich [Editor's Choice] LDMOS Transistors Target Sub-1-GHz Cellular Applications BY LEVERAGING A LATERALLY diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) process technology, a line of power transistors has been designed to lower power consumption in cellular transmitters. The eighthgeneration high-voltage (HV8) RF Power LDMOS devices are optimized for operation in advanced power-amplifier (PA) architectures. For example, a symmetrical Doherty reference design using two MRF8S9260H/HS transistors designed for multicarrier GSM... — Nancy Friedrich [Focus] Low Loss Allows Connections To Varied Applications — Daniel Ulmer , et al. [Focus] Measure Impedance And Insertion Loss In USB 3.0 Cables And Connectors — Michael Schnecker [Focus] Bayonet Connectors Reduce Test-Cable Breakage — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] Simulator Characterizes Cable Signal Propagation — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] Float-Mount Design Translates Into Low VSWR — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] Low-Profile Copper Cable Satisfies SFP+ Assemblies — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] Installation Accessories Benefit Aluminum And Copper Cables — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] TDR Cable Testers Reach Beyond 8.3 GHz — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] PA Modules Are Tailored For Femtocell Base Stations — Ashok Bindra [Focus] Voltage-Controlled Oscillator Spans 2480 To 2960 MHz — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] Amplifier Delivers 2 W From 33 To 35 GHz — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] MMIC Amplifier Delivers 6 W Of Saturated Output Power — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] Low-Noise Amplifier Spans 50 To 65 GHz — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] 1.25-kW Power Amplifiers Boost Satellite Signals — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] Power Dividers/Combiners Rise In Frequency, Shrink In Size — Ashok Bindra [Focus] Wideband Units Enable Multiplexing From 0.5 To 40.0 GHz — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] Compact Dielectric Filters Serve W-CDMA And LTE Amplifiers — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] Multi-Tap Attenuators Control 1 To 10 dB — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Focus] 12-m Antenna Buoys Astronomers At ALMA Observatory — The Editors of Microwaves & RF |
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