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July 2008 [Components] CSP Technology Shrinks RF Component Size Components and integrated circuits for RF/microwave applications have traditionally been small in size, although the limit on miniaturization has often been the package. With the announcement of its unique WaferCap chipscale- packaging (CSP) technology, however, Avago Technologies (San Jose, CA) has dramatically shrunk the size of microelectronic packaging, but also the losses that such packaging can inflict on high-frequency circuits. Avago’s ... — Jack Browne June 2008 [Test & Measurement] Fast Meters Scale Microwave Power Peaks Power measurements are critical for characterizing modern high-frequency systems and their components. With the growing use of pulsed and pseudorandom signals in both commercial communications and military radar systems, power meters capable of peak and continuous-wave (CW) measurements are more valuable than ever The new 4540 series of power meters from Boonton Electronics (www.boonton.com) is such an... — Jack Browne May 2008 [Devices & ICs] LTCC Arms Mixer For 7.3-To-20.0-GHz Systems Frequency conversion is one of the more critical functions within the RF/microwave portion of a highfrequency system. In spite of continuing advances in the speed and bit resolution of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), they rely on a frequency mixer to translate high-frequency signals within their bandwidth range. The model SIM-24MH+ frequency mixer from Mini-Circuits (Brooklyn,... — Mini-Circuits' Engineering Dept. April 2008 [Communications] Low-Jitter Modules Generate Clock Signals To 40 Gb/s Billions of cellular telephones and their users worldwide are driving demands for faster communications networks. Optical communications systems support long-distance services and serve as the backhaul communications for wireless networks. At one time, optical communications systems operating at 10 Gb/s (OC-192) may have seemed adequate but, with growing voice, data, and video traffic, optical communications networks carrying data rates of 40 Gb/s ... — A.P.S. (Paul) Khanna March [Communications] Power-Saving Design Brings DDS Flexibility To Portables Direct digital synthesis (DDS) has served a wide range of applications due to its fast frequency switching speed and modulation capabilities. But it has often been relegated to a secondary choice in favor of analog phase-locked- loop (PLL) synthesis for cases where low power consumption and low cost are key factors. However, the model AD9913 from Analog Devices (www.analog.com) provides the fast-switching and modulation ... — Ken Gentile , et al. February [Materials] Gore Celebrates 50 Years Of PTFE Most RF/microwave engineers know it by the acronym PTFE rather than the full name of polytetrafluoroethylene. The polymer is ever-present in the high-frequency industry in coaxial and fiber-optic cables, printed-circuitboard (PCB) materials, and electromagnetic-interference (EMI) shielding materials and gaskets. It is also the basis for innovative products in other industries, ranging from energy to medicine. The company behind the many applications for PTFE is W. L.... — Jack Browne January 2008 [Test & Measurement] High-Speed Synthesizer Switches 0.01 To 20 GHz An innovative VCO architecture arms this low-noise frequency synthesizer with the switching speed needed for high-volume device and component testing. In an automatic-test-equipment (ATE) application, speed is money. Faster measurement times translate into higher throughput and more devices or components approved for shipping at the end of the day. Measurements, of course, require fast analysis equipment but also high-speed stimulus instruments to generate test signals.... — Jack Browne December 2007 [Computer-Aided Engineering] Software Tool Brings EM Technology To Forefront Jack Browne Technical Director Electromagnetic (EM) simulation software has evolved from a laboratory curiosity to a valuable modeling tool during the last decade. But many users still consider the technology as a "back-end" design tool, often applied as a way to check the results on "more trusted" S-parameter-based circuit simulators. To change that way of thinking, Applied Wave Research ... — Jack Browne November 2007 [Devices & ICs] Surveying Solutions For UMTS Handset Designs Third-generation (3G) multimode wireless communications promise mobile multiedia services as a result of enhanced data rates. For example, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology is providing evolutionary performance improvements through Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) networks. High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is delivering faster downlink speeds and user data throughput of 1 Mb/s while High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) is paving the... — Steve Egolf , et al. October 2007 [Devices & ICs] Digital VGAs Simplify And Shrink Wireless Transceivers Signal amplification is a key function in high-frequency radios. Many newer wireless-communications systems rely on maintaining stable amplitude within the radio's downconversion circuitry even when faced with a wide range of input signal levels. Because of this, the variable gain amplifier (VGA) has become an essential building block in many wireless radio transceivers. Traditional VGAs have varied the DC voltage to set the amplifier's gain, although additional circuitry and ... — Richard Houlihan September 2007 [Systems & Subsystems] Block Upconverter Drops Phase Noise At Ka-Band Commercial and military satellites deploying Ka-band transponders are driving the need for high-performance L-band-to-Ka-band block upconverters (BUCs). These frequency translators will find use in portable and fixed terminals and must be compatible with both solid-state and tube-based amplifiers. To meet the needs of this growing market, Herley-CTI (www.herley-cti.com) has developed a low-phase-noise, dual-loop frequency synthesized BUC using dielectric resonator oscillators... — John Odell , et al. August 2007 [Components] Technique Trims VCXO Phase Noise Frequency reference standards are essential to achieving frequency accuracy and phase stability in electronic systems. Such sources require the chief characteristics of low phase noise and good frequency stability.1-13 The best oscillator performance can be expensive, however. Fortunately, a patented approach has been developed to design and optimize the performance of voltage-controlled crystal oscillators (VCXOs), even those with relative low quality-factor... — Ulrich L. Rohde , et al. July 2007 [Components] Mirror Symmetry Makes High-Performance Hybrids Dimensional tolerances are critical to both electrical performance and manufacturing yield of high-frequency circuits. Since every deviation in a printed-circuit-board (PCB) trace represents a significant portion of a wavelength and RF and microwave frequencies, circuit patterns must be tightly controlled with minimal irregularities to achieve consistent electrical performance. This can be done with the highest-caliber PCB photolithographic techniques and... — Jack Browne June 2007 [Devices & ICs] Single Chip Holds WiMAX Transceiver Broadband services, such as Internet access and streaming video, are coming to a wireless transceiver near you. Many wireless service providers are already offering forms of wireless broadband service through their existing cellular networks. Many are also considering WiMAX equipment as an effective way to augment their networks with broadband-wireless-access (BWA) capabilities. Of course, affordable WiMAX service requires low-cost WiMAX equipment, and the new model MAX2837 wireless... — Walter Lau May 2007 [Test & Measurement] High-VSWR Tuners Ease Device Matching To 6 GHz Load-pull tuning systems provide tremendous insight into high-frequency devices under variable-impedance conditions. In terms of device and component optimization, for example, a loadpull tuner makes it possible to find the impedance-matching conditions for optimum transistor or amplifier output power or efficiency, of particular importance in the increasingly competitive wireless equipment market. The new, patent-pending High-Gamma-Tuner™ (HGT™) system... — Eric Kueckels , et al. May 2007 [Computer-Aided Engineering] Connecting Software And Hardware Advanced test signals for the on-wafer HBT measurements were generated with the help of Agilent's Connected Solutions. The concept is simple: use the modeling power of one of the industry's leading software simulation tools to create advanced waveforms, and then have the software control hardware instruments to actually generate those signals. In the case of the HBT measurements with the Maury HGT™ systems, the software was Agilent-EEsof's popular Advanced Design... — Greg Jue April 2007 [Components] Broadband YIGs Yield Fundamental Tones To 20 GHz Microwave frequency generation relies on many exotic structures, including Gunn diodes, dielectric resonators, and carefully cut pieces of quartz crystal. But perhaps no oscillator approach is quite as detailed as sources based on yttrriumiron-garnet (YIG) spheres placed within a cavity and subjected to an electromagnetic (EM) field. Fortunately, the engineers at Micro Lambda Wireless (Fremont, CA) have devoted many engineering years to taming this technology, and leading to the... — Jack Browne March 2007 [Components] Multilayer Baluns Break Size Barrier Impedance transformers are one of the necessities of high-frequency design. Unfortunately, when miniaturization is an issue, the wire-wound ferrite components that represent traditional impedance transformers pose three major design challenges. For one thing, the dome-shaped ferrite core is not well suited for high-volume pick-and-place manufacturing equipment and must be used with a plastic cap. For another, the height constraints of modern commercial designs, such as... — Niels Kirkeby February 2007 [Systems & Subsystems] Speedy Synthesizers Shoot For Low Noise Frequency synthesizers come in many forms, depending upon the needs of an application.For the price of banks of filters and large bulk, direct analog frequency synthesizers offer unmatched frequency switching speed, although usually with trade-offs in spurious and phase noise. By sacrificing switching speed, few sources can match the low-noise performance of a phase-locked-loop (PLL) synthesizer with narrow loop filters and a high-quality crystal reference oscillator.1-7... — Jack Browne January 2007 [Test & Measurement] Handheld Spectrum Analyzers Scan 20 GHz Spectrum analysis is an essential measurement capability at RF and microwave frequencies, almost having the weight of a voltmeter at lower frequencies. If anything, however, it is the weight that has been left out of the latest line of portable spectrum analyzers from Anritsu Co. (www.anritsu.com). The company's "B" line of models MS2721B, MS2723B, and MS2724B Spectrum Master™ handheld analyzers are... — Jack Browne  prev. page
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