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ISSUE DATE: NOVEMBER 2007 | |
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November 2007 - In This Issue [Cover Story] 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. [News] Mobile WiMAX Dominates Broadband Landscape With all of the recent media hype surrounding mobile WiMAX, the term "wireless broadband" has grown almost synonymous with WiMAX. Mobile WiMAX, or IEEE 802.16e-2005, promises to provide a wireless alternative to wired broadband like cable or digital subscriber line (DSL). Because it does not require line-of-sight connectivity, it vows to provide high-speed access to many areas that currently cannot be served by wired technologies.... — Nancy Friedrich [News] Researchers Reach For Higher Frequencies At 2007 IEDM Each year, those interested in electron devices have the opportunity to assess the true states of the art in device physics, process technologies, and modeling approaches. That opportunity takes place at the annual IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), scheduled for December 10- 12, 2007 in the Hilton Washington Hotel (Washington, DC). The IEDM is sponsored by the IEEE Electron Devices Society and features hundreds of technical ... — Jack Browne [Design Features] Designing MMIC Distributed Amplifiers Distributed amplifiers offer moderate to high gain over broad frequency ranges. They have been designed with transmission lines as input and output feeds for some time. An early paper (1948) by Bill Packard (co-founder of Hewlett-Packard Co.) even showed how to use vacuum tubes for amplification in a distributed design.1 As GaAs monolithic-microwave-integrated-circuit (MMIC) technology developed and different types of amplifiers were fabricated ... — John E. Penn [Design Features] Power Modules Provide Solutions For L/S-Band Pulsed radar systems consume power, in both operation and from the RF devices in the system. To feed the power needs of modern pulsed RF radar systems, a series of Lband and S-band power solutions modules (PSMs) has been developed by the Power Products Group of Microsemi (www.microsemi.com) for pulsed radar applications. These PSMs, currently available in bands of 1200 to 1400 MHz, 2700 to 3100 MHz,... — Jerry Chang [Design Features] Developing Designs For CMOS Power Amplifiers Widespread adoption of wireless technology has created market demands for highly integrated circuits, such as a transmitter, receiver, and frequency synthesizer on a single chip. Silicon CMOS technology has made such integration possible with the exception of the power amplifier (PA), which is still typically implemented in non-CMOS technologies. Ideally, silicon CMOS PAs can be developed for tight integration with other wireless building blocks.... — Louis Fan Fei [Design Features] Analyzing A Resonator For MRI Applications Magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) systems can produce high-resolution images of cross sections of human bodies, proving to be invaluable for medical diagnostics. An important component in an MRI system is the RF probe used to emit a uniform RF magnetic field over the section of the human body under investigation and needed to receive the magnetic-resonance signals from the body for constructing high-quality images. What follows is an electromagnetic ... — Nadia Benabdallah , et al. [Product Technology] Multi-Company Teamwork Fashions Compact Filters Large multi-company organizations can sometimes deflate any attempts at inter-company partnering. In contrast, the teamwork developing among three of the Dover Corp´s Electronic Technologies companies-Dielectric Laboratories (DLI), K&L Microwave, and Vectron International-is showing that the whole can be much greater than the sum of the parts, especially in the design and development of advanced RF and microwave subassemblies. Last... — Jack Browne [Product Technology] Portable Analyzer Checks Cables And Antennas Wireless infrastructure relies on many wires, or cables and antennas, to be more precise. In order to maintain a wireless network, tests must be performed periodically on the cables and antennas. The new Agilent N9330A cable and antenna tester is the ideal tool for the task, a battery-powered one-port network analyzer with a frequency range of 25 MHz to 4 GHz that covers many wireless systems. The tester weighs 6.93 lbs. (2.9 kg) with its ... — Jack Browne [Product Technology] Fast-Switching Synthesizer Adds Modulation Capabilities Fast-switching frequency synthesizers have important places in a variety of applications, including in antenna measurements and in automatictest- equipment (ATE) systems. Since having the capability of producing flexible modulation schemes is essential in evaluating equipment for most radio communications systems, the engineers at Programmed Test Sources (Littleton, MA) have taken a good thing-the company´s long-proven model PTS 1600 frequency ... — Jack Browne [Editorial] The Year That Has Come And Gone What happened to the rest of the year, you might be wondering? Why write a retrospective editorial in a November magazine? Time is very subjective, and it has been said by many much wiser (and older) than this writer that time seems to pass more quickly the older one gets. As engineers, of course, we understand that, empirically, this is nonsense. Time is simply what we measure it to be, whether in units as small as picoseconds or as long as years or the proverbial... — Jack Browne [Feedback] Incorrect Figure FIGURE 2 in "Wireless Laboratory Aids Students And Research" by Hüseyin Arslan (October 2007, p. 59) was incorrect. The figure has been corrected for the online version. The corrected figure can be found on the Microwaves & RF website at http://mwrf.com//files/ 30/17222/Figure_02.jpg. We apologize the author and to our readers for the error. The... — The Editors of Microwaves & RF [Feedback] Attribution Needed YOUR SEPTEMBER 2007 article "Evaluate Test System Impedance Matching And Switch Quality" by Jeremy Meier and Jaideep Jhangiani (p. 84) has an interesting image for Fig. 5 on p. 90. Interesting to me because it was generated from a free download at my website. A very similar image is used by me on this page: www.microwaves 101.com/encyclopedia/vswr.cfm. It... — Steve [The Front End] Nucomm To Provide HD Microwave Equipment For Aerial Coverage Of Beijing Olympic Games HACKETTSTOWN, NJ-Nucomm, a provider of digital and analog microwave systems for the broadcast industry, common carrier, cable, government, military, and international marketplace, announced that it will supply HD microwave equipment to China´s national broadcaster, CCTV, for use during the Opening Ceremony outdoor events at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. This is the first HD airborne microwave system sold to a broadcast network in the People´s Republic of... — Compiled by John Curley [The Front End] Cisco Systems Is To Acquire Navini Networks For $330 Million OYSTER BAY, NY-Cisco Systems has announced that it will acquire Navini Networks for $330 million. "This provides a way for Cisco to expand its wireless networking solutions from WLAN only to include WMAN and WAAN as well," comments Philip Solis, principal mobile broadband analyst at ABI Research. "4G networks move mobile wireless communications into the data-networking realm, and mobile WiMAX is the first commercialized 4G, or OFDMA, network to do... — Compiled by John Curley [The Front End] WiMAX Subscribers In India To Reach 21 Million By 2014 MONTREAL, QC, CANADA AND BANGALORE, INDIA-The telecom market-research and analyst firm Maravedis (www.maravedis-bwa.com), in partnership with Tonse Telecom (www.tonsetelecom.com), a telecom and market-research firm in India, have released the second edition of the report entitled, "INDIA Wireless Broadband and WiMAX Market Analysis and forecasts ... — Compiled by John Curley [The Front End] Kudos SAN DIEGO, CA-QUALCOMM, Inc., a developer of wireless technologies and data solutions, announced that they have committed $1.5 million to support relief and recovery efforts after the recent devastating wildfires in San Diego County. The total commitment includes immediate donations of $100,000 to the San Diego/Imperial Counties American Red Cross Chapter and $100,000 to Volunteer San Diego. Over the next several weeks, the remaining $1.3 million will be directed to... — Compiled by John Curley [Financial News] Danaher To Acquire Tektronix For $2.8B Danaher Corp. and Tektronix, Inc. announced that they have reached a definitive agreement under which Danaher will make a cash tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Tektronix for $38.00 per share. The aggregate purchase price is approximately $2.8 billion, including debt, transaction costs, and net of cash acquired. The Board of Directors of Tektronix has unanimously recommended that Tektronix shareholders accept and... — Compiled by John Curley [Company News] Company News Contacts Elcom Technologies, Inc.-Announced the receipt of a new contract in excess of $4 million from a major United States military contractor, for high-performance VME-based synthesized RF source and synthesized broadband downconverter. These integrated microwave subsystems are used in support of critical military ATE applications. This recurring contract will require support through 2009. RT... — Compiled by John Curley [People] People Circuit Images-DAN SPENCER to vice president of sales and marketing, responsible for all sales efforts throughout the US and Canada; formerly employed at Sanmina. CSR plc-JOEP VAN BEURDEN to CEO and membership on the board of directors; formerly CEO of NexWave, Inc. Interop Technologies-BRIAN MOORE to vice president of sales; formerly vice president of product marketing at ClearSky Mobile Media, Inc. BI... — Compiled by John Curley [Educational Meetings] Educational Meetings Untitled Document SHORT COURSES Besser Associates Short Courses Applied RF... — Compiled by John Curley [R&D Roundup] SiGe Bipolar Broadband Amplifier Boasts 3-dB Bandwidth Above 84 GHz IN TODAY´S HIGH-SPEED communications systems, wideband amplifiers are created through a variety of techniques. Recently, engineers from Austria´s Technical University Vienna began working with designers from Infineon Technologies (Munich, Germany) on design considerations for inductorless broadband amplifiers based on the properties of the transistor in common collector configuration. This theory was then validated by a four-stage amplifier, which shows... — Nancy Friedrich [R&D Roundup] GaN HEMT Amplifier Delivers 80-Percent PAE At 2 GHz COMPARED TO THEIR gallium-arsenide (GaAs) counterparts, gallium-nitride transistors can offer significant performance improvements. GaN HEMT transistors in particular are suitable for Class F amplifiers, as they have a high fmax compared to the fundamental operating frequency. This aspect helps in the generation of higher-order harmonics needed for waveshaping. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, David Schmelzer and Stephen I. Long successfully... — Nancy Friedrich [R&D Roundup] Wireless Distribution System Eliminates Dispersion In Clock Networks AS SYSTEM OPERATING frequency and projected die size increase, it has become more difficult to distribute clock signals across a chip. The resulting problems include larger R-C delays, tighter skew and jitter tolerance, and signal dispersion along metal interconnect paths. To reduce skew and the impact of dispersion, a compact, wireless clock distribution system with an external planar antenna has been proposed by Maxim´s Ran Li, Silicon Laboratories´... — Nancy Friedrich [Application Notes] Commercial Radios Make Leap From Single Carrier To MIMO COMMERCIAL RADIO TECHNOLOGY is moving away from single-carrier technologies, in which one digital symbol is transmitted at a time. At the heart of the new broadband connection is a modulation scheme called Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). Aside from offering good spectral efficiency, OFDM is very tolerant of interference. It transmits hundreds of symbols simultaneously, but at a low rate per symbol. Keithley Instruments (Cleveland, OH) examines... — Nancy Friedrich [Application Notes] Gain A Better Understanding Of Antenna Radiation Plots And Their Uses ANTENNA RADIATION PLOTS show a quick picture of an antenna´s overall response. To many individuals, however, radiation plots appear very confusing. The problem is that each antenna supplier and/or user has different standards and plotting formats. In addition, every format has its own pluses and minuses. To help people better understand and use antenna radiation plots, Astron Wireless Technologies (Sterling, VA) has created a technical note. This... — Nancy Friedrich [Editor's Choice] MIMO Test System Performs Measurements To 6 GHz MULTIPLE-INPUT MULTIPLE-OUTPUT (MIMO) techniques are rapidly becoming more popular for enhancing radio performance in the presence of noise and interference. To cover both the R&D and production testing of next-generation RF communications equipment and devices, a 4 X 4 MIMO RF test system has been developed. This system comprises the Model 2920 vector signal generator (VSG), Model 2820 vector signal analyzer (VSA), Model 2895 MIMO synchronization ... — Nancy Friedrich [Editor's Choice] CATV Amplifiers Target 1-GHz Networks A FAMILY OF GALLIUM-ARSENIDE (GaAs) cable-television (CATV) hybrid amplifiers recently welcomed the addition of two multi-chip modules (MCMs). These modules boast feature bandwidth of 40 to 1000 MHz for high output capacity. The maximum noise figure for both modules is 6.5 dB. With 22.5 dB gain, the MC-7832- HA push-pull amplifier is designed to serve as an input stage for line amplifiers, nodes, splitters, trunk amplifiers, and bridgers in bandwidth- hungry... — Nancy Friedrich [Editor's Choice] Multilayer Press Speeds PCB Prototyping IN THE CREATION of custom or prototype printed-circuit boards (PCBs), key factors often include speed, security, and convenience. The MultiPress S microprocessor- controlled, benchtop multilayer lamination press vows to satisfy all of these needs. The press promises a reduced pressing time of less than 90 minutes. The MultiPress S bonds multilayer circuits of all common rigid and flexible substrates. Because it delivers equal pressure on the full press plate area, it... — Nancy Friedrich |
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