ISSUE DATE: FEBRUARY 2009  OPTIONS
Integrated Circuits

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February 2009 - In This Issue

[News]
Process Technologies Enable Performance Leaps
In microwave as well as more general areas of engineering, integration holds the key to meeting the simultaneous demands of smaller size, higher performance, and time to market. For semiconductor manufacturers, this means a continuous progression to smaller circuits. To support high-frequency applications, electronics manufacturers also must rely on a variety of process technologies and approaches. Beyond the chip itself, a plethora of process technologies exist for amplifiers and...  — Nancy Friedrich

[News]
Know the Nuances Of SSB Phase Noise
Phase noise is one of the first performance parameters that oscillator specifiers review on a data sheet. Whether it is a low-frequency crystal reference oscillator or a higher-frequency tunable oscillator, such as a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), all signal sources contribute phase noise to a system—a key in designing or specifying an oscillator is to keep the phase noise as low as possible and practical. Understanding what it is and how it affects performance at the system...  — Jack Browne

[Design Features]
Tracking Advances In High-Power GaN HEMTs
Improvements in solid-state power amplifiers depend on advances in transistors. Fortunately, evolving gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) technology is bringing many benefits to high-frequency amplifier designers. A key advantage of GaN HEMT devices over other transistor technologies is the high power density possible from relatively small transistor cells. For example, HEMT devices from Cree are capable...  — Don Farrell , et al.

[Design Features]
Making Manufacturing Choices For X-Band BPFS
Bandpass filters help extract desired signals from a portion of frequency spectrum while rejecting unwanted signals. In addition, they can symmetrically or asymmetrically modify the amplitude and/or phase of a signal. They are essential to a host of commercial and military systems and have evolved over the years, so much so that a review of available filter design and materials technologies can aid engineers faced with developing high-performance bandpass filters for X-band...  — William Cuviello , et al.

[Design Features]
Gauge Phase Noise Impact On WiMAX APs
Phase locked loops (PLLs) are common to many communications systems, including in WiMAX Access Points (AP). By performing an analysis of the phase-noise contributions of the PLLs within a WiMAX AP frequency chain, which is essentially the string of PLLs in the system starting with the frequency reference in the controller and ending with the transmitter local oscillator (LO) in the RF head, it is possible to better understand the impact that each PLL has on overall system...  — Aaron Netsell

[Design Features]
Form Bandpass Filters On Glass Substrates
Glass is good for more than just windows: in recent years, the material has attracted attention for its dielectric properties and cost-effectiveness as a high-frequency-circuit substrate. It features low circuit losses over wide frequency and temperature ranges and is suitable for circuit fabrication using standard integrated-circuit (IC) planar manufacturing methods. When evaluated for several high-frequency filter topologies, the performance of glass-based components has...  — D. Balasubramanyam , et al.

[Design Features]
Pulsed Test Systems Characterize Power FETs
Power levels are increasing in RF/microwave transistors, presenting new opportunities for amplifier designers, and new challenges for those who must characterize these devices. Newer wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices are achieving impressive levels of power density, but generating large amounts of heat in the process. The heat poses problems when making measurements on these high-output transistors, since elevated temperatures can modify device behavior. Fortunately, pulsed DC and...  — Tony Gasseling , et al.

[Product Technology]
Amplifiers Gain Power And Minimize Noise
Amplifiers come in many shapes and sizes, from audio through optical wavelengths. For RF/microwave communications amplifiers, the two main duties have to do with strengthening low-level signals for receivers and boosting high-level output signals for transmitters. Although they differ in function, as well as in size and power requirements, both types of amplifiers benefit from continuing improvements in transistor technologies. Depending on output requirements, amplifiers...  — Jack Browne

[Product Technology]
Services Build On 65-nm CMOS
Once associated with low-speed digital and analog circuits, silicon CMOS is gaining ground in the world of RF/microwave design as device features continue to shrink. The latest CMOS foundry process from Fujitsu Microelectronics America features 65-nm features. To encourage designers to try the process, Fujitsu has announced new process design kits (PDK) that assist customers with both their 65- and 90-nm silicon CMOS processes. These high-frequency, high-performance silicon...  — Jack Browne

[Product Technology]
Wideband Transistors Are Efficient To 3 GHz
Power transistors have typically traded performance for instantaneous bandwidth. Most devices show a huge drop in output power, gain, and efficiency when switching from relatively narrowband applications to circuits with wide instantaneous bandwidth, such as with pulsed RF signals. The new series of PowerBand discrete power transistors from TriQuint Semiconductor have been designed to be the exception to this rule, with excellent performance whether used in narrowband or wideband ...  — Jack Browne

[Editorial]
Broadband Stimulus Raises Eyebrows
For the most part, the Microwaves & RF editorial staff believes that political analysis and commentary are best left to the editors and columnists featured in daily newspapers and news magazines. Yet we also realize that we are based in the US and as such are affected by the plans and policies of the nationâ??s president. Take, for example, the stimulus bill that many are hoping will stave off the deepening of this economic crisis. Because part of this bill centers on broadband...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Feedback]
Feedback
Expanding Bandwidth I saw the January 2009 issue of Microwaves & RF and the first installment of the magazineâ??s new section, RF Primer. We appreciate Tektronix being included in the inaugural article on spectrum analyzers and the use of the photograph for the RSA6114A real-time spectrum analyzer that appears on p. 40 of the article. In general, the article was well done and quite informative, especially for readers needing a tutorial...  — Various Readers

[The Front End]
Hawaii Department Of Agriculture And Farm Bureau Use RFID To Track Produce
HAWAIIâ??The State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture and the Hawaii Farm Bureau have partnered to deploy a three-year pilot radio-frequency-identification (RFID) initiative. The Hawaii Produce Traceability initiative uses UPM Raflatac RFID inlays to track and trace fresh produce throughout the stateâ??s food supply chain. The initiative is designed to promote food safety by providing product visibility down to the farm or even field level. The RFID system provides detailed, real-time...  — Dawn Hightower

[The Front End]
Bluetooth Headsets Will Invade Audio Market
WELLINGBOROUGH, UKâ??Bluetooth technology has largely replaced wired headsets in specific markets. Its initial success was to replace the wired headset for hands-free calling in an automotive setting. With this niche established, Bluetooth-headset manufacturers are looking to conquer new markets. Opportunities in stereo headsets were recently spawned by the development of A2DP, a Bluetooth profile that allows stereo audio to be transmitted over Bluetooth. Thanks to A2DP,...  — Dawn Hightower

[The Front End]
GPS Markets Expect Strong Growth In 2009 Despite Poor Semiconductor Outlook
WELLINGBOROUGH, UKâ??IMS Research projects that the Global Positioning System (GPS) market will be one of the few areas of growth in 2009. This conclusion was drawn in spite of the poor outlook for many semiconductor manufacturers and the fact that share prices have taken a severe hit. In the new report, â??WW Market for GPS/GNSS in Portable Devices,â?? the GPS market is forecasted to increase by over $200 million between 2008 and 2009. According to IMS Research Analyst Tom Arran, â??2008...  — Dawn Hightower

[Financial News]
SkyCross Secures $23 Million In Investment
Antenna-maker SkyCross has secured $23 million in financing led by Investor Growth Capital. This investment caps a successful year for the firm, which reported 65-percent year-over-year revenue growth. The companyâ??s performance in 2008 is the latest in a four-year span that has produced over 50-percent growth annually. With this latest investment, SkyCross plans to broaden its geographic reach, gain additional worldwide Tier 1...  — Dawn Hightower

[Company News]
Company News
CONTRACTS Thermacore, Inc.â??Has been awarded a $9.5-million contract, if all options are exercised, by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the development of Micro-technologies for Air-Cooled Exchangers (MACE). The successful development of this technology will improve the thermal performance of military electronic systems, such as telecommunications, active sensing and imaging, radar, and other platforms. The...  — Dawn Hightower

[People]
People
Nigel Toon Named picoChip Chief Executive Officer NIGEL TOON has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of picoChip as well as a member of its board, replacing Guillaume d'Eyssautier. Toon joins picoChip from Icera, which he co-founded. There, he was Vice President of Sales and Marketing before serving as Vice President and General Manager for the Phone Business Unit. Prior to Icera,...  — Dawn Hightower

[Educational Meetings]
Educational Meetings
Meetings ISQED 2009 10th Anniversary of International Symposium & Exhibits on Quality Electronic Design March 16-18, 2009 (San Jose, CA) For more information, visit: www.isqed.org WCNC 2009 IEEE Wireless Communications & Networking Conference April 5-8, 2009 (Budapest, Hungary) For registration,...  — Dawn Hightower

[R&D Roundup]
Adaptive Smart-Antenna System Covers 60-GHz Band
With the worldwide application of unlicensed spectrum around 60 GHz, it has become feasible to develop communication systems with data rates in the gigabit/second range. Yet this frequency range poses challenges like high propagation loss, oxygen absorption, high antenna directivity, and limited wall penetration. To overcome these issues, a two-channel, hybrid smart-antenna system operating at the 60-GHz band has been developed by Nuri Celik and Magdy F. Iskander from the University of...  — Nancy Friedrich

[R&D Roundup]
CMOS Charges 52-GHz Phased-Array Receiver
The release of a license-free 7-GHz band around 60 GHz has prompted researchers around the globe to focus on millimeter-wave circuit and system design for this frequency band. Although such frequencies suggest the use of semiconductor processes like GaAs and InP, the constant scaling of CMOS technology has spawned receivers that are fast enough for millimeter-wave operation. Recently, a 90-nm, digital-CMOS, two-path, 52-GHz phased-array receiver based on local-oscillator (LO) phase...  — Nancy Friedrich

[R&D Roundup]
Linearization Technique Suppresses Third-Order Intermodulation
To satisfy the needs of low-cost wireless terminals, many single-chip RF receivers have been developed with CMOS technology. In the presence of strong interferers, however, the third-order nonlinearity of an RF receiver front end generates third-order intermodulation signals that can overlap with the desired signals. A new linearity technique generates and injects low-frequency, second-order intermodulation to suppress such third-order modulation. This technique was proposed by Shuzuo Lou...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Application Notes]
Specify Filters Right The First Time
In handheld wireless devices, inaccuracies in specifying the correct filter ultimately translate into frequency conflicts that result in crosstalk, dropped calls, loss of data, and interrupted network connections. The wireless product may then fail a qualification test, forcing it back to the drawing board. Anatech Microwave Co. provides eight important tips on correctly specifying filters for RF and microwave applications in the four-page white paper, â??Getting It Right the First Time When...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Application Notes]
Master Mobile WiMAX PHY Measurements
Mobile WiMAX, the broadband-wireless-access (BWA) technology, is based on the IEEE 802.16-2004 and IEEE 802.16e-2005 specifications. Those specifications are currently being compiled into one document, which combines fixed and mobile services into a network architecture much like a cellular system. In this architecture, a single base station can support fixed, portable, and mobile terminals. Agilent Technologies has created a voluminous application note for the engineers developing and...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Editor's Choice]
PA Satisfies WiMAX From 2500 To 2700 MHz
A self-contatained power amplifier (PA) dubbed the MPT2527PA30 was designed to be dropped into a WiMAX, BRS, multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS), or other system operating in the 2500-to-2700-MHz band. The PA typically exhibits 10 dB input return loss and 15 dB output return loss with 27 dB gain. In addition, it typically delivers 30 W of output power with 30 percent efficiency. The MPT2527PA30 operates on a single-supply bias from +28 to +32 VDC. The unit, which...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Editor's Choice]
Modulator Driver Targets 40-Gb/s Lightwave Systems
Despite the current emphasis on wireless networks, fiber optics still provide greater bandwidth for point-to-point communications services. These lightwave systems rely on products like the FO-MDA-40-25G-1 lithium niobate modulator driver, which was designed to provide superior performance in the 300-pin MSA transponders employed in DPSK long-reach 40-Gb/s lightwave communication systems. By combining monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) with proprietary fabrication...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Editor's Choice]
75-Ohm Power Splitters Serve CATV Systems
To meet the unique needs of the CATV and broadcast industry, new 1-W, two-way resistive power splitters are available with either 50- or 75-Ω impedances. The 75-Ω IPS series two-way splitters operate from DC to 20 GHz. They flaunt attenuation accuracy of ±0.5 dB and a VSWR of 1.30:1. These resistive power splitters have 6 dB evenly split attenuation. They feature wraparound or single-sided terminals. International Manufacturing Services, Inc. (IMS), 50 Schoolhouse...  — Nancy Friedrich

[Editor's Choice]
Signal Generator Covers 1 To 2 GHz With 100-kHz Resolution
A portable signal generator has debuted for a variety of applications over the 1-to-2-GHz range. Dubbed the LMPL-SG-2000, it offers 100 kHz resolution. The signal generator delivers +7 dBm of output power (±3 dB). Harmonic and spurious outputs are â??15 and â??60 dBc, respectively. With an internal reference, the LMPL-SG-2000 boasts stability of ±1 ppm and SSB phase noise of â??75 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz. The generator, which settles in less than 10 ms, flaunts programmable amplitude...  — Nancy Friedrich