November 21, 2006 Newsletter

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Microwaves & RF UPDATE
MWRF - www.mwrf.com
November 21, 2006
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Greetings and welcome to your personal copy of PlanetEE's Microwaves and RF 
UPDATE e-newsletter. Please see below for address-change or 
subscribe/unsubscribe instructions.

Today's Table of Contents:

1. RF Engineers Can Especially Give Thanks 
2. Agilent Technologies To Acquire Acqiris 
3. Xceive Names Intersil CEO To Board
4. Report Cites Rapid RFID Growth in Australia 
5. Development Platform Shrinks SDRs 
6. Hybrid Coupler Handles 200 W 
7. Digital Step Attenuator Pads Base Stations 
8. Happenings - Conferences 


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1.  Viewpoint 
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RF Engineers Can Especially Give Thanks

It is that curious time of year in the United States just before the start of 
"the holiday season." Around the world, of course, it is not the holiday season, 
since few other nations share in the American fervor for "the holidays," no 
matter what their faith or beliefs. This "holiday season" begins with the 
celebration of Thanksgiving, historically based on a time when early settlers 
had to withstand a harsh environment in a new land but came to appreciate and 
give thanks for all they had.

For RF engineers, that time to give thanks is now. There has never been the 
proliferation of RF/microwave technology that there is today. Wireless 
technology is everywhere, in virtually every pocket, laptop computer, game 
console, and even in automotive dashboards. As a story in the December issue of 
Microwaves & RF magazine explains, even engineers at higher millimeter-wave 
frequencies are finding work and applications for their hardware.

This industry once wondered if RF/microwave technology would ever move past its 
roots in military electronics. Remember those days when it is time to give 
thanks for all that you have.

JACK BROWNE
Technical Director


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2. News
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Agilent Technologies To Acquire Acqiris

Agilent Technologies and Acqiris SA announced they have signed an agreement for 
Agilent to acquire Acqiris SA. Aquiris, well known for their high-speed 
digitizers and analyzers used in the commercial and industrial, defense, and 
aerospace markets, is a privately held company. The acquisition brings a strong 
line of modular and personal-computer-based (PC-based) instruments to an Agilent 
portfolio that is already strong in test and measurement products. Acqiris also 
provides software, system integration, and development support. Acqiris has 
focused on performance and innovation, and has made many advances in the area of 
PC-based data-acquisition and waveform-generation tools. According to Ron 
Nersesian, vice president and general manager of
Agilent's Wireless Business Unit, "The company's broad high-speed offering 
significantly contributes to our ability to meet the ongoing demand from our 
customers for in-product test to accelerate time-to-market and reduce cost. 
Acqiris' digitizers strengthen our synthetic instrument offerings." The 
financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. 
Agilent Technologies ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40EA1:49027F
Acqiris ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40EA2:49027F


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3. News
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Xceive Names Intersil CEO To Board

Xceive Corporation, the firm best known for their highly integrated television 
transceiver integrated circuits (ICs), announced that Rich Beyer, the Chief 
Executive Officer (CEO) of Intersil Corp., has joined Xceive's board of 
directors. According to Jean-Louis Bories, CEO of Xceive, "Rich Beyer brings 
significant depth of experience to our board. He is a wonderful addition and we 
look forward to his insight and knowledge which will add value across a spectrum 
of business issues as we move forward as a leader in our industry." Prior to his 
time at Intersil, Beyer held the position of president, CEO, and director for a 
number of companies including Elantec, FVC.COM, Inc. and VLSI Technology, Inc.  
His previous experience also includes serving as the Executive Vice-President 
and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of National Semiconductor Corp. Beyer notes, 
"Xceive is an exciting company that is dominating the industry through its 
technology and industry innovations." 
Xceive Corp. ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40EA5:49027F
Intersil Corp. ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40EA0:49027F


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4. News
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Report Cites Rapid RFID Growth in Australia

A new report from IDTechEx, "RFID in Australasia 2007-2017," examines the rapid 
growth of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology in Australia. 
Although the United States is still the largest user of the technology, 
Australia now ranks seventh worldwide. The rapid advance of Australia in RFID is 
on a broad front, from books in libraries to tagging of humans in hospitals. The 
country has legal requirements for tagging cattle and racehorses, and is running 
trials on tagging fish, tomatoes, and other foods. The country is likely to 
introduce legislation to tag all four legged livestock ahead of most other 
countries.  
IDTechEx ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40E9F:49027F


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5. News
**********
Development Platform Shrinks SDRs

At the recent SDR Forum 2006 (Orlando, FL), Lyrtech launched a Small Form Factor 
Software Defined Radio (SFF SDR) Development Platform to bring the benefits of 
SDRs to developers desiring a small footprint for their products. Developed in 
collaboration with Texas Instruments, Xilinx, Green Hills Software, Objective 
Interface Systems, Communications Research Canada and The MathWorks, the 
development platform brings a high level of integration to a small size package. 
The firm claims it is the lowest cost for its set of SDR capabilities in a 
self-contained SCA-enabled platform that includes everything from RF to 
baseband. 
Lyrtech ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40EA4:49027F


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******************************************************************


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6. News
*********
Hybrid Coupler Handles 200 W

Innovative Power Products has developed a series of high-power passive 
components for applications through 6 GHz, including the model IPP-2013, 3-dB, 
90-deg. hybrid coupler. The coupler operates from 500 to 2500 MHz and combines a 
pair of input signals into a single output port at power levels totaling 200 W 
CW. The hybrid coupler features less than 0.5 dB insertion loss across its wide 
bandwidth, with less than 1.30:1 VSWR. Isolation between ports is at least 18 
dB. The amplitude balance is better than +/- 0.65 dB and the phase balance is 
better than +/- 4 deg. The 3-dB hybrid coupler is supplied in a drop-in package 
measuring 2.20 x 0.80 x 0.20 in. with solder tab connections. 
Innovative Power Products ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40E9D:49027F
 
 
*********
7. News
*********
Digital Step Attenuator Pads Base Stations

Peregrine Semiconductor has introduced a 6-b digital step attenuator for 
wireless applications from DC to 4 GHz requiring high linearity. Model PE4309 is 
fabricated with the company's proprietary UltraCMOS(TM) process technology. It 
features total attenuation range of 31.5 dB in 0.5-dB steps and input 
third-order intercept point of +52 dBm. The 50-ohm digital step attenuator 
operates on voltages of +3 to +5 VDC and offers high ESD tolerance of 2 kV per 
the human body model (HBM). The PE4309 is supplied in a 24-lead 4x4 QFN package.
Peregrine Semiconductor ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40EA7:49027F


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8.  Happenings - Conferences
*******************************
Microwave Measurements for Emerging Technologies
November 28-29, 2006
NIST
Broomfield, CO
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40EA6:49027F

International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM)
December 11-13, 2006
Hilton San Francisco and Towers
San Francisco, CA
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40E98:49027F

2007 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS)
January 7-12, 2007
Lon Beach Convention Center
Long Beach, CA
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40E9C:49027F

2007 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium
June 3-8, 2007
Hawaii Convention Center
Honolulu, HI
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40EA3:49027F


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Visit Microwaves & RF's RF Test Blog to learn about the latest developments in 
RF and microwave test equipment and measurement techniques. Sponsored by 
Keithley Instruments, this blog highlights hot new products, white papers, and 
application notes. And while you're there, take a look at the new RF Components 
Blog, sponsored by M/A-COM for the latest component news, at:

                  http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=40E9E:49027F 
 
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MICROWAVES AND RF (MWRF) UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER CONTACTS
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Managing Editor: John Curley
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