February 24, 2005 Newsletter

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Microwaves & RF UPDATE
PlanetEE - http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=33FF:F3175
MWRF - http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=340B:F3175
February 24, 2005
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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.  Dealing With The Expansion of UWB 
2.  M/A-COM Introduces RFID Line 
3.  TriQuint Throws Support To WiMAX Forum 
4.  Agilent Launches 1-GHz Portable Scope 
5.  AIA Tasks US Government To Support Aerospace Job Training 
6.  Linear Technology Embraces Lead-Free Initiative 
7.  Global Information Technologies Sponsors 33rd Iditarod 
8.  RF Micro Devices Unveils Tiny WCDMA PA Module 
9.  Happenings - Conferences 

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1.  Viewpoint 
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Dealing With The Expansion of UWB

Ultrawideband technology (UWB) is typically associated with short-range, 
low-power, high-data-rate communications. By sending and receiving a 
stream of time-sequenced pulses, low-power transmitters and receivers 
can process data rates in excess of 100 MB/s over short ranges. It is 
this combination of characteristics and capabilities that make 
"carrier-free" UWB technology so attractive to product developers for 
the "wireless home." Designers working with video products, such as 
high-definition-television (HDTV) monitors and peripherals (DVD players 
and recorders), can envision complete home-office and home-entertainment 
centers in communication without wires. 

But what about UWB technology for radio-frequency-identification (RFID) 
tags? Late last year, Multispectral Solutions 
( http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=33FC:F3175 ) proposed UWB as an optimum technology 
for RFID tags, based on the company's MSSI PAL650 tagging system, which 
was approved for unlicensed use in the summer of 2003. The system 
provides a range of 600 ft. under line-of-sight (LOS) conditions, with 
real-time tracking capability within 1 ft. Compare this performance to a 
typical range of 300 ft. for conventional active RFID tags/readers and 
less than 30 ft. for traditional passive RFID tags. 

Of course, the proliferation of UWB technology in the home and for 
industrial applications as RFID tags depends upon reliable measurement 
solutions. For now, oscilloscope manufacturers are pushing their 
products towards 100-GHz bandwidths in order to handle the test 
requirements of tracking UWB signals and their higher-order harmonics. 
But frequency-domain UWB testing is not trivial and may require a total 
new approach to microwave measurements. 

JACK BROWNE
Publisher/Editor

Please share your thoughts by contacting me at: mailto:[email protected]
For the story on the Top 25 Microwave Web Sites, 
visit Microwaves & RF ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=340B:F3175


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2. News
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M/A-COM Introduces RFID Line

Microwave and millimeter-wave component and subsystem supplier M/A-COM 
announced its "RFID by M/A-COM" Series, a line of specially designed 
RFID components including circulators, IQ modulators/demodulators, 
antennas, and amplifiers for use in RFID applications. The initial 
product line in the series is a new range of ferrite circulators 
specifically designed for the RFID reader market. The new ferrite 
circulator series offers typical insertion loss performance of 0.21 dB, 
isolation of 29 dB, and return loss of 28 dB, over frequency ranges of 
860 to 872 MHz (Japan), 950 to 956 MHz (US), and 902 to 928 MHz (Europe) 
for the various RFID markets. According to Joe Thomas, vice president of 
M/A-COM's Integrated Products Group, "our broad development experience 
in microwave and millimeter wave components meets the critical 
requirements of the rapidly growing RFID market."  
M/A-COM ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3407:F3175

            
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3. News
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TriQuint Throws Support To WiMAX Forum

TriQuint Semiconductor, a leading chip and IC supplier for wireless 
products, announced its support for the WiMAX Forum, an industry-led 
organization that promotes the interoperability and certification of 
these products based on the IEEE 802.16 standard. The WiMAX Forum 
attempts to create economies of scale made possible by standards-based, 
interoperable products that drive price and performance levels not 
achievable by proprietary approaches. WiMAX technology is designed to 
help service providers across global markets deliver economical 
broadband data, voice and video services to both residential and 
business customers. According to TriQuint Vice President Mike Sanna, 
"the WiMAX Forum is one of the best ways to support open standards that 
benefit the marketplace while stimulating the development of new 
products based on the IEEE 802.16 standard."
TriQuint Semiconductor ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3401:F3175
WiMAX Forum ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=33FE:F3175

 
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4. News
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Agilent Launches 1-GHz Portable Scope

As part of a line of new digital-storage/mixed-signal oscilloscopes 
(DSOs/MSOs), Agilent Technologies has introduced a portable instrument 
with 1-GHz bandwidth. Known as the 6000 series, the 12 portable scopes 
include models with bandwidths of 300 MHz, 500 MHz, and 1 GHz, 
high-resolution XGA screens and the company's patented MegaZoom III 
display technology (with 256 levels of color-intensity grades), as much 
as 8 million points of waveform memory (as an option), and sampling 
rates to 4 GSamples/s. Versions are available with two or four DSO 
channels and as many as 16 MSO channels for evaluating multichannel 
embedded systems. The 6000 Series portable oscilloscopes come standard 
with LAN, GP-IB and USB interfaces as well as an additional front-panel 
USB port.
Agilent Technologies ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=33F8:F3175


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5. News
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AIA Tasks US Government To Support Aerospace Job Training

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) announced this week that it 
is endorsing legislation that would task the federal government with 
addressing a looming shortage of qualified workers in the sector. The 
bill, sponsored by Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Michigan) directs 11 federal 
agencies, led by the Department of Labor, to form a task force for the 
purpose of developing strategies to expand public and private aerospace 
job training programs. The Ehlers bill (HR 758) specifically requires 
the task force to report to Congress each year on the status of federal 
policies and partnerships designed to advance training programs in the 
areas of science, engineering, technology, mathematics, and skilled 
vocational trades. According to AIA President and CEO John W. Douglass, 
 "this legislation would bring together the most talented minds in the 
federal government to produce a national plan for increasing the number 
of students who choose aerospace-related scientific or engineering 
careers." 
Aerospace Industries Association ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=33FA:F3175
 


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6. News
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Linear Technology Embraces Lead-Free Initiative 

Integrated-circuit (IC) supplier Linear Technology announced that all of 
the company's products are now available in lead-free versions as an 
ordering option. Part of the company's commitment to meeting the 
European Community's Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) 
guidelines, the firm adopted Matte Tin as the optimal plating for 
lead-free products. The company's engineers believe this provides the 
best drop-in replacement since it has the lowest reflow temperature of 
the lead-free alternatives, has excellent solderability performance, and 
provides excellent quality and reliability. Linear Technology will 
continue to offer solder plated products as well, with unique part 
numbers for both the lead-free and solder plated versions.
Linear Technology ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3405:F3175


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7. News
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Global Information Technologies Sponsors 33rd Iditarod

The 33rd annual running of Alaska's Iditarod dog-sled race is being 
sponsored by Global Information Technologies. The firm has donated a 
complete complement of Iridium Satellite equipment and airtime, 
including handheld satellite telephones and pagers, for the 1000-mile, 
cross-Alaskan race that begins on March 5th. The satellite-based 
communications equipment provides race officials and the volunteer 
community communications to contact air, headquarters, or field command 
posts from anywhere on the trail in areas where no other form of contact 
is possible. According to Stan Hooley, Executive Director for the 
Iditarod, "The Iridium satellite communication ability greatly increases 
the safety and security for both the mushers and our team of volunteers. 
Global Information Technologies has definitely filled a critical need 
which allows us to provide the best communication solution available for 
remote locations."  
Global Information Technologies ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3404:F3175
Iridium Satellite LLC ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3403:F3175
Iditarod ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3400:F3175


*********
8. News
*********
RF Micro Devices Unveils Tiny WCDMA PA Module

Chip supplier RF Micro Devices announced their model RF5198 high-power, 
high-efficiency linear power amplifier (PA) module for WCDMA handset 
applications. Said to be the world's smallest linear PA module to 
include an on-chip power detector, the RF5198 measures 3 mm by 3 mm and 
0.9 mm high in a QFN package. By incorporating the power detector 
technology on-chip, the RF5198 significantly reduces design complexity 
and streamlines the handset design process, thereby enabling handset 
manufacturers to quickly bring their advanced products to market. The 
RF5198 GaAs HBT module, which provides +28 dBm linear output power with 
43 percent linear efficiency from 1920 to 1980 MHz, is designed for use 
as the final RF amplifier in WCDMA handheld equipment. 
RF Micro Devices ---> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=340A:F3175


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9.  Happenings - Conferences
*******************************
ARMMS RF & Microwave Society Conference
April 18-19, 2005
Milton Hill House Hotel, Milton Hill, Oxfordshire, UK
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3408:F3175

RF & Hyper Europe 2005
March 22-24, 2005
CNIT, La Defense, Paris, France
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=33FD:F3175

2005 International Reliability Physics Symposium
April 17-21, 2005
San Jose Marriott Hotel, San Jose, CA
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3409:F3175

IEEE Compound Semiconductor IC Symposium (formerly the GaAs IC 
Symposium)
October 30 - November 2, 2005
Palm Springs, CA
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3406:F3175

2005 Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference
December 4-7, 2005
Suzhou, China
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=3402:F3175


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