March 23, 2006 Newsletter

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Microwaves & RF UPDATE
MWRF - www.mwrf.com
March 23, 2006
==============================

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. Achieving Affordable WiMAX Components 
2. Dual-Channel Power Detector Reaches 11 GHz 
3. Group4 Labs Develops GaN On Diamond 
4. Seminars Highlight Software Design Tools 
5. TestMart and VXI Technology Sign GSA Agreement 
6. AVX Adds High-Current RoHS-Compliant Caps 
7. Powerwave Connects Chicago Transit Authority 
8. Happenings - Conferences 


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***************
1.  Viewpoint 
***************
Achieving Affordable WiMAX Components

Demand for more services (and bandwidth) continues to send wireless 
designers scrambling. Some solutions can be found in higher-order 
modulation formats, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplex 
(OFDM) techniques. But often, it is a matter of raising the 
operating frequency in search of available bandwidth. Implied with 
the increase in frequency is an increase in cost. The trend was 
evident with wireless local area networks (WLANs), as they moved 
from 2.4 GHz to the 5-GHz range. And the trend is permeating 
emerging WiMAX applications, which may one day extend to the 
millimeter-wave frequency region.

Impressively, in response to the demand for higher-frequency 
components, electronic designers respond. One example is the 
high-performance 11-GHz power detector developed by Linear 
Technology ( http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D23:49027F ), detailed 
below, and selling for just a hair over $3 each. Another example 
is a line of LDMOS power transistors introduced by Freescale 
Semiconductor ( http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D1E:49027F ) with as 
much as 16 W true linear output power from 3.4 to 3.8 GHz. 
These devices (look for the Product Feature in the upcoming 
April issue of Microwaves & RF) literally stretch the high-frequency 
ceiling once accepted for LDMOS technology.

It has been said many times that this is a resourceful industry. 
High-frequency design analog engineers do not often receive the 
acclaim of their digital brethren. Yet, they continue to show 
amazing creativity and a willingness to tackle almost any challenge, 
even to the extent of making millimeter-wave devices affordable to 
the masses.


JACK BROWNE
Technical Director


*************
2. News
*************
Dual-Channel Power Detector Reaches 11 GHz

Linear Technology has introduced its model LTC5533 dual-channel RF 
power detector with a usable range of 300 MHz to 11 GHz. With the 
highest-frequency coverage currently available in a semiconductor 
power detector, this device is ideal for emerging WiMAX wireless 
applications, power control in power amplifiers (PAs). It draws only 
500 microamps per detector and handles a wide input range of -32 to 
+12 dBm. The detector boasts 40-dB dynamic range and 45-dB 
channel-to-channel isolation. It includes buffer amplifiers and is 
housed in a miniature, surface-mount package measuring 4 by 3 mm. It 
is prices at $3.20 each in 1000-piece quantities. 
Linear Technology ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D21:49027F


*********
3. News
*********
Group4 Labs Develops GaN On Diamond

Materials developer Group4 Labs (Menlo Park, CA) has announced a 
revolutionary gallium-nitride (GaN) on diamond semiconductor wafer. 
The firm's Xero Wafer sits less than 0.5 nm away from a synthetic 
diamond substrate and features unprecedented heat- and 
power-handling capability for high-power, high-frequency electronic 
designs. The close proximity of a device's active region to the 
diamond results in efficient transfer of heat away from the active 
device. The GaN on diamond wafers, which will be initially offered 
in 10 x 10 mm square pieces, are currently sold for $450 per unit 
through the company's online store.
Group4 Labs ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D16:49027F

*********
4. News
*********
Seminars Highlight Software Design Tools

In celebration of the releases of two new versions of proven 
software design tools, Agilent Technologies is hosting a series of 
seminars entitled "Power-of-Two: ADS and GENESYS." These seminars are 
scheduled for April 10th through May 31st, from 11 AM through 2 PM. 
The seminars, which include a complementary lunch, cover the new 
release of Agilent Technologies' Advanced Design System (ADS) 2005A. 
They also address the firm's Eagleware GENESYS 2005 for RF System 
Architecture Design, and how ADS and GENESYS can work together. 
Attendees will learn how GENESYS SPECTRASYS, the industry's first 
and only continuous spectrum simulator can be used to speed RF 
system architecture design and pinpoint problems early when they are 
quick and easy to fix. For more information, visit the link below.
Agilent Technologies ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D14:49027F 



**********
5. News
**********
TestMart and VXI Technology Sign GSA Agreement

In a move designed to save taxpayers' money, TestMart (San Bruno, 
CA) and VXI Technology (Irvine, CA) have inked a deal to provide 
discounts on modular test equipment to military and government 
customers. The deal provides the U.S. government and federal contractor 
marketplace with special savings on a select VXI Technology VXIBus, 
VMIP(tm), SMIP(tm), VME(tm), and the new Ethernet-based LXI 
products. LXI products are used to build instrumentation arrays on 
networks that are completely controlled by the network. The 
equipment is available to all who qualify under a set of General 
Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules (MAS). 
According to Peter Ostrow, President and CEO of TestMart, "VXI 
Technology equipment provides the government channel compact, 
portable testing alternatives in the search and procurement of the 
most respected brands under GSA contract that are compliant with the 
federal Competition in Contracting Act (CICA)."
TestMart ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D1D:49027F
VXI Technology ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D20:49027F


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*********
6. News
*********
AVX Adds High-Current RoHS-Compliant Caps

Capacitor supplier AVX Corp. (Myrtle Beach, SC) has developed 
RoHS-compliant medium-and high-voltage ceramic capacitors for 
high-current applications such as military, harsh environment power 
supplies, high-voltage coupling and DC-blocking. The SK series is 
suitable for medium-voltage (to 500 V) applications, while the SV 
series of multilayer capacitors (MLCs) is designed for high-voltage 
applications (to 5 kV). According to Craig Hunter, AVX Strategic 
Marketing Manager, "The added advantage of both these capacitor 
families lies in a special internal design minimizing the electric 
field stresses within the MLC. This results in a significant 
reduction of partial discharge activity within the dielectric and 
has a major impact on the long-term reliability of the product."
AVX Corp. ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D26:49027F


*********
7. News
*********
Powerwave Connects Chicago Transit Authority

Wireless infrastructure supplier Powerwave Technologies (Santa Ana, 
CA) announced the deployment of a multi-technology, multi-carrier 
wireless coverage system designed to enhance the Chicago Transit 
Authority's (CTA) existing two-way radio system for use by the CTA, 
Chicago Police Department, and Chicago Fire Department/EMS 
personnel. In addition, the system will be able to accommodate  
commercial services, which will allow customers to use their 
wireless  devices throughout CTA's subway system and provide an 
additional  revenue stream for the agency. The project was 
competitively bid and completed through a collaborative effort 
between Powerwave and Aldridge Electric Inc. (Liberty, IL), one of 
the largest electrical contractors in the US. Coverage extends 
through the subway system's two 11.4-mile tunnels, combining 
optical and wireless technologies. Comprised of Powerwave antennas 
located throughout the transit system and supporting commercial 
services, as well as radiating cables for supporting UHF/VHF 
transmissions, Powerwave's fiber-based distributed antenna network 
will transmit mobile radio signals from strategically positioned 
radio base station hotels outside of the CTA subway tunnel system.
Powerwave Technologies ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D22:49027F


*******************************
8.  Happenings - Conferences
*******************************
2006 IEEE Sarnoff Symposium
March 27-28, 2006
Nassau Inn, Princeton, NJ
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D19:49027F

Del Mar Electronics Show 
April 26-27, 2006
Del Mar Fairgrounds
Del Mar, CA
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D27:49027F

Broadband Wireless World
April 26-28, 2006
Caesar's Palace Event Center
Las Vegas, NV
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D15:49027F

IMAPS International Conference on 
High-Temperature Electronics (HiTEC 2006)
May 15-18, 2006
Hilton of Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D18:49027F

International Microwave Theory & Techniques 
Symposium (MTT-S)
June 11-16, 2006
Moscone Convention Center
San Francisco, CA
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D1F:49027F

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August issue, the magazine is spotlighting the top 45 people, places, 
and things that have impacted this industry. Nominate your choices 
for the Microwave Legends. Simply visit http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=24D25:49027F 
before April 15th to submit your nominations. On-line voting for all 
nominations will commence May 1st and conclude on May 31st. 

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MICROWAVES AND RF (MWRF) UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER CONTACTS
====================================================
Technical Director: Jack Browne
mailto:[email protected]
Managing Editor: John Curley
mailto:[email protected]

Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities:
Paul Barkman at 1-908-704-2460 or
mailto:[email protected]

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