Microwaves & RF articles from July 2008

Microwaves & RF archives from July 2008

Clarifying a sale.(feedback)
July 1, 2008... In the June issue, the News Report, "Disparate Solutions Work To Fill Communications Gap," on p. 44, the following paragraph was misleading regarding M/A-COM being acquired by Cobham plc.: The SLERS system is the result of a unique...

Sorting through hype.(feedback)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... The editorial in the May issue of Microwaves and RF ("Novel Approaches Vow To Upset The Status Quo," was disappointing, containing industry hype about products without being backed by research as to the correctness or validity of the hype. ...

Observations from the 2008 Atlanta MTT-S.(from the editor)(Microwave Theory & Techniques Society )
July 1, 2008... Microwave engineers (and even those who write about the industry) often use the annual IEEE Microwave Theory & Techniques Society (MTT-S) symposium and exhibition, otherwise known as the International Microwave Symposium (IMS), as the...

Fabless revenue grew 16 percent in first quarter.(thefrontend)
July 1, 2008... SAN JOSE, CA -- The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) has released the CYQ1 2008 version of its Global Semiconductor Financial Report. The GSA quarterly report includes detailed trend analysis on financial data for fabless, integrated device...

China National Space Administration becomes CCSDS newest member agency.(thefrontend)(Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems )(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... RESTON, VA -- The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has been accepted as the eleventh full member organization of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). China's admission to the organization marks the first addition...

Celestica recognizes Murata Electronics in awards program.(thefrontend)
July 1, 2008... SMYRNA, GA -- Murata Electronics North America, a manufacturer and designer of ceramic-based passive electronic components and power supply modules, has been recognized as an honouree in the Technical Compliance Award category of the 2007...

Kudos.(thefrontend)(Company overview)
July 1, 2008... ACTON, MA -- Azimuth Systems, a provider of wireless broadband test equipment and channel emulators for WiMAX, 4G and Wi-Fi, announced that its ACE 400WB MIMO Channel Emulator has been awarded the 2008 MITX Technology Customer Impact Award. The...

The latest news, in e-mail form.
July 1, 2008... Some of the most important high-frequency news won't be found in Microwaves & RF magazine, but in the e-mail newsletter Microwaves & RF UPDATE. Sent directly to your computer desktop twice each month, this concisely written newsletter features...

RF Blog.
July 1, 2008... The RF Components Blog features the latest news and technology of interest to designers of high-frequency, high-speed components. Although integrated-circuit components are included in the blog, the majority of the coverage is devoted to...

Linkvvvv to the industry's most trusted directory.(Microwaves & RF )(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... The Microwaves & RF web site offers several instant links to the industry's only complete directory of products and suppliers: The Microwaves & RF Product Data Directory. With products from more than 2000 companies, thoughtfully classified into...

News and products.(WEB-EXCLUSIVE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Please join us in welcoming Lisa Maliniak, Online Managing Editor, to the staff of Microwaves & RF. Lisa, who received a BSEE from Rutgers University, has been working as an editor for 20 years. Aside from stints as a Technology Editor and...

Share your thoughts with quick polls.(Survey)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Quick polls allow you to regularly share your opinion on a wide range of topics. LATEST POLL RESULTS: Do you think the US educational system does enough to attract engineering students? 61% YES 39% NO NEW POLL: ...

Semiconductor advances propel high-power amps: solid-state power-amplifier designers have a wide range of emerging transistor technologies to choose from for next-generation commercial and military platforms.(NewsReport)
July 1, 2008... Improved linearity is one of the requirements for an effective wireless commuications transition from 2G series to 3G/4G systems, and high-performance RF transistors are vital to the amplifiers in these newer systems. As network operators...

Startup proposes Wi-Fi for personal area networks: this innovative approach to wireless personal area networks (WPANs) allows peripheral devices to connect through a Wi-Fi network via a software-and-hardware-based solution.(NewsReport)(Company overview)
July 1, 2008... Wireless personal area networks (WPANs) were once thought to be the exclusive domain of low-power wireless technologies such as Bluetooth. But if feisty startup company Ozmo Devices has its say, wireless-local-area-network (WLAN) technology,...

Agilent Technologies acquires assets of Escort Instruments Corp.(financialnews)
July 1, 2008... AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. has acquired substantially all of the assets of Taiwan-based Escort Instruments Corporation, a supplier of low-cost test and measurement instruments and a subsidiary of Unitech Printed circuit Board corporation. ...

Azimuth Systems, Inc.(CONTRACTS)
July 1, 2008... Azimuth Systems, Inc. -- The Advanced Telecommunications Engineering Laboratory (TEL) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has selected the ACE 400WB channel emulator to perform a comprehensive mobile WiMAX technology study to investigate the...

Richardson Electronics, Ltd.(CONTRACTS)
July 1, 2008... Richardson Electronics, Ltd. -- Has signed a global distribution agreement with HVVi Semiconductors, Inc., of Phoenix, AZ, to distribute its RF power transistors, based on HVVi's new HVVFET architecture. HVVi recently announced the first major...

Agilent Technologies, Inc.(CONTRACTS)
July 1, 2008... Agilent Technologies, Inc. -- Announced that Sequans, a provider of Mobile WiMAX silicon and reference designs, has awarded Agilent a contract for Mobile WiMAX Protocol Conformance Test (PCT). Sequans will use Agilent's N6430A Mobile WiMAX PCT...

Alcatel-Lucent.(CONTRACTS)
July 1, 2008... Alcatel-Lucent -- Announced that Tatung InfoComm, a wholly-owned subsidiary of a Taiwanese conglomerate, Tatung Co., has selected Alcatel-Lucent to deploy a commercial WiMAX 802.16e-2005 (Rev-e) network in Penghu County, Taiwan. For Tatung,...

Elcom Technologies, Inc.(CONTRACTS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Elcom Technologies, Inc. -- Has received two orders totaling $1 million dollars for Very High Frequency and Ultra High Frequency (VHF/UHF) receivers from an international defense customer. The Elcom SIR 3000 receiver series cover the frequency...

Tensolite, a division of Carlisle Companies, Inc.(FRESH STARTS)
July 1, 2008... Tensolite, a division of Carlisle Companies, Inc. -- Has changed its name to Carlisle Interconnect Technologies. The name change comes on the heels of Tensolite's recent acquisition of Carlyle Inc., a manufacturer of custom wire and cable...

ProVision Communications.(FRESH STARTS)
July 1, 2008... ProVision Communications -- Has relocated its UK headquarters to larger offices at 1 Portland Square, close to the heart of Bristol city center. The new facility is twice the size of the company's previous offices.

National Technical Systems, Inc.(FRESH STARTS)(Elliott Laboratories, Inc)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... National Technical Systems, Inc. -- Has completed its acquisition of Elliott Laboratories, Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), Product Safety and Wireless regulatory testing laboratory with two full-service...

Acceleware Corp.(FRESH STARTS)
July 1, 2008... Acceleware Corp. -- Has announced a partnership with Vector Fields to accelerate microwave design by combining Vector Fields' Concerto automation software package with Acceleware's FDTD Accelerator solution. Vector Fields produces software for...

Keithley Instruments Inc.(FRESH STARTS)
July 1, 2008... Keithley Instruments Inc. -- Announced a joint effort with Azimuth Systems for WiMAX, 4G, and Wi-Fi. Keithley is working with Azimuth Systems to deliver critical end-to-end MIMO RF test solutions to mobile handset manufacturers, infrastructure...

mWAVE Industries, LLC.(FRESH STARTS)
July 1, 2008... mWAVE Industries, LLC -- The antenna design and manufacturing company has moved its operation to a newly constructed, larger more modern facility located adjacent to the mWAVE outdoor antenna test range located in the town of Windham, ME. This...

Nomad Digital.(FRESH STARTS)
July 1, 2008... NOMAD Digital -- Has partnered with the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) to launch the first "free to all passengers" onboard Wi-Fi wireless broadband network on a US railroad. Nomad, who worked with local partner Wasatch Electric, provided its...

Raytheon appoints new president of Missile Systems.(people)
July 1, 2008... TAYLOR W. LAWRENCE will succeed Louise L. Francesconi as president of Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS) effective July 1. Francesconi will work with Lawrence as he transitions into his new role until her retirement on Sept. 1. Francesconi is...

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.(people)
July 1, 2008... Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems -- MARK E. RUSSELL named vice president of engineering, technology, and mission assurance. LYNN A. DUGLE named vice president and deputy general manager of intelligence and information systems business;...

Sabritec.(people)
July 1, 2008... Sabritec -- BOB BETZ appointed senior applications engineer; formerly a regional sales manager for a major military aerospace connector manufacturer. DAVE HOOVER appointed Western regional sales manager; formerly the business development...

Microwaves & RF.(people)
July 1, 2008... Microwaves & RF -- NANCY FRIEDRICH, editor, and her husband Chuck, announced the arrival of their first son, Charles, on June 12.

Rogers Corporation.(people)
July 1, 2008... Rogers Corporation -- MICHAEL D. BESSETTE appointed vice president to head up the Advanced Circuit Materials Division (ACMD) in Chandler, Arizona; formerly with Roger's Durel Division and responsible for the global electroluminescent...

RFMW, Ltd.(people)
July 1, 2008... RFMW, Ltd. -- ROB VIROSTEK appointed field sales engineer, handling the Mid-Atlantic territory; formerly a senior field applications engineer at Avnet. SHERRY DIMAK named strategic account manager-contract manufacturing; formerly with...

Aeroflex-INMET.(people)
July 1, 2008... Aeroflex-INMET -- JOSEPH O'NEIL appointed director of engineering; formerly with Midwest Microwave.

AR RF Microwave Instrumentation.(people)
July 1, 2008... AR RF Microwave Instrumentation -- JOHN VINSKI been promoted to customer support manager; he has held various positions in his 19 years at the company.

Short courses.(education)(Calendar)
July 1, 2008... Besser Associates Short Courses Wireless Transceiver Design Techniques Aug. 11-15, 2008 (San Jose, CA) RF Transceiver Architecture, Design and Evaluation Nov. 17-21, 2008 (Dallas, TX) Applied RF Techniques for Modern Radio...

Meetings.(education)(Calendar)
July 1, 2008... COMS-Commercialization of Micro and Nano Systems Conference Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2008 (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico) IEEE AUTOTESTCON 43rd Annual Systems Readiness Technology Conference Sept. 8-11, 2008 (Baltimore, MD) Internet:...

Planar folded dipole antenna achieves Wideband performance.(R & Droundup)
July 1, 2008... WIDEBAND WIRELESS SYSTEMS like Ultra Wideband (UWB) require antennas that are wideband and compact. One solution is a dipole antenna with folded elements, which is constructed by folding both ends of a folded dipole antenna to widen the...

24-Gb/s software-controlled transmitter outperforms baseband systems.(R & Droundup)
July 1, 2008... RECENTLY, A STUDY REVEALED a large gap between the fundamental limits of signaling (Shannon capacity) and the limits that are achievable with baseband signaling. In some applications, notches in the frequency domain are part of the link...

On-Chip slot antennas prove CMOS approach.(R & Droundup)
July 1, 2008... ON-CHIP ANTENNAS can be used in applications from radio-frequency-identification (RFID) tags to RF sensors/radars. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) has been the most commonly used substrate in many of these applications. Yet active RF devices are...

Design an X-band Vivaldi antenna: part 1 of this two-part article will explain how Vivaldi antennas can provide outstanding directional propagation at microwave frequencies, with a simple design that offers broad bandwidth.(DesignFeature)
July 1, 2008... Antennas are essential to high-frequency communications and electronic systems for radiating or receiving electromagnetic (EM) energy. Although there are many types of antennas, they all operate according to the same basic EM principles. The...

Digital predistortion linearizes broadband PAs: this efficient and flexible Volterra-based adaptive predistortion technique can be used to achieve high linearity in broadband RF power amplifiers.(DesignFeature)
July 1, 2008... Power amplifier (PA) linearity and efficiency are often two parameters that must be traded off in a wireless system. Fortunately, a Volterra-based adaptive digital-predistortion (DPD) linearizer circuit can enable RF PAs in wireless systems to...

Examine the effects of phase noise on RFID range: the phase noise of the local oscillator used in a passive UHF RFID system can prove to be a key limiting factor on the ultimate interrogation range of the system.(DesignFeature)(Radio frequency identification)(ultra high frequency)
July 1, 2008... Radio-frequency-identification (RFID) systems have become widespread as reliable means of storing and remotely retrieving data through the use of compact RFID tags. In particular, the use of ultra-high-frequency (UHF) passive RFID is appealing...

Planar resonators arm tunable oscillators: Voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) based on novel self-injection-locked compact coupled planar resonators (CCPRs) feature high Qs and low phase noise at microwave frequencies.(DesignFeature)
July 1, 2008... Last month, Part 1 of this article introduced novel self-injection-locked compact-coupled-planar-resonator (CCPR) oscillators. Part 2 concludes this article with more details on CCPR technology and some product examples. Edward (5)...

Determine Total Radiated Power performance of PAs.(application notes)
July 1, 2008... TOTAL RADIATED POWER (TRP) is an increasingly important performance parameter for power amplifiers (PAs) in Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) infrastructure equipment. A PA's TRP performance is very much affected by varying load...

Get full synchronization performance at current clock speeds.(application notes)
July 1, 2008... SYNCHRONOUS CLOCKING SCHEMES provide clock signals that are frequency locked at every transmission/reception exchange. Such systems permit seamless data exchange at the highest possible rates. Due to different design tradeoffs, however,...

CSP technology shrinks RF component size: this innovative chip-scale-packaging technology helps cut in half the amount of space occupied by RF/microwave integrated circuits and components on a printed-circuit board.(COVER Story)
July 1, 2008... Components and integrated circuits for RF/microwave applications have traditionally been small in size, although the limit on miniaturization has often been the package. With the announcement of its unique WaferCap chip-scale-packaging (CSP)...

AUTOTESTCON gathers ATE equipment suppliers: this conference and exhibition brings together test equipment and associated hardware suppliers with a common interest in meeting the demanding measurement requirements of the US military.(ProductTechnology)
July 1, 2008... Automatic measurement solutions for military applications have their place, and each year they can be found in abundance at the annual IEEE AUTOTESTCON conference. The next AUTOTESTCON (www.autotestcon.com), which is scheduled for Sept. 8-11 in...

Enhanced scopes race to 20 GSamples/s: these high-performance four-channel oscilloscopes offer bandwidths to 6 GHz with sampling rates to 20 GSamples/second per channel and an innovative approach to memory management.(ProductTechnology)
July 1, 2008... Oscilloscopes are still a main workhorse measurement tool for evaluating transient and difficult-to-find signal anomalies, and LeCroy Corp. has been relentless in its pursuit of improved scope performance. But the enhanced performance of the...

SiGe GPS receiver handles two antennas: designed for next-generation GPS systems, this tiny chip receiver features outstanding electrical performance and extremely low current consumption in a package measuring just 4 x 4 mm.(ProductTechnology)
July 1, 2008... Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers are being embedded into almost any bit of electronic gear that moves, from the electronic circuits in automobiles to cellular telephones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). To support this "global"...

Integrated system tests device flicker noise: the industry's first integrated and dedicated test solution for flicker noise measurements is backed by unparalleled support and service and also capable of performing DC measurements.(ProductTechnology)
July 1, 2008... Flicker noise is one of those important, but often misunderstood, semiconductor device parameters that can greatly impact the performance of wireless communications systems. Although measurement solutions for evaluating device flicker noise...