Microwaves & RF articles from June 2006

Microwaves & RF archives from June 2006

VCO design considerations raise system performance.(application notes)(voltage controlled oscillators)
June 1, 2006... APPLICATIONS like aerospace and defense demand fast tuning for signal generation. To satisfy this need, voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) can be developed that provide superior tuning linearity and low phase noise. Such VCOs are the focus...

Improve insertion loss with RSPUDT IF filters.(application notes)
June 1, 2006... NUMEROUS WIRELESS SYSTEMS employ surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) filters as intermediate-frequency (IF) channel-selection filters. These SAW filters are based on resonant single-phase unidirectional transducers. They are designed to achieve smaller...

LTCC launches miniature, wideband, low-cost mixers: by combining sophisticated circuit techniques with advanced LTCC material technology, the SIM line of extremely compact, extremely broadband mixers is born.(low-temperature co-fired ceramic)(Cover story)
June 1, 2006... Low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) circuit materials lend themselves to high-performance components in extremely small footprints. They also are the foundation for a new series of broadband, low-cost mixers from a company synonymous with...

Simulation tools build on electromagnetic analysis: a growing number of software design suites and frameworks rely on planar and full-wave electromagnetic analysis tools to visualize the shape of fields and flow of current.(SPECIAL report: CAE PRODUCT ROUNDUP)
June 1, 2006... Computer-aided-engineering (CAE) software for high-frequency design and analysis comes in many shapes and sizes. The software products vary from simple freeware tools to full-fledged frameworks under which other programs operate. What follows...

Vector signal generator spans 0.4 to 2.5 GHz: this cost-effective source features a built-in arbitrary waveform generator and software-defined-radio architecture for complex flexibility in creating complex waveforms.(PRODUCT technology)
June 1, 2006... Testing components and devices with complex modulation formats require unconventional measurement solutions. Traditional signal sources, for example, may lack the capability to create the advanced phase- and amplitude-based modulation formats...

Wide-range trimmers fit into chip housings: these miniature chip-sized packages belie the wide capacitance tuning ranges and overall performance available in these highly stable trimmers.(PRODUCT technology)
June 1, 2006... Trimmer capacitors serve an invaluable circuit function, or a necessary evil, depending upon an engineer's viewpoint. Although the presence of a trimmer in a circuit implies a need to tune, some applications, such as filters and oscillators,...

Three-band transceiver covers 3 and 4 GHz.
June 1, 2006... FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZERS lie at the heart of most radio designs. As a result, the performance of these synthesizers very much affects the overall system's operation. Now, a family of integrated RF synthesizers with embedded voltage-controlled...

Pneumatic pressure foot precisely cuts substrates.(editor's choice)
June 1, 2006... DESIGN SPEED, accuracy, and control are highly desired by printed-circuit-board (PCB) prototype engineers. The new Precision Flat system for the PCB Professional is a PCB-prototype milling machine that promises to deliver these capabilities....

Pulse modulator achieves 2-ns rise and fall times.
June 1, 2006... HIGH-PERFORMANCE pulse modulators must handle fast pulses with minimal distortion in terms of pulse drop and rise/fall times. The SWM-DJV-1DT-2ATT is a high-speed pulse modulator with better than 2-ns rise and fall times to provide pulse...

Amplifier delivers +38 dBm At 1 dB.
June 1, 2006... A NEW FAMILY of C-band high-power amplifiers is targeting wireless, defense, and satellite-communications applications. The model AMP5.4G7.2-30- 38 covers 5.4 to 7.2 GHz. At 1-dB compression, its output power is a minimum of +38 dBm. Its gain...

Hawaii MTT-S 2007.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2006... * WITH RESPECT to your editorial in the March 2006 Microwaves & RF ("Dreaming About Hawaii," p. 17), asking about the reader's feelings in IMS2007 in Hawaii: I firmly believe the Hawaiian IMS in 2007 will be a rousing success. Yes, there...

Keeping up with a changing world.(from the editor)(U.S. apprehensions over China's growth)(Editorial)
June 1, 2006... FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, the US electrical-engineering industry has been largely consumed by thoughts, concerns, and plans for China. On one hand, design companies invested a lot of engineering resources and legal clout as they tried to protect...

Q1 chip inventory surge should be no cause for alarm.(the front end)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Although semiconductor inventories throughout the electronics industry swelled by a faster-than-expected rate during the first three months of the year, overall stockpiles remain lean and the supply chain continues to be...

Patient safety is increasingly reliant on RFID.(the front end)(radio frequency identification equipment)(Skyetek)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... WESTMINSTER, CO -- SkyeTek has announced that more than 30 customers are using its technology in vital patient safety applications. By embedding SkyeTek's reader technology as a feature in their products, these companies are improving diagnosis...

ARMMS conference yields interesting papers.(Automated RF & Microwave Measurement Society)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... STEVENTON, ENGLAND -- The latest ARMMS RF and Microwave Society conference was held on April 24 and 25 at Milton Hill House in Steventon, near Oxford. Chairman George Hjipieris of NERA Networks AS opened the conference by encouraging a...

QUALCOMM introduces first Universal Mobile TV chip.(product introduction of QUALCOMM Inc)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... SAN DIEGO, CA -- QUALCOMM, Inc. has announced its single-chip Universal Broadcast iModem (UBM) solution supporting three of the world's leading mobile broadcast standards. The UBM solution unifies the world's leading mobile TV standards into a...

Ansoft Corp.(Ansoft Corp named to Business 2.0 magazine's annual list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Technology Companies)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... PITTSBURGH, PA -- Ansoft Corp. has been named to Business 2.0 magazine's annual list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Technology Companies. The ranking is based on a three-year annualized average of revenue growth and 2005 return on stock. Ansoft is...

Remtec, Inc.(Remtec Inc completion of the compliance program for the Restriction of Hazardous Substance )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... NORWOOD, MA -- Remtec, Inc. has announced the successful completion of the compliance program for the Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) Directive and the registration by the International Organization of Standardization as an ISO...

Conexant Systems, Inc.(awards of Conexant Systems Inc)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- Conexant Systems, Inc. announced that its CX24128 dual-stream satellite RF tuner won in the semiconductor High Tech Industry category in the 13th Annual AeA Orange County Council High Tech Innovation Awards 2006...

Technology secures borders and shores up com links: as concern grows over biological warfare or other kinds of terrorist attacks, numerous engineering companies are perfecting chemical-detection systems and strengthening our nation's borders and communications systems.(Department of Homeland Security)
June 1, 2006... Recent debates and activism centered around possible immigration reform have once again highlighted a major problem for this country: the task of securing its borders. No matter what political stance one takes on the current state of...

An interview with Gavin Woods: Freescale Semiconductor's RF Division.(crosstalk)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... Since Freescale Semiconductor was divested from Motorola in 2004, the RF Division has made significant changes in both the markets it serves and the technologies it is developing. The RF Division is making continuing advances in LDMOS, its core...

Ansoft reports record results.(financial reports of Ansoft Corp)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... ANSOFT CORP.,a developer of electronic-design-automation (EDA) software, has announced financial results for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 ended April 30, 2006. Revenue for the fourth quarter totaled $24.7 million, an increase of 14...

Intermagnetics General Corp.(contracts between Intermagnetics General Corp and Department of Defense to develop high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Intermagnetics General Corp.--Announced that its subsidiary, Invivo Corp., has been awarded a $500,000 Department of Defense (DoD) grant to develop an integrated hardware and software system that will enable high-resolution magnetic resonance...

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.(contracts between Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Vodafone Group PLC)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.--Signed a contract for the construction of a UMTS network for Vodafone Czech Republic. According to the contract, Huawei will provide a UTRAN system based on the new generation Node B technologies for Vodafone's...

Rogers Corp.(Rogers Corp launched www.rogerscorporation.com )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Rogers Corp.--Announced the creation of its new website for the Chinese market. The site can be accessed on Rogers' home page by visiting www.rogerscorporation.com and clicking on the Chinese Welcome message. Features include Rogers'...

Aeroflex/Weinschel, Inc.(contracts between Aeroflex/Weinschel Inc and Cain-Sweet Co)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Aeroflex/Weinschel, Inc.--Has signed an exclusive agreement with Cain-Sweet Co. to expand their territory as a manufacturers representative to now include Canada. Cain-Sweet has represented Aeroflex/Weinschel in the Pacific Northwest and has...

Diplex, Inc.(Diplex Inc launch of its website)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Diplex, Inc.--Announced the launch of its website at www.diplex.info.

QUALCOMM, Inc.(QUALCOMM Inc and Nokia Corp cases)
June 1, 2006... QUALCOMM, Inc.--Commenced patent-infringement litigation in the United Kingdom against Nokia Corp. The proceedings, issued in the Patents Court of the High Court of England and Wales, allege infringement of two patents by Nokia in the UK in...

Elcoteq SE.(location of Elcoteq SE)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Elcoteq SE--Announced its move to new facilities in Manaus, Brazil and Juarez, Mexico. The company's other sites in the Americas are located in Monterrey, Mexico and in Texas.

Digi-Key Corp. and Signal Transformer, Inc.(Distribution agreements between Digi-Key Corp and Signal Transformer)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Digi-Key Corp. and Signal Transformer, Inc.--Signed a global distribution agreement. Digi-Key will stock Signal's chassis and PC mount transformers for use in a variety of applications. Split bobbin transformers with high isolation,...

Nu Horizons Electronics Corp.(growth of Nu Horizons Electronics Corp)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Nu Horizons Electronics Corp.--Expanded the organization's Asia Pacific operations by adding technical and sales support in Nanjing and Chengdu, China. In addition, over recent months, the company has established new or upgraded facilities in...

Tundra Semiconductor Corp.(Tundra Semiconductor Corp acquired Alliance Semiconductor Corp)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Tundra Semiconductor Corp.--Has completed the acquisition of the Systems Solutions Business Unit of Alliance Semiconductor Corp. Tundra entered into a definitive agreement on April 19, 2006 to acquire the assets of the Alliance SSBU. The...

Park Electromechanical Corp.(Park Electromechanical Corp change of the name)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Park Electromechanical Corp.--Announced the change of the name of its advanced composite materials business from FiberCote Industries, Inc. to Nelcote, Inc. Consistent with this name change, Park's advanced composite materials product line will...

Kulicke & Soffa Industries.(Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc relocation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Kulicke & Soffa Industries--Relocated its corporate headquarters to a new building in Fort Washington, PA. The company will maintain its current phone numbers and e-mail addresses. The new corporate address is: Kulicke and Soffa Industries,...

Cookson Group plc.(Cookson Group plc sale of its Laminates business to the Isola Group )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Cookson Group plc--Completed the sale of its Laminates business to the Isola Group S.A.R.L. for a purchase price of 51 million UK pounds (approximately $91 million US).

Micro Lambda Wireless, Inc.(appointments of GMB Partners and Associated Technical )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Micro Lambda Wireless, Inc.--Announced two new representative appointments. GMB Partners has been appointed to handle all of Micro Lambda's products in Korea. In addition, Associated Technical Sales has been appointed to represent Micro...

Silicon Laboratories, Inc.(Silicon Laboratories Inc acquired Silembia)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Silicon Laboratories, Inc.--Acquired Silembia, a privately held company based in Rennes, France, in an all-cash transaction for approximately $20 million.

Xceive Corp. names Jean-Louis Bories as new CEO.(appointment of Jean-Louis Bories )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Xceive Corp. of Santa Clara, CA has announced the appointment of industry veteran JEAN-LOUIS BORIES as CEO. Prior to joining Xceive, Bories was the senior vice president for wireless and displays at National Semiconductor.

Harris Corp.(appointments)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Harris Corp.--ROBERT K. "BOB" HENRY to executive vice president; formerly senior vice president and president of Harris' Government Communications Systems Division. Also, DANA MEHNERT to president of RF Communications; formerly vice president...

Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.(appointment of Kevin Bligh as a vice president )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.--KEVIN BLIGH to vice president of worldwide sales and marketing; formerly vice president of sales and marketing and CFO of Silicon Design Solutions.

Leadis Technology, Inc.(appointment of Robert Fang to vice president)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Leadis Technology, Inc.--ROBERT FANG to vice president of operations; formerly vice president of operations at XGI Technology, Inc.

Foresite.(appointment of Clark Winrotte in Rathsburg Associates)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Foresite--CLARK WINROTTE to technical account manager; formerly employed at Rathsburg Associates.

Plexus Corp.(appointments)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Plexus Corp.--MICHAEL V. SCHROCK to the board of directors; continues as president and COO for Filtration and Technical Products at Pentair, Inc.

Supply Insight.(appointments in Supply Insight)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Supply Insight--DAVID L. BREWER to CEO; formerly employed at a wirelesstechnology company.

California Micro Devices.(appointment of Gerome Tseng as a vice president )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... California Micro Devices--GEROME TSENG to vice president for business development; formerly CEO of Arques Technology.

RFMW Ltd.(regional sales engineer)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... RFMW Ltd.--STEVE KIM to regional sales engineer for Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee; formerly employed in RF and wireless-communications product development with various companies. Also, RUSS DAHL to regional sales engineer for the...

RF Magic.(vice president of worldwide sales)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... RF Magic--GORDON SCHENK to vice president of worldwide sales; formerly held a senior sales-management role at Infineon Technologies.

AIA.(executive vice president of Defense and International Affairs)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... AIA--MARK T. ESPER to executive vice president of Defense and International Affairs; formerly director of National Security Affairs for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Mimix Broadband, Inc.(Officials and employees)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Mimix Broadband, Inc.--DAMIAN MCCANN to CTO; formerly vice president of product development. Also, JOHN MCCARTHY to senior vice president of sales; formerly employed at Peregrine Semiconductor. In addition, DONALD P. MATHES to vice president of...

Agilent Technologies, Inc.(head of the Network and Digital Solutions)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Agilent Technologies, Inc.--DAVID CHURCHILL to head of the Network and Digital Solutions (NDS) business unit; continues as vice president and general manager of the Design Validation Division (DVD).

California Eastern Laboratories.(director of major accounts)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... California Eastern Laboratories--JOE LARKINS to director of major accounts; formerly employed at Infineon Technologies, where he led Infineon's sales efforts with Nortel and Cisco.

Aitech Defense Systems, Inc.(Area sales manager)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Aitech Defense Systems, Inc.--PAUL MORRISON to US Eastern Area sales manager; formerly field application engineer for Radstone Technology.

Sabritec.(people)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Sabritec--AMIR SAKET to director of operations.

Short courses.(calendar)(Calendar)
June 1, 2006... ATI Short Courses Fundamentals of Radar Technology July 18-20 (San Diego, CA) September 27-29 (Beltsville, MD) Satellite Communications--An Essential Introduction September 18-20 (Cape Canaveral, FL) For further...

Meetings.(Conferences and conventions)(Calendar)
June 1, 2006... The 16th Annual INCOSE International Symposium July 9-13 (Orlando, FL) Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate Internet: www.incose.org/symp2006/ SEMICON West 2006 July 10-14 (San Francisco, CA) Moscone Convention Center...

Parallel-Plate-Like Waveguide fires frequency-selective transmissions.(R&D roundup)
June 1, 2006... FREQUENCY-SELECTIVE TRANSMISSIONS have been under investigation for several years and are of general interest for many commercial and military wireless applications. Ruey Bing Hwang and Cherng Hsiao with the Department of Communnication...

Structural Antenna Systems serve Broadband Naval HF Communications.(R&D roundup)
June 1, 2006... SOFTWARE-DEFINED RADIOS (SDRS) are being installed on board new civil and tactical ships, requiring the development of broadband antennas operating in the high-frequency (HF) range. By combining properly shaped and loaded wire radiators...

Miniature UWB Planar Monopole Antenna includes WLAN notch filter.(School of Engineering, Information and Communications University )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... ULTRAWIDEBAND (UWB) COMMUNICATIONS calls for UWB antennas, not a trival design obstacle to overcome. Addressing the problem, Young Jun Cho and fellow researchers from the School of Engineering, Information and Communications University...

S-band power amp incorporates bare die: the use of unpackaged transistors and some clever circuit matching and signal-processing techniques help to shrink the size and cut the cost of a 100-W amplifier developed for pulsed S-band radar applications.(DESIGN)
June 1, 2006... Radar systems require higher-power but affordable solid-state high-power amplifiers (HPAs). The design of an efficient, low-cost HPA is particularly challenging given the expense of high-frequency, packaged transistor devices. By eliminating...

Properly understanding noise in test applications: the output of a noise generator is usually assumed to follow a true Gaussian distribution but, even when not truly Gaussian, noise can make an excellent signal for communications tests.(DESIGN: MEASURING NOISE SOURCES)
June 1, 2006... Noise generators can serve as useful test tools in evaluating communications systems performance. They allow an operator to add a controlled amount of thermal noise to a reference signals to determine the effect of noise on system performance,...

MEMS motion sensors boost handset reliability: two- and three-axis accelerometers can serve a wide range of applications within a cellular handset to increase usability and increase reliability for key components.(DESIGN: EMERGING WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES / MEMS MOTION SENSING)(microelectromechanical-system)
June 1, 2006... Motion sensors realized as microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) integrated circuits (ICs) are playing a major role in the future of cellular handsets. Not only do these MEMS accelerometers make mobile phones more usable, they can increase a...

RF MEMS integrates CMOS controller: by partnering with an established semiconductor foundry, a developer of MEMS switches has found a practical path to integrating MEMS with CMOS devices.(DESIGN: CMOS-MEMS INTEGRATION)
June 1, 2006... Mobile-telephone designs continue to integrate more functions, but with goals of cutting supply voltage and current. Because of these conflicting design goals, RF microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) technology has attracted the attention of...