Microwaves & RF articles from June 2008

Microwaves & RF archives from June 2008

Metamaterial concerns.(feedback)
June 1, 2008... How can metamaterials be viable for modulus of refractive index [absolute value of n] This can be seen where: dn/d[lambda] = 0 for [V.sub.g] = c[[n-[lambda] (dn/d[lambda])].sup.-[??]] where [lambda] = wavelength in vacuum ...

Students abroad also spurn science.(from the editor)
June 1, 2008... It is widely acknowledged that US engineering companies are attracting more international than homegrown talent. The problem is that less and less US-born students are going into engineering-related fields. In fact, they are less inclined to...

Is bluetooth and NFC a marriage made in Heaven?(the front end)
June 1, 2008... WELLINGBOROUGH, UK -- For some time, the combination of Bluetooth technology and Near Field Communication (NFC) has been seen as the perfect match of short-range wireless technologies. Despite the talk, though, these technologies are by no...

Frost & Sullivan honors AVX as company of the year.(the front end)
June 1, 2008... MYRTLE BEACH, SC -- AVX Corp., a manufacturer of advanced electronic components and interconnect solutions, has received the 2008 Global Capacitor Company of the Year Award from Frost & Sullivan. That global consulting company empowers clients...

RFID testbed measures multiple tags at once.(the front end)
June 1, 2008... ATLANTA, GA -- Researchers have designed a system that is capable of simultaneously measuring hundreds of radio-frequency-identification (RFID) tags and rapidly testing new RFID-tag prototypes. According to Gregory Durgin, an assistant...

Kudos.(the front end)(Company overview)
June 1, 2008... MOSCOW, ID -- Comtech AHA Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications Corp., has surpassed the 20-year milestone as a provider of integrated circuits (ICs) and intellectual-property (IP) cores that implement...

The latest news, in e-mail form.(Product Data Directory PDD)
June 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.(Product Data Directory PDD)
June 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...

Link to the industry's most trusted directory.(Product Data Directory PDD)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The Microwaves & RF website 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)(Microwaves & RF appoints Lisa Maliniak)(Brief article)
June 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 both a Technology Editor and...

Share your thoughts with quick polls.(Product Data Directory PDD)
June 1, 2008... Quick polls allow you to regularly share your opinion on a wide range of topics. LATEST POLL RESULTS: Are you planning on attending the International Microwave Symposium this June in Atlanta, GA? 38% YES 62% NO NEW...

RF/microwave technologies advance for military systems: from the device level through signal sources and integrated assemblies, suppliers of RF/microwave components continue to contribute to advances in military electronic systems.(NewsReport)
June 1, 2008... Military electronics systems generally leverage the latest technologies in order to achieve performance or even tactical advantages. Although systems, such as radar and electronic-warfare (EW) platforms, are comprehensive collections of analog,...

Disparate solutions work to fill communications gap: rather than a unified approach, the watershed funding for reliable and interoperable communications has led to commercial and proprietary solutions based on a range of wireless technologies.(NewsReport)
June 1, 2008... More than seven years have passed since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Since that time, the world has witnessed the subway bombings in the UK, the train bombings in Spain, and multiple other attacks. Government agencies have boosted...

Cobham acquires M/A-COM for $425 million.(financialnews)
June 1, 2008... THROUGH AN AGREEMENT WITH M/A-COM, Cobham plc will purchase M/A-COM's radio-frequency components and subsystems business--one of the largest original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of microwave subsystems in the world--from tyco electronics for...

Hughes Network Systems, LLC.(CONTRACTS)
June 1, 2008... Hughes Network Systems, LLC -- Signed an agreement with Globalstar, Inc. under which Hughes will design, manufacture, and implement the next-generation Radio Access Network (RAN) comprising gateway equipment at Globalstar's worldwide locations...

Trango Broadband Wireless.(CONTRACTS)
June 1, 2008... Trango Broadband Wireless -- Awarded a five-year US General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 70 contract, GS-35F-0310U, for providing government agencies with information technology, telecommunications products, and professional services....

Libya Telecom Technology (LTT).(CONTRACTS)
June 1, 2008... Libya Telecom Technology (LTT) -- Selected Alcatel-Lucent to deploy the first commercial WiMAX network based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 WiMAX standard in Libya. LTT plans to launch commercial service in September. The network will support...

Raytheon.(CONTRACTS)(Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Raytheon -- Awarded a $3.3 million contract to overcome thermal challenges in semiconductors designed for next-generation high-power radars and other electronic systems. The award is for the first of a three-phase Defense Advanced Research...

SEMPAC, Inc.(FRESH STARTS)(opened a UK distribution center )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... SEMPAC, Inc. -- Has opened a UK distribution center that will service all of the European communities. Accelonix Ltd., SEMPAC's sales agency located in Alton, Hampshire, England, will now handle all stock transactions up to 250 parts per order...

Hittite Microwave.(FRESH STARTS)(Website overview)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Hittite Microwave -- Launched a redesigned web site at www.hittite.com. New features include a web page design and a home page featuring new products, markets, press releases, and featured articles. The web site details full specifications for...

UMC and Mentor Graphics.(FRESH STARTS)
June 1, 2008... UMC and Mentor Graphics -- Partnered to offer a series of analog/mixed-signal and RF foundry design kits (FDKs). The FDKs, which contain building blocks for the transistor device level, help IC designers to jump-start design cycles on UMC's...

Leader Tech.(FRESH STARTS)(opening of its Global EMI Shielding Technology Center )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Leader Tech -- Celebrated the grand opening of its Global EMI Shielding Technology Center with local dignitaries, employees, customers, and guests. The expansion was prompted by a significant increase in domestic and international demand for...

QUALCOMM, Inc.(FRESH STARTS)
June 1, 2008... QUALCOMM, Inc. -- Affirmed its commitment to the Middle East and North Africa markets with the opening of a branch office in Dubai. The office, located in the Dubai Internet City Free Trade Zone, will serve as a hub for QUALCOMM's regional...

Herley Industries.(FRESH STARTS)
June 1, 2008... Herley Industries -- Will significantly downsize its manufacturing facility in Farmingdale, NY and transfer the bulk of its workload to other facilities in Whippany, NJ; Woburn, MA; Lancaster, PA; and Jerusalem, Israel.

The Phoenix Company of Chicago, Inc.(FRESH STARTS)(Website overview)
June 1, 2008... The Phoenix Company of Chicago, Inc. -- Launched a new web site at www.phoenixofchicago.com. It features new products with a part-number search, product configurator, interactive map, and downloadable literature.

Z-Communications, Inc.(FRESH STARTS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Z-Communications, Inc. -- Announced a new division named Z-Comm Microwave based in San Jose, CA. This division is chartered with the development and manufacture of integrated microwave, millimeter-wave assemblies, and highly linear power...

Korea Telecom (KT).(FRESH STARTS)
June 1, 2008... Korea Telecom (KT) -- Selected Tektronix Communications' GeoProbe Network Assurance solution to test the deployment of new call-related services. KT will use GeoProbe to proactively monitor, manage, diagnose, and troubleshoot issues before,...

Nitronex names Sadler principal engineer.(people)
June 1, 2008... DR. ROBERT A. SADLER has been named principal engineer for Nitronex. He has more than 27 years of industry experience in compound semiconductor device and process engineering. He most recently served as technical director, devices, for Northrop...

The John Hopkins University.(people)
June 1, 2008... The John Hopkins University -- KRISTINA M. JOHNSON, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, received the John Fritz Medal by the American Association of Engineering Societies for her expertise in optics, optoelectronic...

Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC).(people)
June 1, 2008... Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) -- DR. KATHERINE L. MORSE, an SAIC Technical Fellow, received the IEEE Computer Society Award for Leadership in Modeling and Simulation--the 2007 Hans Karlsson award. Morse has been involved in...

PicoChip.(people)
June 1, 2008... PicoChip -- JACKIE BARKER appointed to the newly created post of VP operations; formerly in charge of supply-chain strategy at Clearspeed.

Indium Corp.(people)
June 1, 2008... Indium Corp. -- DAMIAN SANTHANASAMY promoted to senior technical engineer; formerly technical engineer for Indium's Asia-Pacific operations.

National Technical Systems, Inc.(people)
June 1, 2008... National Technical Systems, Inc. -- RICK SMITH joins the NTS Fullerton Operations group; formerly with Wyle Laboratories as director of El Segundo test operations.

Staccato Communications.(people)(appointment of Gray, Jeff)(Manjul Agarwal appointed )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Staccato Communications -- JEFF GRAY appointed vice president of worldwide sales and business development; formerly vice president of sales at GloNav. MANJUL AGRAWAL appointed director of sales for Japan and Korea; formerly director of sales...

Air Semiconductor.(people)
June 1, 2008... Air Semiconductor -- HUGH THOMAS appointed CEO; formerly CEO of TapRoot Systems.

LadyBug Technologies LLC.(people)
June 1, 2008... LadyBug Technologies LLC -- SCOTT CONRAD named vice president of sales and marketing; formerly senior vice president of sales for LitePoint Corp.

Short courses.(education)
June 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)(Brief article)(Calendar)
June 1, 2008... Power Management for Wireless Devices June 2-4, 2008 (Costa Mesa, CA) Registration information is available at: http://nanopower.darnell.com/registration.php Thin-Film Batteries & Energy Harvesting June 2-4, 2008 (Costa Mesa,...

Dielectric-resonator antenna serves as filter.(R & Droundup)
June 1, 2008... THE TREND TOWARD BUNDLING multiple components into a single module for wireless communications has researchers eying a dual-function DRA that can simultaneously act as the antenna and packaging cover. The problem is that the DRA's quality (Q)...

Microwave approach detects lymphatic disease.(R & Droundup)
June 1, 2008... LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS (LF) is a parasitic infection spread by mosquitoes. This disabling and disfiguring disease is caused by thread-like parasitic worms. To accomplish the earlier detection of LF, a microwave method has been presented by Anil...

Define lightwave antennas for measurement systems.(R & Droundup)
June 1, 2008... COMPARED TO MICROWAVE ANTENNAS, lightwave antennas have different measurement characteristics because of their use of shorter wavelengths. This aspect makes it difficult to design lightwave antennas according to each application system. A...

Multibeam antenna serves broadband wireless coms: passive beamforming networks arm this multibeam antenna system to provide the sweeping coverage of an omnidirectional antenna with increased range and efficiency.(DesignFeature)
June 1, 2008... Multibeam antennas can provide increased wireless communications capacity with enhanced spectral efficiency and higher quality of service. One approach to designing such an antenna involves the use of space division multiple access (SDMA)...

Microwave System Design Tools and EW Applications.(bookreview)
June 1, 2008... Electronic warfare (EW) system design involves both analog and digital electronics often operating across broad bandwidths, including millimeter-wave and optical frequencies. Design of the RF and microwave portions of these systems involves a...

Coupled stubs support microstrip bandpass filter: novel planar microstrip lines can be used to assemble bandpass filters with wideband response at C-band frequencies, achieving coupling through the use of open-ended stubs.(DesignFeature)
June 1, 2008... Filters are essential in separating and sorting signals in communications systems. Filters are essentially two-port networks that can modify the frequency response of a communications system. In some applications, such as communications...

Making advanced radar measurements: the comprehensive measurement capabilities and high accuracy of real-time spectrum analyzers make them ideal test tools for characterizing modern pulsed radar signals.(DesignFeature)
June 1, 2008... Evaluating the performance of an advanced radar system depends upon the capabilities of both the operator and the test equipment. The test gear must be properly specified to achieve accurate results for a number of key measurements, including...

Planar resonators arm tunable oscillators: voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) based on novel self-injection-locked compact coupled planar resonators (CCPRs) show great promise as high-Q sources for wireless communications.(DesignFeature)
June 1, 2008... Communication systems rely on low-phase-noise signal sources such as tunable oscillators or phase-lock-loop (PLL) synthesizers for reliable voice communications and to ensure transmitted data integrity. Challenges still remain in achieving...

Single-chip MIMO transceiver covers 2.3 to 2.7 GHz.(editor's choice)
June 1, 2008... TO MAKE IT EASIER to build in mobile-WiMAX support, a single-chip, 2.3-to-2.7-GHz, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) RF transceiver has emerged. By using a dual-receiver architecture to mitigate RF channel fading, the MAX2839 is vowing to...

Pulse modulators switch in under 500 ns.(editor's choice)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... A COMPACT LINE of magnetron pulse modulators has been spawned to replace tube-based pulsers for high-power-radar transmitters delivering peak RF powers of 3 to 50 kW. The DTI PowerMod solid-state pulse modulators provide over 99 percent...

Chip resistors are optimized for 50-[omega] impedance.(editor's choice)
June 1, 2008... BY USING SPECIAL MANUFACTURING techniques to reduce voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), a family of chip resistors has been optimized for 50-[omega] characteristic impedance. Power ratings for the resistors range from 50 mW up to 200 W and a...

Cable kit checks WiFi and broadband infrastructure.(editor's choice)
June 1, 2008... FOR BOTH WIFI and broadband infrastructure installation, cables are needed for RF and data throughput. With the variety of connectors available today and the popularity of reverse-polarity styles, it has become quite difficult to test these...

Wireless medical devices eye three core standards.(application notes)
June 1, 2008... RECENTLY, INTEREST HAS GROWN in the potential of wireless technologies to enable a new generation of mobile personal-healthcare devices. These efforts are summarized in a white paper by EZURiO titled, "Wireless Connectivity--the Key to Enabling...

WiMAX and WiFi make strong case for users.(application notes)
June 1, 2008... OVER TIME, WiMAX is expected to achieve similar attach rates to devices as WiFi. Yet it will not eclipse the usefulness of WiFi. In fact, service providers can bundle WiMAX and WiFi to deliver high-speed Internet connectivity in more places. In...

Fast meters scale microwave power peaks: these compact but powerful power meters measure both peak and CW power levels through millimeter-wave frequencies at power levels as low as-70 dBm.(CoverStory)
June 1, 2008... Power measurements are critical for characterizing modern high-frequency systems and their components. With the growing use of pulsed and pseudorandom signals in both commercial communications and military radar systems, power meters capable of...

Cables and connectors deliver robust signals: although these high-frequency transmission-line components are often overlooked, suppliers continue to invest in performance improvements.(Product Technology)
June 1, 2008... Cables and connectors are among the most overlooked components in any high-frequency system. Since they must deliver signals from one point to the next, without altering those signals, these transmission-line components are generally only...

Compact Oscilloscopes check embedded systems: these portable but powerful scopes provide triggering and decoding capabilities for troubleshooting many different serial buses used in embedded design applications.(Product Technology)
June 1, 2008... Embedded systems, complete with memory, microcontrollers, and digital signal processing (DSP), can be found in the majority of modern electronic equipment, be it for commercial, industrial, or military applications. Checking the serial...

Microwave VNAs add nonlinear network analysis: this "hot-rodded" microwave vector network analyzer system is equipped for performing nonlinear characterization under large-signal conditions for components through 26.5 GHz.(Product Technology)
June 1, 2008... Adverse effects of nonlinear behavior in active and passive high-frequency components can disrupt communications systems. As a result, it is desirable to understand such behavior, which requires the right test equipment. To help, Agilent...