Microwaves & RF articles from October 2007

Microwaves & RF archives from October 2007

Breaking the hatred cycle.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... * PLEASE KEEP YOUR PC mealy mouthed opinions out of your tech reviews. I'm speaking of the very last paragraph of the subject article ("Fighting The War Against IEDs," Final Thoughts, Penton's Military Electronics, September 2007). To say we...

Combine resources to increase reach.(American Technical Ceramics Corp(New York))(AVX Corp (South Carolina))
October 1, 2007... Oftentimes, an individual or a small company is better able to foresee an industry's future needs than larger organizations. It also is small and agile enough to properly prepare to satisfy those needs. The electronic-design-automation (EDA)...

iSuppli reduces its 2007 semiconductor forecast--but sees reasons for optimism.(the front end)
October 1, 2007... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- iSuppli Corp. has reduced its forecast of global semiconductor revenue growth in 2007 to 3.5 percent, down from its previous prediction of a 6-percent rise. Ironically, the downward revision comes at a time when chip revenue...

TriQuint semiconductor completes acquisition of Peak Devices, Inc.(the front end)
October 1, 2007... HILLSBORO, OR -- TriQuint Semiconductor, a manufacturer of wireless products, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Peak Devices, Inc. of Boulder, CO in a cash transaction introduced last month. Peak Devices is a privately held,...

SDR forum study looks at cognitive radio.(Software Defined Radio)
October 1, 2007... DENVER, CO -- With the rapid emergence of cognitive radio (CR), this hot-button technology promises to achieve the vision of multimedia wireless services anywhere, anytime, and with any device, according to a study commissioned by the Software...

Kudos.
October 1, 2007... OTTAWA, ON AND MONTREAL, QC, CANADA -- Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame announced that it will confer its Career Service Award on Dr. Gilles Y. Delisle, ing., P.Eng., a telecommunications engineer and educator who has devoted more than...

Passive components squeeze into tighter spaces: forays into new materials and engineering techniques are enabling passive components to heighten integration and performance while downsizing to meet emerging design needs.(News Report)
October 1, 2007... "Do more with less" is the mantra in much of today's electronics industry. It applies to aspects ranging from the size of a company's engineering team to the number of components in a given design. Of course, it also applies to the components...

Measuring advances in RF/microwave test equipment: test-equipment manufacturers are responding to the requirements of their customers with more flexible and powerful instruments that can quickly change functions by means of software.(News Report)
October 1, 2007... Test-equipment manufacturers try to stay one or two steps ahead of the needs of their customers. To do this, they often listen to many customers and hope to anticipate their next set of requirements. Test-equipment suppliers often strike up...

Nokia is to acquire NAVTEQ.(financialnews)
October 1, 2007... Nokia and NAVTEQ have announced a definitive agreement for Nokia to acquire NAVTEQ. Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia will pay $78 in cash for each share of NAVTEQ including outstanding options for an aggregate purchase price of...

ViaSat.(CONTRACTS)
October 1, 2007... ViaSat--Announced that it has secured a delivery order valued at $2.4 million for Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) terminals in support of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The 24-month contract, beginning in May 2008,...

Agilent Technologies, Inc.(CONTRACTS)
October 1, 2007... Agilent Technologies, Inc.--Announced that the US Navy has selected the company's test equipment for the General Purpose Electronic Test Equipment program. The five-year contract, awarded by the Naval Inventory Control Point, is valued at...

Aeroflex/Inmet and RFMW Ltd.(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... Aeroflex/Inmet and RFMW Ltd--Announced a worldwide distribution agreement effective October 1, 2007.

Sierra Midwest.(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... Sierra Midwest--Has acquired Nutronics Manufacturing of Springfield, IL.

Park Electrochemical Corp.(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... Park Electrochemical Corp.--Reported sales of $60,541,000 for its 2008 fiscal year second quarter ended August 26, 2007 compared to sales of $66,518,000 for the second quarter of last year. Park's sales for the first six months were...

Tower Semiconductor Ltd.(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... Tower Semiconductor Ltd.--Announced that it has won a multimillion-dollar-per-month manufacturing deal for its Fab2 at the 0.13-micron technology generation from a first-tier, US integrated-device manufacturer (IDM). Under this deal, technology...

Parker Hannifin Corp., Chomerics Asia Pacific Division.(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... Parker Hannifin Corp., Chomerics Asia Pacific Division--Opened a new facility in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, India. Located adjacent to the 260-acre Special Economic Zone and featuring nearly 1700 sq. meters of manufacturing and office space,...

Anadigics, Inc.(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... ANADIGICS, Inc.--Announced that the company is shipping production volumes of its AWL6951 Wireless LAN (WLAN) power-amplifier (PA) module in support of the upcoming 802.11 multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) standard to NXP Semiconductor for...

Ansoft Corp.(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... Ansoft Corp.--Announced that its board of directors voted to amend its existing common stock repurchase program to permit the company to acquire an additional 1,000,000 shares of its common stock. Under the original program approved in 1998 and...

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC).(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC)--Announced the completion of its purchase of GE plastics from General Electric for a purchase price of $11.6 billion US. The former GE unit is now SABIC Innovative Plastics, a new business addition to...

Laird Technologies.(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... Laird Technologies--Introduced its new WiMAX Antenna Catalog. The catalog describes the company's offering of WiMAX antennas, including base-station antennas, backhaul antennas, fixed and mobile client antennas, and vehicular and...

Pendulum Instruments.(FRESH STARTS)
October 1, 2007... Pendulum Instruments--Announced that Krzysztof Mazur has assumed the responsibility of area sales manager for Eastern Europe from Pendulum's newest sales office in Poland.

Alchip Technologies appoints Bailey to COO position.(people)
October 1, 2007... Alchip Technologies Ltd.has named JIM BAILEY to the position of COO. Prior to joining Alchip, Bailey served as vice president with Virage Logic for worldwide sales and customer support. Bailey has experience in sales, marketing, and management....

International Communications Group, Inc. (ICG).(people)
October 1, 2007... International Communications Group, Inc. (ICG)--DARRELL ANDREGG to director of engineering; formerly director of firmware development at Axxcelera Broadband Wireless.

Echolab Corp.(people)
October 1, 2007... Echolab Corp.--TOM ORIOLA to regional sales manager for the northern US and Canada; formerly sales engineer. Also, MIKE MITCHELL to regional sales manager for the Western US and Canada; formerly employed at VMI, Inc.

iSuppli Corp.(people)
October 1, 2007... iSuppli Corp.--DAVID CARNEVALE to vice president for multimedia content and distribution; formerly employed at Dataquest, Compaq, and Mitsubishi.

Enthone, Inc.(people)
October 1, 2007... Enthone, Inc.--BIOH KIM to process integration manager for electronic materials; formerly program director at Semi-tool, Inc.

Jazz Semiconductor.(people)
October 1, 2007... Jazz Semiconductor--CHUCK FOX to vice president of sales and marketing; formerly president and CEO of KeyEye Communications.

Inphi Corp.(people)
October 1, 2007... Inphi Corp.--SAM SRINIVASAN to the board of directors; continues as director and chairman of the Audit Committee for Sirf Technology Holdings, Inc. and Centillum Communications, Inc.

FCI.(people)
October 1, 2007... FCI--TERRY TURNEY to corporate marketing director for global distribution; formerly special projects manager with sales and marketing for the Electronics Division--Americas.

Cirrus Logic, Inc.(people)
October 1, 2007... Cirrus Logic, Inc.--TIM TURK to vice president of worldwide sales; formerly vice president of sales for Avnera Corp.

Kaben Wireless Silicon, Inc.(people)
October 1, 2007... Kaben Wireless Silicon, Inc.--DR. C. PAUL SLABY to chairman of the board of directors; formerly CEO of VoIPshield Systems and ATMOS Corp.

Rockwell Collins.(people)
October 1, 2007... Rockwell Collins--KEN ESTELLE to vice president and general manager of Technical Service Solutions; formerly vice president of Global Customer Management with Smiths Aerospace (now GE Aviation).

IPC.(people)
October 1, 2007... IPC--FERN ABRAMS to head of government relations activities; formerly director of environmental policy.

Anadigics, Inc.(people)
October 1, 2007... ANADIGICS, Inc.--JOHN COLEMAN to senior vice president of operations; formerly managing director of Maxim Integrated Products' San Antonio, TX facility.

Imago Scientific Instruments.(people)
October 1, 2007... Imago Scientific Instruments--TIMOTHY J. STULTZ, PH.D. to chairman of the board; formerly president and CEO. Also, TOM KELLY, PH.D. to CEO and CTO; formerly CTO. In addition, EMMANUEL LAKIOS to president and COO; formerly executive vice...

Nitronex.(people)
October 1, 2007... Nitronex--RAY CRAMPTON to director of marketing; formerly strategic marketing and systems engineer manager for Texas Instruments' Linear Regulators product line.

Tessera Technologies, Inc.(people)
October 1, 2007... Tessera Technologies, Inc.--MICHAEL BEREZIUK to COO; formerly executive vice president for the product division.

Kaben Wireless Silicon, Inc.(people)
October 1, 2007... Kaben Wireless Silicon, Inc.--DR. JAMES S. WIGHT to chief scientist; formerly a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, ON, Canada and worked at CAL Corp., EMS, and Vistar.

Short Courses.(education)(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... R.A. Wood Associates Short Courses Introductory RF and Microwaves November 5-6 (Philadelphia, PA) RF and Microwave Receiver Design November 7-9 (Philadelphia, PA) RF Power Amplifiers, Classes A-S: How the Circuits Operate, How...

Meetings.(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... IPC Executive Market and Technology Forum Conference and Management Meetings October 10-12 (Copenhagen, Denmark) For information, contact: Sonja Derhaag e-mail: sderhaag@eipc.org Internet: www.ipc.org/CFP-Copenhagen ARMMS RF &...

Call for papers.(education)(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... 9th IEFF Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications July 6-9, 2008 (Recife, Brazil) Mar Hotel Submission deadline: January 28, 2008 Notification of acceptance: March 31, 2008 Final paper due: April...

Negative-Resistance cell benefits millimeter-wave CMOS VCO.(R & D roundup)
October 1, 2007... MANY ADVANCED COMMUNICATION and sensor systems include millimeter-wave voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) as key components. Recently, such devices have been realized in CMOS technology. Compared to III-V compound devices or...

UWB-IR transmitter dissipates 29.7 mW at 2.2-V supply voltage.(R & D roundup)
October 1, 2007... IN WIRELESS-SENSOR NETWORK SYSTEMS, many wireless terminals collect information like temperature and humidity. ZigBee has been billed as the optimal solution for such networks. Yet Ultra Wideband Impulse Radio (UWB-IR) may prove to be an even...

HTS filters undergo mechanical tuning.(R & D roundup)
October 1, 2007... HTS FILTERS ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR low insertion loss and high out-of-band rejection. Yet the performance of these filters may be negatively impacted by the thickness of the HTS film, dielectric-constant variations, and more. Tuning work is...

Wireless laboratory aids students and research: building a university test laboratory with instruments employing a software-defined-radio (SDR) architecture helps educate students and promotes research efforts.(Design Feature)
October 1, 2007... Engineers have already played major roles in the development of wireless technologies and they will continue to do so. But engineers are made, and not born, requiring new integrative curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels to foster...

Fundamentals of Vector Network Analysis.(bookreview)
October 1, 2007... Vector network analysis (VNA) is among the most essential of RF/microwave measurement approaches, and Rohde & Schwarz (www.rohdeschwarz.com) is among the world's leading manufacturers of test equipment for this purpose. While the firm is...

Planar filter provide high image rejection: this simple filter design approach avoids undesired coupling and yields structures with good second-harmonic and higher-order rejection for multipliers and other components.(Design Feature)
October 1, 2007... High-rejection filters are often useful in receivers and other systems where unwanted signal images must be removed without interfering with desired signals. By following a straightforward approach, it is possible to design planar filters for...

Amplitude equalizer Flattens gain from 50 MHz to 7 GHz: this simple approach to a gain equalizer can be implemented in lumped-element or distributed form to level out the amplitude response of broadband commercial amplifiers.(Design Feature)
October 1, 2007... High-speed communications links are increasing the demand for wider link bandwidths. While many commercial companies are now offering monolithicmicrowave-integrated-circuit (MMIC) Darlington amplifiers internally matched to 50[ohm] and designed...

Checking communications systems interoperability: attenuation matrices help evaluate the reliable operation of hardware components in communications systems under a wide range of signal conditions.(Design Feature)
October 1, 2007... Communications systems provide reliable performance only after they have been tested under a wide range of operating conditions. Wirelesscommunications systems, for example, must be evaluated for the effects of such factors as path loss,...

Design a dual-frequency rectangular patch antenna: by following these basic guidelines, this compact, low-cost, lightweight patch antenna can be matched to applications operating at both 1.9 and 2.4 GHz.(Design Feature)
October 1, 2007... Patch antennas offer effective low-profile designs for a wide range of wireless applications. They are inexpensive to fabricate, light in weight, and can be made conformable with planar and nonplanar surfaces. The antennas are compact and...

DDS-based signal sources conquer semiconductor characterization.(application notes)
October 1, 2007... WITH SO MANY MODERN PRODUCTS relying on semiconductors, it is essential that the behavior of these devices be accurately evaluated. By emulating the waveforms found in actual applications, signal sources promise to help engineers accurately...

Raise the visibility of remote microwave sites.(application notes)
October 1, 2007... FOR NETWORK OPERATORS, support for analogmicrowave monitoring equipment is not always easy to attain. Yet many companies are still relying on microwave transport for their communications network sites. To help those operators improve site...

Digital VGAs simplify and shrink wireless transceivers: by incorporating a unique architecture with 6-b digital control, these amplifiers blend wide dynamic ranges with precisely adjustable gain over wide frequency spans.(COVER story)
October 1, 2007... Signal amplification is a key function in high-frequency radios. Many newer wireless- communications systems rely on maintaining stable amplitude within the radio's downconversion circuitry even when faced with a wide range of input signal...

Tri-company teamwork turns out high-frequency oscillator: this partnership of companies within the Dover Corp. has yielded a high-performance 10-GHz voltage-controlled oscillator.(Product Technology)
October 1, 2007... Companies within Dover Corp.'s Electronic Technologies have for years designed and manufactured RF/microwave products. But, as last month's first installment in this three-part article series pointed out, the RF/microwave companies are only now...

Supplier transforms switches into higher-level assemblies: this manufacturer has expanded its expertise in high-frequency switches and amplifiers into multifunction assemblies that meet demanding military requirements.(Product Technology)
October 1, 2007... Maximizing engineering resources is of utmost importance to most military-electronics contractors, to the point where many of the largest suppliers have turned to traditional RF/microwave component houses in search of subassembly integration....

Signal analyzers study modulation to 26.5 GHz: this trio of signal analyzers provide the speed and accuracy needed for a wide range of production wireless-communications tests from 50 Hz through 26.5 GHz.(Product Technology)
October 1, 2007... Wireless-communications systems rely on advanced signal-modulation formats for efficient use of limited channel bandwidths. But as those modulation formats grow in complexity, they also increase the measurement challenges. Fortunately, Anritsu...

Handheld spectrum analyzer scans 100 kHz to 3 GHz: this compact spectrum analyzer provides all the functionality of a benchtop instrument, but in a battery-powered package measuring a mere 318 x 207 x 69 mm.(Product Technology)
October 1, 2007... Portable measurement capability serves a growing number of wireless and wireline communications applications. For site surveys, checking breaks in cables, or evaluating tower-mounted antennas and amplifiers, it is usually easier to bring an...

RF synthesizer integrates VCOs for operation to 5 GHz.(editor's choice)
October 1, 2007... EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS have been increasingly demanding spaceand cost-efficient solutions for radio applications with frequencies in the microwave range. A single-chip RF synthesizer with integrated voltagecontrolled oscillators (VCOs) is...

Configurable test platform operates to 6 GHz.
October 1, 2007... THE PXI STUDIO measurement system encompasses the PXI 3000 Series hardware modules, PXI Studio software with measurement plug-ins, and a PXI instrument chassis. The PXI 3000 Series modules now include the following: the 3025C, a 1-MHz-to-6-GHz...

Demodulator flaunts PGA with 24 dB of gain range.
October 1, 2007... COMPARED TO superheterodyne architectures, a monolithic, high-linearity quadrature demodulator is vowing to reduce the component count of the receive signal chain in third-generation (3G) base stations by at least 75 percent. The TRF3710...

LNA modules promise noise down to 1.8 dB.(editor's choice)
October 1, 2007... BRIDGING APPLICATIONS ranging from broadband test equipment to aerospace and defense systems, a line of lownoise-amplifier (LNA) modules covers up to 18 GHz in bands. The NEL-0618T620-5MH broadband LNA, for example, covers 6 to 18 GHz. It...