Wireless Design & Development articles from February 2006

Wireless Design & Development archives from February 2006

Let's talk about emerging technologies.(UP FRONT with ERN)(Column)
February 1, 2006... A couple of month back, I was on one of my "breather" weekend trips to Las Vegas. It's about the only decent hot spot within a short flight from where I am located (Denver). It's been a tradition for me and a few of my friends who like the...

Digital oscilloscopes.(PRODUCT NEWS/ WHAT'S HOT)
February 1, 2006... The WaveRunner Xi series oscilloscopes from LeCroy have standard 2 Mpt/Ch memory (with optional memory up to 24 Mpt/Ch interleaved). In addition, LeCroy offers a mixed-signal option (MS-32) that allows users to add 32 digital channels, each...

Smart antenna module.(PRODUCT NEWS/ WHAT'S HOT)
February 1, 2006... The A1035-C is a commercial version of Tyco's smart antenna module. The new module optimizes, on one carrier, the combination of Tyco's A1029-A GPS module and the RangeStar embedded GPS antenna. With a board-to-board or cable connector, the...

L-band GaAs HJ-FETs.(PRODUCT NEWS/ WHAT'S HOT)
February 1, 2006... CEL announces two GaAs HJ-FETs from NEC. Designed for use as LNAs and drivel amplifiers in satellite radio antennas, GPS antennas and other L-band applications, the products deliver low noise and high associated gain. Suited for use as a first...

Schottky barrier rectifiers.(PRODUCT NEWS/ WHAT'S HOT)
February 1, 2006... Vishay announces Schottky barrier rectifiers based on Trench MOS technology, useful as rectification circuits or OR-ing diodes in redundant switchmode power supplies, or to replace synchronous rectification solutions. The VTS40100CT, packaged...

Software-defined radio.(PRODUCT NEWS/ WHAT'S HOT)
February 1, 2006... Lexycom Technologies announces the Tiamis-800--a data-diverse, 824 to 960 MHz, OEM, software-defined radio. This SDR is a fully digital, user-programmable data transceiver that utilizes FHSS technology. With adjustable RF channel data...

Handheld VNAs.(PRODUCT NEWS/ WHAT'S HOT )
February 1, 2006... Anritsu Company introduces the VNA Master MS2024A and MS2026A, handheld Vector Network Analyzers (VNAs) that can make vector-corrected 1-port and 1-path 2-port measurements from 2 MHz to 6 GHz. The products provide wireless professionals with...

Quad PIN diode attenuators.(PRODUCT NEWS/ WHAT'S HOT)
February 1, 2006... Avago Technologies introduces a series of pi-connected quad PIN diodes in a lead-free, SOT-25 surface-mount package. These matched quads simplify the design of voltage-controlled diode pi attenuators operating over the 300 kHz to 3 GHz...

RF power amplifier.(PRODUCT NEWS/ WHAT'S HOT)
February 1, 2006... Stealth Microwave introduces the SM5759-37HS, a GaAs FET amplifier designed for various ISM band applications. The unit operates from 5.7 to 5.9 GHz with a P1 dB of +37 dBm and an OIP3 of +50 dBm. Small signal gain is 37 dB with a flatness of...

TriQuint opens new design center.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
February 1, 2006... TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. announces the opening of a new design and support center in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The facility, known as the New England Design Center (NEDC), is part of TriQuint's ongoing efforts to work more closely with...

Mouser Electronics inks global distribution deal with Harwin.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
February 1, 2006... Mouser Electronics, Inc. announces that it has reached a global distribution agreement with high-reliability interconnect systems manufacturer, Harwin, Inc. Mouser will feature Harwin's Datamate connectors.

Summitek and Willtek sign licensing agreement.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
February 1, 2006... Summitek Instruments announces a licensing agreement with Willtek Communications. Summitek Instruments has signed an agreement to license the OASIS spectrum monitoring software to Willtek as an option for their line of 9101 and 9102 handheld...

MEMS markets will double over the next five years.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)(microelectromechanical systems)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The "NEXUS Market Analysis for MEMS and Microsystems III, 2005-2009" report sees MST/MEMS sensors and actuators consolidate their position in established IT peripheral markets for read/write heads and inkjet heads, in addition to creating new...

Micron Technology reports first quarter of fiscal 2006 results.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Micron Technology, Inc. announces results for its first quarter of fiscal 2006, which ended December 1. For the first quarter of fiscal 2006, the company earned net income of $63 million ($0.09 per diluted share based on 707 million shares) on...

TI to acquire Chipcon.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)(Texas Instruments Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Texas Instruments (TI) Incorporated announces that it will acquire Chipcon, a leading company in the design of short-range, low-power wireless RF transceiver devices. Combining Chipcon's design experience in RF transceiver and SoC devices with...

RFMD to expand assembly operations in China.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
February 1, 2006... RF Micro Devices, Inc. announced that the company's Board of Directors has approved the expansion of RFMD's assembly operations. The expansion, which is projected to be on line during the June quarter of 2006, is expected to increase RFMD's...

Mobile design with plug & play flash memory.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES)
February 1, 2006... Multimedia downloads are whizzing along wider broadband networks to their final destinations: 3G handsets, personal media players, digital audio players, global positioning systems (GPS) and game consoles, just to mention a few. Users are...

Point-of-load power modules.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES)
February 1, 2006... TI introduces a family of non-isolated, plug-in power modules with a new technology that provides fast transient response rates and reduces customers' need for output capacitors. Featuring a tight 1.5% output voltage regulation, the...

Step-up DC/DC converter.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES)
February 1, 2006... Linear Technology Corporation announces the LTC3422, a 3 MHz, current mode, synchronous boost DC/DC converter with true output disconnect, inrush current limiting and integrated soft-start. Its internal switches provide a 1.5 A current limit...

N-channel MOSFET drivers.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES)
February 1, 2006... Vishay introduces three high-speed, half-bridge MOSFET driver ICs that provide flexible gate drive levels to optimize efficiency, reduce component count and minimize expense in high-frequency, high-current DC/DC synchronous rectifier buck power...

RISC processor core.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES)
February 1, 2006... Cambridge Consultants introduces a 16-bit RISC microprocessor IP core, which features a modern, high performance RISC architecture with low gate count, low power consumption and high code density. It is optimized for use in cost- and...

Eighth-brick DC/DC converters.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES)
February 1, 2006... Tyco Electronics Power Systems announces its EQW010-040 series DC/DC converters, a line of eighth-brick, DC/DC power modules designed for regulated single output voltages ranging from 1.0 to 12 VDC. The EQW series delivers up to 10 A at 12...

Process variations & layout design in IC design: process modeling advances allow the designer to assess, analyze and predict manufacturing behavior of components under other-than-nominal conditions.(Cover Story)
February 1, 2006... Traditionally, IC designers have relied on a hands-off approach in which geometric and connectivity design rules determine the manufacturability of a particular product. The necessity of capturing processing effects in geometric rules was, in...

The need for dynamic phase alignment in high-speed FPGAs; with bandwidth demands increasing at logarithmic scales, high-data-rate devices are not an option, they are a necessity. Timing is a significant issue in high-speed FPGAs that needs to be managed in order to sustain multi-gigabit data rates and device reliability while containing costs and managing manufacturability.(FEATURED TECHNOLOGY)(field programmable logic arrays)
February 1, 2006... With the explosion of data, voice and video traffic, FPGAs are ideal devices for data transmission applications where speeds in the Gb/s range and beyond are required. Well-suited for the job, FPGAs provide the flexibility to handle rapidly...

NPUs for basestation designs: basestation developers are now, more than ever, looking for more cost-effective ways to maximize subsystem design reuse, reduce design complexity across product families and future-proof designs. NPUs are a key element in this strategy.(FEATURED TECHNOLOGY)(network processing units)
February 1, 2006... Over the last five years, increasing cost pressure on BTS hardware development has been unremitting. During this period, the average selling prices of some basestations have declined by as much as 50% to 75%. Increasing competitive pressure...

RF switches.(TECHNOLOGY AWARD)
February 1, 2006... Since the mid- 1990s, integration, standardization and modularization have provided the GSM handset industry a roadmap of reduced size, increased performance and reduced cost. Competing solutions revealed strengths in the different process...