Wireless Design & Development articles from January 2004

Wireless Design & Development archives from January 2004

Time to think hard about interoperability.(Up Front with ERN)
January 1, 2004... This isn't news to my regular readers but just in case you're tuning in for the first few times, I'm a technofreak! I'm the kind of guy whose addiction is technology. I just had to add an electronic hop-up module to modify my fuel/RPM/timing...

Real-time spectrum analyzers.(What's Hot)
January 1, 2004... Tektronix introduces a series of real-time spectrum analyzers. Real-time spectrum analysis provides the ability to trigger, capture, and analyze time-varying RF signals. The series includes the RSA2200A and RSA3300A. These instruments address...

AWGN generators.(What's Hot)
January 1, 2004... dBM Corp. introduces the WGN Series Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) generators for use in BER and SINAD testing, wireless link emulation, and receiver performance evaluation. Standard models cover 1 MHz to 4.2 GHz in bands dedicated to...

Chip varistors.(What's Hot)
January 1, 2004... Amotech introduces their chip varistor product line. These suppressors are ZnO based devices and are designed to protect sensitive electronics equipment against high voltage transient surges in the low and medium voltage regions. The chip...

Front end receiver.(What's Hot)
January 1, 2004... RF Micro Devices announces the RF2861 single-band receiver front end with an integrated TX LO buffer amplifier designed for CDMA cellular, JCDMA and CDMA450 applications. The RF2861 features a 3 x 3 mm footprint. The RF2861 amplifies and...

RF power detectors.(What's Hot)
January 1, 2004... RTG has announced an RF power detector with on chip programmable threshold detection and a 4 output sequencer. With an input frequency range of 0.1 to 2.5 GHz and a dynamic range of 45 dB, the RTG9001 adds 3 bits of threshold programmability in...

Co-simulation interface.(What's Hot)
January 1, 2004... The MathWorks and Mentor Graphics announce The MathWorks Link for ModelSim, which provides a co-simulation interface between The MathWorks MATLAB and Simulink system-level design environments with ModelSim. With Link for ModelSim, engineers can...

SMD converters.(What's Hot)
January 1, 2004... Power-One announces the 5A YNM, 10A YNL, and 16A YNS series of POL converters as the initial products in their Nex Family. These maXyz Intermediate Bus Architecture (IBA) compatible products are designed and manufactured by di/dt, a Power-One...

Embedded wireless module.(What's Hot)
January 1, 2004... Radiotronix announces the embedded wireless module Wi.232DTS. The module combines a high-performance wireless DTS spread-spectrum transceiver, based on the Xemics XE1203, with a protocol controller to create a transparent wireless solution for...

Micron provides CMOS image sensor for TREO 600 smartphone.(News & Business)
January 1, 2004... Micron Technology, Inc., (www.micron.com) announces its MT9V143 image sensor is featured in the new Treo 600 smartphone from PalmOne, Inc. (www.palmone.com). The camera-equipped smartphone, incorporates full camera function with sophisticated...

Aeroflex acquires celerity systems.(News & Business)
January 1, 2004... Aeroflex (www.aeroflex.com) announces the acquisition of Celerity Systems (www.celerity.com) from L-3 Communications Corp. for $10.25 million consisting of cash, Aeroflex common shares and a release of certain liabilities. Celerity will...

Richardson Electronics opens office in Chengdu, China.(News & Business)
January 1, 2004... Richardson Electronics (www.rell.com) announces the opening of a new branch office in Chengdu, complementing the company's other branches in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenhzen. Chengdu is the capital of the Sichuan province and represents the...

Spirent and Anite partner to speed availability of 3G wireless terminals.(News & Business)
January 1, 2004... Spirent (www.spirentcom.com) and Anite (www.anitetelecoms.com) announce a partnership to speed the delivery of 3G wireless terminal test systems. Anite will support the Spircnt U-ATS 3G RF conformance test system and the ongoing integration of...

TriQuint and Lockheed Martin announce advanced gallium nitride process.(News & Business)
January 1, 2004... TriQuint Semiconductor (www.triquint.com) and Lockheed Martiu (www.lockheedmartin.com) have announced a process for increasing power density, PAE efficiency and RF lifetime for gallium nitride High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) devices.

Fairchild Semi acquires commercial RF components lines of Raytheon.(News & Business)
January 1, 2004... Fairchild Semiconductor (www.fairchildsemi.com) acquired the commercial RF components product lines of Raytheon (www.raytheon.com), a maker of GaAs power amplifiers for handsets and WLAN.

Maury Microwave and Modelithics form strategic alliance.(News & Business)
January 1, 2004... Maury Microwave Corporation (www.maurymw.com) announced that it has signed an agreement with Modelithics Inc. (www.modelithics.com) to advance the application of load/source pull measurement for more efficient non-linear device modeling and...

Radiotronix and XEMICS form strategic partnership.(News & Business)
January 1, 2004... Radiotronix Inc. (www.radiotronix.com) and XEMICS SA (www.xemics.com). announced a strategic partnership in which Radiotronix and XEMICS will work together to develop solutions and markets for embedded wireless modules based on XEMICS wireless...

SkyCross opens Asian design center.(News & Business)
January 1, 2004... SkyCross (www.skycross.com) opened its first Asian technical design center to provide local design, technical and manufacturing support fiat customers in the Asia Pacific region. It is the first of several centers planned in the region, and...

Software accelerates design of signal control devices: Facilitating the synthesis and integrated design of couplers, splitters, combiners, baluns, and attenuators.(Technology focus: software)
January 1, 2004... Perhaps nothing contributes more to assist the designer of RF devices than cutting edge software. As such, the SIGNAL CONTROL module adds to the Eagleware GENESYS 2003.10 suite the ability to do the synthesis and integrated design of a...

Circuit design and analysis.(Technology focus: software)
January 1, 2004... APLAC has released version 7.91 of their circuit design and analysis software. APLAC combines an RF and analog simulation engine with analysis and optimization features. The software may be used as a stand-alone design framework or as an...

Spectrum management software.(Technology focus: software)
January 1, 2004... Summitek announces OASIS I1, a software package for spectrum management and spectrum and interference identification using standard spectrum analyzers or equivalent RF receivers. Oasis II is an operator-oriented software package thai, in...

Design software.(Technology focus: software)
January 1, 2004... Agilent introduces an addition to Agilent's RF Design Environment (RFDE) that offers flail-wave electromagnetic (EM) modeling capability for RF and mixed-signal design from within Cadence Design System's Virtuoso custom-design platform. Agilent...

Design test system.(Technology focus: software)
January 1, 2004... CATC announces the Version 2.2 software for the BTTracer/Trainer, CATC's Bluetooth design and verification test system. With this release, the BTTracer/Trainer is compliant with the Bluetooth V1.2 specification. In addition, this release allows...

Software toolkits.(Technology focus: software)
January 1, 2004... National Instruments introduces two versions of LabVIEW toolkits that give engineers a complete set of tools to perform measurements for sound and vibration applications. The Sound and Vibration Toolkit 3.0 and the Order Analysis Toolkit 2.0...

System design software.(Technology focus: software)
January 1, 2004... Altium Limited announces Nexar, a product that provides a solution for system-level design on an FPGA platform. Nexar integrates hardware design tools, embedded software development tools, IP-based components, virtual instrumentation and a...

Development suite.(Technology focus: software)
January 1, 2004... ARC introduces the Development Tool Suite for the ARC 600. The ARC 600 Development Tool Suite includes the ARChitect 2, MetaDeveloper, a Cycle Accurate Simulator, and MetaSim. Together these tools are designed to simplify the design of ARC...

3-D design software.(Technology focus: software)
January 1, 2004... Ansoft introduces ePhysics, software that expands the capabilities of HFSS and Maxwell 3D. With ePhysics, engineers can incorporate three-dimensional steady-stale thermal, transient thermal and linear stress analysis. Coupling ePhysics with...

RF SiP design considerations--LTCC vs. co-fired ceramic laminates: laminate structures and low-temperature co-fired ceramic technologies allow custom RF module designs for SiP architectures.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2004... The design and development of RF circuits is an ever evolving work of art. From elementary circuit design to transmitter and receiver functions, RF power amplifiers for base stations and full architecture RF circuit design for satellite...

Simultaneous conjugate matching--a technique for matching stable and unstable devices: the conjugate match method is a tried and trued indispensable tool for matching LNAs. But it approach can be extended to other active and passive devices as well.(Featured Application)
January 1, 2004... With the commercialization of the cellular markets pressure is on to develop newconcepts for development of RF parts. This pressure to miniaturize, demands that the market develop smaller and cheaper solutions whenever possible. An area...

Using ADS to design a MMIC amplifier: this application note illustrates, through the design of a MMIC amplifier, common problems faced in designing, simulating, and producing the physical layout of an MMIC circuit, as well as validation steps needed to verify that the physical layout produces the desired result.(Featured Application)
January 1, 2004... Today's modern amplifier design process depends on a number of factors, including desired specifications, availability of device models, designer preference, and more. This application note describes one of many potential sequences and...

Cell searching in the UMTS wideband CDMA layer: efficient cell search procedures in next generation wideband CDMA systems are critical for reliable and robust performance. Knowing how this is handled in the physical layer should be part of every designer's skill set.(Featured Technology)
January 1, 2004... One of the more important procedures performed by an MT in a UMTS system is the cell search operation. This process is typically performed after the MT is powered up and it allows the MT to acquire important synchronization information about...

Combline filter design simplified: designing lower frequency (200 MHz to 1 Ghz), miniature microstrip bandpass filters that achieve sufficient rejection on closely situated out-of-band frequencies are difficult. Combline bandpass filters can solve this problem.(RF 101)
January 1, 2004... Typically, the selection of filters that can be used in 200 MHZ to 1 GHZ band is very limited. This selection becomes even narrower if a sharp rejection profile is required. Filters that can be designed in this frequency range typically lumped...

Gunn VCO.(Subsystems)
January 1, 2004... Spacek Labs Model GU-529P is a high-power Gunn transmitter source. Output power is 125 mW (minimum). Varactor tuning is [+ or -] 100 MHz (minimum) al a modulation rate of up to 50 MHz. The varactor bias is 0 to +15 volts. The Gunn bias is +9...

Radio and I/O module.(Subsystems)
January 1, 2004... Phoenix Contact introduces the MCR-RAD, an integrated radio and I/O module designed to eliminate cable and conduit for analog and digital signals in harsh industrial environments. This module uses spread spectrum frequency hopping techniques to...

DC/DC controllers.(Subsystems)
January 1, 2004... The MAX8553/MAX8554 DC/DC step-down controllers ensure balanced current sourcing and sinking capability of [+ or -] 25 A. The MAX8553 generates 1/2 reference input voltage for VTT and VTTR voltages in DDR and RDRAM memory applications. The VTT...

Drop-In RF modules.(Subsystems)
January 1, 2004... XEMICS' 868 MHz and 915 MHz Drop-In RF modules are designed to facilitate the development of wireless communication applications. Using these DP1203 modules ranges of up to several kilometers may be achieved, through high output power and...

Chip resistors.(Passive Components)
January 1, 2004... IMS announces that its ULX-2512 series are available in values ranging from 0.001 [ohm] to 0.1 [ohm]. Tolerances available are 5% (0.001 [ohm] to 0.005 [ohm]), 5% and 2% (0.005 to 0.010 [ohm]), and 5%, 2%, 1% (0.010 to 0.100 [ohm]). The series...

Common mode choke.(Passive Components)
January 1, 2004... API Delevan announces the CM6149 common mode-choke series, featuring an epoxy potted surface mount configuration. The potting shell is a molded, thermo-set epoxy material with molded in terminals that provide coplanarity. Series CM6149 is...

Resistors.(Passive Components)
January 1, 2004... KOA introduces fixed carbon composition non-inductive, low-capacitance resistor series the RC 1/4 and RC 1/2. A resistance range is available with the RC 1/4 and 1/2, from 1 [ohm] to 22 M[ohm] tolerance available are [+ or -] 5% and [+ or -]...

DC/DC converters.(Power/Batteries)
January 1, 2004... Unipower's models TPCMQ48-24 and TPCMQ48-27 DC/DC converters operate from a range of 40 to 40 VDC (48 V nominal) input and produce outputs of 24 VDC at 29.2 amperes or 27.2 VDC at 25.7 amperes. Other voltages can be provided up to 32 VDC. The...

Power conversion ICs.(Power/Batteries)
January 1, 2004... Power Integrations announces the Design Accelerator Kit (DAK-32). The DAK-32 features a 20 W power supply reference design that meets a one-watt stand-by input power consumption. The DAK-32 contains a 20 W universal input AC/DC power supply, PI...

DC power supply.(Power/Batteries)
January 1, 2004... Model P6000 programmable DC power supply features an RS 232/485 interface for PC or front panel keyboard program entry. With [+ or -] 36 V at 3 A output, this source will store 10 voltage current settings in memory. Program setting time is 10...

DC/DC converters: C&D Technologies announces two nonisolated DC/DC converters targeted at intermediate bus distributed power architectures.(Power/Batteries)
January 1, 2004... C&D Technologies announces two nonisolated DC/DC converters targeted at intermediate bus distributed power architectures. The NNL05S04 and NNL05S12 are designed for use with nominal 3.0 V to 5.5 V and 10.8 V to 13.2 V intermediate bus...

EMI filters.(EMC/RFI/EMI)
January 1, 2004... ProTek introduces the EMIF6-100FC, an integrated 6 line low pass EMI filter and TVS array flip chip. With a desired cut-off frequency that is higher than the baseband, the EMIF6-100FC rejects EMI/RFI signals in the 800 MHz to the 3 GHz range,...

MMIC Amplifiers.(Amplifiers)
January 1, 2004... Mini-Circuits introduces the family of 'LEE' MMIC Amplifiers. The amplifiers are reliable, broad band, and low in cost. These amplifiers have electrical performance up to 17.3 dBm flat output power to 10 GHz. There are five models being...

Amplifier module.(Amplifiers)
January 1, 2004... The PCM3Q4AAL is suitable for ultra linear CDMA repeater and microcell applications in the cellular A&B frequency range. Also suitable for GSM and TDMA applications, this amplifier utilizes DIP (Direct Injection Pre-D) circuit and linear LDMOS...

Electromotive receiver.(Unlicensed Technology)
January 1, 2004... Star Micronics introduces the RDG-08B electromotive receiver. The RDG-08B has been developed for the mobile communication equipment market and Bluetooth-compatible headsets. Its 8 mm diameter round-type meets requirements of the mobile market....

VCOs.(Signal Sources)
January 1, 2004... The SMV5256A operates at a frequency range of 5256 to 5356 MHz and tunes within 1 to 4 VDC of control voltage. With a clean spectral signal of -86 dBc/Hz @ 10 kHz offset, this oscillator offers a power flatness of [+ or -]2 dB over frequency...

Coaxial resonator oscillators.(Signal Sources)
January 1, 2004... Atlantic Microwave introduces coaxial resonator oscillators in the ACR series. The Series provides a stabilized fixed output frequency in tile range 300 MHz to 3000 MHz with a minimum of +13 dBm of output power. The frequency stability over the...

Gaskets.(Materials)
January 1, 2004... Dymax introduces GA- 108, a compressible (00-30) Form-in-Place (FIP) gasket. Curing completely in seconds upon exposure to UV light, the GA- 108 cures to a black appearance on black parts and hides the gasket seam. It is designed for use from...

Arbitrary generator.(Test & Measurement)
January 1, 2004... As an I/Q generator, this Dual-Channel Arbitrary/Function Generator R&S AM300 can be used to generate complex digitally modulated signals as required for mobile radio. As a function generator, it can be used to output all conceivable standard...

Analyzer cards.(Test & Measurement)
January 1, 2004... Model AP240 and AP235 are dual-channel reconfigurable analyzer platforms with Sustained Sequential Recording (SSR) firmware capability. The firmware options use FPGA technology. The analyzer platforms can digitize and store waveforms at...

Wi-Fi analyzer.(Test & Measurement)
January 1, 2004... Firefly is a 802.11 Wi-Fi analyzer that maintains network throughput and security by recognizing and identifying abnormalities in 802.11, a, b and Bluetooth network traffic. Firefly's core application software creates relational databases of...

BNC connectors.(Interface/Interconnect)
January 1, 2004... Bomar announces dual mini BNC jacks. These double-stacked miniature connectors measure 23.7 x 8.60 x 24.10 mm. The BNC jacks arc nickel-plated, and feature PCB board lock mounting posts. These devices are rated for use in applications operating...

SMA connectors.(Interface/Interconnect)
January 1, 2004... Compel announces their press-in SMA connector series. Operating from DC to 18 GHz, the connector series offers typical insertion loss of Compel Electronics, Inc. Use InfoLINK 4A1158 or Call 800-287-9942 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

BNC connectors.(Interface/Interconnect)
January 1, 2004... Nemal Electronics introduces a series of 75 [OMEGA] BNC connectors. The NE8000 connector series includes models for 75 [OMEGA] cables, all using industry standard crimping tools. Each connector package contains appropriate cable information as...

Cable connectors.(Interface/Interconnect)
January 1, 2004... Tyco Electronics announces a cable connector product extension to the MULTI-BEAM XL line of modular Power/Signal connectors. The cable mount connector terminates up to 8 AWG. 600 V wire, carries up to 55 Amps on a single contact and satisfies...

RF connectors.(Interface/Interconnect)
January 1, 2004... TRU Corporation introduces a series of quick-release RF coaxial connectors that feature recessed female contacts and a dielectric at the tip of male contacts. TRU QRM series RF coaxial connectors are designed for high power applications up to...

Filter with an LNA.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... K&L part number 7LB10-00050 (7LB10-72.5/X30-O/O-LNA) is a LC Filter with an integrated Low Noise Amplifier. The filter design is a 7 section low ripple Chebyshev response. Passband is 57.5 MHz to 87.5 MHz and 55 dB rejection bandwidth is 70 MHz...

Smart antenna.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... Motia introduces Javelin, its smart antenna product. Benefits of Javelin include: fully 802.11 (b and g) compliant; works with any transceiver chipset; virtually "plug and play"; can be applied to access points, client devices or both; improves...

Ceramic filters.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... CTS introduces a miniature 2.5 x 2.5 x 1.6 turn ceramic monoblock bandpass filter for WLAN applications operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency hand. Applications for the CER0113A include devices such as wireless broadband routers, wireless access...

High speed attenuator.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... Model ADVAN-218-15DD options HS25NS and 5B is a 2 to 18 GHz digitally variable attenuator. The dynamic range is 15 dB in 0.5 dB steps and uses 5 bit binary control. The switching speed is 15 ns maximum, 6 ns typical. The insertion loss is 3.0...

GPS antenna.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... A miniature GPS antenna from Sarantel can acquire GPS signals inside a vehicle or truck. The FO2 SmartAmenna will benefit in-vehicle navigation and tracking systems by offering the designer flexibility in locating the GPS antenna. When mounted...

Microwave feedthru.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... Times Microwave introduces a new capability in ultra-high vacuum, high reliability microwave Feedthru's. The custom designs use a glass-to-metal seal technology, in Feedthru's and Beam Position Monitor applications. Designs for interfaces from...

Coaxial switches.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... RLC Electronics' terminated single pole, two position coaxial switch line provides reliability and long life. This switch features low insertion loss and VSWR over the DC to 40 GHz range while maintaining high isolation. Power rating RF cold...

Bandpass filter.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... Lorch's 4CFX-9250/R240-P is a low profile surface mount bandpass filter offering a high 'Q' performance in a maximum height of .335". The filter is designed to operate with a 2.6% equi-ripple bandwidth, while maintaining an insertion loss...

Wideband receiver.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... Analog Devices introduces a wideband receiver subsystem for cellular base stations. The AD6654 combines a 14-bit analog-to-digital (ADC) converter with a four-or six-channel digital downconverter (DDC). The core of the AD6654 ADC operates at...

SAW filters.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... AVX introduces a series of surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters for use in mobile phones. Designated the SF 16 Series, the line includes a chip scale package (CSP) type RF SAW filter that measures 1.6 x 1.4 x 0.6 mm. AVX replaced the previous...

Transceivers.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... AeroComm introduces the AC4490-1x1. The modules contain AeroComm's RF232 embedded protocol, which allows for plug-and-play installation. The 1x1's TTL serial interface provides bi-directional communication in point-to-point,...

Duplexers.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... K&L announces two duplexers, WSD-00357 for 15 MHz SMR, and the WSD-00359 for 18 MHz ESMR requirements. Both duplexers offer high adjacent channel rejection (for co-location with cellular AMPS band services) and isolation. Designed for high...

Bandpass filter: designed for military environments.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... Designed for military environments, ILSI's F08002 is a high power bandpass filter designed for frequencies between 870 to 880 MHz. The package measures 122 x 84 x 52 mm high. The device has a low insertion loss of-l.2 dB. ILSI America Use...

Drop-in isolators.(Transmission Components)
January 1, 2004... M2 Global announces two drop-in isolators for the 921 to 950 and 1805 to 1880 MHz bands. The isolator offers 55 dB isolation over the frequency band. For both isolators, the insertion loss is better than-0.5 dB and the VSWR is less than 1.14:1...

SP3T switch.(Semiconductors/ICS)
January 1, 2004... California Eastern Labs introduces a SP3T (Single Pole Triple Throw) switch to it's offering of NEC GaAs MMIC switches. Developed to serve as a high power band selection device in CDMA dual band and GPS cellular phones, the UPG2031TQ operates...

Driver ICs.(Semiconductors/ICS)
January 1, 2004... Maxim introduces the MAX8552 single-phase MOSFET driver IC. Featuring an input range of 6 V to 24 V. the MAX8552 drives the upper and lower MOSFETs in synchronous-buck, DC-DC converters. With 0.1 micruamps (typical) quiescent current over the...

LNA/Mixer for CDMA.(Semiconductors/ICS)
January 1, 2004... RF Micro Devices announces the RF2890 dual-band cellular/GPS LNA/mixer for CDMA and JCDMA applications. The RF2890 includes a three-gain state LNA gain (17.5 dB gain control) with an integrated single gain state high IIP3 mixer (8.5 dBm). An...

Technology award: selective radiation meter for collocated sites.(Editors' Choice)
January 1, 2004... A-long-standing issue that deals with the ability to accurately measure the contribution of each emitter at a site has been solved. Traditional measurement techniques were to turn off all emitters, then turn them back on one by one, measure...