Wireless Design & Development articles from June 2005

Wireless Design & Development archives from June 2005

Protecting your personal space.(Federal Communications Commission rules to control jamming of the cell phones)(Column)
June 1, 2005... Every now and then (actually, more now than then in today's high tech world) someone comes up with an idea, concept or device that is just what the doctor ordered. What I'm going to talk about in this column is one of those...

Transmitter/receiver.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
June 1, 2005... Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation announces the PE926C31 RS422 Rad-hard transmitter and the PE926C32 RS422 Rad-hard receiver devices for space applications. The PE926C31/32 devices operate at 3.3 V with a total dose tolerance guaranteed to...

Clock oscillators.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
June 1, 2005... Pericom and SaRonix announce a crystal clock oscillator technology that improves reliability at higher operating frequencies. The S1614XP and S1613XP product families combine Pericom integrated circuit technology and are housed in hermetically...

System on a chip.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
June 1, 2005... Ember announces the EM250, a ZigBee SoC. The EM250 is a 802.15.4-based semiconductor system, built to be ZigBe-compliant, that integrates a programmable microprocessor, RF radio, network protocol stack and memory into a single-chip solution....

Bluetooth drop-in module.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
June 1, 2005... XEMICS' ACLBlue[TM] reference design combines a true 1.8 V with ultra low current consumption, providing low power Bluetooth solutions. The XE1431, in association with the CX72303 Bluetooth radio, enables a Flash-based application to be built....

Silicon prescalers.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
June 1, 2005... CEL announces two miniature prescalers from NEC, suitable for designers of V-SAT terminals, point-to-point and multipoint radios, VCDROs and other products with PLL circuits requiring a "divide" function. The UPB 1512TU (divide by 8) and the...

Power amplifier module.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
June 1, 2005... Fairchild Semiconductor's PowerEdge[TM] dual-band WCDMA/UMTS RF power amplifier module (PAM) increase power-added efficiency (PAE) to 42. The 3G PAM offers both 1850 to 1910 MHz and 1920 to 1980 MHz operation in a 3 X 3 mm LCC package. The...

Digital potentiometers.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
June 1, 2005... Maxim introduces the MAX5527/MAX5528/MAX5529, 64-tap, one-time-programmable digital potentiometers in 8-pin, 3 X 3 mm TDFN or microMAX[R] packages. The one-time fuse-programmable feature sets the power-on position of the wiper, enabling these...

Active RF mixer.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
June 1, 2005... A high linearity active downconverting RF mixer from Linear Technology simplifies design of 3G cellular base stations. The LT5527 RF mixer features an operating frequency range extending to 3.7 GHz. At 1.9 GHz, the mixer offers IIP3 (Input 3rd...

Elcoteq inaugurates a new plant in India.(Elcoteq Network Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Elcoteq Network Corporation inaugurated a new plant in Bangalore, India on April 11, 2005. At the same time, Elcoteq became the first global EMS company to manufacture telecommunications equipment in India. When fully operational, Elcoteq's...

Richardson opens new office in China.(Richardson Electronics Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Richardson Electronics announces that it has expanded its market footprint in the Asia-Pacific region by opening an RF/ Microwave sales office in Nanjing, China. The new office represents Richardson's continued growth and further investment in...

Andrew reports $482 million in sales and record orders of $507 million.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Andrew Corporation reports second quarter sales of $481.8 million, up 8% from $447.1 million in the year ago quarter. Higher sales were primarily due to a 13% increase in sales for Wireless Infrastructure, offset partially by lower sales for...

Cadence completes acquisition of Verisity.(Cadence Design Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Cadence Design Systems, Inc. announces that it has completed the acquisition of Verisity, Ltd. Under the terms of the agreement, Cadence acquired Verisity in an all-cash transaction for approximately $315 million. Verisity stockholders will...

Wi-Fi Alliance expands Wi-Fi Protected Access[TM] certification program for enterprise and government users.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The Wi-Fi Alliance has added four new widely deployed Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) types to its Wi-Fi Protected Access-(WPA[TM]) and WPA2[TM]-Enterprise certification programs. These new EAP types further expand the tested...

RF Micro Devices announces financial results.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... RF Micro Devices, Inc. reports financial results for its fiscal 2005 fourth quarter, which ended March 31, 2005. The company's results were consistent with updated financial guidance provided on April 14, 2005. Revenue for the quarter was...

Morpho Technologies receives investment in series C funding and announces new CEO.(John Rayfield)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Morpho Technologies announces the first close of its $10 million series C funding round. Current investors, Smart Technology Ventures and BridgeWest LLC, are co-leading this round of investment. This current investment in the company's series C...

Kleiner Perkins and Vinod Khosla invest additional $7.5 million in eASIC.(Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... eASIC[R] Corporation announces that it has secured $7.5 million in equity financing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and Vinod Khosla. As follow-on to the previous investment of $5 million in May 2004, this additional venture...

Fujitsu and SiGe Semiconductor collaborate to deliver WiMAX reference design.(Fujitsu Microelectronics America Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Fujitsu Microelectronics America, Inc. and SiGe Semiconductor, Inc. announce a complete reference design that will provide manufacturers with a production-ready blueprint for the development of WiMAX[TM]-capable broadband wireless access...

Mouser Electronics and FCI sign global distribution agreement, add products.(FCI Electronics)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Mouser Electronics announces that it has signed a new contract with FCI Electronics, wherein Mouser is named officially as a globally franchised distributor. In addition to the global franchise, Mouser also announces the addition of several of...

US Monolithics awarded $4.6 million to develop components for US military program.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... US Monolithics LLC is continuing its innovation in custom integrated circuits and modules for wireless military signal processing systems under contract to Harris Government Systems Communications Division (GSCD). The $4.6 million contract...

Cadence reports Q1 revenue of $293 million.(Cadence Design Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Cadence Design Systems, Inc. reports first quarter, 2005 revenue of $293 million, an increase of 10% over the $266 million reported for the same period last year. On a GAAP basis, Cadence[R] recognized net income of $1.0 million, or $0.00 per...

ADI and Datang develop reference design.(Analog Devices Inc., Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Analog Devices, Inc. and Datang Mobile announce a complete reference design for the development of 3G cellular handsets based on the TD-SCDMA standard. TD-SCDMA, also known as TDD-LCR (Time-Division Duplex-Low Chip Rate), is one of the 3G...

ANADIGICS receives production orders for WiMAX power amplifiers.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... ANADIGICS, Inc. announces that it has received production orders for the AWM6430 Indium Gallium Phosphide (InGaP) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) 3.5 GHz class AB power amplifier (PA) for fixed point worldwide interoperability for...

ACG and OMNIKEY partner to develop contactless readers.(ACG Identification Technologies)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... ACG Identification Technologies and OMNIKEY announce cooperation to develop e-passport RFID readers. The new readers are designed to support federal governments and the security industry in deploying interoperable border control solutions based...

Agilent's simulation model selected by NEC for GaAs HBT development.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
June 1, 2005... Agilent Technologies Inc. announces that NEC Compound Semiconductor Devices Ltd. has selected the Agilent heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) model as its standard simulation model for high-frequency gallium arsenide (GaAs) HBT development....

WJ announces first quarter results.(WJ Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... WJ Communications, Inc. announces results for its first quarter ended April 3, 2005. Revenue for the first quarter of 2005 was $7.8 million compared to $7.1 million in the same period of 2004. Revenue from the company's core business consisting...

EMCORE reports fiscal 2005 second quarter and six-month results.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... EMCORE Corporation announced its financial results for the fiscal 2005 second quarter ended March 31, 2005. Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2005 were $30.4 million, an increase of 31% from the $23.2 million reported in the second...

SUSS MicroTec receives strategic 300 mm order from Taiwanese facility.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... SUSS MicroTec announces that it has received a multimillion dollar order from a major Taiwanese semiconductor assembly and test facility. The order was placed in April and includes two SUSS ACS300Plus cluster systems for processing 300 mm...

Airbee and Radiocrafts partner for turnkey ZigBee solutions.(Airbee Wireless Inc., Radiocrafts AS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Airbee Wireless Inc. and Radiocrafts AS announce a teaming arrangement to deliver "out-of-the-box" ZigBee-ready solutions. Airbee will supply its enabling intelligent software on Radiocrafts' highly sophisticated ZigBee-ready module platforms....

Digi-Key and Renesas to sign distribution partnership.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
June 1, 2005... Digi-Key Corporation announces that it has signed a distribution partnership agreement with Renesas Technology America, Inc. to carry Renesas' semiconductor products. The agreement gives Digi-Key customers ready access to advanced Renesas...

WEP cracking: vulnerabilities of WEP--cracking the 128-bit code in no time.(wired equivalent privacy)
June 1, 2005... WEP is an encryption scheme, based on the RC-4 cipher. It is integrated into 802.11a, b and g wireless products. WEP uses a set of bits called a key to scramble information in the data frames as it leaves the access point or client adapter. The...

Transceiver IC.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / UNLICENSED TECHNOLOGIES)
June 1, 2005... Atmel[R] announces its 2.4 GHz transceiver IC, the ATR2806, manufactured using Atmel's advanced SiGe BiCMOS process. The product is designed for digital cordless telephone applications, but can also be used for wireless data applications such...

Bluetooth software tools.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / UNLICENSED TECHNOLOGIES)
June 1, 2005... Cambridge Consultants releases a software development toolset that extends the application potential of the leading single-chip platform for Bluetooth applications, CSR's BlueCore family of ICs. The tools allow users to develop application...

Headset reference design.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / UNLICENSED TECHNOLOGIES)
June 1, 2005... The Xemics' AudioBlue[TM] 2 reference design is for the development of an ultra low power Bluetooth headset. The small form factor reference design targeting the cell-phone headset market is based on XEMICS' XE1431 Bluetooth application MCU and...

Wireless LAN Node Module.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / UNLICENSED TECHNOLOGIES)
June 1, 2005... The highly integrated DPAC Airborne[TM] 802.11b Wireless LAN Node Module allows OEMs to quickly wireless-enable their solutions, in markets that include transportation, medical, industrial control and automation, point-of-sale, security,...

Bluetooth chips.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / UNLICENSED TECHNOLOGIES)
June 1, 2005... Brainboxes and Ingenico have developed a Bluetooth solution which will make it easier for more retailers to benefit from the additional safety and convenience offered by Bluetooth chip and PIN terminals. Brainboxes' BL-521 Bluetooth solution is...

Wireless antenna.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / UNLICENSED TECHNOLOGIES)
June 1, 2005... Centurion announces the BlackChip internal wireless device antenna. The RoHS compliant BlackChip is a WiFi antenna solution that is lightweight and SMT compatible in lead free processes. The antenna is a portable device that simultaneously...

BT's next challenge: with the frenzy of interconnecting everything to everything, the next iteration of BT definitely has its work cut out for it.(BT Wireless)(Cover Story)
June 1, 2005... BT chips are now shipping at a rate of more than three million per week, more than all other short range RF wireless chips combined (as of November 2004). BT Wireless Technology defines an amazing collection of interoperability standards,...

A simulation technique for amplifier performance verification: spending a few minutes simulating can save days of manually tuning a circuit with lumped components and distributed lines for matching networks.(FEATURED TECHNOLOGY)
June 1, 2005... In today's fast paced developmental environments, a design simulation methodology that makes a circuit function immediately without the need for tuning and optimizing is extremely valuable. Such circuit simulation ensures that after fabrication...

Designing for low power with DSPs: today's DSPs are the ideal platform for low power designs, regulary offering 90% or more in power savings.(digital signal processors)
June 1, 2005... Power efficiency is an increasingly important requirement across a broad range of DSP systems, often differentiating a product against its competition. For mobile devices, power efficiency not only means a longer time between battery recharges,...

Network management.(SOFTWARE)
June 1, 2005... Wireless Valley announces the RF Manager[TM], a software solution that visualizes real-time RF activity to assist net work managers in detecting and resolving problems impeding wireless network performance. RF Manager is a platform-independent...

Design kits.(SOFTWARE)
June 1, 2005... UMS announces their pHemt and HBT Process Design Kits for Advanced Design System (ADS) Release 2004A. These design kits support the design and production of high performance Gallium Arsenide MMICs. Agilent's Advanced Design System offers...

Coupler series.(TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGIES)
June 1, 2005... With Mini-Circuits' 5 to 2000 MHz DBTC directional coupler series, there is a choice of nine different coupling values ranging from 9 to 20 dB that deliver flat coupling over broad multi-octave bandwidths. Standing 0.15" square, these 50[ohm]...

Serializer/deserializers.(POWER)
June 1, 2005... Fairchild Semiconductor announces a line of ultra-compact serializer/deserializers called [micro]SerDes[TM] (micro-SerDes). The FIN12 and FIN24 series devices are suitable for solving the design challenges posed by converging product features...

DC/DC converters.(POWER)
June 1, 2005... Linear Technology announces the LTC3548, a dual output, high efficiency, 2.25 MHz, synchronous buck regulator that delivers up to 800 mA of continuous output current from one channel and up to 400 mA from the other. Using a constant frequency...

Ceramic capacitors.(PASSIVES)
June 1, 2005... AVX offers a range of 50 and 100 V high capacitance input filters in small case sizes of 0805, 1206, 1210 and 1812. Designed for power distribution applications, the capacitor for input circuitry has a range of capacitance values from 0.1 to...

PCB design software.(MATERIALS)
June 1, 2005... FLO/PCB v2.2 features more than 25 improvements and enhancements that improve usability and tighten integration between electrical and mechanical design of printed circuit boards (PCBs). FLO/PCB promotes a conceptual design process that...

Surface mount LEDs.(INTEGRATED COMPONENTS)
June 1, 2005... Vishay announces the TLMx100x LEDs in red, soft orange, and yellow. With dimensions of 1.6 X 0.8 X 0.6 mm, the devices are compatible with the 0603 chipled footprint. The red (628 run), orange (605 nm) and yellow (588 nm) LEDs feature luminous...

Phase-locked loop.(SIGNAL SOURCES)
June 1, 2005... Semtech announces the ACS8942A, a jitter attenuating and multiplying (JAM) PLL for generating ultra-low jitter output clocks for SONET and SDH network equipment. The IC features jitter generation as low as 0.10 picosecond (ps) RMS (G.813,...

Digital signal processor.(SIGNAL SOURCES)
June 1, 2005... Texas Instruments announces its TMS320C6418 DSP at 500 MHz. The C6418 DSP offers an extended case temperature range of -40[degrees] C to 105[degrees] C, enabling applications to function under harsh environmental conditions. Featuring 512 kB of...

HSDPA test equipment.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
June 1, 2005... R&S announces a range of solutions for testing radio equipment and designed for use with High-Speed Downlink Packet (HSDPA), an expansion of WCDMA. Testing can be performed using the CRTU-W protocol tester, as well as the CMU200 and CMU300...

SiGe Power Amplifier.(AMPLIFIERS)
June 1, 2005... Atmel announces a PA for the WLAN market. The 2.4 GHz PA ATR7032 meets the 802.11b/g standard and is manufactured using Silicon Germanium (SiGe) technology. SiGe enables operation at a low supply voltage range (2.7 to 3.6 V). The ATR7032 offers...

High linearity mixers.(EDITORS' CHOICE / JUNE 2005 TECHNOLOGY AWARD)
June 1, 2005... WJ Communications introduces two highly linear mixers, the MH103A and MH203A. Both mixers are suitable for WCDMA CDMA2000 and multi-carrier applications. Among the benefits of the MH103A and MH203A are high IP3, up to +34 dBm and a low...