Wireless Design & Development articles from September 2005

Wireless Design & Development archives from September 2005

Up front with ERN: small things that make techno-geeks happy.(Ernest Worthman)(use of atoms in semiconductor devices)(Column)
September 1, 2005... One thing I want to do before I die is see an atom. I know that objective pales in comparison to having a lifelong goal of finding a cure for Alzheimer's, or walking on the moon as a civilian. But still... for an eternal techno-geek like me,...

Body-worn antenna.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
September 1, 2005... European Antennas has designed new body-worn antenna for the Thales UK Future Integrated Soldier Technology (FIST) program, part of the Soldier Modernization program. European Antennas designed and developed a body-worn antenna system that...

High power attenuator series.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
September 1, 2005... The 50FHDQ series of attenuators from JFW Industries is available in several versions to suit many different high power testing applications. Models range from the 50FHDQ-XXX-300-3N (300 W, DC to 3 GHz, with N M/F connectors) to the...

RoHS-compliant digital attenuator.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
September 1, 2005... M/A-COM announces an RoHS-compliant 6-bit serial controlled attenuator, the MAATSS0007. This device is in a lead-free 4 mm 20-lead PQFN, plastic surface mount package. Using M/A-COM's MSAG (Multifunction Self Aligned Gate) MMIC process, the RF...

Low Noise Amplifiers.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
September 1, 2005... Technology Distribution, a division of Empower RF Systems, Inc., launches a complete product line of Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs). This new offering consists of the following product lines: wideband ultra low noise amplifiers with a frequency...

Flash smart card IC module family.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
September 1, 2005... EM Microelectronic announces the EMTG30 and EMTG56, a family of flash memory-based smart card ICs designed for use in SIM cards for low-end mobile telephony. The EMTG30/56 are compatible with the ISO7816-3 Integrated Circuit Card (smart card)...

Ultra wideband protocol analyzer.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
September 1, 2005... LeCroy's UWBTracer[TM] MPI system is the first ultra wideband (UWB) protocol analyzer, and supports WiMedia[TM] and Wireless USB (WUSB) standards. Built on LeCroy's modular protocol analyzer platform, the system allows engineers to troubleshoot...

Solid state power amplifier.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
September 1, 2005... Aethercomm's SSPA 8.5-9.6-30 is an X-band solid-state power amplifier that operates from 8.5 to 9.6 GHz. The PldB at 25[degrees] C is 30 W typical; saturated output power is 40 W typical at 25[degrees] C; typical small signal gain is 44 dB....

Wideband synthesizer.(PRODUCT NEWS / WHAT'S HOT)
September 1, 2005... Elcom has released an ultra-fast, ultra low phase noise, high performance broadband synthesizer designed specifically for ATE applications. The UFS-2040 series is based on direct-analog design techniques combined with DDS capability for fine...

Anadigics reports results.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
September 1, 2005... Anadigics, Inc. reports second quarter 2005 net sales of $23.9 million compared to net sales of $21.8 million in the prior quarter and $22.7 million in the year ago quarter. The net loss for the quarter was $9.1 million or $0.27 per share...

US Patent Focused Wave Technology antennas.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
September 1, 2005... The Focused Wave Technology (FWT) Venture Group has obtained US Patent 6,914,588, issued July 05, 2005. The patent enables the manufacture of antennas with a smaller size than conventional types. FWT antenna technology offers many designs and...

Agilent signs agreement to acquire the business of Eagleware-Elanix.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
September 1, 2005... Agilent Technologies Inc. and privately held Eagleware Corp., which does business as Eagleware-Elanix, announce they have signed a definitive agreement for Agilent to acquire substantially all of the assets and business of Eagleware-Elanix. The...

ARC International signs licensing agreement.(NEWS / BUSINESS / CONTRACTS)
September 1, 2005... ARC International announces that it has reached a license agreement with a leading high technology company and new licensee to ARC International. Valued at 900,000 [pounds sterling], the deal gives the undisclosed customer wide-ranging access...

ACG optimizes distribution branch.(new banch ACG Distribution of ACG Identification Technologies GmbH created)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... ACG Identification Technologies GmbH announces the creation of ACG Distribution, a new division dedicated to the distribution of semiconductors for the manufacturing of advanced smart card and reader products.

Wireless products benefit from long-range module.(new product AC4868 from AeroComm Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... AeroComm Inc. announces its 868 MHz spread spectrum transceiver for products delivered to Europe. AeroComm is one of a few companies to gain approval for an RF solution that operates in this highly restricted European band. On the date of its...

Integrating linear power regulation on-chip.(demand and properties of the product)
September 1, 2005... Power regulation and management ICs have become one of the fastest growing segments of the electronics industry, largely due to the proliferation of portable electronic devices. This has led to increasing demand for higher levels of integration...

IP cores.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / RF COMPONENTS & SUBSYSTEMS)
September 1, 2005... Falanx Microsystems introduces the first in its new series of third generation IP cores for System on Chip (SoC) manufacturers. The Mali[TM] 200 is a fully programmable graphics and media acceleration core for mobile phones that will take full...

CMOS image sensor.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / RF COMPONENTS & SUBSYSTEMS)
September 1, 2005... Cypress introduces a 3.0 megapixel CMOS image sensor designed to bring digital still camera quality to camera-enabled mobile devices. The sensor delivers high-resolution images using the 1/3" optical format, allowing manufacturers to upgrade...

Reference design.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / RF COMPONENTS & SUBSYSTEMS)
September 1, 2005... Eastman Kodak Company announces that its new Kodak CMOS image sensors for mobile phone and consumer digital still camera applications now seamlessly connect to OMAP[TM] 2 application processors from Texas Instruments (TI), a platform which...

UWB chipset.(TECHNOLOGY FOCUS / RF COMPONENTS & SUBSYSTEMS)
September 1, 2005... Wisair introduces the 531 UWB baseband chip, a WiMedia standard UWB chipset. The 531 chip J is ready for use in Wireless USB (WUSB) and Wireless Ethernet/IP applications. The full UWB product includes the second generation 502 Radio Frequency...

New wireless Ethernet $199.(PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS)(ConnexNet from AeroComm Inc.)(Advertisement)
September 1, 2005... ConnexNet[TM] Ethernet devices make monitoring and controlling complete wireless networks as easy as logging onto the Internet. Systems integrators can access their wireless LANs from virtually anywhere in the world. Call AeroComm, (800)...

License-free RF for Europe.(AeroComm Inc., AC4868)(radio frequency)(Advertisement)
September 1, 2005... Powerful new 868MHz transceivers can replace kilometers of cable even in RF-polluted areas. Using field-proven technology which needs no additional ETSI licensing, AC4868 features drop-in installation plus on-the-fly control commands. Call...

A rake receiver reference design: advancements in low cost FPGAs and medium performance DSPs have brought this solution to the center of the receiver design target.(field programmable logic arrays, digital signal processing)(Cover Story)
September 1, 2005... Many factors influence the choice of components for implementing wireless BTSs. ASICs offer the best cost per device, but carry a high upfront cost, both in terms of development time and NRE. ASICs also lack the flexibility offered by DSPs and...

Next generation voice testing: as cellular and Wi-Fi technologies converge, platforms such as VoIP and VoWi-Fi, along with Wi-Fi enabled handsets, will call for a new paradigm for voice testing in the unlicensed spectrum.(SPECIAL SECTION / TEST & MEASUREMENT)
September 1, 2005... If you doubt that Wi-Fi and cellular technology are on the brink of convergence, look at the proliferation of new products and industry groups during the past 18 months. WLAN and enterprise voice vendors such as Cisco, Spectralink and Symbol...

Flexible test and development architecture for emerging wireless technologies: as wireless proliferates, both in platforms and devices, test and measurement take on diverse dimension that requires a new paradigm--flexible, configurable test equipment.(SPECIAL SECTION / TEST & MEASUREMENT)
September 1, 2005... Wireless is everywhere. We take for granted that consumer products deliver untethered functionality that was not possible or even heard of just a few years ago. For example, cameras now feature WLAN (802.11x) functionality for immediately...

WiMAX: The future for BWA: historically, proprietary BWA systems have been predominantly line of sight, which is costly and finicky. However, WiMAX's ability to address link budget and NLOS issues may finally make BWA affordable and practical for the masses.(FEATURED TECHNOLOGY)(broadband wireless access)
September 1, 2005... BWA has been with us in one form or another for the past ten years or more. During that time, one of the biggest drawbacks to its widespread acceptance has been not only the cost of the SS or CPE, but the installation costs as well....

SPDT switch.(RoHS-COMPLIANT)
September 1, 2005... M/A-COM has released an RoHS-compliant SPDT switch for applications that require high linearity and high isolation. The MASWSS0136, with its low leakage current, is a low insertion loss switch that maximizes system linearity performance while...

Ceramic capacitors.(PASSIVE COMPONENTS)
September 1, 2005... AVX introduces the LD series of multi-layer ceramic capacitors. The LD capacitors offer tin-lead solder terminations with 5% lead minimum. Available in a range of sizes from 0402 to 0612, the series offers voltages ranging from 6.3 to 500 V....

PCI Express chip.(DIGITAL HARDWARE)
September 1, 2005... TI announces the third generation of its discrete PCI Express physical layer (PITY) chip. TI has designed the new PHY to be compliant to PCI Express 1.1 specifications, which is critical for interoperability with other PCI Express applications....

Rugged antenna.(MILITARY / AEROSPACE)
September 1, 2005... The UAB 226G[TM] Bicone Antenna from Fractal Antenna Systems provides good wideband and omni-directional performance for signal gathering and high power transmission. The UAB 226G comes in a compact, rugged package. The inherent qualities of...

Programmable logic device.(SEMICONDUCTORS/ICs)
September 1, 2005... Lattice Semiconductor introduces the first two members of its new MachXO[TM] family. Through the use of 130 nm non-volatile embedded Flash process technology, and the use of an industry-standard four-input Look-up Table (LUT) approach for logic...

Ka-band products.(SEMICONDUCTORS/ICs)
September 1, 2005... Mimix introduces a line of Ka-band GaAs MMIC products, including power amplifiers and a doubler, covering the 27 to 34 GHz frequency bands, with the 30SPA0536 device achieving 36 dBm Psat. Using 0.151[micro] gate-length GaAs pHEMT device model...

MP3 decoder.(SEMICONDUCTORS/ICs)
September 1, 2005... Atmel[R] introduces a ready-to-use single-chip MP3 decoder combining all the features to allow a mobile phone to play MP3 music and ring tones and to convert it into a pen drive. The AT83SND2CMP3 features an easy-to-implement protocol that can...

Radio-on-a-chip.(TECHNOLOGY AWARD)
September 1, 2005... Cypress Semiconductor introduces its 2.4 GHz Radio-on-a-Chip with a programmable mixed signal array. The Programmable Radio-on-a-Chip[TM] (PRoC[TM]) includes two of the company's technologies--WirelessUSB[TM] and Programmable System-on-Chip[TM]...