Investigating ISM Bands

Bandwidth may be scarce, but plenty can be found amidst the Industrial-Scientific-Medical (ISM) frequency bands. A number of companies supply short-range communications devices for these frequencies, which include 902 to 928 MHz, 2.4 to 2.5 GHz, 5.725 to 5.875 GHz, 24.000 to 24.250 GHz, 61.0 to 61.5 GHz, and 122 to 123 GHz. Many of these transceiver devices must operate on portable supplies, such as batteries, and provide reliable operation over long periods of time while consuming little power in standby mode. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets limits on transmit power, regulating the amount of power that can be used in a communications link. Still, the number of transmit, receiver, and transceiver integrated circuits (ICs) for ISM-band applications continues to grow, as will be further detailed in a special report in the July issue of Microwaves & RF. To learn more about current ISM-band communications devices, click here.