Jack Browne
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ED Online ID #16819 |
September 14, 2007
Microwaves & RF UPDATE | September 14, 2007
Jack Browne, Technical Director
It lets your brilliant RF designs take flight.
What happens when hundreds of world-renowned engineers push the limits of RF power? More
than 50 years of innovation including breakthroughs in LDMOS, GaAs, GaN and low-cost, over-
molded plastic packaging. We test, validate and integrate until we exceed the highest performance
standards. So your RF designs take off
Engineering talent is hard to come by. Ask the management at any expanding RF/microwave
company where they will find their next design engineer, and the chances are that they were
about to ask you the same question. For that reason, the recent announcement by wireless and
wireline semiconductor supplier ANADIGICS (www.anadigics.com) of their acquisition of the
RF Design Team from Fairchild Semiconductor for $2.3 million makes perfect sense. In fact,
with the hiring of 23 experienced and talented RF design and engineering professionals, it might
even be considered a steal for ANADIGICS. By Fairchild exiting its RF business in Tyngsboro,
MA, ANADIGICS has established its own design center in the same spot. As part of the
transaction, ANADIGICS will provide business and technical transitional support services to
Fairchild and its customers as Fairchild exits its RF business.
Although the acquisition adds unexpected research and development expenses to ANADIGICS
spreadsheets for 2007, the company's management feels that infusion of talent can't hurt the
firm's opportunities for growth in 2008. Dr. Bami Bastani, President and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of ANADIGICS notes, "Highly specialized RF talent is rare in the semiconductor
industry and is a differentiating factor in our fast growing markets." Dr. Bastani adds, "The
establishment of the Massachusetts design center not only fulfills our planned 2008 resource
requirements, but further consolidates the industry and provides ANADIGICS with a
knowledgeable and exceptionally experienced RF team, which will accelerate our new revenue
growth opportunities for 3G wireless, WiFi, and WiMAX product lines
By adding this kind of engineering talent to a company already bestowed with experienced
designers, ANADIGICS has made a bold move which should add long-term benefits. Rather
than acquiring a product line or two, the firm has acquired the talent to develop many new
product lines for years to come.
Improve Noise-Figure Measurement Accuracy
Use Agilent Technologies' PNA-X vector network analyzer with source-corrected
noise-figure measurement capability to surpass the accuracy of traditional "hot-
cold" Y-factor measurements with a noise-figure analyzer or spectrum analyzer.
Read all about it in the White Paper, "Making Source Corrected Noise-Figure
Measurements," sponsored by Agilent Technologies and written by Agilent's
David Ballo, in the September issue of Microwaves & RF.
Antenova announced what it claims to be the world's smallest single-package GPS system
solution, combining an integrated-circuit (IC) receiver with a patented GPS antenna. The GPS
RADIOVA M10214-A RF antenna module features the model GSC3LTf GPS receiver IC from
SiRF Technology and Antenova's own high-efficiency single-feed GPS antenna technology. The
module includes all necessary front-end components, such as the low-noise amplifier (LNA),
surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) filters, and temperature-compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO) in
a package measuring 43 x 9 x 4 mm. It operates on a single +3.6-VDC supply.
Agilent Technologies has announced the availability of source-corrected noise-figure (NF)
measurement capability for its PNA-X vector network analyzer (VNA). By using the company's
ECal electronic calibration module as an impedance tuner, the VNA can make vector-error-
corrected noise-figure measurements based on the highly accurate cold-source technique. The
ECal module helps the analyzer find the optimum source impedance for noise measurements on
a device under test, such as a low-noise amplifier (LNA), at frequencies from 10 MHz to 26.5
GHz. It also enables measurements with a single connection, saving measuring time and wear on
test connectors. The error-corrected approach features fast measurement time of 42 ms/point and
surpasses the accuracy provided by Y-factor-based NF analyzers or spectrum analyzers used for
NF measurements. The PNA-X can also be specified with an integrated second source, signal
combining network, and internal pulse generators for a variety of measurements on amplifiers
and frequency-translation devices.
Sponsored by Analog Devices and National Instruments, these
informative eight-minute video segments show cutting-edge
technology in action and offer behind-the-scenes looks at the
latest engineering developments.
First-Pass System Success Application Workshops (Sponsored by Ansoft)
October 19, 2007
Newton Marriott Hotel
Newton, MA
http://www.ansoft.com/firstpass/boston2
70th ARFTG Microwave Measurement Symposium
November 27-30, 2007
Tempe Mission Palms Hotel
Tempe, AZ
http://www.arftg.org
2007 Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference
December 11-14, 2007
Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel
Bangkok, Thailand
http://www.apmc2007.org
2008 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (with WAMICON)
January 22-24, 2008
Orlando, FL
http://www.radiowireless.org
2008 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC)
February 3-7, 2008
San Francisco Marriot Hotel
San Francisco, CA
http://www.isscc.org
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