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September 2008 [Components] LDMOS FETS Serve 330 W For L-Band Radar Systems Solid-state power for commercial wireless base-station transceivers has been dominated by the laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor (LDMOS) field-effect transistor (FET) since the device first became available in the 1980s. In spite of its ruggedness and attractive characteristics such as high linearity, gain, and efficiency, the siliconbased device has not had the same impact on L-band radar and avionics applications. Still, the MRF6V14300H 50-V LDMOS... — Pierre Piel September 2008 [Test & Measurement] Multipurpose Impedance Tuner Is Portable Solution Impedance tuners are unique but vital tools that can provide invaluable insight into the behavior of active component designs, such as amplifiers, as well as passive circuits, such as antennas. Precision impedance tuners are based on sliding mechanical probes, with the impedance shown to a component or device under test determined by the position of the sliding probes. While such impedance tuners can represent a major capital investment for many ... — Jack Browne September 2008 [Components] Compact BAW Filters Help Separate WiMAX And WLAN Wireless networks bring a great deal of convenience to the home, office, and factory, although available spectrum has always been a valuable commodity. In the case of wireless local area networks (WLANs) and high-speed WiMAX networks, for example, devices occupy the same general bandwidth centered at around 2.5 GHz. To keep things straight, Skyworks Solutions has developed a pair of high-performance filters based on bulk-acoustic-wave (BAW)... — Jack Browne August 2008 [Components] Frequency Synthesizers Fit In Rugged Systems Military and some commercial systems can benefit from a frequency synthesizer capable of harsh treatment. The Ruggedized Series (RS) of frequency synthesizers from Elcom Technologies are designed for the harsh realm of many military applications at frequencies to 23 GHz. In addition, they are small and sacrifice little in terms of spectral purity compared to much larger frequency synthesizers. Built for altitudes to 60,000 feet and capable of... — Jack Browne August 2008 [Test & Measurement] Test Software Simplifies Phase, Power Measurements Microwave measurements can be made easier with the help of the right software. This was the thinking behind the introduction of two software tools by Anritsu Co. (www.us.anritsu.com) designed to assist with phase-noise and power measurements when using the firm’s MS271xB family of economy spectrum analyzers and its ML2490A series of power meters, respectively. The programs run on a personal... — Jack Browne August 2008 [Computer-Aided Engineering] New EDA Software Versions Boast Broad Enhancements Electronic-design-automation (EDA) software tools have become the voltmeter and the slide rule to the modern high-frequency engineer. But unlike those two hardware tools, software can be updated for improved performance, as is the case in recent releases from Applied Wave Research [AWR] for Version 2008 of the firm’s widely used Microwave Office design environment and Version 2008 of the Visual System Simulator (VSS) software tools. Both new software ... — Jack Browne August 2008 [Components] Tiny Trimmers Target Tunable Requirements Trimmer capacitors provide the means of adjusting a circuit’s capacitance once all components are assembled onto a printed-circuit board (PCB). For the purpose of experimentation, or even for tuning a circuit’s performance on the production line, a well-chosen trimmer capacitor can provide the necessary capacitance range to adjust the center frequency of filters, oscillators, and other high-frequency components. And while adding a trimmer once... — Nicholas Perrella August 2008 [Test & Measurement] Software Tools Simplify GPS Testing Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers have been guiding travelers for some time, and now they are guiding drivers of many new cars and even pedestrians by means of embedded circuits in cellular telephones. Of course, with this rapid spread of GPS receivers comes a corresponding need for efficient testing of both stand-alone GPS receivers and units embedded into other devices. For that purpose, the NI GPS Toolkit for Labview from National Instruments (... — Jack Browne July 2008 [Test & Measurement] AUTOTESTCON Gathers ATE Equipment Suppliers Automatic measurement solutions for military applications have their place, and each year they can be found in abundance at the annual IEEE AUTOTESTCON conference. The next AUTOTESTCON (www.autotestcon.com), which is scheduled for Sept. 8-11 in the Salt Palace Convention Center (Salt Lake City, UT), has been held annually since 1965. It features more than 250 exhibition booths. What follows is a... — Jack Browne July 2008 [Test & Measurement] Enhanced Scopes Race To 20 GSamples/s Oscilloscopes are still a main workhorse measurement tool for evaluating transient and difficult-to-find signal anomalies, and LeCroy Corp. has been relentless in its pursuit of improved scope performance. But the enhanced performance of the company’s WavePro 7Zi series of digital oscilloscopes may wipe away any thought on an engineer’s part that these are “just another” test instrument. The WavePro 7Zi digital oscilloscopes provide the performance ... — Jack Browne July 2008 [Communications] SiGe GPS Receiver Handles Two Antennas Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers are being embedded into almost any bit of electronic gear that moves, from the electronic circuits in automobiles to cellular telephones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). To support this “global” expansion, SiGe Semiconductor has developed its model SE4150L GPS radio receiver for next-generation embedded GPS applications. The tiny receiver targets the three main requirements of these emerging... — Jack Browne July 2008 [Test & Measurement] Integrated System Tests Device Flicker Noise Flicker noise is one of those important, but often misunderstood, semiconductor device parameters that can greatly impact the performance of wireless communications systems. Although measurement solutions for evaluating device flicker noise have often been “bootstrap” systems formed of available instruments and components, and with often questionable accuracy, Cascade Microtech (www.cascademicrotech. com) has announced a dramatic improvement to the... — Jack Browne June 2008 [Components] Cables And Connectors Deliver Robust Signals Cables and connectors are among the most overlooked components in any high-frequency system. Since they must deliver signals from one point to the next, without altering those signals, these transmission-line components are generally only noticed when they fail. In spite of the low profile, however, manufacturers continue to invest in these components in the quest of improved performance and reliability, to ensure that their cables and connectors ... — Jack Browne June 2008 [Test & Measurement] Compact Oscilloscopes Check Embedded Systems Embedded systems, complete with memory, microcontrollers, and digital signal processing (DSP), can be found in the majority of modern electronic equipment, be it for commercial, industrial, or military applications. Checking the serial communications buses in these systems can be challenging without the right tools. Fortunately, the DPO3000 Digital Phosphor Oscilloscopes (DPOs) from Tektronix (... — Jack Browne June 2008 [Test & Measurement] Microwave VNAs Add Nonlinear Network Analysis A dverse effects of nonlinear behavior in active and passive high-frequency components can disrupt communications systems. As a result, it is desirable to understand such behavior, which requires the right test equipment. To help, Agilent Technologies (www.agilent.com) has announced nonlinear vector network analyzer (NVNA) capability for its PNA-X series of microwave vector network analyzers (VNAs). ... — Jack Browne May 2008 [Components] Modular GPIB Switches Connect Test Applications Switching signals among test sources and devices under test (DUT) in a measurement setup can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Fortunately, the GPIB series 8000 modular switch assemblies help simplify complex test assemblies with reliable electromechanical microwave switches mounted in their own rugged enclosures. The switch assemblies are designed for applications from DC to 18 GHz... — Jack Browne May 2008 [Defense Electronics] Synthesized LO Spans 0.05 To 20.48 GHz Direct-digital synthesis (DDS) is capable of impressive frequency and amplitude switching speeds and, depending upon the bit resolution of the DDS architecture, extremely fine frequency and phase control. DDS technology is the basis for the WaveCor line of high-performance microwave signal sources from ITT Microwave Systems (Lowell, MA), notably the firm’s latest addition, the WaveCor synthesized local oscillator (SLO) model 20.0 frequency ... — Jack Browne May 2008 [Devices & ICs] LDMOS FET Drives UHF TV Transmitters Television broadcast systems in the ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) region from 470 to 860 MHz will make the transition from analog to digital technology next year, and broadcasters are taking advantage of digital performance while attempting to keep equipment costs low. Since one of the highest cost components is the transmitter, it is no surprise that the MRF6VP3450H 50 V LDMOS FET from Freescale Semiconductor (... — Jeannette Wilson May 2008 [Communications] High-Dynamic-Range Mixer Upconverts 1.5 To 3.8 GHz Active frequency mixers provide the frequency-translation function required in modern communications systems, with the added benefit of conversion gain in contrast to the conversion loss of passive mixers. Model LT5579 from Linear Technology (www.linear.com) is such an active mixer, designed for upconversion applications from 1.5 to 3.8 GHz. It offers enough bandwidth to cover the 1.9-GHz cellular... — Jack Browne May 2008 [Components] VCOs Offer Linear Tuning Through 10.9 GHz Linear tuning is essential for a wide range of applications requiring frequency precision over time and temperature. The latest series of voltagetuned oscillators from Synergy Microwave (www.synergymwave.com) provide outstanding tuning linearity at frequencies through 10.9 GHz. The first three models in the DCO and DXO families of voltage-tuned oscillators provide frequency coverage of 4730 to 5420... — Jack Browne  prev. page
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