| ISSUE DATE: NOVEMBER 2005 | OPTIONS | |||||||
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November 2005 - In This Issue [Cover Story] Baluns Shrink To Tiny 0404 Footprint Consumer and commercial electronic designs call for the smallest possible-components to save space and power. Balanced-unbalanced transformers or baluns have traditionally been based on transmission lines, such as coaxial wires, stripline, or microstrip, and often somewhat large as a result. By applying their multilayer techniques, Anaren Microwave had already succeeded in developing baluns in 0805 (0.08 × 0.05 in.) and 0603 (0.06 × 0.03 in.) package sizes. And to meet the... — Niels Kirkeby [News] Broadband Served By Multiple Technologies Broadband access is the fastestgrowing segment of the huge global-communications market, but no single technology appears to have cornered the market. Although most current customers receive broadband access by means of digital-subscriber-line (DSL) or cable-modem connections, trends show that tomorrow's broadband users are more likely to rely on wireless or fiber access. Generating most of the excitement in wireless broadband at the moment is the IEEE's 802.16 standard,... — Jack Browne [News] MEMS and Models Move Forward At 2005 IEDM Transistor trackers have found a wealth of information for more than 50 years at the IEEE's International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM). Scheduled this year (December 5-7, 2005) at the Hilton Washington Hotel (Washington, DC), this premier conference for semiconductor advances features a strong lineup of new discrete devices, integrated circuits (ICs), microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) devices, and computer models for devices, supported by the world's most advanced process technologies.... — Jack Browne [Design Features] Cluster Computers Speed EM Simulation Electromagnetic (EM) simulation has become a powerful tool in modeling high-frequency and high-speed circuits and devices. As the software grows in sophistication, however, computer hardware strains to keep up, often requiring innovative combinations of computer systems to efficiently run modern EM software. One integrated solution is the emCluster? Computing approach from Sonnet Software (North Syracuse, NY). It essentially combines the power of multiple computers for faster EM... — Yun Chase , et al. [Design Features] Gauging Limitations On DFD Performance Digital frequency discriminators (DFDs) provide accurate frequencymeasurement data on pulsed and CW signals received over wide instantaneous RF bandwidths. They typically cover wide bandwidths, such as 50 to 500 MHz, 0.5 to 2 GHz, 2 to 6 GHz, 6 to 18 GHz, and 2 to 18 GHz, but are rare above 18 GHz. One of the limiting factors to achieving DFDs above 18 GHz is the problem of excess correlator phase error. What follows is a review of basic DFD capabilities and limitations, and a report on... — William Sullivan [Product Technology] FCBs Shrink Systems From 8 To 40 GHz Ferrite components, such as isolators and circulators, are essential to the operation of many microwave assemblies and systems, including power amplifiers. But these components tend to be bulky and have never lent themselves to integration on thin-film circuits. Dorado International (Seattle, WA) has taken a fresh look at these components, however, and developed integrated components and subassemblies called ferrite circuit boards (FCBs)—designs in which the traditional alumina... — Harry Rutstein [Editorial] Remembering One Of The Good Guys BILL REICH passed away late last month. He was not the CEO of his company, or the founder. He didn't hold any patents, and his name was not synonymous with a mixer, or decoder, or modulation format. But he was one of the truly decent people in the microwave industry and probably did more for his company, Narda Microwave-East (an L3 Communications Co.), than even many of his colleagues realize. Bill was a regular at industry trade shows, including the IEEE MTT-S. He was a superb... — Jack Browne [White Paper] White Paper: "Disruptive" Ceramic Technology Stabilizes Spectrum Management (Part 2) Advanced ceramic materials and a high-resolution circuit fabrication process can combine to provide excellent electrical performance in small sizes. As demonstrated in Part 1 of this white paper, the combination has been applied at Dielectric Laboratories, Inc. (DLI) to the production of XTREME-Q? high quality-factor (Q) resonators at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies. This concluding part of the article series will show that the high-Q nature of these materials can also... — Michael P. Busse |
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