More in Test & Measurement

Mar. 28, 2013

Article

Take An In-Depth Look At IEEE 802.11ac

This white paper provides an introduction to IEEE 802.11ac documents, requirements, and the PHY, which encompasses the channel structure, frame formats, preamble fields, and data fields....More
Mar. 20, 2013

Article

Optimize Time Gating in Spectrum Analysis

Although various types of time gating exist, some applications are more appropriate for certain time-gating methods. Beyond making this determination, designers should know the latest techniques for gate triggering and measuring wide-bandwidth signals....More
Mar. 1, 2013

Article

The Effect of Moore’s Law on RF Instruments

Faster processing technology brings substantial benefits to the RF instrument, which can be seen in how the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is transforming the way we design RF instruments....More
Jan. 22, 2013

Article

Master Testing Of IEEE 802.11ad PHY

At the MAC or data-link layer, IEEE 802.11ad is compatible with the other IEEE 802.11x standards. Yet is PHY characteristics set it apart—and complicate testing....More
Jan. 9, 2013

Article

Interview: Mini-Circuits Battles Back Against Sandy 5

After a pummeling from Superstorm Sandy, this is the story of one company’s efforts to recover from the storm damage and be ready for customers within two short days....More
Dec. 3, 2012

Article

UE Testing Eases Transition To VoLTE

As developers strive to ensure interoperability between legacy 3GPP or non-3GPP technologies and LTE, it will be critical to accurately and efficiently voice-test LTE user equipment....More
Dec. 3, 2012

Article

Top 2012 Products Blend Value and Performance 4

The top products of 2012 embody the creativity and ingenuity of the RF/microwave industry’s design-engineering community....More
Nov. 29, 2012

Article

EuMW Amsterdam Delivers On New Technology 4

European Editors Sally Ward-Foxton and Paul Whytock report their findings from the 15th Annual European Microwave Week....More
Nov. 29, 2012

Article

Terahertz Imaging System Uses BWO As Source 15

An imaging system based on transmission and reflection modes in the terahertz region has been developed by using a backward-wave oscillator (BWO) as its source, a Golay-Cell as the detector, and an oscilloscope as a data acquisition unit....More
Nov. 5, 2012

Article

Optimize Testing Of Multi-Standard-Radio Devices 1

With a single multi standard radio (MSR) base station unit now able to transmit GSM, WCDMA, and LTE multiple carriers simultaneously, the accurate and efficient testing of those MSR base station transmitter devices has become critical to their success....More
Sep. 27, 2012

Article

Broadcast Services Are Demonstrated Over LTE 3

Using evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) technology, it is possible for Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) network infrastructure to be used for the delivery of broadcast services, such as television. This capability, if utilized, could certainly impact how LTE services are offered....More
Sep. 12, 2012

Article

Microwave Innovations Touch Down In Amsterdam 11

Next month, European Microwave Week (EuMW; www.eumweek.com) 2012 is scheduled to be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. From October 28 through November 2, conference-goers will be able to take place in this international event...More
Aug. 15, 2012

Article

Agilent Sets AT4 Acquisition In Motion 1

Malaga, Spain-based AT4 wireless (www.at4wireless.com) continuously expands its capabilities to provide test solutions for the latest wireless-communications technologies. It is therefore not surprising that Agilent Technologies (www.agilent.com) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of the firm’s Test Systems business. With that wireless test portfolio, Agilent plans to offer its customers an even broader set of test solutions—especially in the rapidly growing Long Term Evolution (LTE) market....More
Jul. 11, 2012

Article

USB Meter Reads Power To 8 GHz 3

RFMW Ltd. has announced that it is offering applications and sales support for the model TED8000-40 Universal Serial Bus (USB) power sensor from Telemakus (www.telemakus.com). Designed for power measurements from 50 to 8000 MHz, the USB sensor uses a laptop or personal computer (PC) as the control and display; this enables it to replace a full-sized power meter. It can also be used with the company’s low-cost USB signal sources to form a cost-effective, USB-controlled microwave scalar network analyzer....More
Jul. 11, 2012

Article

USB Steers Digital Pads

Digital attenuators in the LDA series of compact Lab Brick® products are powered and controlled by a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection to a laptop or personal computer (PC). These step attenuators are available for use through 6 GHz and are easily programmed to provide fixed attenuation or attenuation ramps, using a simple graphical user interface (GUI). Units range in capability from model LDA-102, which provides 63-dB attenuation in 0.5-dB steps from 0.1 to 1000.0 MHz to model LDA-602, which offers 63-dB attenuation in 0.5-dB steps from 6 to 6000 MHz....More
Jul. 10, 2012

Article

TO-8 YIGs Tune 3 To 13 GHz 1

Oscillators can be built from many different types of resonators. Perhaps one of the most reliable for high-frequency applications is the yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) sphere, the heart of YIG-tuned oscillators. At one time, such tunable sources were relatively large and heavy. But with new models such as the second-generation MLTO-Series of permanent-magnet YIG oscillators from Micro Lambda Wireless (www.microlambdawireless.com), these microwave oscillators take up no more space than a small coin on a printed-circuit board (PCB)....More
Jul. 9, 2012

Article

Making Microwave Measurements Modular

Test instrument modules once represented a small, specialized area among high-frequency measurement products. But more and more manufacturers are now supporting established module standards—such as PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation (PXI)—with a growing number of measurement functions. As a result, engineers are discovering that they can benefit from the versatility of modular test instruments without sacrificing performance compared to standard-sized rack-mount instruments....More
Jul. 9, 2012

Article

Is An Oscillator Upgrade On The Horizon?

Cell phones, WiFi-enabled tablets, and other electronic devices all incorporate oscillators, which are traditionally silicon-based structures that generate signals by means of an electron-charge mechanism. Recently, however, a team of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)—ZhongmingZeng, Pedram KhaliliAmiri, Ilya N.Krivorotov, HuiZhao, GiovanniFinocchio, Jian-PingWang, Jordan A.Katine, YimingHuai, JuergenLanger, KosmasGalatsis, Kang L.Wang, and HongWenJiang—have developed a new type of oscillator that utilizes the spin of an electron....More
Jul. 9, 2012

Article

Interview: Julio Perdomo, CEO, Centellax

NF: Although this is an evolving market, many firms have made their living by offering the same types of products for decades. Recently, however, Centellax made a bold change by selling its test and measurement business to Agilent Technologies. What inspired this move?...More
Jul. 2, 2012

Article

Microwaves and RF

Optimize Spectrum-Analyzer Settings For TOI Measurements 6

One of the more common measurements made with an RF/microwave spectrum analyzer is determination of third-order-intercept (TOI) point for a device under test (DUT), which is often an amplifier. TOI point is a parameter used to evaluate the linearity of components that are utilized in applications where nonlinear effects can cause distortion—for example, in digitally modulated signals. This measurement can be challenging, as uncertainties vary significantly based on the spectrum analyzer’s settings....More
Jul. 2, 2012

Article

Microwaves and RF

Techniques for Making Measurements of Noise-Like Signals with a Spectrum Analyzer 4

Many of today’s communication formats, such as W-CDMA, cdma2000®, and WLAN, produce signals that are noise-like in nature. Accurately measuring these types of signals requires tools and setups that are different than traditionally used for continuous-wave (CW) signals....More
Jun. 20, 2012

article

Microwaves and RF

IMS 2012, Day 2: Closing the Microwave Gap

Day two of the IMS conference in Montreal started off well with a great briefing with Ke Wu, the General Chairman of the conference. He is the guy that led his crew of 65+ individuals and IEEE support staff to put together this massive show. An ......More
Jun. 14, 2012

article

Microwaves and RF

Tuners Help With Load-Pull/Noise Testing 1

Visitors to the 2012 Montreal IMS have an opportunity to visit one of the area's more interesting local companies, Focus Microwaves, at booth No. 1007. With its extensive lines of load-pull and broadband noise measurement systems, the company is a key ......More
Jun. 13, 2012

article

Microwaves and RF

Cable Assemblies Are Rock Steady

These precision cables provide repeatable and reliable performance with flexure at frequencies through 40 GHz, and they are also built to last a lifetime....More
Jun. 13, 2012

article

Microwaves and RF

Test And Chip Breakthroughs Create Smaller, Faster, More Dependable Consumer Products

Wireless consumer-electronic products increasingly include data-intensive applications. Meanwhile, applications below 10 GHzsuch as wireless local-area networking (WLAN)face spectrum scarcity. Consequently, wireless-system designers have to explore ......More