Platform uses RF to control entertainment devices
Jul 1, 2007
The consumer electronics industry has used IR technology for more than 30 years. As plasma and LCD screens grow in size, IR technology is facing limitations...
Making the case for ZigBee
Jul 1, 2007
By Bob Heile, PhD The global wireless standard may be just the kind of technology solution the world needs to help solve its energy crisis....
Interview with Itron
Jul 1, 2007
Matthew Spaur works in Advanced Metering Infrastructure business development at Itron Inc....
Adopting an RFIC application-programming interface
Jul 1, 2007
By Nick Jungels and Vivek Bhan With increasing integration on RF chips used in cellular handsets, programming
requirements have grown considerably. This increased complexity runs counter
to the ever-tightening life cycle of cellular handsets. One solution is to use a
"hardware" application-programming interface (API). This article will provide
some guidelines for developing an API. Plus, it will focus on pitfalls to avoid, as
well as weigh some of the costs vs. benefits of adopting such an approach....
Interview with CenterPoint Energy
Jul 1, 2007
CenterPoint Energy's Chuck Hackney is the company's director of telecommunications, regulated operations technology....
ZigBee may play a key role in global energy management and efficiency
Jul 1, 2007
By Cheryl Ajluni Today, energy management and efficiency has become a key battle cry, cutting across multiple industries and drawing modern society into a unified quest to effectively address global energy issues....
Built-in handset antennas enable FM transceivers in mobile phones
Jul 1, 2007
By Peter Lindberg and Andrei Kaikkonen Small form factors and the elimination of wires in favor of cordless peripherals,
such as Bluetooth earpieces, restricts the size and gain of passive antennas that
can be implemented in wireless handsets. However, a unique passive structure
tailored for FM radio and directly interfaced to amplifier circuitry forms an active
antenna module suitable for emerging mobile device applications....
Direct digital synthesis enables digital PLLs
Jul 1, 2007
By Paul Kern Direct digital synthesis, together with a DAC and a high-performance digital
phase detector, overcome several fundamental drawbacks in analog PLLs, such
as asymmetry in the phase detector or bandwidth limitations and phase noise in
the VCO. Furthermore, because the circuitry is digital, feedback-loop parameters
are adjusted by changing numerical coefficients in device registers rather than
changing electrical parameters in physical components, the latter process being
especially difficult for ASIC designs....
Products
Jul 1, 2007
Active Components MEMS switches TeraVicta's DPDT and SP4T switches operate from dc to 7 GHz. Both switches use the high force disk actuator (HFDA), an...
New inductor models for Ansoft tools
Jul 1, 2007
EPCOS has now expanded its existing inductor simulation models for Ansoft Designer and Nexxim software tools. The models can be integrated directly into...
The new face of ZigBee
Jul 1, 2007
By Cheryl Ajluni, Editor It seems like only yesterday that everyone used rotary-style landlines and the idea of using a cellular handset was some far-off notion. Today though, virtually everyone has a cellular handset and the idea of using a landline is quickly going out of fashion. But that's not the extent of the changes ahead....
ZigBee Products
Jul 1, 2007
Gas meter The Trilliant Networks' MeshReader gas meter communication module, the NCZL401 gas access point, provides an affordable solution to the delivery of an advanced gas metering solution for residential AMI applications....
Overcoming the RF challenges of multiband mobile handset design
Jul 1, 2007
By Rodd Novak Demands on components in the RF signal chain of a mobile handset increase
with the number of bandwidths and modes, especially for the antenna and its
switch. The integration capabilities of RF CMOS devices solve many of these
issues while maintaining peak performance....
USB-based sensors enable measurements without a meter
Jul 1, 2007
Agilent Technologies has released a series of USB-based power sensors, which are affordable and lighter weight than typical power meters and similar power-sensing...
Satellite LNB is fully integrated on-chip
Jul 1, 2007
NXP Semiconductors has readied what it claims is the industry's first fully integrated downconverter for Ku-band digital video broadcasting satellite...
Amplifiers
Jul 1, 2007
1700-2700 MHz, 5 W amplifier GaN-on-Si transistors The NPT25190 and NPT25240 from Nitronex are 48 V GaN-on-silicon devices designed for WiMAX and 3G/3G...
Alternative to SMT for microwave and millimeter-wave systems
Jul 1, 2007
By Javed Siddiqui, Dan Sundberg and Dominick Suarez Conventional SMT works well for frequencies up to about 6 GHz. However, at higher frequencies SMT is usually not a viable option because in SMT topology the transmission lines are unshielded, and the components do not have adequate grounding. ...
Quick tips and resources
Jul 1, 2007
Energy management and efficiency has become a crucial issue these days, spurred on by statistics that suggest there will not be enough power plants in...
India is becoming a research hub for global electronics
Jul 1, 2007
Ashok Bindra, Editorial Director Next month, India will celebrate 60 years of freedom and democracy. In that time, it has made significant progress in science and technology. ...
Newsworthy
Jul 1, 2007
ZigBee Alliance Members of the ZigBee Alliance have joined forces and are leveraging their wireless and utility expertise to fight the...
Reformed methanol fuel cell system certified for military field use
Jun 1, 2007
The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center's Army Power Division, has approved a limited safety assessment report for UltraCell's XX25 reformed methanol fuel cell system....
Hynix joins IMEC's CMOS research platform
Jun 1, 2007
Hynix Semiconductor, a memory semiconductor supplier offering dynamic random access memory chips (DRAMs) and flash memory chips, has entered into a strategic...
