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 Products Aug 1, 2006 12:00 PM Amplifiers
Solid-state microwave amplifier
Keragis Corporation's designed solid-state microwave amplifier dodecahedron module (patent pending) provides a high-power output of typically 35 W over the 6 GHz to 18 GHz band. Its small and rugged size, long life, up to 30 dB improvement in noise figure and short group delay characteristics make it a useful replacement for TWT amplifiers. The small footprint of the unit along with low-voltage requirements make it suitable for mounting at the antenna or load. It requires no warm-up time, providing an instant “on” when power is applied. Other benefits include higher efficiency and low losses. Since numerous MMICs or FETs are within the unit, single-point failures are minimized and thus failures become soft failures, only reducing the power slightly when one device fails. A special technique is used that eliminates the so-called zipper effect, which, in some amplifiers, can cause failure of all devices if one device fails. Several of these modules can be put together with external combiners to provide higher output. For instance, four of these units were combined to give more than 100 W across most of the band. A narrowband module is also available that will provide typically greater than 80 W of output power. Amplifier module
Stealth Microwave has released the SM1727-37HS, a gallium-arsenide (GaAs) FET amplifier designed for various WiMAX products and device test applications. The unit operates from 1.7 GHz to 2.7 GHz with a P1dB of +37 dBm. Small signal gain is 20 dB to 33 dB with a flatness of 0.5 dB across the band. Typical WiMAX performance (802.16d 64QAM OFDM) is -40 dB and EVM at +30 dBm burst power. Standard features include a single +12 Vdc supply and over/reverse voltage protection. Optional features include TTL on/off and high-speed switching circuitry for WiMAX TDD applications. In module form, the unit measures 4 in. × 2 in. × 0.54 in. Broadcast and Satellite Communications
CMOS RF platforms
Chipidea has expanded its RF intellectual property line with the release of two cores designed to speed the development of video-enabled handheld appliances and personal navigation devices. The company's two full CMOS RF platforms include a digital video broadcast handheld (DVB-H) tuner that enables the delivery of DVD-quality video and audio to handheld devices, and a highly integrated receiver for handheld global positioning systems (GPS). Chipidea's mobile TV tuner IP platform enables full-band support with three separate inputs: VHF band III (176 MHz to 245 MHz), UHF band IV and V (470 MHz to 870 MHz) and L-band (1.450 GHz to 1.685 GHz). It also supports the DVB-H, DMB and ISDB-T standards. This open platform eases design integration with a zero IF architecture, and no external filters are required. With low current consumption and a small chip area, this platform is suitable for portable consumer electronics where cost and battery life are paramount. The company's GPS IP is a highly integrated receiver for the GPS L1 band. The low-IF architecture requires no external IF filters, and an LNA is included. Its low current consumption and its small chip area give this IP core an attractive profile for chip design teams targeting the consumer portable device market. The first generation of this IP is in silicon. A generation is also in the design phase, incorporating a more flexible topology to support both Galileo and Glonass. Chipidea plans to expand its IP offerings to include complete packages of RF solutions for ultrawideband RF front ends, wireless sensor networks, and embedded transceivers in nanometer SoCs. Consumer Electronics
Wireless IP phones
Atheros Communications has introduced a wireless Internet protocol (IP) platform. This AR6101 platform from Atheros' Radio-on-Chip for Mobile (ROCm) family of embedded solutions implements Wi-Fi phones on the market. The Atheros AR6101G for 802.11g and the AR6101X for 802.11a/g single-chip solutions are the first designs offered in this family. Atheros' wireless IP platform initially offers a streamlined voice capability. With this first implementation, consumers will be empowered to make free or low-cost calls using any available WLAN. The scalable AR6101 platform supports session initiation protocol (SIP) and extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP) for Internet conferencing, telephony, presence and events notification, and instant messaging. The Atheros AR6101 features a low-power RISC (MIPS) CPU core, full 802.11a/b/g functionality, and the integration of all major handset functions. Atheros also delivers a full suite of handset software applications and a complete application development environment. In addition, the AR6101 supports features such as quality of service (802.11e and WMM), energy savings (WMM-APSD), and ease of use (with the forthcoming Wi-Fi Alliance configuration standard). Design Software
RFIC design software
Helic S.A. has announced the VeloceRF v1.5, featuring an enhanced Spiral Wizard inductor synthesizer, several improvements in its rapid RLCK modeling engine and features addressing design for manufacturability (DFM) for 90 nm and 65 nm RFICs. The Spiral Wizard synthesis engine in VeloceRF v1.5 supports the creation of patterned shields that enhance inductor quality factor (Q) and improve substrate isolation. This capability is coupled with options to stack metal layers with distributed vias, to achieve good Q values even in low-cost processes that lack a thick inductor layer option. These tactics are not necessarily advantageous in all frequencies or for any spiral geometry, so the Spiral Wizard is equipped with the intelligence to decide on their application, depending on user criteria and constraints. Generated inductor layouts are fully parametric and DRC-clean by design, easing adoption by foundries and design teams. Using the Spiral Wizard, Helic demonstrated record-Q inductors that outperform published results, fabricated in an IDM customer's SiGe BiCMOS process. Design kit for UltraCMOS
Using Applied Wave Research's (AWR) Analog Office, a software design tool for analog and RFICs, Peregrine Semiconductor has developed a process design kit (PDK) for its UltraCMOS silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) process. The delivery of the UltraCMOS process design kit is the first step in a long-term collaboration between the two companies to deliver RFIC design solutions for specialized high-frequency RF applications. Analog Office design software and the UltraCMOS PDK will help design engineers shorten IC development cycles, accelerate tape-out to Peregrine's process, and speed wireless products to market. The AWR-based PDK is based on the GA and GC variants of Peregrine's UltraCMOS process, which enables the combination of high-performance RF, mixed-signal, passive elements, non-volatile memory, and digital functions on a single device without blocking capacitors. By using a sapphire substrate, UltraCMOS wafers enjoy low defect density for simpler construction, dielectrically isolated transistors for power handling and multiple thresholds, and inherent CMOS logic levels. The UltraCMOS PDK for Analog Office 2006 software is available without charge for customers using Analog Office 2006 software. Microwave/Millimeter-Wave Technology
RF/IF signal processing
SV Microwave has expanded its Hi-Rel capability to include signal-processing components. The products offered include mixers, hybrids, couplers, splitters, voltage variable attenuators, vector modulators, voltage variable phase shifters and I/Q demodulators. Each signal-processing component is available as a board-mounted engineering kit to aid in evaluation, design and prototyping. SV Microwave has in-house capabilities to perform screening for space, marine and stringent military applications. All testing is performed in accordance with MIL-STD 202 and per ANSI/ASQC Z1.4, inspection level II and AQL of 1.0. Coaxial switches
Radiall's R595 Platinum series DP3T-SPDT coaxial switches complement the R594 Platinum series of high-performance, multiport switches. The R595 Platinum series products have several configurations including DP3T and SPDT in both terminated and non-terminated versions. RF performance includes a guaranteed insertion loss repeatability of 0.03 dB over a life span of 10 million cycles (up to 26.5 GHz). The products are “break-before-make” and have available options such as latching, self-cutoff, and a TTL driver. The series is suitable for high-precision applications including automatic test equipment (ATE), as well as signal-monitoring devices and other applications where repeatability is a required. High-power hybrid coupler
Innovative Power Products has announced the availability of a model IPP-2015, a high-power, 3 dB, 90° hybrid coupler covering the 2000 MHz to 4000 MHz frequency range. The model IPP-2015 combines two signals of up to 200 W CW of total output power. The 3 dB hybrid is produced in a drop-in style package size of 2.2 in. × 0.5 in. × 0.2 in., with solder tab connections. Insertion loss is less than 0.4 dB, phase balance is less than 4°, VSWR is less than 1.25:1, and amplitude balance is less than 0.5 dB. The coupler also features greater than 18 dB of isolation. Next-Generation Wireless
Adaptive mesh connectivity engine
Tropos Networks has announced its adaptive mesh connectivity engine (AMCE), mesh software that provides a network operator's ability to deliver reliable Wi-Fi connections to a broad range of clients in a metro-scale mesh network. Tropos developed the AMCE software, which runs on Tropos MetroMesh routers, to compensate for the wide variations in Wi-Fi devices that use metro-scale mesh networks. Tropos has incorporated client reporting capability into Tropos Insight that provides network operators with the visibility into client operation and performance that they need to cost-effectively manage their networks. AMCE provides adaptive tuning on each Tropos MetroMesh router that dynamically accommodates the broad range of Wi-Fi clients used to access metro-scale mesh networks. Metro Wi-Fi networks do not compensate for widely variable, often low-power, clients that cannot provide predictable connections, compromising customer satisfaction. Wireless point-to-point systems
Provigent has announced the availability of a modem development kit for wireless point-to-point (PTP) systems. Based on Provigent's PVG310 single-chip modem, the PVG350MDK kit facilitates the development of feature-rich, low-cost PTP systems. The PVG350MDK kit allows system manufacturers to develop the digital and IF sections of a wireless PTP system and achieve rapid time to market. Using the PVG350MDK, system vendors can easily design a flexible system that uses the PVG310's full range of capabilities, thus enabling a unified hardware platform for a complete product line of PTP systems. The features of the PVG310 chip include ProviBand and cross-polarization interference cancellation (XPIC) technologies. Provigents ProviBand enables differential services with multiple CoA (classes of availability) over wireless backhaul links, thereby provisioning the available payload bandwidth by implementing ACM (adaptive code and modulation) techniques. XPIC technology doubles the net channel capacity of wireless links by using CCDP (co-channel dual-polarization), which allows the simultaneous transmission of two separate data streams on two polarizations of a single channel. The PVG350MDK platform is based on the PVG310 modem, which incorporates all physical-layer baseband functionality and also includes IF circuitry and an embedded control processor. The development kit comes with complete design support, including schematics, layout files, bill of materials, and software. Full documentation and support from Provigent is also provided. Mobile networking products
ADAPTIX has released a family of end-to-end mobile networking products based on its software-defined radio (SDR) architecture. These products, centered on an optically connected virtual base station approach, give service providers flexibility in deploying mobile WiMAX service networks. Each BBU can interface with as many as three individually configured RFUs through separate optical links. For example, if one RFU was configured for 2.3 GHz at 8.75 MHz per channel and a second RFU was configured for 2.5 GHz at 10 MHz per channel, a third RFU could operate at a frequency band, power level and antenna type completely different from the other two RFUs. The unit is designed in accordance with IEEE 802.16e-2005 and supports single-input, single-output (SISO), multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO), spatial division multiple access (SDMA) and beam-forming antenna options. The aggregate airlink capacity for a single unit is in excess of 100 Mbps. Complementing the BX-3000 is ADAPTIX's SX series of mobile terminals. Smaller and lighter than a typical travel hard drive, the SX-300 compact mobile terminal is suitable for fixed, portable and true mobile uses. The SX-500 high-performance mobile terminal, designed for fixed, portable or vehicular use, features a dual-antenna array and can support peak throughput of more than 10 Mbps. Passive Components
Termination
The 50T-453 RF load from JFW Industries is designed for intermodulation testing and measures 165 dBc at 1950 MHz (with two 20 W tones). Useful for lab use, it has a 50 W input power rating and a VSWR of 1.20:1 maximum The load operates at 3000 MHz and is available with 7/16 or N connectors. Low-loss interconnects
Taconics HyRelex series is a family of low-loss, high-reliability, thin, flexible interconnect materials. HyRelex laminates can be used in conjunction with HyRelex bond-ply and cover-lay for a wide range of applications including high-frequency circuits and controlled-impedance, low-loss cables. HyRelex is robust enough to retain its electrical and mechanical properties in applications exposed to harsh environments. HyRelex laminates are available with dielectric constants of 2.60 and 2.90 (rated to 10 GHz), along with closely matched bond-plies (dk 2.70, 3.00) and cover-lays (dk 2.70). Volume resistivity is 107 M O/cm. Laminates are available as thin as 0.001 in. (25 mm) and can be ordered with various copper styles. Capacitors
KEMET Corporation has introduced 6 mΩ ESR T520D cases, along with two high-capacitance offerings in the recently released low-inductance (ESL) T528 Face-Down series. The 6 mΩ versions of the T520 series part types are currently available in a D (7343-31) case size with capacitance in the range of 150-470 microfarads and voltage ratings of 2.5 V to 6 V. This T528 release is available in a Z case (7343-17) with two ESR levels (9 mΩ and 12 mΩ) and a 2.5 V rating. The T528 series combines ultralow ESR (equivalent series resistance) and high capacitance in a package design that offers a low ESL (inductance). This series is targeted for high-speed server and microprocessor decoupling-designs that are driving the demand for low-inductance chips. Semiconductor Technology
DAB modules
RadioScape has announced a DAB module. The RS220 is the first module designed with RadioScape's RF IC front-end chip. This front-end chip reduces component count and therefore the cost of modules that incorporate it. In addition, it reduces the power consumption; in this case, halving the power consumption compared to RadioScapes RS200VE module, equating to a battery life of more than 80 hours from one set of four D cells. The RS220 module is pin-compatible with the RS200 family of modules. It supports DAB band III and FM as standard and can have L-band DAB for a nominal additional cost. As with all of RadioScape's DAB modules, its features and functions are defined in software. Additional capabilities such as USB master, WMA, SD/MMC, CD, MP3 and iPod playback are available as options. LDMOS transistor
The SLD-1026Z from Sirenza Microdevices is a 4 W, high-performance LDMOS transistor designed for operation from 10 MHz to 2700 MHz. It is a solution for applications requiring high linearity and efficiency. This device is packaged in a low-cost plastic, surface-mount package, making it a useful solution for commercial applications. HJ FET
California Eastern Laboratories (CEL) has announced the availability of an ultralow noise heterojunction FET from NEC. Useful for X- and Ku-band applications like DBS LNBs, the NE3511S02 delivers a noise figure (NF) of just 0.3 dB with 13.5 dB gain (typical at 12 GHz, 2 V, 10 mA). The NE3511S02 is housed in NEC's Pb-free HJ-FET package, the S02. This hollow plastic surface-mount package has an overall footprint of just 3.2 mm × 3.2 mm and features recessed leads for lower inductance and improved performance. A lower-cost version, the NE3512S02, is also available. It is housed in the same S02 package and delivers a NF of 3.5 dB with 13.5 dB gain (typical at 12 GHz, 2 V, 10 mA). Both parts are in high-volume production and available from CEL. Broadband termination
Mini-Circuits' super broadband termination covers virtually all SMA termination needs within the dc-20 GHz band with a > 30 dB return loss typical over most of the range. Repeatable and high-performance features such as flat response and excellent voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR) make these high- quality 50 Ω, 1 W terminations suitable for a variety of applications. Pricing starts at $13.95 each, in quantities of 1-9. Sensing and Security
Secure microcontroller
An e-passport implementation based on Atmel's AT90SC12872RCFT contact/contactless secure microcontroller has achieved between one to two seconds recognition cycle in an e-passport reader test. The IC, tailored to serve electronic identity markets, is a dual-interface contact (ISO7816) and contactless (ISO/IEC14443) smartcard chip compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) specifications for e-passports. The chip has met the security standards of Common Criteria EAL4+ augmented to AVA-VLA.4 and EAL5+ augmented as well as VISA. The IC incorporates the secureAVR and features 72 Kbytes of EEPROM memory, 128 Kbytes of ROM program memory and five Kbytes of RAM. The secureAVR 8-/16-bit RISC microcontroller, based on Atmel's AVR architecture, offers strong security mechanisms, a power-analysis attack-resistant DES/tripleDES engine, as well as Atmel's AdvX crypto accelerator for an optimized trade-off between performance and power consumption. Independent testing of an e-passport implementation based on the IC verified its reading performance at under two seconds. Interoperability performance with all available market standard readers was recently proven at The Global Interoperability Test Summit on Electronic Passports event in Berlin. Signal Processing
Dual ADC
Linear Technology Corporation has announced the LTC2285, a 14-bit 125 Msps dual high-speed analog to digital converter (ADC) with low power dissipation of just 395 mW per channel. This device is intended for use in power-efficient, multicarrier wireless base station transceiver applications including WiBro and WiMAX standards with performance of 71.3 dB SNR and 78 dB SFDR at 140 MHz. In addition to the 14-bit LTC2285, Linear Technology offers the pin-compatible 12-bit LTC2283 and 10-bit LTC2281 125 Msps dual ADCs. These three dual ADCs complete a 3 V family of 10-, 12- and 14-bit parts ranging from 10 Msps up to 125 Msps. The ADCs provide crosstalk between channels of -110 dB. The LTC2285 low-power family is packaged in a 9 mm × 9 mm QFN package. The parts include integrated bypass capacitance and 50 Ω series output matching. They provide the flexibility to choose between two input spans of 1 Vp-p or 2 Vp-p. The 125 Msps dual ADCs also offer a data-ready clock-out pin for latching the output data buses. The ADCs are optimized for undersampling signals up to 140 MHz, and have a wide analog input bandwidth of 640 MHz. Samples of the LTC2285, LTC2283 and LTC2281 are available with production quantities in September for both commercial and industrial temperature grades and are competitively priced at $73.50, $41.25, $18.00, each respectively in 1000-piece quantities. Test and Measurement
Quad-band loop test translator
Tampa Microwave has announced the availability of the portable quad band (C, X, Ku and Ka) loop test translator, a field communications testing tool that provides both a test translator and a block downconverter in a single transportable package. This product accepts C, X, Ku and Ka-band transmit bands and translates the full receive bands. The bands and attenuation are selectable from the front panel. As with all Tampa Microwave LTTs, the test translator delivers translations with a minimum of amplitude and delay distortions. The unit is housed in a rugged, weather-resistant portable case, which makes it easy to stow and to move the translator from location to location. It is also available in a 1RU rack for indoor applications. Tampa Microwave loop test translators are also designed to allow a satellite to be “short-circuited” in order that terminal output can be fed to downlink monitoring equipment. Tx/Rx Technology
Embedded antenna
TECOM Industries has announced the availability of its embedded antenna for RFID readers (EARR). Specifically designed for RFID equipment manufacturers, this compact antenna (3 in. × 3.25 in. × 0.425 in.) features a high directional gain of 6 dBiL that delivers both extended read distance and long battery life. Three versions of the EARR are currently available: -001 for the North American market, covering 902 MHz to 928 MHz; the -002 European version covering 865 MHz to 870 MHz; and -003 Japanese version covering 950 MHz to 960 MHz. The EARR is the most recent product line extension from TECOM, which is an established supplier of customized em-bedded antenna solutions to the RFID industry. S-band telemetry transmitter
M/A-COM has introduced the MATM-090007-SA00XX 1 W, S-band telemetry transmitter. This programmable lower S-band FM telemetry transmitter is well suited for rugged, space-limited applications including smart munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles and other harsh-environment commercial and industrial testing applications. The introduction of this product is a direct response from M/A-COM to the industry's need for more efficient, compact and reliable transmitters that are capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of telemetry applications that have stringent size and durability specifications. The MATM-090007-SA00XX telemetry transmitter is fully customizable in functionality and form factor for each end-user application. The unit is 31.8 mm × 41.4 mm × 5.1 mm in size and is available in other form factors including a 48 mm diameter unit. It uses a single +5 V regulated supply voltage with reverse bias and overvoltage protection. This telemetry transmitter is capable of handling data over the range of 500 kbps to 20 Mbps, with an average dc-to-RF efficiency of 33%. Pricing of the MATM-090007-SA00XX depends on the degree of customization. UHF ASK/FSK receiver ICs
Atmel Corporation has announced the availability of the ATA5745 and ATA-5746 UHF ASK FSK receiver ICs, which extends Atmel's existing portfolio of automotive RF devices. The ATA5745 operates at 433 MHz to 435 MHz, whereas the ATA5746 covers the 313 MHz to 315 MHz frequency band for the standard automotive environment. These single-chip devices are manufactured using Atmel's RF BiCMOS process UHF6S, enabling even smaller designs. With a size of 5 mm × 5 mm, they provide the industry's smallest footprints, a perfect fit for remote keyless entry (RKE) and tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) applications. These receiver ICs consist of an integrated IF filter, low-phase-noise VCO, PLL, and loop filter without requiring any external parts for these functional blocks. The totally integrated RF circuits achieve an image rejection of typically 30 dB. The ATA5745/ATA5746 are transparent receivers and operate in combination with a separate microcontroller for bit check and polling modes. Samples are available in QFN24 packages. Pricing for the ATA5745/ATA5746 starts at U.S. $1.40 for 10,000-piece quantities. To support the system designer, Atmel provides the evaluation boards ATA5745-EK and ATA5746-EK at a cost of $99.
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