Browse through the articles and advertisements in any issue of Microwave Journal (MWJ) and you get a pretty good glimpse of the ecosystem that forms our industry. The component manufacturers (active and passive), the integrated circuit developers, the foundries that produce these MMICs and RFICs, the test and measurement equipment providers, the simulation software vendors, engineering services and the commercial and defense system integrators who pull it all together; they are all represented here in print and on our web site. While the editorial (technical and product-related articles, tutorials and special reports) keeps us informed with detailed coverage of recent innovations, the advertisements remind us of who is offering what products and services.
Another reminder of who is doing what is available through Microwave Journal’s Online Buyer’s Guide. Within each category of this RF/microwave ecosystem is a listing of the companies that are offering products and services. These are the companies fully engaged in advancing the state-of-the-art either by improving the performance or reducing cost, weight and/or size of their products. Included in the Buyer’s Guide are the Vendor Views, which together form an online marketplace where all this product information, download material, company events and technical articles of participating companies can be found.
Last month, we mentioned MWJ’s focus on expanding the capabilities and offerings of our electronic media, from more web site exclusive features to newsletters and webinars. This month we introduce a new, powerful “product search” engine to our Buyer’s Guide that is truly unique for our industry. By partnering with GlobalSpec,® the specialized search and information resource for the engineering, industrial and technical community, visitors to the Microwave Journal Buyer’s Guide can now search on categories of parts such as voltage-controlled oscillators (VCO), low noise amplifiers (LNA), mixers, antennas, etc. From this top-level search, an engineer could then list and review all products and companies in that category or (and this is the best part) search for a particular component and its manufacturer based on the required specifications.
Here’s how it works. Let’s say a system integration engineer requires a VCO. From the Buyer’s Guide powered by GlobalSpec, the engineer starts the search for this device by typing in “VCO.” This request launches the criteria filter that lets him/her specify oscillator type, package style, performance (in this case: oscillation frequency, stability, tolerance, supply voltage, etc.) and other features. The engineer specifies the device’s required attributes (or no preference) and continues the search to get an itemized listing of all companies and their products that meet that specification. Engineers from General Electric developed this search engine technology based on their own (considerable) experience of building systems and maintaining large part catalogs. Having had some time to run searches on various component types, we found the capability easy to use and the results quite impressive. Need to find the right component? This could very well be the way of the future. Give it a try; we think you will also be impressed.
