MTTS 2010 IMS: Making Waves in California

Much of the success of the IMS is the yearly draw of engineers to the industry's premier technical content. The volunteers of the technical program committee did a fantastic job of selecting the papers that make the cut. This year’s IMS delivered; the preliminary attendance results showed a 7% increase. The IEEE reported preliminary numbers of 9500 attendees, with technical registration numbers totaling 2,793 participants with 858 papers submitted and over 250 presented orally. The interactive forum saw 122 papers presented and new tracks were added for emerging technologies. Microwave Journal did a video interview with this year’s IMS Chairman, JK McKinney. McKinney and his team did a great job running the event in Anaheim.

Madhu Gupta, Chairman of the Technical Program Committee, had 32 sub-committees reviewing the papers and this year added a new category called New Emerging Technologies that authors could submit for review. The committee then found appropriate experts in each area to evaluate them. New sessions were added for RFID, high power microwaves for industrial/material processing and power scavenging technologies.

Other happenings were the student paper and design contests, panel sessions, workshops, short courses, MicroApps seminars on the show floor and the historical exhibit, which means there was no shortage of technical content for the week. The plenary presentation was Tuesday with the Honorable Zachary J. Lemnios, CTO for the Department of Defense (DoD), discussing an overview of a number of defense related technology opportunities and challenges.

The RFIC Symposium took place on Sunday through Tuesday with workshops, sessions and a plenary session Sunday evening on "RF Power Amplification: Can CMOS Deliver?" by David J. Allstot of the University of Washington and "RF Application Trends of the Next Decade" by Gregory L. Waters, Executive VP and General Manager of Skyworks.

The ARFTG Microwave Measurement Conference took place on Friday and included technical presentations, an interactive forum and exhibition. The conference theme was "Measurement of Modulated Signals for Communications" covering various subjects.

In turn, the commercial side of the event (aka - the exhibition) saw good traffic and increased activity from what most exhibitors reported to us. The exhibit floor showcased a total of 556 companies and 892 booths representing 40 countries to support the event. The exhibit-only registration numbers indicated 2,687 participants according to preliminary numbers. The local presence and quality of interactions was very good. The MicroApps presentations on the show floor attracted a wider audience and array of technologies this year and seems to be coming into it own as an attraction for more applications oriented topics.

Some of the trends that we found were increased PIM testing (probably becoming a standard test soon for base stations), nonlinear behavioral modeling, increased sensitivity/speed in test equipment to find signals that previously would not be detected, increased presence of CMOS and GaN devices, high efficiency amplifiers (Doherty, Feed Forward, Envelope tracking, etc., with one paper on 90 % efficient devices), new low noise amplifiers with less than .5 dB NF for cellular applications, new compact filters for co-existence of signals in mobile applications, low phase noise sources and new passive integration platforms.

Microwave Journal editors were extremely busy visiting exhibitors. Click here for complete video coverage we did at the show as we visited various booths. Below is a summary of the new products and demonstrations they found on the show floor this year:

In addition, Agilent displayed the following products:
PXA signal analyzer: This analyzer is Agilent’s highest-performance member of the X-Series. In combination with the X-Series advanced measurement applications, the PXA delivers an excellent high-performance test solution set for cellular communications and digital video standards such at LTE-FDD and –TDD, W-CDMA/HSPA/HSPA+, DVB-T/H and ISDB-T. N9000A CXA signal analyzers: This analyzer offers frequency coverage up to 7.5 GHz and outstanding flexibility. With a variety of built-in and optional measurement capabilities, the analyzer can easily be configured and reconfigured to meet present and future requirements. 89600 Vector Signal Analysis (VSA) software: The VSA software is used by cellular communications and wireless networking R&D engineers around the world. Version 12 of the 89600 VSA software features enhancements in LTE, HSPA+ MIMO and EDGE-Evo analysis; hardware connectivity and support for a new operating system. PNA-X Series microwave network analyzers: The PNA-X Series offers the industry’s most accurate noise figure measurements up to 50 GHz and provides the industry’s only source-corrected noise-figure measurements. N5106A PXB baseband generator and channel emulator: These products are designed for use across the R&D lifecycle. From design to pre-conformance, PXB offers multi-channel baseband generation (BBG), real-time fading, and signal capture in a single, multi-purpose instrument. V3500A Handheld RF Power Meter: The V3500A is a palm-sized meter that includes a built-in display and integrated power sensor. The meter is an ideal and affordable power measurement solution for installation and maintenance environments, as well as for the R&D lab. N9923A FieldFox RF Vector Network Analyzer (VNA): The N9923A is the world’s most accurate handheld VNA. The FieldFox RF VNA provides the best measurement stability in the industry, 0.01 dB/degree Celsius, and offers the world’s first integrated QuickCal calibration capability available in a handheld VNA. View Agilent MWJ video demos here.

Anritsu Co. introduced the MG3690C series of RF/microwave signal generators that combines best-in-class phase noise and broad frequency generation to allow engineers to conduct highly accurate tests on subsystems, especially those in local oscillator substitution and clock generation applications. The overall performance of the MG3690C signal generators makes them well suited to test microwave components, subsystems, and systems during design and manufacturing, as well as for signal simulation to test and verify radar and communications systems. The MG3690C is the latest member of the only synthesizer family that generates signals from 0.1 Hz to 70 GHz. Baseband, IF, RF, and microwave signals can be produced from a single instrument to maximize equipment use and reduce cost of test. Options set a new level for low phase noise of -115 dB/Hz at 20 GHz and 10 kHz offset. The series is also excellent for digital datacom applications, as the extremely low phase noise of the MG3690C minimizes instrument-induced clock jitter. View Anritsu MWJ video demos here.

Ladybug Technologies showed the industry's first true USB microwave power sensors for pulse/peak envelope power and pulse envelope profiling measurements that offer an optional wideband, real-time video detector output signal. The LadyBug LB679A, LB680A measures average, pulse and peak envelope power over a 60 dB measurement range from 50 MHz to 20 GHz.

Maury Microwave Corp. announced the introduction of an entirely new line of instrument-grade precision components designed to provide users with the right level of performance at the right price. This new product line, TactiCal™ by Maury, includes calibration standards manufactured to the same high quality and exacting requirements that have made Maury’s metrology-grade products the Gold Standard of the Test & Measurement industry for over 50 years.

Rohde & Schwarz demonstrated the first 67 GHz VNA with four integrated ports, four internal and independent sources, and eight receivers; large-signal network analysis; fast electronic source and load-pull measurement capabilities; and more. The test set of the R&S ZVA provides one measurement channel and one reference channel for each test port, an RF switch in each generator path, and one generator for each pair of test ports. Measurement time per test point is less than 3.5 µs in the CW mode and a frequency sweep over 200 test points takes less than 5 ms without compromising measurement accuracy.

They also demonstrated the ZVxPlus nonlinear vector network analyzer application developed by NMDG for large-signal network analysis using NMDG’s S-functions for characterizing nonlinear components under large-signal conditions. ZVxPlus in combination with Rohde & Schwarz VNAs and AWR’s Microwave Office® high-frequency design software allows direct measurement and simulation of RF and microwave systems under measurement conditions representative of what nonlinear devices will experience in operation.

The booth included NMDG’s NM600 all-electronic Fast Source and Load-Pull (FSLP) application. Using a single Rohde & Schwarz VNA with two internal RF sources, FSLP characterizes active components under various input and output mismatch conditions without the need for a traditional source and load-pull setup. FSLP captures the fundamental behavior of active components or circuits based on incident and scattered voltage waves at both ports under any set of input and output load conditions.

Rohde & Schwarz has developed and patented a method for measuring the group delay of mixers and multiple-stage converters when access to a device’s LO is unavailable. It offers the additional benefits of being independent of LO drift and phase noise and requires no external reference mixers. They showcased an accurate approach for making high-power pulsed-signal measurements from the device to system level. It is useful for evaluating components employed in radar systems, wireless power amplifiers, and other high-power applications. Rohde & Schwarz and X-COM Systems demonstrated an RF capture, playback, and analysis solution for complex RF signal environments. The system employs the RF and baseband interfaces on the R&S®FSV spectrum analyzer and R&S®SMBV signal generator families coupled with IQ capture, storage and software from X-COM Systems. The capture system provides high-resolution 16 b I and Q storage of signals up to 40 MHz bandwidth for up to one hour with internal memory or up to five hours using external datapacks. View R&S MWJ video demos here.

Tektronix and its partners showed new solutions ranging from components, instruments, and systems. Mesuro introduced the extension of active load pull to UHF applications to 200 MHz and demonstrating its 150 W high power system with a 45W GaN device from Cree. SenarioTek enables wideband microwave up/down conversion and system integration for radar and satellite communications applications such as the widest bandwidth signal generation and analysis commercially available utilizing the Tektronix AWG7122B and DPO/DSA/MSO 70000 Series oscilloscopes (the ability to generate signals to 9.6 GHz in bandwidth with the AWG, analyze signals to 20 GHz in bandwidth). X-COM showcased its RF capture and playback solution integrated with the Tektronix RSA6000 Series Spectrum Analyzers. The combined solution offers seamless capture and recording of up to 50 minutes of all data across the 110 GHz acquisition bandwidth up to 20 GHz. Maxtek enables next-generation military, medical and communications systems by providing quality design, assembly and test services for applications requiring high-reliability and performance devices. View Tektronix MWJ video demos here.

W.L. Gore announced the results of a study in which they compared the measurement uncertainty between vector network analyzers (VNA) and time domain reflectometers (TDR). While both instruments are able to analyze time or frequency domain data to accelerate product development cycles, Gore designed an experiment in which to determine if both instruments possess similar levels of measurement precision. Using a variety of manufacturers’ cable assemblies with a range of insertion loss and VSWR characteristics, Gore performed a series of experiments, initially testing six cable assemblies in controlled conditions on each instrument. Next, they evaluated the instruments’ measurement uncertainty in the best-case scenario with the highest-performing assembly. Then, to ensure TDR/VNA test parity, they evaluated the VNA using both one-port S11 reflection and the more traditional two-port S21 transmission method. This article was published in the March Microwave Journal Cable and Connectors supplement.

AWR showed the new features coming in the 2010 release of Microwave Office®, AXIEM™, Visual System Simulator™ and Analog Office® design suites. Demos included new technologies such as iFilter™ lumped and distributed filter synthesis software, antenna analysis and visualization in AXIEM 3D planar EM software, and support for nonlinear behavioral models from many of the test equipment manufacturers exhibiting at the symposium. View AWR MWJ video demo here.

New feature highlights include:
Microwave Office:
- Nonlinear behavioral modeling support for Agilent’s X-parameters® and Mesuro’s Cardiff model
- Multi-rate harmonic balance technology (MRHB™) improvements for even faster simulation times
- Constant compression/constant output power simulation for computing compression from linear gain region or max gain region
- Linear stability analysis including normalized determinant function and stability envelope measurement
- Connectivity tracer for identifying nets and locating short or open circuits visually - iFilter™ optional filter synthesis for designing and optimizing lumped and distributed filters
- AWR Connected™ for Cadence® Allegro® (optional) imports Cadence PCB layouts for further analysis and EM extraction

AXIEM
Antenna analysis including:
- Antenna patterns for linear, circular, and elliptical polarizations, etc.
- Numerous antenna measurements including gain
- Current visualization/animation

VSS:
-Time delay neural network (TDNN) advanced amplifier behavioral models for capturing memory effects
-Turbo decoders supporting 3G/4G standards (cdma2000, IS856, WiMAX, and LTE) and custom turbo codes
-Additional RF models and enhancements to RF architecture design

CST presented substantial improvements to the CST MICROWAVE STUDIO (CST MWS) Asymptotic Solver. Engineers simulating electrically large structures, either for radar cross section analysis or for antenna placement studies, benefitted from the introduction of an asymptotic solver in CST MICROWAVE STUDIO version 2010. This solver is based on the shooting bouncing ray method. With the latest CST STUDIO SUITE 2010 service pack, significant functional enhancements have been made available to our customers. The asymptotic solver can now use farfields as excitation sources. These farfields can be computed by other CST MWS solvers including the transient and frequency domain solvers. This makes the calculation of an installed antenna´s farfield possible, even for an electrically very large structure such as a ship. Importing more than one farfield enables the computation of the coupling between several antennas, or of the total farfield including all antennas.

IMST's EMPIRE XCcel 3D EM field solver was presented at the MicroApps. A new Multi-PC FDTD algorithm that can parallelize problems very efficiently on multiple computers has been implemented. It minimizes the latency caused by network traffic and data exchange while keeping the advantages, like memory efficiency and multi-core performance optimization capabilities. Several large scale application examples, where this algorithm was used.

Microwave Innovation Group's (MiG) Version 8.0 of WASP-NET® features a new 3D structure editor, which is a convenient 3D data file import option, and two new fast 3D solvers – a finite-element/boundary integral (FE-BI) solver for arbitrary 3D waveguide, antenna and microstrip structures and an integral equation solver for large-scale, open scattering and radiating structures. These new features combine with the CAD tool’s typical high computational speeds for direct, fast EM-based optimizations that are capable of solving challenging waveguide, coaxial, microstrip and antenna design problems. The new features will support microwave design engineers with practically unlimited CAD flexibility, combined with high EM CAD optimization performance.

Remcom featured Fdtd, its 3D EM simulation software:
XACT Accurate Cell Technology: Accurately resolve even the most intricate designs with fewer computational resources. The benefits include faster run times and the power to simulate very complex geometries.

XTend Script Library: Use the pre-loaded scripts in XF7 to automate your modeling and design, customize them as you wish, or request additional scripts from our team at no cost.

Multiphysics Toolset: Use XFdtd and Wireless InSite together to achieve a more complete, real-world antenna analysis.

Sonnet had a preview of the Sonnet Suites Release 13, a major new release planned for later this year. Sonnet Suites Release 13 will provide designers with new model extraction techniques and enhanced modeling capabilities. They also ran many training sessions to help educate their users.

Synopsys highlighted its latest technology enhancements to Galaxy Custom Designer and HSPICE including a demo that will highlight; Phase noise and jitter analysis of VCOs and PLLs, RFIC simulation using the advanced Harmonic Balance and Shooting Newton algorithms, Signal Integrity analysis with the most accurate nonlinear buffer models available, combined with powerful StatEye (with AMI), S-parameter and transmission line analysis capabilities.

ADI showed its broad range of RFICs across the entire RF signal chain including high-performance RF function blocks to highly integrated single chip transceiver solutions. They introduced the industry’s first 5 GHz differential amplifier able to drive ADC signals from DC to 1 GHz at half the power of competing products. The ADA4960-1 differential amplifier is a high-performance, low-distortion, ultra high-speed differential amplifier effective for a wide variety of high-speed ADCs with 10-bit linearity to 500 MHz and 8-bit linearity up to 1 GHz. They announced new RF prescaler circuits for a variety of applications, including point-to-point radios, VSATs (very small aperture terminals) and microwave communication systems. This launch of the ADF500x series of products includes three new devices: the ADF5000 divide-by-2 prescaler; ADF5001 divide-by-4 prescaler and ADF5002 divide-by-8 prescaler. Also a new PLL synthesizer was introduced for a variety of applications, including microwave point-to-point systems, PMR (private mobile radio), VSATs, test and instrumentation equipment, and aerospace systems. The ADF4150HV 4.4 GHz fractional-N or integer-N PLL synthesizer features a 30 V charge pump which represents the highest voltage IC PLL charge pump available on the market today. They introduced two new high-performance RF passive mixers for a variety of wireless applications featuring best-in-class IP3 and noise figure performance resulting in excellent spurious free dynamic range. View ADI MWJ video demos here.

AR announced model 700S1G4, a self-contained, air-cooled, broadband, completely solid-state amplifier designed for applications where instantaneous bandwidth, high gain and linearity are required. Quadrature coupled circuitry is utilized in all high power stages in the interest of lowering distortion and improving stability. The 700S1G4, when used with a sweep generator, will provide a minimum of 700 W of RF power.

Avago Technologies announced the development of two LNAs for base station RF front-end design (see their product feature in the April issue of Microwave Journal). With the addition of these 1500 to 2300 MHz and 2300 to 4000 MHz LNAs, Avago will complete its next generation LNA series that covers all cellular bands for GSM, CDMA, UMTS, and WiMAX, as well as next generation LTE bands. At 1900 MHz and typical operating condition of 5 V and 51 mA, the technology provides a noise figure of 0.48 dB and an OIP3 of 35 dBm. At 2500 MHz and typical operating condition of 5 V and 56 mA, the noise figure is 0.59 dB and OIP3 is 35 dBm. Avago also announced early prototypes have been manufactured of Avago’s proprietary five-chip family that targets the expanding 38 GHz and 42 GHz cellular radio infrastructure and backhaul point-to-point radio markets. Based on market demand and customer feedback, Avago designed the millimeter-wave products for high performance in SMT packages. View Avago MWJ video demo here.

Barry Industries introduced its new flange-mounted line of power resistors and terminations for the show. These terminations and resistors range in power from 400 to 1,500 W and are specifically designed for the industrial equipment market, i.e. amplifiers, MRIs, etc. These devices have been developed on copper flanges, and are highly reliable for dissipating large amounts of power while maintaining excellent RF characteristics.

Cobham announced the introduction of five new advanced semiconductor microwave circuit products that bring robust and cost-effective microwave sensor alternatives to advanced electronic warfare, missile defense, communication, and space systems. Fabricated at the new Cobham Sensor Systems facility in Blacksburg, VA (formerly the Lynchburg GaAsTek fab), these MMIC products will be able to provide reliable and economically viable sensor solutions for systems such as the integrated defensive electronic countermeasures jamming systems used on jet fighter aircraft, as well as ground-based systems, such as the counter fire target acquisition radar system.

Crystek introduced a new line Low Pass Filters, the CLPFL Series. Encased in a rugged SMA housing, this filter line is designed for test equipment and general lab use. Five models, with frequency ranges from DC to 100 to 500 MHz, compose the CLPFL line. The Crystek CLPFL Low Pass Filter line has excellent out-of-band rejection, and features 7th Order Butterworth Response and 50 ohm SMA connectors. All filters in the CLPFL family are rated at +36 dBm (4 W), with an operating temperature of -40° to 85° C and storage temperature of -55° to 100°C.

CTT Inc announced a new, compact LNA for the 1 to 18 GHz frequency range for a wide variety of RF and microwave applications. It offers noise figures of less than 2.5 dB (typical) over an instantaneous bandwidth of more than four octaves. This new LNA will find use in a wide range of applications, including radar imaging, spread-spectrum and a myriad of ultra-wide bandwidth applications including the related instrumentation for each.

Custom MMIC Design Services (CDMS) debut at the show highlighted their new family of high efficiency mHEMT low noise amplifiers. At 30mW power dissipation, these LNA’s deliver noise performance of 0.9 dB at 10 GHz and 1.4 dB at 20 GHz. The LNA’s represent a significant RF performance improvement, coupled with a major reduction in power dissipation from any devices currently offered in the market today. CMDS also presented their DC-60 GHz distributed amplifier with 10 dB of flat gain and 20 dB input return loss.

dBm highlighted its line of automated carrier to noise generators. The CNG-70/140 is a fully automated test instrument that sets and maintains a highly accurate ratio between a user-supplied carrier and internally generated white Gaussian noise. The modular design provides one or two totally independent channels covering 50 to 180 MHz. The CNG-1-800/2700 covers 800 to 2700 MHz and is wide enough for virtually every application while still providing a high noise power spectral density.

Endwave announced the EWV0800YF series of VCOs with dual outputs with total frequency coverage of 7.3 to 8.9 GHz and 3.65 to 4.45 GHz. These oscillators feature on-board divide-by-two prescalers to create a second tuned output range at one-half the frequency of the fundamental outputs.

ET Industries displayed both a cellular base station high power coupler and power splitter. The coupler, model C-0727-30N, has a frequency range from 700 to 2700 MHz and a coupling of 30 dB. The splitter, model D-0727-2N, also has a frequency range from 700 to 2700 MHz and includes a power split of 3 dB.

Florida RF Labs introduced its new LTCC couplers, complementing the current multi-layer PTFE offering. These new couplers offer high power handling, high isolation and low insertion loss in small package sizes. These SMT couplers are available in a myriad of different package sizes that are footprint compatible with current industry standards and offer performance advantages for applications up to 6 GHz. This new line is available in 3 dB hybrids, directionals up to 30 dB and wideband designs. Most products are offering lower PIM.

Freescale Semiconductor announced big news right before the show that they have entered the GaAs MMIC marketplace with the introduction of four new devices designed and optimized specifically for high performance in macro base stations, repeaters and femtocells employed in wireless networks. The devices address low-noise amplifiers and transmit power amplifiers – two elements of wireless infrastructure equipment for which extremely high RF performance is critical. The devices are also designed for low power consumption, resulting in optimized energy efficiency and long-term reliability.

Freescale Semiconductor also introduced an RF LDMOS power transistor designed for operation from 1.8 to 600 MHz and optimized for use under the potentially-destructive impedance mismatch conditions encountered in applications such as CO2 lasers, plasma generators, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. The new MRFE6VP6300H FET is the world’s first 50 V LDMOS transistor to deliver full-rated output power of 300 W CW into a load with a Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) of 65:1. View Freescale MWJ video demo here.

GCS was featuring its THz diode and InP HBT processes. The company's InP HBT process features high Ft and Fmax and backside vias. It is suitable for optical fiber, mixed-signal and mm-wave applications. They will be introducing GaN next year.

Hittite Microwave announced the HMC1010LP4E and the HMC909LP4E, two new low cost, highly flexible RMS Power Detectors for RF power measurement/control in Cellular/3G, LTE/WiMAX/4G, broadband, test equipment and military applications between DC and 5.8 GHz. The HMC1010LP4E offers 60 dB dynamic range over DC to 3.9 GHz. The HMC909LP4E offers a broadband single-ended RF input with 40 dB dynamic range over DC to 5.8 GHz. Both products have improved modulation performance and power dissipation coupled with an industry-first 4-bit programmable integration bandwidth control interface eliminating the need for cumbersome analog control voltages. Hittite now has 28 product lines after introucing three new ones at the show. View Hittite MWJ videos demos here for testing products and here for components.

Holzworth introduced a intermodulation distortion test solution with industry leading spectral purity, repeatable, accurate and with digital tone control (4 tones). The HS3041A operates from 8 MHz to 3 GHz. It is a high performance, cost effective test solution for measuring multi-tone IMD and TOI performance of a device. They also were featuring a cross correlation phase noise analyzer for manufacturing and available with fixed or tunable test frequencies. It measures below -180 dBc/Hz, offsets of 1 Hz to 2 MHz, self calibrates and has automatic phase lock. It is a very easy to use and cost-effective test solution for phase noise measurement.

Integra Technologies Inc. (ITI) announced the development of the three new 50 ohm modules that integrate numerous RF power transistors for higher power and gain performance on a single PCB than can be obtained with individual devices alone. The ILP1214EL200 is a two-stage, high gain pallet utilizing LDMOS devices operated under the stringent pulse conditions of 16 ms and 50 percent duty cycle for L-band radar applications. The IBP1214M700 integrates two high power bipolar devices into a 50 ohm module providing over 700 W of peak output power for L-band radar applications. The IBLP1012S1800 combines a LDMOS driver stage with high power bipolar devices in the output stage. The IBLP1012S1800 produces more than 2000 W across the 1025 to 1150 MHz frequency band of operation. They also announced the development of several high powered LDMOS devices designed specifically to operate in the 960 to 1215 MHz frequency range. Integra now provides a LDMOS line-up from 15 W to over 500 W of output power in support of the TACAN communication market with newly released PNs ILD0912M15HV, ILD0912M150HV and ILD0912M500HV. Integra has also developed the first high voltage GaN-on-silicon HEMT process with drain-source breakdowns exceeding 200 V which will be featured in the June issue of Microwave Journal.

LNX was featuring many of their integrated assemblies including frequency converters ranging from 500 kHz to 60 GHz. They integrate various technologies for custom high performance applications. Their multi-function assemblies typically integrate switches/matrices, amplifiers, attenuators, filters, gain equalizers, BIT circuitry, oscillators, and other RF/microwave functions. They also featured their digital instantaneous frequency measurement receivers (DIFM) which are functional blocks in many military EW systems including ECM, ESM and radar warning receivers.

M/A-COM Technology Solutions showed various components including a family of VCOs with low phase noise and low DC current covering 5.7 GHz to 14.2 GHz for the point-to-point radio market. The VCOs include a divide-by-two output and are housed in 5x5 mm, RoHS-compliant QFN packages. Depending on frequency, these VCOs provide exceptionally low phase noise performance as low as -117 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset and exhibit low performance variation over temperature. They are were featuring low gate lag GaAs switches with low nano second switching times to 98% of value. These are featured in an article in the June issue of Microwave Journal. View M/A-COM Tech video interview here.

Mini-Circuits had a large booth this year featuring many of its new products. They had 93 new synthesizers models ranging from 56 to 7800 MHz, VVAs, ceramic resonators, USD Smart sensor demo, couplers and various amplifier products. They are one stop shopping for components.

MESL Microwave introduced a new range of low cost co-axial circulators and isolators covering the range 1 GHz to 18 GHz. These parts are available in narrow band and broadband designs and are suitable for use in a wide variety of commercial, military, industrial and test bench applications and are available to buy on-line, ex-stock.

Mimix Broadband recently introduced a 3.5 to 6 GHz 3 W power amplifier module (PAM) housed in an RoHS-compliant, 7x7 mm package. This highly linear two-stage amplifier delivers 18.5 dB of gain and 34 dBm of power at 1 dB compression point. Identified as XP1044-QL, this PAM provides less than 2.5 percent EVM at 26 dBm output power with 802.16 OFDM signal and peak to average ratio of 9.17 dB. View Mimix Tech video interview here.

Narda L-3 was showing off their integrated microwave assemblies. View Narda MWJ video demo here.

Murata took the opportunity to announce a RFID reader-writer module. The LXRW series measures only 23 by 13 by 2.8 mm and is best suited for stationary and handheld UHF Gen 2 RFID reader-writer units, including cell phones and other devices that require embedded RFID capabilities. The company also had on display their ZigBee modules for smart energy and industrial/home automation. They are one of the largest module manufacturers including modules for WiFi and Bluetooth. In addition, they had many component solutions such as the GPS chip antenna, BT/WiFi chip antenna, LC low pass filter, dual BPF diplexer to name a few.

NDK announced the availability of its M55310/30-B Series, crystal clock oscillators (XO) which are qualified by DSCC per MIL-PRF-55310. They are available in a frequency range of 450 kHz to 100 MHz. Frequency stability is typically < ±5 ppm at 23ºC and <±30 ppm over the operating temperature range of -55 to +125ºC. Aging characteristics are typically <±1 ppm per year. The hermetically sealed SMD package measures L=0.560” x W=0.360” x H=0.188” max. These XOs operate on a supply voltage of +3.3 VDC drawing 8 mA on the lower frequency versions and 30 mA on the higher frequency versions. Delivering a CMOS square wave output with a load of 15pF ±5%//10Kohm ±5%. They also announced the availability of their COTS line-up of Crystals, TCXOs, VCXOs, SAW devices & FCXO modules. NDK’s facilities have been qualified per MIL-STD-790 and they also have QPL status.

NXP Semiconductors showcased its latest high performance products for next-generation base stations. Featured products included NXP’s new high-speed data converter portfolio, the first data converters supporting the JEDEC JESD204A serial interface. NXP demonstrated its broad portfolio of RF and IF amplifiers based on SiGe:C technology, including low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) and fixed and variable gain amplifiers, which enable a higher level of integration in wireless infrastructure T/Rx radio design. In addition, NXP will show its Gen7 LDMOS power transistors, as well as a comprehensive portfolio of Doherty power amplifiers including the industry’s first three-way Doherty amplifier at 900 MHz, and a 600 W single-package Doherty, a very compact device that maintains a high level of efficiency over a large power range. The company will soon be opening a design center in the Boston area.

Nujira demonstrated its latest broadband PA reference designs for cellular handsets and base stations, delivering 3G/4G amplifier efficiencies of more than 50 percent. Nujira's Coolteq.L for handsets is inherently broadband, enabling the creation of a 4G/LTE RF front end that covers three to five times the bandwidth of a standard design with up to double the efficiency. Only two power amplifiers are required to cover the 23 frequency bands defined in the 3GPP for LTE and all of the operating modes compared with seven or more without Nujira's solution.

OEWaves Inc was featuring a live demo of a 10 GHz ultra-low phase noise compact Opto-Electronic Oscillator (OEO), a miniature optical micro-resonator based 34 GHz OEO prototype, and a microwave-photonic homodyne Low Phase Noise Measurement System. They also presented a paper, “Whispering-Gallery Mode Based Photonic RF Receiver,” as well as an invited paper, “New Directions in Whispering Gallery Mode Modulators, in Emerging Optical Modulator Technologies for RF Photonics workshop.” Additionally, OEwaves participated in MicroApps on the exhibit floor and presented progress on “Miniaturization of Low Phase Noise Opto-Electronic Oscillator.”

OMMIC announced the release of a new X-band integrated Core Chip for T/R functions. The CGY2170XUH is more versatile and consumes less power (< 40 mW) than the previous generation and is ideal for all X-band Radar applications – Civil, Space and Military. Covering the 8 to 12 GHz frequency band, the MMIC contains a 6-bit attenuator, 6-bit phase shifter and 2 SPDT switches. An on-chip CMOS/TTL compatible Serial to Parallel converter means that only 3 bonding pads are required to control the digital phase shifter and attenuator.

Omron featured its RF MEMS switches for use in the ATE market.Using an electrostatic drive mechanism, the switch combines the desirable HF characteristics of electromechanical relays with a life expectancy generally found in solid state relays.

Pascall Electronics announced right before that show that they received multi-year production orders valued at $1.6 M for power supplies to be used in In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) systems. The products, which were ordered by two longstanding customers, will be used for retrofitting existing aircraft with new IFE systems.

Peregrine was showing off its UltraCMOS PE33361 and PE33631 PLL frequency synthesizers. These devices fill the need for low-power, ultra-low phase noise, multiple-way programmable PLL solutions in military, broadband cable infrastructure, and wireless infrastructure applications. In addition, they released the PE42451 SP5T switch. The newest of Peregrine's RF switches delivers exceptional isolation of >50 dB, providing an ideal alternative to switch matrix designs in demanding applications such as communications infrastructure and point-to-point radios.

Phase Matrix announced a new 20 GHz QuickSyn™ microwave synthesizer for the show. This product represents a new generation of microwave frequency synthesizers based on a revolutionary, patented, phase-refining technology that provides a unique combination of fast-switching speed, very low phase noise, low spurious, and low cost characteristics. The FSW-0020 model covers the 0.5 to 20 GHz frequency range (extendable down to 0.2 GHz) with 0.001 Hz resolution. The product provides all major modulation capabilities (AM, FM, phase, and pulse), power leveling and control, frequency and power sweep, list mode, and many other functions.

PMI and Amplitech introduced 1:1 redundant low noise amplifier systems that are designed to offer continuous operation without disruption of signal transmission. If a fault with the main LNA occurs, the unit will automatically switch to the standby LNA to avoid a disruption of signal transmission. The unit can be manually switched as well.

Power Module Technology (PMT) introduced the PM1030-1090-2000P, a 2000 W peak power amplifier module designed for the IFF 1030 MHz and 1090 MHz frequencies. This all solid state Class AB amplifier module features the latest generation LDMOS power transistors to maximize MTBF. Fifty ohms input and output allows ease of integration. Thermal tracking bias affords superior performance providing high gain, efficiency and power in a small module footprint.

R&D Microwaves has been demonstrating its new WiMAX triplexer to inject a wide range of wireless signals into indoor DAS systems. The Triplexer-Filter uses a novel suspended substrate for DC-2200 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5 to 6 GHz bands. The company has also received a high level of interest for its new line of unique multi-section/tapered coaxial high power type N couplers to 18 GHz.

RF Micro Devices hosted in-booth demonstrations of the company’s high-power gallium nitride (GaN) products as well as the company’s smart energy/advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) Zigbee® products. RFMD’s GaN in-booth demonstration will feature the RFG1M09180, a high power, high efficiency GaN Doherty amplifier for 3G/4G cellular base stations. The RFG1M09180 achieves 180 W peak power at 50 V operation while maintaining over 70 percent peak efficiency; a single RFG1M09180 amplifier can cover a frequency range of 700 to 1000 MHz. RFMD’s smart energy/AMI demonstration will feature RFMD’s Zigbee® products developed in collaboration with Ember Corp. for the RF6525/EM357 reference design.

Reactel had various products on display including: Monoblock and resonator designs suitable for tape and reel packaging, notch filters in a variety of package sizes with power handling capabilities exceeding 1 kW, and miniature discrete component filters in low pass, high pass, bandpass, notch and diplexer configurations operating in a frequency range of 10 to 5000 MHz.

Renaissance/HXI showed cost-effective and timely solutions from components to sub-systems featuring HDTV Radio, medium and high power MM wave amplifiers, broadband frequency multipliers, LTE Circulator, multi-band combiner and redundant switch matrices.

RFHIC announced the securing of multiple significant design wins across the industry’s tier-one CATV line extenders, optical network system manufacturers and TV tuner makers in the US and Japan with the ePHEMT MMIC product line, RFHIC’s second generation MMIC.

Scintera showcased its single chip power amplifier linearization solution, the SC1887. Scintera’s unique RFin/RFout SoC for power amplifier linearization enables users to both increase the efficiency of power amplifiers by up to four times, while at the same time reduce the cost of implementation.

Skyworks released the SKY67100-396LF (1.7 to 2.0 GHz) and the SKY67101-396LF (0.7 to 1.0 GHz) LNAs. They are designed for low noise figure down to 0.49 dB while providing unconditional stability and high-linearity performance up to OIP3 of 34 dBm. The addition of an internal active bias circuitry provides stable performance over temperature. These new LNAs are available in a small, low-cost, industry-standard 2 x 2 x 0.75 millimeter (mm), 8 pin, dual flat no-lead (DFN) package and are layout compatible with each using a reduced-component matching network. They also announced highly efficient PAs for 802.11n multiple in/multiple out (MIMO) access points, routers and gateways. In addition, the mid-power PA offers two operating points in a single-device, providing maximum customer flexibility when developing platforms that meet varying performance requirements. View Skyworks demo video here.

Stealth Microwave released the SMTR2325-11G33-2, a military grade bi-directional PA that is capable of up to 2W of 802.11g or 802.16e. Primary applications include Secure WLAN, video link, and mesh networking products for UAVs. The unit operates from 2.3 to 2.5 GHz and outputs +40dBm exceeding 802.11b EVM requirements. transmit / receive gains are 20 and 23 dB, respectively. The PA measures 3.5 x 2.9 x .56 inches and weighs approx. 4 oz.

Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations displayed a variety of GaAs and GaN products for Cellular Basestation, WiMAX, SATCOM, Digital Radio, VSAT, DBS, FWA and Mobile terminals. GaAs products include low noise HEMTs, power FETs, and LNA and Power MMICs and GaN devices with high bandwidth, efficiency and power. Eudyna is now part of the Sumitomo group.

Synergy Microwave has developed a low-cost ultra low phase noise SAW VCO that offers improved thermal-drift and phase noise performance compared to other commercially available SAW oscillators at comparable frequencies. The typical phase noise at 10 kHz offset is -152 dBc/Hz. These SAW devices are available in standard frequencies, such as 622.08, 800, 915.5 and 1000.01 MHz, as well as in customer-specified frequencies from 300 MHz to 4 GHz. Ultra-low phase noise VCSOs offer significant promise in terms of performance, price and product delivery.

Tecdia was showing its SBT-GF0702-F bias-T operating from 2 to 7 GHz and has power handling up to 100 W max. The VSWR is 1.22 max (20 dB min) and insertion loss is 0.5 dB max. The offer a wide variety of bias-T products with various frequency ranges for many applications.

Temwell's 4 Tuning Helical BandPass Filter offers high attenuation, meets broadband needs with a bandwidth greater than 100 M, IL is < 2.0 dB and group delay is < 20 to 40 ns. In particular the filters are suitable for this special project design, such as for digit-mixer RF/IF conversion, MDS, mine communication system, Project 25 wireless systems, the data radio of two-way radio, etc. The company can also install the 4 Tuning BandPass Filter into module filters and provide SMA, N and F connector for selection.

Thales featured its TWTs including a 18 to 40 GHz for scientific instrumentation and electronic countermeasures applications and their 500 W Ka-band TWT for earth-station uplinks.

Thunderline-Z announced the release of a new 1.2 square inch, 28 pin, surface mount hi-rel package. Using an innovative bonding approach, Thunderline-Z was able to laser weld 9 mil mini Bell Pins into a Kovar housing, achieving pin spacing of 0.135 inches. The result is a rugged, ultra-small, high frequency surface-mount package that can withstand extreme temperature fluctuations over a long period of time.

Times Microwave featured Times-Protect new DC blocking technology for lightning and surge protection. They are very rugged with multi-strike performance, unmatched PIM performance and more. The also had PhaseTrack 210 armored test cables that perform to 18 GHz with +/- 50 ppm phase stability from -20 to 80 deg C. The SFT high performance coax cables, connectors and assemblies were on display. They had their new PIM test cable on display also which is very rugged and has the TuffGrip lead.

Toshiba Corp. announced the addition of a 50 W C-band GaN HEMT to its power amplifier product family. The new device operates in the 7.7 to 8.5 GHz range for SATCOM applications. Typical output power is 47.0 dBm with 40 dBm input power, linear gain of 11.0 dB and drain current of 5.0 A. They added a 4 W C-band GaAs MMIC for satellite applications, the TMD0608-4, that operates in the 5.65 to 8.50 GHz range and has a typical gain of 27, output P1dB of 35.5dBm, G1dB of 27dB, and is housed in a hermetically sealed package. Also two other new GaAs MMICs, the TIM1213-18L and TIM1213-30L, operating in the 12.7 to 13.2 GHz range, and are targeted for use in microwave radios for microwave links and satellite communications. The TIM1213-18L has a typical P1dB of 42.5dBm, (G1dB of 6.0 dB and PAE of 28%. The TIM1213-30L features typical P1dB of 45.0 dBm, G1dB of 5.5 dB and PAE of 23%.

TriQuint released a new BAW filter family that enables mobile devices to act as portable WLAN (WiFi) hotspots while simultaneously connecting the devices to 4G WiMAX networks. This WiMAX connection gives consumers broadband access up to 10 times faster than conventional 3G networks. TriQuint’s new BAW filters have enabled faster 3G/4G hotspots, including the Sierra Wireless AirCard® W801 Mobile Hotspot, providing WLAN access for up to 5 devices and also simultaneously linking to 4G WiMAX systems. View TriQuint video here.

TriQuint also introduced a host of basestation products including the TQP4M9071, a high linearity, low insertion loss, 6-bit, 31.5 dB DSA with a 0.5 dB step size for 2G/3G/4G wireless infrastructure, test equipment and sensors. The DSA has a parallel control interface for attenuation changes and maintains high accuracy over frequency and temperature. Then there is the QP8M9013 amplifier that delivers high performance across a broad 0.7 to 3.8 GHz frequency range with +43 dBm OIP3 and +28 dBm P1dB, while drawing 225 mA. The ML483 is a high linearity converter combining a passive GaAs FET mixer with an integrated LO driver in an ultra small MSOP-8 package for wireless base stations and repeaters. The RFIC is able to operate across a 0.7 to 1.0 GHz frequency range to achieve +36 dBm input IP3 while drawing a very low 50 mA current from 0 dBm of LO drive level. The ML483 is footprint compatible with its high-band sister product, the ML485. TriQuint added the TQP3M9009 to its low noise gain block family for high performance 3G/4G infrastructure. Offering high linearity, the amplifier operates over a broad .05 to 4 GHz frequency range, providing greater than 20 dB gain up to 2.7 GHz. The amplifier offers a one-size-fits-all solution with 39.5 dBm OIP3, 1.3 dB NF and 22 dBm P1dB (all at 2 GHz). TriQuint released a new low noise gain block that offers high gain over a broad .05 to 4 GHz frequency range. The TQP3M9008 gain block provides 35.5 dBm OIP3, while still maintaining a low 1.3 dB noise figure, applicable for both Rx and Tx chains. The TQP3M9008 also provides a flat 20 dB gain up to 1.9 GHz.

Tyco Electronics showed its HF3 and HF6 series high frequency signal relays that cover DC to 3 and DC to 6 GHz handling up to 150 W with lower power consumption (less than of equal to 140 mW). They come in non-latching, latching 1 coil and latching 2 coil types.

UMS contributed articles at several sessions and showed a demo of the new UMS/Ansoft Designer 6.0 Process Design Kits, which include parametrized footprint for automatic HFSS simulations.

UTE had on display a circulator/isolator operating from 88 to 138 MHz with 7.5% BW, 30 kW peak power and 1 kW average for medical/academic applications.

Vaunix Technology Corp. announced the introduction of its newest Lab Brick® product line, the LMS series of Synthesized Signal Generators. The first two models released are the LMS-802 and LMS-103 covering 4 to 8 GHz and 5 to 10 GHz respectively. These full-featured signal generators boast low phase noise, 100 microsecond switching time, and 100 Hz frequency resolution.

Vectron introduced the MX-041, a ‘super-single’ OCXO based on patented microprocessor controlled technology. They have created a new product family of ‘super singles’ that have the power requirements and height of a single oven XO but the performance of a double XO. It is primarily designed for base stations. The OX-045 for industrial, military and space applications is also based on Vectron Ultra Low Noise crystal and circuitry technology - it is the first in a new series of products based on this technology. The OX-405 is the industry’s smallest low-noise OCXO – with a four-pin dip and hermetic seal, it is ideal for harsh environment radar applications.

Wenzel Associates showcased its citrine ultra low noise crystal oscillators for ground, naval and airborne equipment, radar systems and simulators, and telecommunications and test equipment. The oscillator features a frequency range of 30 to 130 MHz and is housed in a compact, ruggedized case design.

WIN Semiconductors released a large-signal device model (WIN Switch Model) for its newest HEMT switch technology, PS50-06. This model accurately predicts the low-level distortion products that plays a critical role in overall system performance. Accurate prediction of GSM harmonics below -70 dBc has been achieved through the release of new model.

Z-Communications Inc. announced a new RoHS compliant Fixed Frequency Synthesizer model SFS3900A-LF in S-band. The SFS3900A-LF is a single frequency synthesizer that operates at 3900 MHz. This synthesizer features a typical phase noise of -88 dBc/Hz @ 10 KHz offset and typical sideband spurs of -65 dBc.

Materials, Packaging and Tooling

Arlon introduced a halogen-free, low-loss system representing the next generation low-loss thermoset and prepreg system for microwave and high-frequency printed circuit boards. This new technology combines a low-loss, high reliability system to create a material that is unmatched in terms of electrical performance, thermal reliability and cost.

Compex has developed a rapid prototyping system for thin film substrates and copper laminate boards. The system is ISO 9001 certified, can be produced from a single prototype to full production, and can be delivered within 48 hours.

In the recent acquisition of Merrimac Industries (Feb 2010), Crane Aerospace and Electronics added to its product line the Multi-Mix® technology. Multi-Mix fusion bonding gives the best of both competing technologies (LTCC: Low Temp Co-fire Ceramics and Laminating Multilayer Organic Substances) without the disadvantages. Multi-Mix offers high density integration like LTCC including dense integration, small size, and good electrical performance. An extra advantage is that there is no shrinkage during processing. In addition, Multi-Mix uses the same organic materials such as lamination techniques, but without lamination film so there is no degradation of electrical performance. The advantages are low cost, quick turn, and good thermal match to surrounding materials.

Endwave Corp. re-engineered the QFN package and more than doubled the usable frequency range of the housing, increasing its upper-frequency limit to 50 GHz and higher. For example, the lengths of bond wires within the package, used to connect device bond pads to package ports, are minimized wherever possible with the aid of custom laminate sections and a double-reverse-bonding technique. This results in reduced parasitic circuit elements and higher frequency operation of plastic QFN packages, with lower insertion loss and minimal phase distortion through 50 GHz.

ON Semiconductor introduced a new integrated passive device (IPD) process technology. An enhancement of the company’s existing HighQ™ copper (Cu) on silicon (Si) IPD technology, the new IPD2 process features a second 5um copper layer that increases inductor performance, allows greater flexibility, and supports the design of highly precise, cost-effective IPDs for RF system in package applications in portable electronics equipment. Typical designs include baluns, low pass filters, band pass filters and diplexers used in the latest portable and wireless applications.

LPKF current ProtoLaser S has a patented system that makes it the fastest and most cost-effective machine on the market. The company's laser processing machines haver really taken off over the past couple of years.

Rogers Advanced Circuit Materials (ACM) Division and Thermal Management Solutions (TMS) Division detailed optimum use of their high-performance materials, including RT/duroid® 5880LZ, RT/duroid 6202PR, RO4360™ laminate, and HEATWAVE™ metal matrix composites, an innovative thermal-management solution. See the company's product feature in the May issue of Microwave Journal.

StratEdge introduced a new family of fully hermetic, low-profile, leadless surface mount packages with improved electrical performance. The SM family of packages fits aerospace, avionics, automotive, and telecom industry applications and is especially suited for LEDs, MEMS and optical devices. These new packages incorporate a metal plug in the base that allows a direct ground path for enhanced electrical performance. Anticipated performance is DC to 30+ GHz. All SM packages meet stringent MIL-STD requirements for hermeticity. The SM packages match industry-standard outlines enabling them to be used as direct replacements for traditional quad flat package designs.

TotalTemp Technologies introduced their new Next Generation Thermal Platforms at the show. TotalTemp has actually developed a cooling system uniquely different from the other cooling channel design. This other cooling channel design is more expensive to manufacture and results in a higher system price. The TotalTemp platform uses an embedded copper tube cooling channel that is an engineered upgrade on performance with a vast improvement on price.

T-Tech introduced its QCJ5 for in-house prototyping. Features include: Third Axis motion control; Automatic tool change; Automatic depth control; Pre-touch pressure foot system; Accelerated precision and accuracy; IsoPro software; 4 Zone vacuum table; Integrated sound enclosure; Front panel controls.

UltraSource Inc unveiled their new Technology Platform that provides designers with the opportunity to pursue innovative ideas for solving the most challenging design problems. The Platform includes four solutions. Basic solutions consist of conventional single and double sided designs. Integrated solutions allow customers to select from the UltraVia™, UltraBridge®, UltraCapacitor®, or UltraInductor® suite of solid state passive elements to provide higher levels of passive integration. The Multilayer solution provides a 5 layer system that includes 3 layers of custom patterned gold conductors separated by 2 layers of polyimide dielectric. The Advanced solution combines the Basic or Integrated solutions on one side, and the Multilayer on the other. View TriQuint video here.

Cables, Connectors and Wave Guide

A.T. Wall featured a range of precision-drawn, high-quality waveguide tubing including Invar waveguide, thin wall aluminum waveguide, seamless flexible waveguide, flexible twistable waveguide, flexible waveguide, semi flexible waveguide and components from all types of flex waveguide.

Delta Electronics Manufacturing announced that they were offering a broad range of coaxial cable assemblies and other connector-related, value-added component subassemblies through a tool on the company’s website. Customers may now visually build cable assembly drawings, specify markers, testing and other requirements, and send the drawing and specs to Delta via e-mail for quotation. The customer receives an e-mail confirmation including the drawing and specifications as well. The Cable Assembly Designer works completely within the visitor’s browser, with no plug-ins or other special software required.

MIcable showed off its new millimeter wave flexible cable assemblies (up to 40 GHz). These cable assemblies use 2.92 mm connectors designed by MIcable, very suitable for the application of the millimeter wave test, p-t-p communication and radar system. As the example, the model B01-40-40-36, 36 inches long, 3.8 mm diameters flexible cables, 2.92 mm male connectors, shows the performance of insertion loss < 3.0 dB, VSWR < 1.35:1, +/-8 degree phase variation when bending in 360 degree circle at radius of 51 mm, 500 ppm phase variation over temperature -40 to +85 deg C. Also MIcable released a low cost 40 GHz flexible test cable assembly model C03-40-40-36, specification: 36 inches long, 2.5 mm diameters, 2.92 mm male connectors, shows the performance of insertion loss < 5.5 dB, VSWR < 1.35:1, +/-4 degree phase variation when bending in 360 degree circle at radius of 26 mm, 2500 ppm phase variation over temperature -40 to +85 deg C.

Molex has acquired a Chinese named Toan based in Zhenjiang and is doing well in base station connector market. They have also introduced SMP-MAX (second source to Radaill) a 50 ohm board-to-board connector line that offers a cost-effective large misalignment tolerance of up to 4 deg to make reliable connections. The operate from DC to 6 GHz and have a max VSWR of 1.2 and power handling up to 165 W.

RF Industries now offers a line of 18 GHz precision test cables in standard or custom lengths, suitable for production or lab environments. Featuring high-grade, passivated, stainless steel SMA males with PTFE insulators, this unique cable is configured for low loss and low VSWR. With triple shielding for optimum EMI protection, they are very phase-stable during mechanical and environmental stresses. The cable is also manufactured in accordance with MIL-DTL-17, type IX specification. Other features include high velocity of propagation, wide operating temperature and blue FEP jacket. Armored versions for rugged field applications are also available. RF Industries created these test cables to meet a growing need for test grade cable assemblies.

San-tron Inc. announced the launch of S292 Connectors, a new series of 2.92 mm connectors that operate through K-band. Initiating a design standardized to a Thunderline-Z TL-150 glass-to-metal feed-through, San-tron has developed a transitional RF geometry that greatly reduces the tolerance sensitivity of the final interconnection. As a baseline, two connectors mated via the Thunderline-Z feed-through exhibit VSWR of < 1.04 through 12 GHz and < 1.18 through 40 GHz.

SPINNER has developed two new rotary joint product families: Single channel waveguide rotary joints for Ku-band; and dual-channel coaxial rotary joints, which are suitable for Ku-band and intermediate frequency applications. Both product lines follow a common design philosophy that is characterized by well-thought-out modularity that allows a large variety of solutions with a minimum number of different piece parts and excellent electrical and mechanical performance, allied to a simple and highly reliable design.