RF & Microwave Industry News

The Book End

RF Technologies for Low Power Wireless Communications Tatsuo Itoh, George Haddad and James Harvey, Eds. John Wiley & Sons Inc. 468 pages; $84.95 ISBN: 0-471-38267-1 Several years ago a program in low power electronics initiated by the Army Research Office focused on addressing the issue of RF and microwave...
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A Highly Linear 17 to 24 GHz SMT Power Amplifier

Introduction to a new surface-mount technology-packaged power amplifier for wireless communications applications
A new surface-mount technology (SMT)-packaged power amplifier has been introduced for wireless communications applications, including millimeter-wave point-to-point radio, local multipoint distribution services (LMDS), satellite communications (SATCOM) and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) use. The model XP1000P1 GaAs MMIC surface-mount power amplifier is a two-stage amplifier optimized for linear output...
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A CAD Tool Utilizing Fast Hybrid MM/FE/MoM FD Techniques

A three-dimensional electromagnetic-based CAD software tool is featured on this month's cover
To meet the rapidly increasing demand for advanced microwave components and antennas in wireless terrestrial and satellite-based communications, accurate and efficient CAD tools are critical. Due to efforts made during the 1990s - the decade of global 3D electromagnetic (EM) field solvers - the task of accurate analysis of...
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A Broadband Hybrid Solid-state and TWT Amplifier

Development of a broadband microwave amplifier for testing in the 800 MHz to 18 GHz frequency range
Test applications that require microwave power from 1 to 18 GHz are usually addressed by two amplifiers, a solid-state unit to cover the low frequency range and a traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA) for the higher range. The input signal must be switched between the two amplifiers and, if there...
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A Compact Monopulse Feed for Tracking Antennas

Introduction to the requirements for a compact monopulse feed for use in a Cassegrain antenna configuration
With the steady improvements in tracking radar technologies over the past twenty years, the diameter requirements for antennas has been reduced to match the improvements in transmitter power and receiver sensitivity. This has led to a need for shorter feeds for use in Cassegrain configurations. Antenna feeds have recently...
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The Design of Bandpass Filters Considering Frequency Dependence of Inverters

In general, practical inverters have frequency-dependent impedance or admittance. The equivalent circuits of several widely used inverters are investigated, consisting of ideal inverters plus frequency-dependent real and/or immittance parts. One of the...
By using impedance or admittance inverters, microwave bandpass filters can be designed more conveniently with only one kind of resonator. Theoretically, the inverters have to be frequency independent. However, this is not true for practical cases. One of the most serious degradations in frequency response of a bandpass filter...
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Research@mwjournal.com

Microwave Journal's second annual overview of microwave technology research projects currently being investigated by European academic institutions and commercial organizations
Today's investment in and commitment to meaningful, commercially viable research will determine the shape and prosperity of tomorrow's microwave industry. Following its introduction in 2001 the second Microwave Journal guide to European research projects highlights the studies being undertaken by academic and commercial establishments to develop the innovations that...
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SAW Voltage-controlled Oscillators

Presentation of applications that use voltage-controlled surface acoustic wave oscillator technology to provide high performance telecom solutions
Voltage-controlled surface acoustic wave (SAW) oscillators (VCSO) have been used for many years in both commercial and military applications. The low phase noise allows frequency multiplication to higher frequencies for use as sources, such as local oscillators in radar and other microwave systems. The excellent tuning linearity provides outstanding...
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Optimizing Link Performance, Cost and Interchangeability by Predicting Residual BER: Part II - Nonlinearity and System Budgeting

This is the second part of a two-part tutorial on residual BER prediction for cost optimization of oscillator phase noise and power amplifier linearity. Today’s demanding digital modulations require a different type of analysis at ‘normal’ receive powe...
In part I, the economic case from the network operator’s perspective was reviewed and it was found that as operators improve their residual BER performance, their market space is expanded from simple voice applications to e-commerce transactions and other data traffic which demands ultra low error rates. Next, the...
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Design Considerations for Multimode Multiband WLANs

Wireless local area networks (WLAN) are becoming increasingly popular in the corporate environment. They provide high speed connectivity and easy access to corporate networks without requiring wiring. Flexibility is key with WLAN capability. In a corporate environment, individuals can be mobile and at the same time constantly be connected...
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