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The performance of communication systems, in both space and ground segments, is degraded by the nonlinearity of the power amplifiers that are operated in saturation to obtain higher efficiency. Linearizing is the technique used to improve the performance of communication systems when power amplifiers are operated in saturation. The...

Improving VSWR is typically an iterative trial-and-error exercise when utilizing either frequency or time domain information. For example, while circuit modifications which decrease time domain reflectometry (TDR) "bumps" (discontinuities) are generally a good thing, decreasing a specific TDR bump does not necessarily improve VSWR within a frequency band of...

Today's wireless world requires unrelenting technological innovation. From cell phones that take and send photos to homeland security, the demands on wireless designers for increasing complexity at lower prices and faster time-to-market are immense. Advances in electronic design automation (EDA) over the last decade have made possible dramatic improvements...

In order to test high power amplifiers used in today's cellular base station equipment it is sometimes necessary to perform automated switching of the high power amplifiers without shutting down the system to make the RF connection. The high power RF signal must be diverted from the main signal...

Additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) has proven itself over the years as a simple yet extremely valuable tool in measurements ranging from BER and SINAD testing to wireless link emulation and the overall characterization of communications receiver performance. The unique characteristics of AWGN are becoming even more useful now...

Setting new standards in flexibility and performance and opening the possibility for new applications, the R&S SMU200A is said to be the first high end generator to combine two complete digital signal generators with modulation capabilities in one instrument. It provides space for up to two RF paths in...

Models make or break the accuracy of a simulator. Although modern simulators have a wide range of models, device technology continually evolves, requiring new ones. Creating linear models is easy and straightforward. Nonlinear models, however, have been so difficult to create that engineers are often forced to live with...

When looking for a coaxial microwave switch that can handle moderate power levels, the options considered are likely to be a PIN diode switch or an electromechanical switch. Both of these switch types have been well engineered over the years, but still suffer from inherent disadvantages. The PIN diode...

ASK HARLAN YOUR RF & MICROWAVE TECH Q&A RESOURCE You may know Harlan Howe from his twelve years as publisher and editor of Microwave Journal ®, or from his 34 years as a Microwave design engineer and engineering manager, or from his service as an IEEE fellow and past...

ASK HARLAN YOUR RF & MICROWAVE TECH Q&A RESOURCE You may know Harlan Howe from his twelve years as publisher and editor of Microwave Journal ®, or from his 34 years as a Microwave design engineer and engineering manager, or from his service as an IEEE fellow and past...