eBooks

Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing have evolved quickly over the last few years and made its way into the RF and microwave market. We have seen everything from 3D printed PCBs and circuits to waveguides to antennas and lenses to connectors. Additive manufacturing has the advantages of being able to produce shapes that are not possible with traditional manufacturing techniques and able to miniaturize structures which is well suited for higher frequencies. They also use less material and in many cases are lighter than traditional manufactured parts. Additive manufactured parts can typically be produced much faster than traditional techniques for smaller quantities and fast prototypes. The eBook covers many of the recent innovative devices and components that additive manufacturing and 3D printing have enabled in the RF and microwave space. The articles cover 3D printed PCB circuits, antennas, coaxial SMA-to-waveguide transitions, copper and air dielectric routing circuits, filters, and waveguides.

5G mmWave frequencies have required a new way of testing using over-the-air (OTA) measurements. The first article is an in-depth look at the fundamentals of 5G OTA testing, overview of key antenna measurement parameters, test methods and test setup, along with 3GPP OTA testing for UEs along with the relevant transmitter and receiver test considerations. The remaining articles discuss recent advances in 5G OTA testing ranging from test methods to new chambers and calibration methods. The first article in this group addresses significant test time reduction and equipment utilization in 5G RF production testing through strongly parallelized testing of the 3GPP specifications, improving speed by a factor of 10. The next article reviews the design of a novel multiple compact antenna test range system for multiple angles of arrival measurement of 5G mmWave devices. The virtual cable calibration method is described and demonstrated in the next article that provides a systematic approach with fast convergence to determine the precoding calibration matrix parameters. The last article discusses the future with bringing full-wave numerical modeling and antenna measurements together and presents a way to converge both worlds in an optimal cost-benefit technique moving toward augmented OTA.

Timing and synchronization are critical to 5G communications and much more demanding than they were for 4G networks. 5G networks require lower latency, higher data rates, higher frequencies (in many cases) and more devices. This eBook starts off with an overview of the features in 5G Release 16, reviewing the new applications and potential in this specification. Next it looks at the role of satellites in 5G networks in covering rural and remote areas while being part of the 5G network as a whole. Then, the eBook digs into the importance of oscillators in the timing and synchronization followed by an article that covers how oscillators need to provide low jitter while minimizing power consumption and footprint for next generation optical networks.

mmWave is the industry’s newest frontier, a free space resource that has triggered a “gold rush” of technology horses and applications riding them. This eBook samples a few of these applications and the challenges facing them. The first article, “Using E-Band for Wideband SatCom: Opportunities and Challenges,” contributed by Hughes Network Systems, describes the requirements for and challenges with E-Band links between the earth and geostationary satellites. The new article “Virtual Cable Calibration for OTA Testing of 5G mmWave Devices” by Rohde & Schwarz describes the concept and how it is used to ensure compliance to the 3GPP standards. The article “6G: Innovating the Future of Wireless Communications,” submitted by Keysight Technologies, surveys a few of the use cases being discussed and the consortiums formed to explore them. Wide bandwidth at sub-THz frequencies is a shared theme. “Satcom, the New mmWave Frontier,” also contributed by Keysight Technologies, returns to mmWave satellite links, specifically the difficulty making accurate and repeatable measurements, particularly OTA. The article “5G Fixed Wireless Access Array and RF Front-End Trade-Offs,” contributed by Qorvo, outlines the design of a fixed wireless access system for a suburban neighborhood, including the design of the phased array and trade-offs among the semiconductor technology options for the front-end module. Concluding the eBook, an article from Qorvo discusses phase noise, an important parameter that can limit the data rate of communications systems.

This eBook explores several important yet often overlooked aspects of the components, testing and requirements for mmWave phased arrays. The first article, from Knowles, discusses filter options and where they best fit in the block diagram. Next, an article from Filtronic discusses two interesting concepts that have garnered considerable investment: low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), the latter encompassing balloons, drones or other platforms that can beam radio signals to the ground below. Measuring the OTA performance of infrastructure and user equipment at mmWave frequencies adds a complex spatial dimension to more traditional “connected” measurements. In addition to test accuracy and repeatability, OTA measurements emphasize measurement speed and the size of the anechoic chamber. To address this complexity, Rohde & Schwarz has developed a compact antenna test range (CATR) —using multiple CATRs that automate OTA measurements requiring multiple angles of arrival. Finally, MilliBox reviews a compact, affordable and flexible chamber solution bridging the gap between traditional mmWave chambers and DIY solutions.

This eBook surveys the state of GaN and its use for 5G base stations, concluding with the day when GaN will be eyed for 6G systems operating at E-Band and above. The first article reviews the growth of GaN since Strategy Analytics began tracking it in 2007. Strategy Analytics forecasts continued growth driven by strong defense and 5G demand. The next article discusses DPD linearization challenges for 5G transmitters. A relevant example of GaN’s broadband capabilities is presented in a design article of a 10 W nominal PA covering 1.4 to 3.6 GHz, achieving 60 to 68 percent drain efficiency and adjacent channel power ratio better than −30 dBc. The eBook concludes with an application note on making accurate device load-pull measurements from 70 to 110 GHz. Accurate load-pull data is a key element of successful PA design, and while E- and W-Band frequencies may not seem relevant to today’s cellular PA designers, it won’t be long.

There have a been a lot of developments in the Electronic Warfare (EW) and Signals Intelligence markets in the last few years as higher power, wideband hardware has become more mainstream and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) have advanced on the software side. This eBook reviews some of the recent advances in smarter, more flexible hardware to gather and jam signals from these emerging threats. The first couple of articles review the state of EW and how AI and ML are enabling new solutions. The next article covers open system architectures for military applications and how they are enabling next generation defense systems. The next two articles cover drone detection and defeat technologies starting with systems that can adapt to their environment followed by an article about emerging drone technologies. The last article briefly covers the RTX 2684 26 GHz RF Sentinel™ Intelligent Signal Scanning small form factor recorder.

Whether prompted by the convenience of small size, the fuel savings from lighter weight or the smaller wavelengths of higher frequencies, size is on an inexorable decline. Moore’s Law is the archetype defining the shrinking of semiconductor technology, yet it would not be possible without other components following the same trend, particularly the passive devices that filter and route the signals processed by the ICs. This eBook compiled by Knowles explores some of the market and technology trends driving the demand for higher frequencies and smaller size. Beginning with an overview of the classic Wilkinson power divider and combiner designs, it also covers various other SATCOM related component technologies ranging from PCBs to high speed converters to phased arrays plus test challenges in this area.

This eBook explores several topics relevant to radar performance, beginning with an article describing a radar architecture enabled by improved processing: the “holographic” or staring radar. The second article discusses how the performance of radars with complex waveforms can be assessed using sophisticated power measurement to characterize pulse operation and using noise signals with statistical power measurement to identify nonlinearities in the signal chain. Moving to the benefits of GaN on radar performance, Qorvo describes how increasing the operating voltage to 65 V increases device power density and power-added efficiency, to 9 W/mm and 80 percent, respectively. A second article from Qorvo compares the additive phase noise of linear and saturated amplifiers and between PHEMT and HBT processes. The eBook concludes with an interview with Dean White, director of Qorvo’s defense and aerospace segment, who shares his perspective of market needs and how Qorvo is aligning its process and product roadmaps to serve them.

There really is not a home for articles dealing with the challenges of the highest volume chips and their testing for high volume ATE. To serve this market, ATE companies, like industry microwave/millimeter wave instrument leader Teradyne, have developed instrumentation with features that create stability and repeatability at very high channel counts with reduced user complexity. But for this eBook, we did pull together some of the “best of MWJ articles” that talk about similar issues for you to whet your appetite including: • Navigating the 5G NR Standards, by Sheri DeTomasi, Keysight Technologies • Challenges for Effective and Realistic 5G OTA Testing, by Miguel Á. García-Fernández, EMITE Ingeniería S.L. and David A. Sánchez-Hernández, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena • Significant Test Time Reduction and Equipment Utilization in 5G RF Production Testing, by Sascha Laumann, Rohde & Schwarz • The Phase Noise Challenge Pacing the Race to 5G, by Bill Linstrom, Ron Parrott and Allen Sweet, VIDA Products • Evaluating PCB Plated Through Holes for 5G Applications, by John Coonrod, Rogers Corp.