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Issue
News Report Design Feature Product Technology

Checking Advances Design A MMIC Adding Up Math,
In Communications On A Budget EM Software Tools
p. 97
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MICROWAVE
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A PENTON PUBLICATIONt"13*- 70-t/0
NewsReport
33 | Digital Techniques Hold Key To 4G Infrastructure
To enable high-data-rate applications on wireless networks, microwave
engineers are moving beyond traditional analog methods to embrace a
variety of digital design approaches.
42 | RF Primer

COVER STORY
Narrowing Choices For RF/MW Filters
Filters play key roles in RF and microwave systems although the number
of different filter types and technologies can make the selection process
somewhath challenging.
h ll i
Active Inductors
Tune Low-Noise VCOs DesignFeature
Dynamic-phase-injection 61 | PIN Switch Protects LNA From Overloads
techniques help to tame tunable A MMIC low-noise amplifier (LNA) can be paired with an external PIN
diode bypass switch to provide overload protection for mobile television
active inductors for use in miniature
receiver applications at 47 to 870 MHz.
monolithic VCOs that provide low
phase noise while operating with 68 | Design MMICs On A Budget
low power consumption.
78 | Forecast Rain Effects On Microwave Links, Part 2
Departments
p
13 52 84 | Wilkinson Divider Powers TV Transmitters
Feedback Company News
17 54 90 | Patch Array Antenna Serves Satcom Needs
Editorial People
22 56 ProductTechnology
The Front End Educational
Meetings 108 | IndustryInsight
26 Cables And Connectors Link Microwave Systems
Microwaves In 58 The latest developments in high-frequency cables and connectors seek to
Europe R&D Roundup cut weight while maintaining low loss and high phase stability even in
flexible assemblies.
28 94
Web Table Of Application Notes 110 | ProductTrends
Contents Math/EM Software Solves Circuit Problems
118 The newest versions of popular mathematical and electromagnetic
46 Infocenter simulation programs add speed by taking advantage of the latest memory-
Crosstalk packed, multiprocessor-based computers.
120
50 Editor’s Choice 114 | Tunable MMIC Filters Span 1.0 To 7.6 GHz
Financial News With their tunable frequency coverage and small surface-mount packages,
these MMIC filters can handle any number of signal-management needs,
with stopband rejection to 30 GHz.
APRIL 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF visit www.mwrf.com 5

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OCTAVE BAND LOW NOISE AMPLIFIERS
Modeld l No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure g (dB) Power -out @ P1-dBB 3rdd Order d ICP VSWR
CA01-2110 0.5-1.0 28 1.0 MAX,, 0.7 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm
d 2.0:1
CA12-2110 1.0-2.0 30 1.0 MAX,, 0.7 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA24-2111 2.0-4.0 29 1.1 MAX,, 0.95 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA48-2111 4.0-8.0 29 1.3 MAX,, 1.0 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA812-3111 8.0-12.0 27 1.6 MAX,, 1.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA1218-4111 12.0-18.0 25 1.9 MAX,, 1.7 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA1826-2110 18.0-26.5 32 3.0 MAX, 2.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
NARROW BAND LOW NOISE AND MEDIUM POWER AMPLIFIERS
CCA01-2111
0 2 0.4 - 0
0 0.5 28 0.6 MAX,, 0.4
0 0 TYP +100 MIN +20
20 dBm
d 20
2.0:1
CA01-2113 0.8 - 1.0 28 0.6 MAX,, 0.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA12-3117 1.2 - 1.6 25 0.6 MAX,, 0.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA23-3111 2.2 - 2.4 30 0.6 MAX,, 0.45 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA23-3116 2.7 - 2.9 29 0.7 MAX,, 0.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA34-2110 3.7 - 4.2 28 1.0 MAX,, 0.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA56-3110 5.4 - 5.9 40 1.0 MAX,, 0.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA78-4110 7.25 - 7.75 32 1.2 MAX,, 1.0 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA910-3110 9.0 - 10.6 25 1.4 MAX,, 1.2 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA1315-3110 13.75 - 15.4 25 1.6 MAX,, 1.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA12-3114 1.35 - 1.85 30 4.0 MAX,, 3.0 TYP +33 MIN +41 dBm 2.0:1
CA34-6116 3.1 - 3.5 40 4.5 MAX,, 3.5 TYP +35 MIN +43 dBm 2.0:1
CA56-5114 5.9 - 6.4 30 5.0 MAX,, 4.0 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA812-6115 8.0 - 12.0 30 4.5 MAX,, 3.5 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA812-6116 8.0 - 12.0 30 5.0 MAX,, 4.0 TYP +33 MIN +41 dBm 2.0:1
CA1213-7110 12.2 - 13.25 28 6.0 MAX,, 5.5 TYP +33 MIN +42 dBm 2.0:1
CA1415-7110 14.0 - 15.0 30 5.0 MAX,, 4.0 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA1722-4110 17.0 - 22.0 25 3.5 MAX,, 2.8 TYP +21 MIN +31 dBm 2.0:1
ULTRA-BROADBAND & MULTI-OCTAVE BAND AMPLIFIERS
Model
d l No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure (dB) Power -out @ P1-dBB 3rdd Order d ICP VSWR
CA0102-3111 0.1-2.0 28 1.6 Max,, 1.2 TYP +10 MIN +20 ddBm 2.0:1
CA0106-3111 0.1-6.0 28 1.9 Max,, 1.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA0108-3110 0.1-8.0 26 2.2 Max,, 1.8 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA0108-4112 0.1-8.0 32 3.0 MAX,, 1.8 TYP +22 MIN +32 dBm 2.0:1
CA02-3112 0.5-2.0 36 4.5 MAX,, 2.5 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA26-3110 2.0-6.0 26 2.0 MAX,, 1.5 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA26-4114 2.0-6.0 22 5.0 MAX,, 3.5 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA618-4112 6.0-18.0 25 5.0 MAX,, 3.5 TYP +23 MIN +33 dBm 2.0:1
CA618-6114 6.0-18.0 35 5.0 MAX,, 3.5 TYP +30 MIN +40 dBm 2.0:1
CA218-4116 2.0-18.0 30 3.5 MAX,, 2.8 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
CA218-4110 2.0-18.0 30 5.0 MAX,, 3.5 TYP +20 MIN +30 dBm 2.0:1
CA218-4112 2.0-18.0 29 5.0 MAX, 3.5 TYP +24 MIN +34 dBm 2.0:1
LIMITING AMPLIFIERS
Model
d l No. Freqq (GHz) Input
p Dynamic
y Range
g Output
p Power Range g Psat Power Flatness l ddB VSWR
CLA24-4001 2.0 - 4.0 -28 to +10 dBm +7 to +11 dBm +/-
/ 1.5 MAX 2.0:1
CLA26-8001 2.0 - 6.0 -50 to +20 dBm +14 to +18 dBm +/-
/ 1.5 MAX 2.0:1
CLA712-5001 7.0 - 12.4 -21 to +10 dBm +14 to +19 dBm +/-
/ 1.5 MAX 2.0:1
CLA618-1201 6.0 - 18.0 -50 to +20 dBm +14 to +19 dBm +/-
/ 1.5 MAX 2.0:1
AMPLIFIERS WITH INTEGRATED GAIN ATTENUATION
M d l No.
Model N Freq
F (GHz) GGain (dB) MIN Noise
N Figure
F (dB) Power -out @ P1-dBB GGain AAttenuation RRange
g VSWR
CCA001-2511A
00 2 0.025-0.150
0 02 0 0 21
2 5.0
0 MAX,, 33.5 TYP +12 2 MIN 30 dBd MIN 2.0:1
20
CA05-3110A 0.5-5.5 23 2.5 MAX,, 1.5 TYP +18 MIN 20 dB MIN 2.0:1
CA1518-4110A 15.0-18.0 30 3.0 MAX, 2.0 TYP +18 MIN 20 dB MIN 1.85:1
LOW FREQUENCY AMPLIFIERS
M d l No.
Model N F (GHz) G
Freq Gain (dB) MIN NoiseN Figure
F dB Power -out @ P1-dBB 3rd 3 d Order
O d ICP VSWR
CA001-2110
CA001 2110 0
0.01-0.10
01 0 10 18 4.0
4 0 MAX
MAX,, 2.2
2 2 TYP +10
10 MIN +2020 dB
dBm 2.0:1
201
CA001-2211 0.04-0.15 24 3.5 MAX,, 2.2 TYP +13 MIN +23 dBm 2.0:1
CA001-2215 0.04-0.15 23 4.0 MAX,, 2.2 TYP +23 MIN +33 dBm 2.0:1
CA001-3113 0.01-1.0 28 4.0 MAX,, 2.8 TYP +17 MIN +27 dBm 2.0:1
CA002-3114 0.01-2.0 27 4.0 MAX,, 2.8 TYP +20 MIN +30 dBm 2.0:1
CA003-3116 0.01-3.0 18 4.0 MAX,, 2.8 TYP +25 MIN +35 dBm 2.0:1
CA004-3112 0.01-4.0 32 4.0 MAX, 2.8 TYP +15 MIN +25 dBm 2.0:1
CIAO Wireless can easily modify any of its standard models to meet your "exact" requirements at the Catalog Pricing.
Visit our web site at www.ciaowireless.com for our complete product offering.
Ciao Wireless, Inc. 4 0 0 0 V i a P e s c a d o r, C a m a r i l l o , C A 9 3 0 1 2

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feedback
To The Editor: R. C. Hansen, Inc. presented as new. The article intended to

P. O. Box 570215 help simplify the impedance matching of
The article in the January 2010 issue Tarzana, CA 91357 miniature printed-circuit loop antennas
of Microwaves & RF F entitled “Match (818) 345-0770 and to design and manufacture these
Loop Antennas Via Mutual Inductance” FAX: (818) 345-1259 antennas as simply and inexpensively
is a rehash of the old loop-coupled loop. Internet: www.rchansen.com as possible. An example fabricated for
This was invented by Dunlavy and pat- the article shows a loop antenna with
ented in 1971. Both loops have small Editor's Note: resonance at 318 MHz using mutual
radiation resistances and individually inductance coupling.
low efficiencies. The overall efficiency Mr. Hansen’s work in antennas is cer-
is essentially the product of the two tainly well known in this industry, and
loop efficiencies, and this number will we would like to express our apprecia- Please comment...
be very small. A loop-coupled loop was tion for his taking the time to actually
manufactured for some time by Antenna pen a letter to the magazine to express Microwaves & RFF welcomes mail from its
Research Associates (ARA), but no his thoughts on this matter. The article readers. Letters must include the writer’s
longer. A careful analysis of the loop- in question, written by Alan Bensky of name and address. The magazine
reserves the right to edit letters appear-
coupled loop is given by R. C. Hansen Ateret Radio Engineering and appearing
ing in “Feedback.” Address letters to:
in section 1.5.3 in the engineering text, on p. 78 of the January 2010 issue of
Jack Browne
Electrically Small, Superdirective and Microwaves & RF, was a short exercise
Technical Director
Superconducting Antennas, published in designing loop antennas for fre- jack.browne@penton.com
by John Wiley & Sons in 2006. quencies between 300 and 1000 MHz, Microwaves & RF
R. C. Hansen notably for compact portable wireless Penton Media, Inc.
Consulting Engineer products. The designs are not new, nor 249 W. 17th St.
New York, NY 10011

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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 448 rev D
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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 377 rev S
from the editor
Of Technology
And Social Need
C
ommunications technology has come a long way in
a lifetime. Once telephone calls were on wires, and
television signals over the air. Now television is over
metal wire, glass wire, and even from space (satellite),
and telephone calls are broadcast over the air. Cellular
The purpose of phone companies are also sending television signals
the technology is over their networks. These changing capabilities are
a tribute to advances in wireless, optical, and satellite
to serve man, not communications, but they have side effects.
the reverse. But The rapid growth of cellular communications tech-
nology to its third and fourth generations (3G and
too often, wireless 4G) prompts the question of how long before the
devices seem more seventh and eighth generations (7G and 8G) are upon
like addictions than us, and how much better could they be? The purpose
of technology is to serve man (and woman), not the
tools. reverse. But too often, wireless devices seem more like
addictions than tools.
Consider the recent introduction of the iPad by Apple. The
company, credited with inventing the personal computer (PC), has
a history of developing innovative products, such as the iPhone.
Before the iPad first went on sale this month, people waited outside
retail stores, sometimes overnight, to purchase an iPad. What this
says about these people, other than having too much time on their
hands, will fill volumes of psychology texts. Mental health aside, for
many people, wireless devices such as the iPhone and iPad not only
fill business or personal needs, but social needs as well.
Although records are not available for the comparison, it is a safe
bet that the number of telephone calls on average per person per
month has more than doubled or tripled in the last 30 years. With a
wireless device, it is simply easier to make a call at any time, easier
than looking for a phone booth (if one can still be found) or waiting
for the wired phone at home. But what of the quality (as in content) of
the call? Is it really necessary? The effect of wireless communications
devices on our “social fabric” is apparent, as two passengers in the
same car will often opt to talk to others on cellular telephones rather
than to each other. Face-to-face conversations, with all their subtle
nuances, are being replaced by one-dimensional wireless conversa-
tions or e-mails. And even when that 7G phone brings video calling
capabilities to the masses, it will also be supported by screen savers
and special effects that will allow any user to “put on a happy face”
by means of a menu selection.
As tools, wireless devices are wonderful additions to most peoples’
lives. But when they start using such phrases as “that’s my life in
there” while pointing to their cell phone, then it is time to reconsider
which processor or is really doing the thinking.
Technical Director
APRIL 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF 17

Penton Publication
Technical Director
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18 visit www.mwrf.com APRIL 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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“I need robust MMICs for my most
demanding applications.”
So do we.
If you
y ou
ou’r
’ree an
’r n e ngineer w orking in a field requiring robust products
that perr fo
form
r to spp ec
e iin a wide range of real world conditions, we
can relate. Agill ent requires instrument-grade MMICs to design and
Agilent MMICs* build the world’s finest measurement

Highly linear mixers equipment. So we manufacture our
High power/high fidelity amplifiers own MMICs that of fer exceptional
High TOI attenuators performance over a broad spectrum of
Microwave MEMS variables. And you can order them now.
X-parameters available That’s performance. That’s Agilent.
Request a free catalog

* Certain restrictions apply
www.agilent.com/find/AgilentMMIC
© 2010 Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Agilent and our Distributor Network North America: Avnet Express Europe: BFi OPTiLAS
Right Instrument. Right Expertise. Delivered Right Now. www.em.avnet.com/agilent www.bfioptilas.com
frontend h
Compiled by Dawn Hightower
s Year
X—The
AUSTIN, TX mobile-handset market has
not escaped the recession unscathed. Despite World Summary: New Handsets Split by Technology
T
(1000s of new handsets purchased)
the resulting financial pressure
pressure, however
however, the
2,000,000
global cellular installed base grew 14.1 percent
year over year in 2009. The cellular installed 1,500,000
base comprises all active devices on cellular
networks. The installed base for third-generation 1,000,000
(3G) networks in particular showed a consider-
500,000
able increase, growing 32.9 percent year over
year. This growth highlights the strength of the 0
industry overall as well as the bright future for 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
evolving cellular technology. 4G handsets 3G handsets 2G handsets Source: IMS Research
While the 3G portion of the networks are
projected to show the most growth through the forecast period, devices on second-generation (2G) networks are
still expected to dominate the total market. In 2015, 2G devices are forecasted to make up 66.7 percent of the
installed base. Most of these devices are located in the rapidly growing Asian and Middle East and African (MEA)
markets. For the first time since 2001, shipments of new handsets declined 6.5 percent year over year. These ship-
ments are projected to recover in 2010—again, driven in large part by rapidly developing cellular opportunities
in emerging markets.
This past year also saw a shift in the types of handsets being sold. Despite the overall market contraction, shipments
of smartphones grew more than 15 percent year over year. Additionally, the attach rates of features like WLAN
and GPS increased significantly, as the use cases for mobile handsets continue to evolve beyond voice communica-
tion. These and a range of other mobile-handset market trends are examined in IMS Research’s recently published
report, “The World Market for Mobile Handsets – 2010 Edition.” Additional information and details regarding
this report can be found at www.imsresearch.com.
Raytheon Leads Development Of GPS Control Segment

AURORA, CO—The US Air Force has selected Raytheon Co. for an GPS OCX Vice President and Program Manager for Raytheon.
initial contract of $886 million to develop a new element for the “Technologies were evolving so rapidly and were so critical to
Global Positioning System (GPS). That element is tasked with execution that specialized skills were needed. The GPS wing saw
improving the accuracy of information provided by GPS satellites. the same need for specialized expertise on GPS OCX.”
The contract represents the first two development blocks of the The OCX is expected to dramatically affect GPS command, con-
advanced control segment (OCX), which will have a significant trol, and mission capabilities. For example, it will make it easier for
impact on GPS capabilities. The OCX system will include anti-jam the operations team to run the current GPS block II and all
capabilities and improved security, accuracy, and reliability. It will future GPS satellites. Raytheon brings more than four decades
be based on a modern service-oriented architecture to integrate of experience in satellite command and control systems to
government and industry open-system standards. the OCX program. Teammates include the Boeing Co., ITT,
The Global Positioning System comprises three major segments: Braxton Technologies, Infinity Systems Engineering, and the
user, space, and control. The control segment includes a master Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The contract was awarded by
control station and ground antennas. “The OCX concept was cre- the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles
ated to separate the control and space segments,”says Bob Canty, Air Force Base.
visit www.mwrf.com APRIL 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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University Center Will Feature MM-Wave Characterization
‘‘
SANTA CLARA, CA—Agilent Technologies, Inc. high- performance testing facility.
The first phase of the and the University of Texas at Dallas (UT “One of TxACE’s key goals is to help enable
new facility will involve Dallas in Richardson, TX) will establish a mil- the emergence of silicon millimeter-wave and
limeter- and sub-millimeter-wave electronics sub-millimeter-wave integrated circuits for the
network and spectrum characterization facility at the Texas Analog industry,” explains Ken O, Director of TxACE
analyses as well as Center of Excellence (TxACE). The facility and holder of the Texas Instruments Distin-
will be available to industrial and government guished Chair at UT Dallas. “With a facility
two-tone linearity and institutions using an open, of this type in a university
noise-measurement collaborative framework. environment, critical bar- r
’’
capabilities to 325 GHz. It will initially support riers will be removed for
research to make 77-to- research in this challenging
81-GHz short-range measurement area.”
radar integrated circuits “We are delighted to
(ICs) affordable. In addi- help establish the facility at
tion, researchers will be TxACE for research in mil-
able to study the feasibil- limeter and terahertz analog
ity of 180-to-300-GHz circuit design,” states Bill
spectrometry in complementary-metal-oxide- Wallace, Americas Region Director of University
semiconductor (CMOS) technology for security De-velopment at Agilent.“The research conducted
and healthcare applications. by some of the most distinguished faculty in their
The first phase of the new facility will involve field should lead to new disruptive technologies
network and spectrum analyses as well as two- and positively impact our industry.”
tone linearity and noise-measurement capa- An emerging technology, millimeter-wave
bilities to 325 GHz. In the subsequent phases, semiconductors offer applications in potentially
Agilent Technologies and UT Dallas/TxACE are everything from scanning people for weapons
committed to expand the test capability into the and monitoring air quality to enabling aircraft
500-GHz region and above as applications for to operate more safely in dense fog and other
high-frequency analog circuits demand a shared poor weather conditions.
Kudos
NORWOOD, MA—Remtec, Inc. is celebrating its 20th year individual component design featuring state-of-the-art specifica-
specializing in manufacturing ceramic packaging products tions and function evolving from in-house proprietary MMIC
for commercial and military electronics. Shortly after its or discrete designs.
founding in 1990, Remtec developed its core manufacturing NEWBURYPORT, MA—Rochester Electronics has been chosen as
technology--PCTF, which is based on combining plated copper one of the Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems 2009 Supplier
and thick films. That technology has become the foundation Excellence Award recipients. The award represents a commit-
for Remtec’s business and has undergone continuous development to quality, on-time delivery, safety, and an investment in
ment and advancement. process improvement initiatives.
CHANDLER, AZ Z—Rogers Corp. and its Advanced Circuit Materi- ANAHEIM, CA—Bisco Industries, Inc. has received a 2009 Boeing
als (ACM) Division earned a distinguished DesignCon Paper Performance Excellence Award.
Award at the DesignCon 2010 Conference and Exhibition. The HILLSBORO, OR—TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. has received
paper, “Effect of Conductor Profile on the Insertion Loss, Phase China Electronics News’ (CEN) “Most Popular Semiconductor
Constant, and Dispersion in Thin High-Frequency Transmis- Brand in China” award for 2009. TriQuint established business
sion Lines,” was co-authored by Allen F. Horn III and Patricia in China in 2001. It worked to establish a footprint there by
LaFrance of Rogers Corp. together with James Rautio, President opening offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Zhongshan as well
of Sonnet Software. as launching a Chinese language web site and working with local
FREDERICK, MD—Planar Monolithics Industries and AmpliTech universities to increase the awareness of RF technology.
have announced the collaboration of their combined product RANDOLPH, NJJ—ADI American Distributors, Inc. has announced
offering, engineering skills, and marketing efforts. This effort that its American Manufacturing Services Division has been
is able to offer unprecedented start-to-finish system design and certified to AS9100.
24 APRIL 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

Microwaves
Paul Whytock, Eu
Europe
ur pean Editor
B
BREAKTHROUGH BUILDS MEMS
ON STANDARD CMOS WAFER
O
A Spanish company, Baolab Systems, has pioneered

a new technology that is expected to cut the cost Typical MEMS packaged Roof needs to be constructed
on top of wafer Walls and supports
of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) while need to be constructed MEMS structures
strongly impacting mobile communication design.
Key to this breakthrough is the company’s ability to Custom Expensive
construct nanoscale MEMS within the structure of processing packaging
Wafer
a silicon complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor
(CMOS) wafer using standard, high-volume CMOS
processing technology (see figure). This CMOS process
is both rapid and easily controlled. In terms of cost, Only a sealing layer to plug the Roof already exists from
release etch holes is needed
the company is predicting that the savings from using NanoEMS the wafer top layers
CMOS wafer Walls and supports already
standard CMOS could be as high as 65 percent over exist from the substrate
MEMS structures
traditional MEMS manufacturing methods.

Low-cost
The Baolab NanoEMS technology uses the existing CMOS
Standard
packaging
metal layers in a CMOS wafer to form the MEMS processing CMOS wafer
structure via standard mask techniques.The inter-metal

Standard CMOS metal
dielectric (IMD) is then etched away through the pad layers and dielectric
openings in the passivation layer using hydrogen-
fluoride-vapor (vHF) techniques. The etching utilizes A top-of-wafer MEMS design is compared to the MEMS-in-CMOS-wafer approach.
equipment that is already available for volume produc-
tion and takes less than an hour, which is a minor portion of the NanoEMS technology and evaluation samples will be
overall production time. The holes are then sealed and the chip available later this year. They target handset designers and
is packaged as required. Because standard CMOS processes are manufacturers as well as the power-amplifier (PA) and RF
used, NanoEMS MEMS can be directly integrated with active front-end-module markets. In mobile-phone applications, for
circuitry to suit specific applications. example, the NanoEMS devices can serve as higher-perfor-
Baolab has successfully created these MEMS devices using mance, lower-cost replacements for gallium-arsenide (GaAs)
standard 0.18-μm CMOS on 8-in. silicon wafers with four or FETs for RF switching applications. It also can enable tunable
more metal layers. The firm has achieved minimum feature sizes active RF components, such as PAs and low-noise amplifiers
as small as 200 nm, which is an order of magnitude smaller (LNAs). This tunable capability is expected to significantly
than the sizes currently attainable with conventional MEMS. reduce the number of components needed in a mobile phone.
In doing so, this work brings NanoEMS MEMS into the realm NanoEMS products also are being developed for sensors in the
of nanostructures with the subsequent benefits of smaller sizes, mobile phone, such as electronic compasses, accelerometers,
lower power consumption, and faster devices. and several other functions in a single chip.
MEMS Expands Its CMOS Presence
A ccording to Germany-based MEMS

foundry X-Fab, one of its prime
assets is the in-house co-existence of
front-end cleanroom. In total, the X-FAB
MEMS foundry boasts a capacity of 2500
MEMS wafer starts per month.
firm, they can easily be adapted to meet
customer requirements.
Meanwhile, a French company called
MEMS and CMOS mixed-signal pro- The foundry’s main focus is on the DelfMEMs has developed a wafer RF
cesses. Because MEMS devices are manu- high-volume manufacturing of bulk MEMS device for mobile phones. It boasts
factured using techniques that are simi- and surface micromachined technolo- switching speed of less than 1 μs. Accord-
lar to those employed for ICs, X-FAB gies—both with and without CMOS ing to the company, this innovation has
plans to exploit the synergies offered integration. X-FAB has developed its been achieved simultaneously with a cost-
by the alliance of both technologies. It own technology platforms for MEMS cutting approach. The technology also
has a dedicated 400 m2 of MEMS back- applications, such as pressure, inertial, has demonstrated an attractive low actua-
end cleanroom and 1200 m2 of CMOS and infrared sensors. According to the tion voltage in the region of 8 to 12 V.

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opments while introducing you to the microwave engineers
cellular telephone?
who created them. Stay tuned for more video coverage on
www.mwrf.com! To cast your vote, go to www.mwrf.com
m now!

RLC has the exact solution
you’re looking for.
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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 461 rev E
300 kHz to 14 GHz
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serve a broad range of applications from 300 kHz to 14 GHz. ZX60-3011 0.4-3.0 12.5 1.7 +31.0 21.0 12.0 120 139.95
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Mini-Circuits...Your partners for success since 1969 U.S.Patent # 6,790,049

r Engine
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 411 rev G
C E L LU L A R I N F R A S T R U C T U R E
NewsReport
Digital Techniques Hold

Key To 4G Infrastructure
To enable high-data-rate applications on wireless networks,
microwave engineers are moving beyond traditional analog
methods to embrace a variety of digital design approaches.
sion for wireless communications tech- and Long Term Evolution (LTE; dense
NANCY FRIEDRICH nologies. Compared to analog modula- modulation with 64 quadrature ampli-
Editor
tion schemes, digital approaches can tude modulation [QAM], orthogonal
convey larger amounts of information frequency division multiple access
R
ight now, many fami- on limited bandwidths. This capability [OFDMA], and multiple input mul-
lies rely on wireless- is a convenient solution to the prob- tiple output [MIMO]). The interesting
local-area-networking lem of providing a growing number point is that we can make base stations
(WLAN) access points of users with an increasing number smaller and cheaper. That increases the
to provide Internet of services over still-limited RF spec- signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) so you can
capabilities for mul- trum. In addition, digital modulation actually achieve the higher rates.”
tiple computers inside is generally credited with advantages At Spain’s Mobile World Congress
their homes. In the like improved security and greater this past February, picoChip debuted
near future, however, such devices resistance to interference and fading two new picoXcell system-on-a-chip
will be replaced by cellular femto- than analog approaches. (SoC) devices. The PC313 and PC323
cells. These smaller base stations are Femtocells are among the devices single-chip HSPA+ femtocell SoCs serve
expected to be widely used in homes being enabled by newer digital-mod- eight or 24 users, respectively. They can
and small businesses to provide access ulation techniques, thanks to firms be scaled to accommodate even more
to fourth-generation (4G) communica- like picoChip (www.picochip.com). users. The SoCs boast Third Generation
tions services. To enable these higher- According to Rupert Baines, the Partnership Project (3GPP; www.3gpp.
data-rate capabilities, however, the firm’s VP of Marketing, “The areas org) Release 8 features like 42-Mb/s
network infrastructure as a whole we are working on are HSPA femto- downlink and 11-Mb/s uplink data
must operate with reduced amplifier cells (increasing efficiency by making rates. They also meet that release’s
distortion, increased power efficiency, base stations smaller and cheaper) demand for the inclusion of MIMO
and higher output power. RF technology, which will enable
and microwave designers are Antenna the high data rates and receive
preparing to win this battle diversity needed to achieve the
by leveraging the latest digi- RF input higher real-world user counts
tal technologies ranging from PA Filter required for enterprise and
advanced digital modulation “greater femto” applications.
schemes, multiplexing, base- To that end, the PC323 SoC
band processing, and cutting- RFIN RFOUT has been designed to accom-
edge approaches to signal pro- SC1887 modate as many as 24 simul-
cessing and linearization. RFFB taneous users for enterprise,
The move to digital-modula- campus, rural, and metro fem-
tion formats and the resulting tocell usage scenarios with
evolution of those formats has 1. This system-on-a-chip solution provides all of the functionality need- a cell radius to 2 km. Two
been a rather natural progres- ed for RF power-amplifier predistortion. cascaded devices can be used

NewsReport
to power systems with 48 users. erals, femtocell L1 engine (FLE), and 2. This dual-channel,
An SoC from Percello Ltd. (www. embedded double-data-rate (DDR) 1.2-GSample/s, 16-b DAC sup-
percello.com) also promises to reduce memory. As a result, it does not require ports the high data rates and
complex modulation schemes
HSPA+ femtocell cost and size. The any external memory or digital parts
required for advanced multi-carri-
single-chip PRC6100 maximizes digital on the board. The PRC6100 is compli- er communications equipment.
integration by housing a high-speed ant with 3GPP HNB specifications. It
MIPS24Kc processor and its periph- supports eight users and offers HSPA+
SATCOM & Cellular/PCS

RF Test Equipment
data rates of 21.6 Mb/s downstream
Satellite Link Emulator and 5.76 Mb/s upstream.
RF link emulation for payload or VSAT ter- The emergence of third-generation
minal development. Doppler, delay, path loss, (3G) HSPA/HSPA+ and 4G Long Term
phase shift and fading may be independently Evolution (LTE) mobile data services
programmed . Dynamic changing delay offers has resulted in a sharp increase in
fully phase continuous operation. Up to four bandwidth demand. This demand, in
independent channels. turn, has spurred the development and
implementation of advanced modula-
Low cost CW Synthesizer tion and multiplexing techniques in the
microwave backhaul arena. According
High performance (10MHz to 4 GHz) CW
synthesizer with downloadable date file to to Paolo Volpato, Product Strategy
control power and frequency for sweep test- Manager at Alcatel-Lucent’s (www.
ing. Ethernet, GPIB and RS 232 control alcatel-lucent.com) Wireless Trans-
mission Product Unit, “The result of
this focus has been the achievement
AWGN Carrier/Noise Generators of greater than 1-Gb/s capacity using
Complete line of frequency tunable broad- just a single radio element. Specific
band Additive While Gaussian Noise techniques used to achieve this break-
(AWGN) generators with built-in power through include the application of high
measurement. Eb/No ratio accuracy of
modulation schemes (up to 512 QAM),
0.1dB over full frequency range
the exploitation of adaptive code modu-
lation (ACM), and the use of advanced
cross polar canceller systems (XPIC)
for frequency reuse.”
He continues, “ACM, for example,
makes it possible to more efficiently
handle in real time dynamic capacity
changes in the radio link—changes that
can occur as a result of fading or vari-
able weather conditions. In response
to these variations, the modulation
changes accordingly—ensuring that
high-priority services are consistently
given precedence over best-effort traf-
ruce Street Oakland NJ 07436
32A Spru
fic. Applying ACM, however, poses a
01) 677-0008 Fax (201) 677-9444
Tel (201)
challenge: Congestion may occur in
RF Test Equipment for Wireless Communications www.dbmcorp.com the uplink radio direction as a result
of limitations in the current generation
of nodal hybrid microwave devices

GVA
-81
+
10 d
GVA
B
-83
+
GVA
-82
20 d +
B 15 d
B
GVA
-84
+
24 d
B
+20 dBm
m Power Ampllifierss wiith a choice of g
gai
ain !
PLIFIERS
DC to 7 GHzz
Mini-Circuits’ monolithic, surface-mount GVA amplifiers are
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as +41 dBm at
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a 1GHz. Supplied in RoHS-compliant, SOT-89
extremely broadband, with wide dynamic range and the housings, low-cost GVA amplifiers feature excellent
right gain to fit your application. Based on high-performance input/output return loss and high reverse isolation. With
InGaP HBT technology, patented GVA amplifiers cover DC* to built-in ESD protection, GVA amplifiers are unconditionally
7 GHz, with a selection of gain choices 10, 15, 20 or 24dB, stable and designed for a single 5-V supply. For more on
(measured at 1 GHz). They provide better than +20 dBm broadband GVA amplifiers, visit the Mini-Circuits’ web site
typical output power, with typical IP3 performance as high at www.minicircuits.com.
US patent 6,943,629 *Low frequency determined by coupling cap. Mini-Circuits...Your partners for success since 1969

r Engine
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 458 rev C
NewsReport
3. When it is implemented in an RF or microwave transceiver, this

digital superconductor technology allows a very wideband RF or
Free etched thick film kit! microwave signal to be directly digitized right after the antenna.
Need
Ne
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eryy hi
er highgh-p
ghh-ppre
reci
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ion thihick
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from
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comp
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in g, Volpato explains that these hybrid microwave devices
aannd ex
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e? handle time-division-multiplexed (TDM) and data traffic
For
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ur ffre
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hed
ed tthi
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fillm
m kit
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callll or em
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att thi
hick
ckfilm lm@a
lm@a@anaanar
naare
ren.
n.co
com
com 800-411-6596 > www.anaren.com statically reserved. Because of this condition, adaptive
modulation can only be applied to the data portion of the
traffic in the current environment. This condition results
from the fact that TDM service makes use of fixed slots that
are consistently transmitted even when some of those slots
are empty. When congestion occurs, all of the data traffic
including voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) is impacted
regardless of its relative priority.
RF & Microwave The latest generation of microwave packet-radio devices
strives to overcome this limitation by treating all types of traf-
Design Software
fic as packets that can be transmitted using a single Ethernet
Ap
ppl
p ied Comp
putational Sciences switch. They also employ statistical multiplexing on radio
www.appliedmicrowave.com directions so that channel capacity can be more fully exploited.
For example, Alcatel-Lucent’s 9500 microwave packet radio
• Exact Circuit Synthesis leverages adaptive modulation and supports deterministic
• Accuratte S
Siimullati
tion behavior in terms of latency and jitter independently from
• Powerful Optimization
timization the network load. Services are handled as a function of their
priority. Native TDM voice, for example, is converted into
• Statistical Yield Analysis packets and combined with VoIP so that a single voice service
• Free Tecchnical support is handled by microwave-packet-radio devices.
e
o m plet ites Underlying these system solutions are advances in com-
C gn su k! ponent design that also rely on digital techniques. To answer
i
des nder $1 the call for reduced amplifier distortion, increased power
for u efficiency, and higher output power, for example, Scintera
(www.scintera.com) recently teamed with Richardson Elec-
Check Web for Latest Specials tronics (www.rell.com) to bring its SC1887 power amplifier
TM
(PA) to market (Fig. 1). This PA vows to deliver critically
LINC2 From ACS needed linearity improvements without requiring access to
Powerful • • • Accurate • • • Affordable in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) baseband signals. The SC1887
To order, contact: www.appliedmicrowave.com Adaptive RF Power Amplifier Linearizer (RFPAL) vows to
provide an adjacent-channel leakage ratio (ACLR) to 26 dB.
The solution requires no analog-to-digital converters (ADCs)
or digital-to-analog converters (DACs). With Scintera’s RF

RF/LO Conversion LO-to-RF
Model Frequency Loss Image Rejection Isolation
Number (GHz) (dB) Max. (dB) Min. (dB) Min.
IMAGE REJECTION MIXERS
IRM0204(*)C2(**) 2 – 4 7.5 18 20
IRM0408(*)C2(**) 4 – 8 8 18 20
IRM0812(*)C2(**) 8 – 12 8 18 20
IRM1218(*)C2(**) 12 – 18 10 18 20
IRM0208(*)C2(**) 2 – 8 9 18 18
IRM0618(*)C2(**) 6 – 18 10 18 18
IR1826NI7(**) 18 – 26 10.5 18 20
IR2640NI7(**) 26 – 40 12 18 20
RF/LO Conversion Balance LO-to-RF

Model Frequency Loss Phase (±Deg.) Amplitude (±dB) Isolation
Number (GHz) (dB) Max. Typ./Max. Typ./Max. (dB) Min.
I/Q DEMODULATORS
IRM0204(*)C2Q 2 – 4 10.5 7.5/10 1.0/1.5 20
IRM0408(*)C2Q 4 – 8 11 7.5/10 1.0/1.5 20
IRM0812(*)C2Q 8 – 12 11 5/7.5 .75/1.0 20
IRM1218(*)C2Q 12 – 18 13 10/15 1.0/1.5 20
IRM0208(*)C2Q 2 – 8 12 7.5/10 1.0/1.5 18
IRM0618(*)C2Q 6 – 18 13 10/15 1.0/1.5 18
IR1826NI7Q 18 – 26 13.5 10/15 1.0/1.5 20
IR2640NI7Q 26 – 40 15 10/15 1.0/1.5 20
RF Conversion Carrier Carrier Suppression

Model Frequency Loss Suppression Carrier - Fundamental IF
Number (GHz) (dB) Max. (dBc) Min. (dBc) Min.
IF DRIVEN MODULATORS
SSM0204(*)C2MD(**) 2 – 4 9 20 20
SSM0408(*)C2MD(**) 4 – 8 9 20 18
SSM0812(*)C2MD(**) 8 – 12 9 20 20
SSM1218(*)C2MD(**) 12 – 18 10 20 18
SSM0208(*)C2MD(**) 2 – 8 9 20 18
SSM0618(*)C2MD(**) 6 – 18 12 20 18
For full data sheets on the

products shown, please visit MODEL NUMBER OPTION TABLE
(*) LO/IF P1 dB C.P. (**) IF FREQUENCY
www.miteq.com/adinfo
Add Letter Power Range (dBm) (Typ.) Add Letter OPTION (MHz)
L 10 – 13 dBm +6 A 20 – 40
For Carrier Driven Modulators, M 13 – 16 dBm +10 B 40 – 80
please contact MITEQ. H 17 – 20 dBm +15 C 100 – 200
Q DC – 500 (I/Q)
NewsReport
Power Amplifier Linearizer, the com- efficient power-amplifier topologies. analog circuitry. The solution can be
plex signal processing is done in the According to Kris Rauch, Scintera’s reconfigured with software to support
RF domain. This solution is applicable Vice President of Sales and Marketing, a wide array of modulation types and
across a broad range of signals includ- “The IC provides a programmable signal bandwidths over all operating
ing 2G, 3G, 4G, and other modulation analog signal processor under digital conditions.”
types, as its analog signal-processing control by way of an on-chip micro- Chris Marshall, VP of RF/Microwave
engine is capable of linearizing highly controller integrated with advanced Products at Richardson Electronics,
notes,“The Scintera approach of analog
predistortion is grabbing a lot of atten-
tion because it is easy to implement.
Repeatable Signal Integrity

t
And as an RF-to-RF solution, it can be
applied to PA designs that do not have
access to the baseband signal. The poten-
tial ACLR improvement of up to 26 dB
is not as great as digital-predistortion
(DPD) designs. But the minimal engi-
neering cost and relatively low unit price
make it attractive for smaller production
runs and for repeaters and other lower-
power designs, where the DPD overhead
becomes significant and the relatively
low operating cost doesn’t justify much
of a price increase.”
Advanced digital algorithms like DPD
and crest-factor reduction are becoming
popular techniques to linearize PAs and
improve transmitter efficiency from
less than 10 to over 40 percent, notes
Gina Colangelo, Segment Applications
Engineer for Analog Devices’ (www.
analog.com) Communications Infra-
structure Segment Team. She empha-
sizes that DPD requires an observation
receiver with a high-bandwidth ADC
that downconverts a coupled version
of the PA output. The digital version
GORETM Microwave/RF Cable Assemblies of the transmitted waveform is com-
pared to the received waveform and
Gore develops a wide of range of high performance cable assemblies.
adaptive algorithms compute/update a
With over 50 years of heritage, our reliable, innovative cable assemblies
are designed to maximize repeatable signal integrity. Gore provides set of coefficients to pre-load the next
products to meet your most challenging system requirements. transmitted waveform. As the adaptive
algorithm converges, the PA is linearized
gore.com/mwrf
and the output distortion is significantly
Visit Gore at IMS 2010 Booth #731 reduced. The increase in speed and the
move to finer-line processes has made
DPD more scalable for multiple antenna
GORETM Phaseflex 110 GORETM VNA Microwave/ GORETM Ultra High GORETM Blindmate
GHz Assemblies RF Test Assemblies Density Interconnects Push-on Connectors transmit systems compared to other
analog linearization methods, such as
feed-forward linearization.
As mentioned, very-high-speed DACs
also are playing a major role in today’s
wireless infrastructure, as they are the
chief signal generator. Colangelo notes,
“They are also now performing many

“I need to achieve profit goals and control costs.”
Fast, lean and ready to adapt.

Pressssuure to control co
Pr cost
sts is increasing. But so is press
sssur
uree to deliver
fastterr. A
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NewsReport
of the functions that were once handled higher while keeping power and power noise immunity and timing.”
by various additional circuit elements supply voltages low. High input data The latest signal-processing DACs,
including the baseband processor. In rates to the DAC help to increase the such as ADI’s AD9122 TxDAC+, prom-
addition, the increasing use of low- transmit path input bandwidth, allow- ise to work in a complex, intermedi-
voltage differential signaling (LVDS) ing for higher-order DPD algorithms ate-frequency (IF) direct-conversion
for the digital interface allows the data or wider correction bandwidths. LVDS architecture (Fig. 2). They provide the
rate to run at 1200 MSamples/s and also radiates less and provides better fully modulated IF I and Q signals
that can be fed directly to the antenna
through the analog quadrature modula-
tor and PA without additional signal
modulation.
By leveraging digital superconductor
technology, Hypres has been able to
develop ADCs that supposedly sur-
pass current ADC offerings in terms of
sampling speed, resolution, and band-
width (Fig. 3). When applied in an RF
or microwave transceiver, this digital
superconductor technology allows
a very wideband RF or microwave
signal to be directly digitized right
after the antenna. It does not require
downconverters or multiple ADCs,
filters, and amplifiers. Richard Hitt,
CEO of Hypres, states, “Digitizing such
large swaths of spectrum so accurately,
quickly, and at the top (near the anten-
na) of the signal chain creates the path
to a true ‘all-digital’ system—a digital
baseband that now has a true digital
front-end companion. And for RF and
microwave engineers, there is no longer
a need to devise workarounds to help
boost or clean up a signal that has been
degraded through its twists and turns
in the predominately analog front-end
of the signal chain as it heads toward
the digital baseband processors.”
As these few examples show, the
multitude of cutting-edge digital tech-
nologies is offering a seemingly limitless
amount of options for next-generation
infrastructure designers. As is common
with cutting-edge, emerging technolo-
gies, some of them are already in com-
petition. In addition, a number of them
may not be deemed practical solutions
for real-world problems because of
expense, dependability, ruggedness, or
performance issues. No matter which
solutions win for LTE, however, one
thing is certain: The future of wireless
infrastructure will increasingly rely on
digital techniques.

R F / M W F I LT E R S
RF Primer
Narrowing Choices
For RF/MW Filters
Filters play key roles in RF and microwave systems although
the number of different filter types and technologies can make
the selection process somewhat challenging.
the sake of minimal amplitude ripple in

JACK BROWNE the passband. Chebyshev filters feature
Technical Director
a sharp transition between the passband
and the stopband, characterized as a
filter with high quality factor (high Q),
M
icrowave filters with some compromise in amplitude
can be simple to flatness and insertion loss in the pass-
build, but com- band. A Bessel filter has good amplitude
plex to under- and transient response but sacrifices in
stand. They stopband attenuation. It is known for
perform a basic This size comparison shows the size difference its linear phase characteristics, resulting
function in a between large cavity filters and miniature in flat group delay across the passband.
system: stop ceramic filters. [Photo courtesy of Anatech An elliptic filter is capable of sharp
some signals and pass others. But they Electronics (www.anatechelectronics.com).] transitions from the passband to the
can achieve this function in many dif- stopband, at the expense of passband
ferent ways, and with many different can be combined to form a diplexer (or amplitude ripple and excessive pass-
side effects, such as distortion to the three bandpass filters into a triplexer), band group-delay variations.
amplitude and phase responses of the while a lowpass and a highpass filter The performance levels of different
system. Before making filter choices, it can be joined to create a duplexer. types of filters can best be compared by
helps to know how the choices differ. Ideally, a filter would suffer 0 dB a common group of specifications that
Filters come in a variety of configu- attenuation for the signals it was includes insertion loss, rejection, VSWR,
rations: lowpass, highpass, bandpass, designed to pass, and infinite attenua- and power-handling capability. Inser-
and band-stop or band-reject filters. As tion for signals it was designed to reject. tion loss, which refers to signals within a
the name implies, a lowpass filter has In real life, dielectric substrate materials, filter’s passband, is the difference (in dB)
minimal attenuation below a cutoff conductors, passive components, and in signal amplitude between the output
point while suppressing signals above connectors contribute to losses and and the input. As mentioned previously,
the cutoff point. The highpass filter less-than-ideal filter behavior. Those ideal passband insertion loss would be
works in reverse. A bandpass filter specifying filters must sort through a 0 dB, but realistic numbers are higher
has minimal attenuation in a pass- number of tradeoffs to decide which and can often be above 1 dB depending
band around a center frequency, with filter is best for a given application. upon frequency and filter type.
high rejection above and below the Filter response types include Butter- A filter’s stop band is the frequen-
passband. A band-reject filter works worth, Chebyshev, Bessel, and elliptic cy range over which it is specified to
in reverse, stopping signals within a filters, each with a different response attenuate signals by a certain level. That
narrow bandwidth around a center shape that is suited to a specific set of level may be 20 dB or more, depending
frequency and allowing all other signals applications. For example, Butterworth upon how a manufacturer characterizes
to pass. In addition, a pair of bandpass filters sacrifice the sharpness of the tran- their filters. For a given application, the
filters with different frequency ranges sition from passband to stopband for amount of rejection should be at least
42 visit www.mwrf.com APRIL 2010 Microwaves & RF

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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 432 rev J
RF Primer
enough to decrease the amplitude of an band. The cut-off frequency is defined the passband in a bandpass filter and the
undesired signal below, for example, the as the point where the insertion loss (or rejection band or notch in a band-stop
sensitivity of a receiver front end in the rejection) is equal to the 3-dB or half- filter. In addition, for a bandpass filter,
same system. In some filter types, stop- power point. For a lowpass or highpass the center frequency is typically the geo-
band rejection may be 80 dB or more. filter, there is one cut-off frequency. For metrical mean between the upper and
A filter’s cut-off frequency essentially a bandpass or band-stop filter, there are lower cut-off frequencies. For example,
separates its passband from its stop two cutoff frequencies, above and below a bandpass filter with lower cut-off
frequency of 2400 MHz and upper
cut-off frequency of 2500 MHz has a
center frequency of 2450 MHz and a
3-dB bandwidth of 100 MHz.
A filter’s voltage standing wave
Narda’s In-Stock ratio (VSWR) is a measure of how it is

impedance matched to the characteristic
PIN Switches impedance of the system in which it
will be used. The VSWR of one port is
the impedance looking into that port
When functionality must be optimal, while the other filter port is precisely
Narda gets the job done every time matched to the characteristic imped-
ance of the system (typically 50 Ohms
■ Very small package size in high-frequency systems). As a result,
a filter’s specifications usually include
■ SPST – SP6T models typical and maximum values for both
input and output VSWR, representing
■ Low insertion loss how well the filter is impedance matched
to the source and load, respectively, to
■ Integral TTL drivers
which it will be connected. VSWR is
■ Hermetically sealed denoted as a value in a ratio to unity,
such as 1.50:1, but can also be expressed
as the filter’s return loss (in dB). A filter is
considered absorptive if it is impedance
matched across both its passband and its
stopband, and reflective if it is matched
only in its passband. In the latter case,
a filter will exhibit high VSWR in the
V si
Vis t Us
Att The
A stopband, such as 20.0:1 or higher.
Shown here The power-handling capability of a
MT
TT-S Show is the SP2T
Booths 3002 PIN Switch filter is often a function of the physi-
& 3102 cal size of the filter and its operating
frequency range, as well as the filter
technology and substrate material type,
the type of package, and the thermal dis-
sipation limits of those materials. Maxi-
mum power limits are also a function
of signal type, such as continuous-wave
435 Moreland Road (CW) or pulsed signal and the type of
Hauppauge, NY 11788
4ELs&AX modulation used with the signal.
e-mail: nardaeast@L-3com.com Several companies offer down-
www.nardamicrowave.com/east
loadable white papers or application
T e Most
Th o Trust
Trusted Lin
nk to
to RF & Mi
M crowav
wave
e Solu
utions
tio
io
ons
ns.
ns notes for those wishing succinct refer-
ence materials on filter specifications,
including Anatech Electronics (www.
anatechelectronics.com) with “How
to Specify RF and Microwave Filters”

RF Primer
with an excellent overview of differ- 114). Lumped-element or LC filters are and to power levels of about 5 W, but are
ent filter types, the same company’s commonly used below about 3 GHz. suitable for bandpass and band-reject
“Lumped Element (LC) Filters” with The size of these filters is dictated by the filters when small size is important.
a review of these popular RF filters, operating frequencies and the required Cavity filters can handle power lev-
and Mini-Circuits (www.minicircuits. sizes of the L and C components. els to about 500 W, with outstanding
com) with its application note, “Filters: Helical filters, composed of a series insertion-loss performance. Cavity filters
Introduction, Definition of Terms, Q of magnetically coupled cavities, are can be designed to about 30 GHz. They
& A’s,” which reviews the meanings also LC filters and similarly limited to are large compared to LC and ceramic
of filter specifications and provides a about 3 GHz in bandpass formats only. filters (see figure) and expensive since
few application examples based on the Although capable of sharper responses they are typically machined from blocks
company’s compact filters. than conventional LC filters, they are of aluminum.
The types of filters are many, and limited to about 5 W input power. SAW, BAW, and FBAR filters are
include fixed and tunable types, at low Ceramic filters are fabricated on made by semiconductor fabrication
and high frequencies, such as lumped- thin ceramic substrates using discrete or techniques, using photolithography
element filters based on discrete induc- integrated components to form resonant to pattern fine features, while MEMS
tors (Ls) and capacitors (Cs), crystal circuits. Depending upon the dielectric employ these processes to form three-
filters, ceramic filters, cavity filters, constant of the ceramic substrate, ceram- dimensional structures. All can be made
surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) filters, ic filters can be made extremely small, as small as 2 x 2 mm, although limited in
bulk-acoustic-wave (BAW) filters, film- with higher-dielectric-constant materials power-handling capability. SAW, BAW,
bulk-acoustic-resonator (FBAR) fil- yielding smaller filters. They can be made and FBAR filters are typically used in
ters, microelectromechanical-systems low in cost by using volume production cellular communications handsets to
(MEMS) filters, and even active, semi- methods and can also be made small in about 3 GHz. MEMS filters offer the
conductor-based tunable filters (see p. size. They are limited to about 6 GHz potential to 18 GHz and beyond.
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crosstalk
An Interview With
Joseph G. Thomas, Jr.
NF: After being part of larger corporations for a long time, M/A-COM Tech-
nology Solutions is now privately held, correct?
JT: That’s correct. We are now a private standalone company with our sole
focus on the RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave space. Our owner, John
Ocampo, is a private investor. But more importantly for us, John has been a
very successful entrepreneur in this industry for his entire career.
NF: How has the move to being private affected the company in terms of
Joseph G. Thomas, Jr. (Joe) core competencies?
JT: It’s too early to roll out a list of new core competencies, although we’ve
Thomas is CEO of M/A-COM
certainly kicked off a set of new investments that will significantly impact us
Technology Solutions. He
starting in about two to three years. However, there is a lot we are able to do
has been with the company in the meantime as a private standalone company on existing competencies.
and its predecessors since We can make changes very rapidly in how we drive the best competencies
1975. He has held numer- harder and not worry so much about trying to give attention to as many
ous positions—Design things as we did in the recent past.
Engineer, Engineering Man- NF: Your employees have been through a lot of changes. What steps has the
ager, and Product Marketing firm taken to make them feel secure and motivated during the transition back
Manager—before moving to a private company?
into senior leadership roles JT: Our employee base has been through a lot, given the double sale of our busi-
including President and now ness during last year’s economic-meltdown period (which in itself negatively
CEO. Throughout his career, impacted all companies). But we have very resilient employees. We’ve begun
to re-invigorate our employees through a series of efforts—the most important
Joe has led growth teams
of which is the ability to communicate a solid future. We’ve done a better job
addressing markets from
of communicating our near-term goals and getting employees involved with
consumer-entertainment to many improvement projects. We have informal, focused employee meetings
strategic defense applica- and have instituted multiple employee recognition vehicles, such as a service
tions. His product knowl- awards program—tapping back into many things that have done well for us in
edge includes expertise in our 60-year history when we were a standalone company. Our financial perfor- r
RF interconnects, semicon- mance has improved—not to where I want us to eventually be, but the cash our
ductors, components, sub- business generates from operations allows us to increase our investment levels
systems, and system-level for future growth. The evolving market recovery is also helping us—having any
solutions. Joe holds a Bach- uncertainty regarding the spin-off activity well behind us at this point.
elor of Science in Electrical NF: What is the company culture like today at M/A-COM Technology
Engineering from the Uni- Solutions?
JT: The biggest shifts are very much a “can-do” attitude and the ability to
versity of Massachusetts.
move faster as a private standalone company. Also, we’re a much smaller
company compared to when we were part of some larger corporations. So
today, every employee has the ability to make a noticeable impact as well as
really be heard.
NF: Can you tell me about the company’s history, which goes back more
than 60 years?
JT: Sure, it has been an interesting ride. Having been here for almost 35
years, I’ve seen a lot of changes. To start at the beginning, our company was
founded as Microwave Associates in August of 1950. Our first customer
was the US Army, to which we provided glass tubing for cutting-edge radar
systems. Focused on the rapidly emerging semiconductor business, the
company expanded its horizons in the late 1960s and 1970s through stra-
tegic and extensive R&D investment. The company name was changed to

crosstalk
M/A-COM, Inc. in 1978 to reflect the private and public radio networks. COM Technology Solutions, Inc.
evolving nature of the company. Starting in 1995, the company went for further divestiture. In 2009, John
During the 1990s, M/A-COM re- through a series of leadership chang- Ocampo, industry veteran and entre-
invented itself again by shifting its es resulting from being acquired and preneur, acquired M/A-COM Tech.
major focus from the defense sector divested by companies like AMP, Today, M/A-COM Technology Solu-
to the commercial market. It did so Tyco, Tyco Electronics, and finally tions is getting back to its roots and
by broadening its technology and Cobham plc in 2008. Cobham con- building on its innovations over the
market approach to include a vari- solidated the component business last 60 years. Aerospace and defense,
ety of wireless systems—in particular assets in the newly formed M/A- CATV/broadcast, test and instrumen-
tation, and point-to-point communi-
cations are now the growth drivers.
In 2010, M/A-COM Tech began see-
ing a return to profitable growth and
industry leadership. Our goal is to be
known by everyone in the industry
as the First Name in Microwave—
Our company was

founded as Microwave
Associates in August of
1950. Our first customer
was the US Army, to which
we provided glass tubing
8)&/:06µ3& for radar systems.
41&$*':*/("'*-5&3©
the company that delivers innovative
products by innovative people.
NF: Now that M/A-COM Tech is a small-
%0/µ5 (0 *5 "-0/&
%0/µ5(0*5"-0/& er, more focused company in terms of
technology, what types of opportunities
will you pursue?
'JMUFSTDBOQMBZBDSVDJBMSPMFJOXIFUIFSBTZTUFNTVDDFFETPS JT: Our predominant growth focus is
GBJMTJOUIFGJFME5IBUµTXIZEFTJHOFSTUVSOUP"OBUFDI&MFDUSPOJDT in the RF semiconductor space. The
GPSTPMVUJPOTUPUIFJSUPVHIFTUGJMUFSJOHDIBMMFOHFT core technology areas are amplification,
switching, and frequency-generation
functions realized with our radio-fre-
8FµMMXPSLXJUIZPVUPEFWFMPQBDVTUPN3'PSNJDSPXBWFGJMUFS
quency integrated circuits (RFICs), tran-
UIBUNFFUTPSFYDFFETZPVSFYQFDUBUJPOT°BOEEFMJWFSJUGBTU
sistors, and diode products for appli-
cations in the radar, communications,
4PXIFUIFSZPVSEFTJHOHPFTJOUPBDPNNFSDJBMPSNJMJUBSZTZTUFN and industrial, scientific, and medical
ZPVSGJSTUDBMMTIPVMECFUP"OBUFDI&MFDUSPOJDT°UIFMFBEFSJO (ISM) markets. New areas also are being
DVTUPNGJMUFSTGSPN%$UP()[GPSZFBST added. Some are showing rapid results
while others will come on-stream in a
couple of years.
NF: M/A-COM Tech recently released
$0/5"$56450%":"/"5&$)&-&$530/*$4$0. a line of voltage-controlled oscillators
TBMFT!BOBUFDIFMFDUSPOJDTDPN (VCOs) for backhaul. Is infrastructure
your biggest market focus?
0638&#4503&".$3'$0. JT: It’s a growth area for sure but I
wouldn’t call it our largest. It is off to
a very good start, given the fact that
we introduced the initial products well

crosstalk
under a year ago. Overall, our plan for officer pulls over a subject, he or she
backhaul is to expand our product could then “look” into the vehicle to
offering so we can essentially supply all Overall, our plan for see if the suspect is armed from the
of the key elements of our customer’s backhaul is to expand safety of the police vehicle.
block diagram. NF: Please tell me about the opportuni-
NF: In the past, you and I spoke about
our product offering so ties you see in “green” technology.
emerging opportunities in sensing tech- we can essentially supply JT: Green technology is not only good
nologies. Can you define sensing for all of the key elements for the environment; it’s also good for
our readers and explain the reasons business. Today, M/A-COM Tech prod-
for growth? of our customer’s block ucts enable green applications at both
JT: There are multiple opportunities diagram. the appliance level as well as in the infra-
for wireless or wired sensing. There structure for “smart-grid” applications.
are opportunities in the safety, posi- JT: Perimeter security is a great example. Our products are used to extend battery
tioning, and “green” areas. We have Here, the term “perimeter” can be that life in mobile handheld devices and
a new product ramping this year in of a person, the footprint of a building, enable “Energy Star”-rated products
the positioning area that works in the a nation’s border, or even a defined zone like set-top boxes for CATV networks.
Ford Sync program. We’ve enjoyed of atmosphere. Sensing—either passive They also are used in the automatic-
the run-up, as Ford has done very well or active—allows for the continuous meter-reading (AMR) units in smart
over the past year. In the green area, a monitoring of some criteria that helps grids. We are currently on a program
good target is a play on improving the to enable safety or security. M/A-COM with the Department of Energy (DOE)
efficiency of the grid. This effort is a Tech was a pioneer in the wideband and Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
new one for us and we’ll have a better millimeter-wave sensing products that ogy (MIT) to develop technology that
assessment of it over the next year. are used in passive airport-screening may someday be deployed in the grid
NF: How do safety and security fall into applications. This same technology can itself to help improve transmission
the market for sensing? be ported to a police vehicle. When an efficiencies.
with In
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■ Microwaves & RF 49
financialnews
LPKF’s Record Earnings Exceed Forecasts
THE LPKF GROUP, P which is headquar- vious year. Consolidated sales rose by ous year’s level of €48.1 million (approx-
tered in Garbsen, Germany, closed the 12 percent to €50.7 million (approxi- imately $64,713,575). Compared to
2009 financial year with earnings before mately $67,409,973) versus €45.4 mil- the 2008 total of €10.3 million, orders
interest and tax (EBIT) of €7 million lion for the previous year. Incoming in hand rose to €14.7 million (roughly
(approximately $9,437,396 US dollars) orders at €56 million (approximately $18,874,792). The performance was
compared to €3.1 million for the pre- $75,499,170) were well up on the previ- positively influenced by the changed
product mix and cost reductions.
In addition, the return on capital
employed (ROCE) climbed from 7.4
to 15.7 percent. Profit per share rose
®
to €0.43 versus €0.17 for the previous
year. Compared to the same quarter
in 2008, turnover in the fourth quar-
Microwave Components & Instruments
ter of 2009 climbed by 16 percent
DC to 67 GHz
to €16 million while EBIT rose from
€1.2 to €2 million. Growth was attri-
butable to the cutting and structuring
laser segment—especially the unin-
terrupted demand for laser-direct-
structuring (LDS) systems used in the
production of molded interconnect
Directional Detectors
Directional Couplers
to 50 GHz
devices (MIDs).
3 dB 90° Hybrid Couplers
to 67 GHz Currently, LPKF forecasts potential
to 40 GHz
for growth in almost all of its divi-
sions. The prospects for further growth
are particularly good in the LDS busi-
ness. Tangible signs of recovery in the
markets also have been seen in other
Detectors segments since the end of 2009. At
Zero Bias the moment, the company notes that
Schottky macroeconomic development is very
Double Arrow 3 dB 180° Planar Doped difficult to predict. Nevertheless, LPKF
Hybrid Couplers to 26.5 GHz Barrier Planar MLDD Power Divider/
Tunnel Diode is expecting to do increased business
Combiner to 40GHz
Threshold Detectors in the 2010 financial year. It forecasts
to 40 GHz growth in sales to exceed 10 percent
while its EBIT margin will likely remain
in double figures.
If the global economy stabilizes dur-
ing the course of the year, the Board of
Adapters: DC to 50 GHz Managing Directors expects sales and
In Series: SMA, 2.92 mm, 2.4 mm Coaxial
RF & Microwave profits to grow further in the 2011
Between Series: 2.29 mm to 2.4 mm Terminations
Power Meter to 50 GHz financial year.
100 KHz to 40 GHz At the supervisory board meeting
Broadband Limiters
Pin-Pin Diode on March 26, the board adopted a
Pin-Schottky Diode to 18 GHz resolution to appoint CEO Dr. Ingo
Bretthauer to the position of Chairman
MIL Qualified Components Available of the Board of Managing Directors,
effective immediately. Because of the
®
1288 Anvilwood Ave. Sunnyvale, CA 94089 positive development in business in
2009, the Board of Managing Directors
Toll Free: (877) 734-5999 • Fax: (408) 734-3017 • sales@krytar.com and the Supervisory Board will pose a
www.krytar.com lists complete specitications
resolution at the annual general meeting
and application ideas for all products
on June 10, 2010 to pay a dividend of
20 cents per share.

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companynews
existing customers and distributors.
CONTRACTS Mentor Graphics Corp.—Freescale Semiconductor has selected
Mentor as a partner in the silicon-test, yield-analysis, physical-
Northrop Grumman Corp.—Has been awarded a contract by verification, and design-for-fabrication-and-manufacturability
the Ministry of Defence of Brunei Darussalam to provide (DFM) technology areas. This collaboration enables Free-
Joint Operations Centre (JOC) command and control scale’s deployment of Mentor’s Tessen and Calibre technolo-
capability for the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF). The gies covering design for test (DFT), physical verification and
contract, which will be undertaken by Northrop Grumman analysis, advanced resolution-enhancement technologies
UK, will include the supply of an integrated Command, (RETs), and pre- and post-tapeout DFM. The new tech-
Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Sur- nologies expand on the work of an existing collaboration
veillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) headquarter system between Freescale and Mentor for developing design flows
and a deployable JOC with the provision of training and and methods to improve design for manufacturing and
in-country support. The JOC will provide the RBAF with a silicon test capabilities.
facility that will deliver command and control capability for Microchip Technology, Inc.—Has acquired Sunnyvale-based
military commands and civil organizations at the national ZeroG Wireless, Inc., which specializes in low-power embed-
and international level. It will be interoperable with NATO ded WiFi solutions. ZeroG is a privately held, fabless-
and ASEAN allies as well as coalition partners. semiconductor developer of WiFi-certified transceivers
Hughes Network Systems—Has been selected by the State and FCC-certified modules. This acquisition is expected to
of New York to provide a suite of managed services and strengthen Microchip’s wireless offerings by enabling embed-
connectivity under the Comprehensive Telecommunica- ded designers to easily connect to this ubiquitous networking
tions Services contract, Group 77017, Award 20268. The protocol with any 8-, 16-, or 32-bit PIC microcontroller.
indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract is for Cree, Inc.—Has announced a distribution agreement with
a term of seven years. It enables authorized users, such as Arrow Electronics, Inc. for Cree silicon-carbide (SiC) power
statewide agencies, local governments, and eligible nonprofit, products. This agreement gives Arrow’s customers access to
educational, and charitable organizations, to purchase tele- the firm’s latest commercially available SiC junction-barrier-
communications services provided by Hughes. Schottky (JBS) products. Among the Cree products available
Bridgewater Systems—Has announced that MetroPCS Com- through Arrow will be the Z-REC series of 600-V Schottky
munications, Inc. has selected its Long-Term Evolution (LTE) diodes and the 1200-V Schottky-diode line.
product suite including the Bridgewater Home Subscriber AT4 wireless—Has appointed HCT Korea as its official
Server and Policy Controller. Both are anchored by Bridge- calibration laboratory, offering local, KOLAS-accredited
water’s Subscriber Data Broker for its fourth-generation calibration services in South Korea.
(4G) LTE network. Conexant Systems, Inc.—Has agreed to sell property adjacent
Vincotech—Has signed a distribution contract with Atlantik to its Newport Beach headquarters to City Ventures LLC for
Elektronik, a full-service electronics distributor and market- $26.1 million. City Ventures is a residential and mixed-use
trend analyst for global technologies. Atlantik Elektronik, a developer of urban projects throughout California. The prop-
partner of CSR, and Vincotech, the European GPS module erty, located on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach, consists of
partner of SiRF (a CSR company), will market the latest GPS approximately 25 acres and includes two leased buildings.
modules and telematics solutions. The primary focus of this Exalt Communications—Has announced that the South Metro
partnership is on promoting Vincotech’s SiRFstarIV-based Fire Rescue Authority in Colorado has upgraded its mobile
technology and telematics product solution while continuing emergency-communications network with Exalt EX-4.9i
the design-in support of Vincotech’s SiRFstarIII portfolio. microwave radio systems. South Metro provides fire and
emergency services over 176 square miles in Douglas and
F R E S H S TA R T S Arapahoe counties. The organization deployed Exalt EX-4-
.9i radio systems to increase bandwidth and reduce inter-
Diagnosys Systems—Has launched a new web site (www. ference issues, which it had faced with legacy WiFi-based
diagnosys.com) that coincides with a change to the Diag- radio systems.
nosys logo and overall corporate identity. In addition to test Avery Dennison Corp.—Has announced that its radio-frequency-
equipment, Diagnosys offers a complete suite of testers and identification (RFID) inlays have passed the specs and system
test services to assist customers in effectively using diagnostic tests and met the performance requirements established by
tools as a way to return faulty boards to service more rapidly. the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the
The new web site allows prospects to move directly to pages tagging of luggage at airports. The Avery Dennison RFID
covering functional test (go/no go), circuit-card diagnostics, technology has been successfully deployed in tagging solutions
high-performance testing, boundary scan, conformal coat- at Las Vegas and Hong Kong airports. Through its partner-
ing removal, test services, or turnkey and custom design ship with Motorola and Print-O-Tape, Avery Dennison will
applications. General information on training and support supply Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) with inlays
are available along with a secure section of the web site for for up to 70 million RFID-enabled baggage-tracking tags.

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people
Sabritec Appoints
Pianalto President
SCOTT PIANALTO has been appointed President of
Sabritec, a Smiths Interconnect business that provides
interconnect solutions for military, aerospace, tele-
com, space, test and measurement, and commercial
PIANALTO
NAME applications. He has over 20 years of experience
in the connector industry and most recently served as the Director
of Marketing and Operations for a major connector manufacturer
within the military aerospace market. In this new role, Pianolto will
focus on implementing an accelerated growth strategy to strengthen
and expand the company’s position in the marketplace. He holds a
BS in chemistry from the University of California and an MBA from
Pepperdine University.
Isola Group, SARL—DAVID LUTTRULL Raytheon—RICHARD R. YUSE has been

has joined the company as Director named President, Raytheon Space and
of Development-Emerging Technolo- Airborne Systems (SAS) business. He
gies. He will work with Isola’s OEM succeeds JON C. JONES, who passed
Marketing and R&D teams to develop away on March 6. In May 2007, Yuse
new products and technologies for high- was named President of Raytheon
speed digital and halogen-free applica- Technical Services Company (RTSC).
tions. Prior to joining Isola, Luttrull He joined Raytheon in 1976. JOHN D.
was President and Chief Scientist for HARRIS II is now President, Raytheon
MG Lab Services. Technical Services Company. He suc-
RL Leaders—Retired Command Ser- ceeds Yuse. Harris has been with the
geant Major BOB PHIFER has been company for 27 years and most recently
appointed to the position of Director
of Military Affairs. He will be respon-
sible for overseeing business develop-
ment and company strategy as well as
a strong focus on the implementation
of the organization’s IEDBD programs.
Phifer served in the US Army, retiring in
2000 as a Command Sergeant Major
YUSE HARRIS WILKINS
after nearly 24 years of service.
AeroMech Engineering, Inc.— JAMES served as Vice President of Raytheon
“JAY” MCCONVILLE has been named Contracts and Supply Chain. In addi-
President and Chief Executive Officer. tion, DAVID WILKINS has been named
THOMAS AKERS, Founder and current Vice President, Raytheon Contracts
CEO, will serve as AME’s Chairman of and Supply Chain. He will join the
the Board. McConville served as Vice Raytheon Leadership Team and report
President for Strategy and Business to Raytheon Chairman and CEO Wil-
Development at Chandler/May, the liam H. Swanson. Wilkins previously
parent company. Prior to joining Chan- served as Vice President, Contracts for
dler/May, he was the Vice President Raytheon’s Network Centric Systems
of Reconnaissance and Surveillance (NCS) business. He joined Raytheon
within a major defense integrator. NCS in January 2002 as Director of
He is also a former Army Intelligence Contracts for Command, Control, and
Officer. Communications Systems.

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education
MEETINGS CST 2009 Innovations

IEEE Wireless Communications & Computer Simulation Technology (CST)
Networking Conference (WCNC) announces a series of customer-centric
April 18-21, 2010 (Sydney, Australia) workshops focusing on how innovations in
The conference will hold hundreds of ses- EM simulation can help solve high-frequen-
sions dedicated to the advance of the latest cy system design challenges. Details of the
Solid State Switches workshop series’ initial program and loca-
wireless and wireless technologies.
For more information, contact: tion information can be found at:
Heather Ann Sweeney, http://www.cst.com/Content/Events/
IEEE Communications Society Workshops.aspx
Phone: (212) 705-8938 For more information, contact:
E-mail: h.sweeney@comsoc.org Ruth Jackson
Web site: www.ieee-wcnc.org/2010 Marketing Communications, CST
Phone: +49 6151 7303-752
LTE Forum 2010
E-mail: info@cst.com; Web: www.cst.com
April 27-28, 2010 (Stockholm, Sweden)
The LTE Forum 2010 will help operators to ANTENNAS: Principles, Design,
identify the evolutionary steps to 4G LTE, and Measurements
understand the drivers for migrating, and May 3-6, 2010 (Annapolis, MD)
determine what they need to be doing now ARINC Conference Center
to ensure their network remains competitive.
Detector Log For more information, visit:
Registration Fee: $1695
Topics include antenna fundamentals,
Video Amplifiers http://www.lteforum2010.com/eng/ arrays, wire antennas, broadband anten-
index-uk.php nas, horns, reflectors, antennas in systems,
Contact: Guy Redmill, HanseCom Media and antennas for wireless communications, and
Communications measurements.
Phone: +44 774 088 1279 For enrollment information, contact:
E-mail: guy@redmillcommunications.com Leanne Traver, Northeast Consortium
European Microwave Week for Engineering Education (NCEE)
Sept. 26-Oct. 1, 2010 (Paris, France) P.O. Box 68, Port Royal, VA 22535-0068
For registration information, contact: Phone: (804) 742-5611
Rhoda McCorquodale FAX: (804) 742-5030
Horizon House Publications Ltd. E-mail: ed-pub@crosslink.net
Solid State Phone: +44 20 7596 8723 For questions concerning course
Variable Attenuators E-mail: rmccorquodale@horizonhouse.co.uk content, contact: Dr. Warren Stutzman
Virginia Tech, ECE Dept. 011
RFID/Auto ID Tech Symposium & Expo Blacksburg, VA 24061
Oct. 13, 2010 (North Andover, MA) Phone: (540) 231-8401
Hosted by Merrimack College, MIT Web site: antenna@usit.net
Enterprise Forum RFID SIG, and the Web page: www.antennacourse.com
University of Massachusetts
Phone: (617) 253-8240
E-mail: agoggins@mit.edu
CALL FOR PAPERS
IEEE GLOBECOM 2010
Dec. 6-10, 2010 (Miami, FL) ASQED10, International Symposium and
Switch Assemblies For more information, visit: Exhibits on Quality Electronic Design
www.ieee-globecom.org/2010 Aug. 3-4, 2010 (Penang, Malaysia)
Paper submission must be done online
through the conference web site at:
SHORT COURSES www.isqed-asia.org. The guidelines for
MTT-SCV Short Course: the final paper format are provided on the
The New WiMAX Standard symposium web site. E-mail: info2010@
May 1, 2010 (Mountain View, CA) isqed-asia.org.
For more details, please visit: Paper submission deadline: March 16, 2010
American Microwave http://www.mtt-scv.org/ and follow links to Acceptance notification: April 24, 2010
Corporation the Short Course. Final camera-ready paper: June 2, 2010
dSpace Free Autocoding Seminars IEEE International Symposium

AMERICAN MICROWAVE
dSPACE is offering a series of free seminars on Phased Array Systems and
CORPORATION IS A LEADER IN
THE DESIGN & MANUFACTURE and webinars on automatic production- Technology
OF DC TO 40 GHZ SOLID STATE code generation from MATLAB/Simulink/ Oct. 12-15, 2010 (Boston, MA)
CONTROL COMPONENTS. Stateflow. Westin Waltham Hotel
For more information, visit: www.dspaceinc. For more information, visit:
WWW.AMERICANMIC.COM com/goto?direct_2009-10_INC_21 www.array2010.org

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r Engine
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 455 rev C
R & finan-
Droundup
Lens Features FOR WIRELESS-COMMUNICATIONS applications like phase variation is echoed on the lens depth.
base stations, sectorial radiation patterns are The researchers fabricated two lenses: one with
77-GHz frequently used. Yet such antennas also have polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and the other with
Sectorial proven themselves adept at handling measurement polyurethane. For the polyurethane lens, which
Radiation system applications like in a lens-based compact
antenna test range (CATR). Some recent work
was the preferred choice, less than 0.2 dB ripple
was obtained in the central beam. Relatively high
Pattern covers the design, fabrication, and measurements secondary lobes did occur at 11 deg., however.
of an axisymmetric dielectric lens that features a To simulate the stepped lens, France Telecom
sectorial radiation pattern at 77 GHz. This antenna Orange Labs’ SRSRD software was used. The lens
was developed by M. Multari, J. Lanteri, J.L. Le was then measured in an anechoic chamber at 77
Sonn, L. Brochier, C. Pichot, and C. Migliaccio GHz. Using numerical simulations, comparisons
from France’s University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis were conducted between the near field of a CATR
together with J.L. Desvilles from Orange Labs and illuminated by a small horn providing a uniform
P. Feil from German’s University of Ulm. amplitude taper and the sectorial lens. On-axis
For W-band measurements, this lens-based oscillations went from 6 to 1 dB with the sectorial
CATR provides an output plane wave that is 25 lens. See “77 GHz Stepped Lens with Sectorial
cm in
in di
diam
amet
eter
er. Th
Than
anks
ks tto
o th
thee sy
symm
mmet
etry
ry o
off re
revo
vo-- Radi
Ra diat
atio
ion
n Pa
Patt
tter
ern
n as P
Pri
rima
mary
ry F
Fee
eed
d of a Len
Lenss Ba
Base
sed
d
lution, the sectorial lens profile can be designed CATR,” IEEE Transactions On Antennas And
in one dimension using phase-only control. The Propagation, January 2010, p. 207.
150-GHz A NUMBER OF RADIO APPLICATIONS are starting microstrip lines serve as a compact, density-rule-
to reach beyond 100 GHz. These systems are compliant matching element. These lines enable
Amplifier looking to leverage silicon technologies for their explicit yet efficient dummy modeling.At 150 GHz,
Is Formed high yield, high levels of integration, and co-inte- the transistor layout with parallel gate feed yields
By 65-nm gration with analog and digital signal-processing
blocks. Because they can take advantage of con-
5.7 dB of maximum saturated gain. The amplifier
exhibits 8.2 dB of gain while delivering +6.3 dBm
Digital CMOS tinued device scaling, millimeter-wave systems of saturated output power, +1.5 dBm output power
in complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor at 1-dB compression, and a 3-dB bandwidth of
(CMOS) technologies are particularly garnering 27 GHz. It consumes 25.5 mW at 1.1 V.
interest. Recently, a 150-GHz amplifier in digital The researchers chose a simple amplifier
65-nm CMOS was presented by Munkyo Seo topology to reduce matching loss and modeling
from Teledyne Scientific and Imaging, Basanth uncertainties. They also chose a FET layout that
Jagannathan from IBM SRDC, John Pekarik from minimizes extrinsic gate resistance. This work
STMicroelectronics, and Mark J.W. Rodwell from suggests that dummy-prefilled lines can be used
the University of Santa Barbara. beyond 200 GHz. See “A 150 GHz Amplifier
To reduce
d matchi hing lloss and
d extend
dbband
dwid
idth,
h wiith
h8d dB
B Gaiin and d +6
6 dB
dBm PSAT
T iin Digital
i l 65
a simple topology was used for this amplifier. It nm CMOS Using Dummy-Prefilled Microstrip
has no DC-block capacitor, shunt-only tuning, Lines,” IEEE Journal Of Solid-State Circuits,
and radial stubs for AC ground. Dummy-prefilled December 2009, p. 3410.
Diversity MOBILE BODY-WORN COMMUNICATIONS systems

suffer from problems like near-field coupling,
considered mobile off-body communications in an
anechoic chamber, open office area, and a hallway.
Measurements radiation-pattern fragmentation, and shifts in The cross-correlation coefficient between the signal
Aid Body-Worn antenna impedance. Aside from degrading sys- fading measured by the body-worn receivers was
tem efficiency, these issues can reduce signal typically below 0.7. In an open office area, the
Systems At reliability. To mitigate these effects, Simon L. 5.7-dB diversity gain obtained with a dual-branch,
868 MHz Cotton and William G. Scanlon from the Queen’s body-worn maximal-ratio diversity system was
University of Belfast have presented a systematic improved to 11.1 dB by using a six-branch system.
measurement campaign of diversity-measurement See “Measurements, Modeling and Simulation of
techniques for use in wearable multiple-antenna the Off-Body Radio Channel for the Implementa-
systems at 868 MHz. tion of Bodyworn Antenna Diversity at 868 MHz,”
The researchers performed experiments using IEEE Transactions On Antennas And Propagation,
six time-synchronized body-worn receivers. They December 2009, p. 3951.

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MODEL FREQ.
FR GAIN POUT NOISE FIG. PRICE
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these super wideband amplifiers are ideal as workhorses khorses for a NNote: Alternative heat-sink must be provided to limit maximum base plate temperature.
wide number of narrow band applications in yourr lab or o in a
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Highest Dynamic Range
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26.44dBm IIP3 8dB Conversion Gain
RFIN
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The pin-compatible LTC®5540 mixer family delivers outstanding linearity and noise figure, even in the presence of blocking
signals. These new 3.3V low power mixers provide the most robust receiver performance for all 4G, 3G and 2.5G cellular and
broadband wireless basestation standards, including LTE, WiMAX and other high performance infrastructure radios.
3.3V Passive Mixer Family Info & Free Samples
www.linear.com/554X
Parameters LTC5540 LTC5541 LTC5542 LTC5543
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600MHz to 1.3GHz to 1.6GHz to 2.3GHz to
Operating Frequency
1.3GHz 2.3GHz 2.7GHz 4.0GHz
Input IP3 26dBm 26.4dBm 26.4dBm 24.5dBm
Conversion Gain 8dB 8dB 8dB 8dB
Noise Figure (NF) 9.9dB 9.6dB 9.9dB 10.2dB
NF @ 5dBm Blocking 16.2dB 16.0dB 17.3dB 17.5dB

, LTC, LT, LTM, Linear Technology and the Linear logo are
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L N A / S W I TC H D E S I G N
DesignFeature
PIN Switch Protects

LNA From Overloads
A MMIC low-noise amplifier (LNA) can be paired with an external
PIN diode bypass switch to provide overload protection for mobile
television receiver applications at 47 to 870 MHz.
CHINLEONG LIM One way to reduce RF gain is to

GLNA gain (0/20 dB) shunt part of the RF signal to ground
Mixer gain (10 dB)
Factory Application Engineer for RF Diodes,
OIP3 LNA >> OIP3MIXER OIP3MIXER = +5 dBm
Discrete Transistors, and MMICs prior to the LNA [Fig. 2(a)]. This ap-
Avago Technologies, Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Bayan Lepas To IF
proach uses a minimal number of RF
amplifier
Free Industrial Zone, Phase 3, 11900 Penang, Malaysia Mixer switch elements but, when the switch
Channel
LNA filter is closed, causes an impedance mis-
match that can affect other portions
R
eceiver front ends 1. This simple block diagram shows a receiver of the system. A variation involves
for mobile television front end with variable-gain LNA stage. connecting the damping element to
must provide the sen- the high-impedance or “hot” end of
sitivity needed to op- presence of large signals. Varying RF the LNA’s parallel resonant network,
erate at far distances signal gain eases the linearity require- although this sacrifices RF selectiv-
from a transmitter, ments for the mixer stage3, allowing ity prior to the LNA for the sake of a
but must provide the use of low-cost radio-frequency larger gain-control range.6
overload tolerance integrated circuits (RFICs) to create Alternately, it is possible to by-
when in the presence of large signals. the receiver module. In the cascade pass the LNA stage with a pair of RF
Mobile television receive capability, analysis of a receiver front end with switches when a received signal over-
which will be integrated into a large switchable or adjustable gain (Fig. 1, loads stages following the LNA, such
number of portable electronic devic- Table 1), the input third-order inter- as a mixer or intermediate-frequency
es, including cellular handsets, por- cept (IIP3) improves as a function of (IF) amplifier. During bypass opera-
table digital assistants (PDAs), laptop the gain change. A receiver with ad- tion, input signals are directly routed
computers, and in-car-entertainment justable gain handles large signals bet- to the frequency downconverter IC
(ICE) systems,1,2 must provide good ter than a receiver with fixed gain. [Fig. 2(b)]. As long as the compo-
performance even as a user’s distance Automatic-gain-control (AGC) nents in the bypass signal path are
between the transmitter and receiver circuitry is also used to vary LNA matched to the characteristic imped-
changes with travel, unlike tradition- gain,4,5 and because it is typically ance (75 Ohms in mobile television),
al broadcast television. A low-cost implemented prior to the channel fil- mismatches will be minimized. Of
solution to achieving high front-end ters, it can respond to overloads from course, adding the switches also adds
mobile television receiver sensitiv- adjacent-channel transmissions. to the circuit complexity.
ity with overload protection In yet another approach,
Table 1. Gain and IP3 values for
combines a high-gain low- RF gain is lowered by de-
the receiver front-end in Fig. 1
noise amplifier (LNA) with a creasing the quiescent cur-
PIN diode bypass switch. Input LNA gain Total gain Total out- Total input rent to the LNA’s active de-
signal (dB) (dB) put IP3 IP3 (dBm)
Most practical approach- (dBm) vice [Fig. 2(c)].7,8 Amplifiers
es to implementing mobile and devices based on this
20 30 -5 -25
television receivers rely on technique, such as dual-gate
Strong 0 10 -5 -5
reducing receiver gain in the MOSFETs, use additional
Microwaves & RF ■ APRIL 2010 visit www.mwrf.com 61

DesignFeature
device terminals for control- variations and to minimize

Table 2. Comparison of customer’s
ling the bias current. This the effects of threshold volt-
target requirements versus this
gain-control method has the age variations. The LNA
lowest circuit complexity
design’s measured results employs lossy negative feed-
since switching elements are Parameter Target This work back for stability and to flat-
not used, but suffers from LNA gain (dB) 15 ~ 20 18.5 ~ 21 ten the amplitude response
degraded linearity as the LNA noise figure (dB) <1.3 0.8 ~ 1.3 within a 3-dB window from
collector/drain current is re- LNA IIP3 (dBm) ≥6 9.5 ~ 12.5 100 MHz to 1 GHz.10
duced below the nominal de- With its internal feedback
Bypass loss (dB) > -5 -3.8 ~ -4.5
vice DC operating point.9 and better than 10 dB output
bypass IIP3 (dBm) ≥ 20 > 20
To meet a customer’s re- return loss, the MMIC didn’t
quirements (Table 2) for an LNA current Id (mA) < 200 30 require output impedance
LNA for a dual-mode (ana- Test frequency range: 47 - 870 MHz. matching. But matching the
log/digital) mobile television input of the MMIC for such
receiver in the 47-to-870-MHz range, ode switch, a solution was developed. a broad frequency range (47 to 870
several MMIC options were consid- The single-stage GaAs pHEMT MHz) proved difficult and required an
ered, but disregarded for their inad- LNA uses devices with gate width unconventional approach in which the
equate linearity. Using a wideband of 800 microns (Fig. 3). The device FET drain current, Ids, is varied above
high-linearity MMIC LNA (model gate is connected to an internal cur- the nominal 10-mA value to optimize
MGA-68563) and an external PIN di- rent mirror to compensate for process the input return loss. The required in-
put return loss performance was met
Rx RFIC with 20 mA Ids, but a value of 30 mA
LNA LNA was chosen to allow enough margin
In Switch Rx RFIC
Switch for any degradation by the addition
In of the PIN diode switching circuit.
GC AGC Pin 4 on the MMIC LNA controls
Bypass path
the current flow through the internal
Switch
Driver bias generator via external resistor R1
Driver
[Figs. 3(a) and 4(b)]; altering the di-
Driver
Control lines mensions of R1 changes Ids while the
In LNA (b) supply voltage Vd remains fixed at 3
AGC
V. The 300-percent increase in nomi-
Coupling
capacitor nal Ids provides higher linearity.
LNA In designing the LNA/switch cir-
G2 cuit, the first iteration required four
In
Driver PIN diodes for the bypass switch [Fig.
Tank G1
circuit
Damping
Rx RFIC 5(a)]. It is a common configuration for
element a double-pole, double-throw (DPDT)
(c)
(a) switch. The circuit operates by turning
2. Gain control : (a) LNA input damping, (b) LNA bypass switching, and (c) gate bias modulation. on the upper pair of PIN diodes while
the lower pair is zero biased, and vice
Vd 450 μm versa. During normal operation, only
Ibias I d = Ids + Ibias the lower PIN diode pair is turned on
and the RF signal is amplified by the
Ids
Rbias LNA. When RF gain must be reduced,
Vbias 4 the upper PIN diode pair is turned on
Feedback
433 μm
and the RF signal is routed around the

6
Input 3 LNA in bypass mode. The resistors
match
Bias are used to regulate the PIN diodes’
forward current and to isolate RF sig-
1,2,5 nals from the logic control ports VSW1
(b)
and VSW2. This first iteration required
(a)
a high component count, so a simpler
3. The MGA-68563 MMIC LNA (b) is represented by this simplified equivalent circuit (a) . solution was sought.

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r Engine
DesignFeature
Working with customer feedback, longer switched in or out, the LNA impedances of the unbiased FET.
a simpler double-pole, single-throw supply (Vdd) must be turned off dur- In normal operation, the supply to
(DPST) switch arrangement was de- ing bypass mode to make use of the the PIN diodes is turned off (VSW W = 0
veloped [Fig 5(b)] in which only the intrinsic isolation of an unbiased FET. V) and the supply to the LNA is re-
bypass path is connected or discon- This approach degrades the return loss stored to 3 V. But these zero-biased
nected from the input and output of the bypass path, due to this path PIN diodes suffer some parasitic ca-
ports. Because the LNA path is no having the shunt finite gate and drain pacitance that allows higher frequen-
cies to pass. As a result, the LNA gain
and return loss are degraded by in-
complete isolation of the bypass path
from the input and output ports.
In the LNA/switch, inductors L1
and L2 are ferrite beads that present
high impedances over the full range of
the biasing networks for the MMIC
and diodes [Fig. 5(b)]. Without L1
as a choke, part of the input signal
will be shunted to ground via resistor
R3’s parallel-connected parasitic ca-
pacitance.11 Measurements made on
a prototype without L1 verify that the
inductor prevents degradation in the
LNA’s noise figure. Capacitors C3,
C4, and C5 decouple RF signals from
the DC supply and are sized for low
reactance (X c ≤5 Ohms at the low-
est operating frequency. Capacitors
C1 and C2 provide DC blocking at
12.5
30 mA
12.0
Return loss—dB
11.5
20 mA
11.0
10.5
10.0
10 mA
9.5
9.0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
(a) Frequency—MHz
2800
2600
2400
2200
2000
1800
R bias—Ohms
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
(b) Id—mA
4. Plots show input return loss as a function of Ids(a) and

the relationship between bias resistor R1 and Idss (b).
64
DesignFeature
VSW1 LNA, 0 V
Bypass, 3 V
the MMIC input and output. A small value is deliberately

Bypass
chosen for C2 to create a highpass response that can com-
LNA, 3 V Out
pensate for the MMIC’s intrinsic gain rolloff at high fre- In Bypass, 0 V
quencies. Resistors R1 and R2 control the MMIC supply VSW2

current and are sized for 30 mA at a Vdd of 3 V. Resistors
LNA
R3, R4, and R5 limit the PIN diodes’ forward bias to about
2.5 mA per diode at VSW W of 3 V. [Please contact the author (a)
LNA
for a component value list for Fig. 5(b).]
The circuit could be further simplified by using only one VSW
PIN diode. There is no advantage in this, however, since a R4

C5
diode pair occupies the same SOT-23 or SOT-323 surface-

mount package as a single diode, with negligible price dif-
ference. The pair of diodes also offers some advantages: the Bypass
In
C1 C2
series connection cuts in half the parasitic capacitance and, Out
Q1
since the even-order harmonics generated by the anti-series Ids R5
pair of PIN diodes are out of phase, they will cancel.12 R3
adjustment
LNA
To evaluate the LNA/switch performance, a prototype
R1 C3
was assembled on a printed-circuit board (PCB) previously (b) L1 R2
designed for a non-bypassed LNA application.13 The PCB
LNA, 3 V
consists of 10-ml-thick RO4350B laminate material from Bypass, 0 V
Vdd
C4
Rogers Corporation (www.rogerscorp.com), with a dielec-

tric constant of 3.48 in the z-direction at 10 GHz.14 The 5. The switching circuit was initially designed with four PIN diodes (a)
PIN diodes and their associated biasing components were and then modified to work with only two PIN diodes (b).
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Microwaves & RF ■ APRIL 2010 65

DesignFeature
attached to the PCB by directly solder- diode pair (model HSMP-3893/E).16 sponse from small-valued DC-block-
ing them to the leads/pads of the ear- The LNA’s median gain is 19.8 ing capacitor C2. The gain rolloff at
lier components. Two 1N5719 axial- dB with a 1.3 dB variation within the the upper frequency end is consistent
lead glass diodes15 were used as the frequency range of interest [Fig. 6(a)]. with the MMIC’s characteristics and
switching elements for D1. In a later The frequency response is flattened possibly due to negative feedback
PCB layout iteration, these diodes will by gently attenuating signals below through the unbiased PIN diodes’
be replaced by an SOT-packaged PIN 200 MHz by merit of the highpass re- parasitic capacitance.
In bypass mode, the circuit exhibits
3.8 to 4.5 dB attenuation over the fre-
quency range [Fig. 6(a)]. Loss in this
mode is mainly caused by the parasitic
series inductance of the PIN diodes.
To a smaller extent, the loss in bypass
mode is also affected by PCB dissipa-
tion, the FET terminal impedances of
the FETs, and the parasitic parallel
capacitance of resistor R4. Still, by-
pass mode losses were well within the
customer’s -5-dB specification limit,
so now attempts were made to reduce
bypass losses further.
Both input and output return loss
were consistently good (better than 17
dB) in bypass mode when evaluated
across the specified frequency range.
Return loss is primarily affected by
how closely the unbiased FET gate
and drain approximate open circuits.
The return-loss performance is not
22.0 –3.0
21.5 Bypass mode –3.5
21.0 –4.0
LNA mode
Gain (bypass mode)—dB

Gain (LNA mode)—dB
20.5 –4.5
20.0 –5.0
19.5 –5.5
19.0 –6.0
18.5 –6.5
18.0 –7.0
17.5 –7.5
17.0 –8.0
50 100 200 300 400 500 700 900
Frequency—MHz
(a)
0
5
10
Return loss—dB
15
20
25
30 Output return loss (LNA mode)
Output return loss (bypass mode)
35
Input return loss (LNA mode)
40 Input return loss (bypass mode)
45
50
ww phaa sematrix.com
www.ph 50 Frequency—MHz 1000
(b)
8777 - 44
87 447-
7-27366 oor 408-428-1000
6. These test results show (a) gain versus fre-
quency and (b) input and output return loss.

DesignFeature
cept point was calculated by subtract-

1.7
1.6 ing measured gain from the output-
1.5
1.4
third-order-intercept data. The output
Noise figure—dB
1.3 third-order intercept point doesn’t go

1.2
Without L1 below +30.3 dBm with maximum
1.1
1.0
With L1 variation of 0.8 dB within the band
0.9 [Fig. 7(b)]. The linearity improvement
0.8
0.7 of about 10 dB over the data sheet’s
(a) 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 1000
Frequency—MHz nominal value (+20 dBm)10 can be at-
+32.5 tributed to this design’s higher Ids (30
+30.0
+27.5 mA versus 10 mA).
+25.0 The LNA/switch design satisfied its
IIP3, OIP3—dBm
+22.5
Gain-dB
+20.0 target specifications and shows great

+17.5 GAIN promise for improvement. For exam-
+15.0 IIP3
+12.5 OIP3 ple, the noise figure can be improved
+10.0 by replacing the current ferrite bead in-
+7.5
(b)
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 ductor with higher SRF versions.
Frequency—MHz
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
7. The design was tested for (a) noise figure The author would like to thank M. Sharifah for assem-
bling the prototypes, Ray Waugh for the mentoring on
and (b) input third-order intercept point. PIN diodes, S. A. Asrul for reviewing the paper, and the
management of Avago Technologies for approving the
publication of this work.
as good during LNA operation with REFERENCES
worst-case performance of 7 dB at the 1. “Mobile TV,” Internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Mobile_TV.
lowest frequencies for output return 2. “In car entertainment,” Internet: http://en.wikipedia.
loss. Poor output return loss below org/wiki/In_car_entertainment.
3. C. Baringer and C. Hull, “Amplifiers for Wireless Com-
70 MHz is caused by the small-valued munications,” in RF and Microwave Circuit Design for Wire-
less Communications, L. E. Larson, Editor, Artech House,
capacitance C2 and is a tradeoff for a Norwood, MA, 1997, pp. 369.
flatter frequency response. 4. Philips product specification, “FM1236 Desktop video
and FM radio module,” February 1997.
Figure 7(a) compares LNA noise 5. L. Federspiel, “Clear RF reception on mobile TV Technol-
figure with and without ferrite bead ogy,” EE Times-India, February 2008, pp. 1.
6. D. M. Duncan, “AGC in Transistor Broadcast Receivers,”
inductor L1. The target noise figure IRE Transactions on Broadcast and Television Receivers, July
specification (1.3 dB or less) cannot 1962, pp. 125-134.
7. Ulrich L. Rohde and T. T. N. Bucher, “Amplifiers and Gain
be met without L1. By comparing the Control,” in Communication Receivers, International edi-
traces, it can be surmised that signal tion, McGraw-Hill, Singapore, 1994, pp. 235-237.
8. C. L. Lim, “Adjustable Gain Cascode Low Noise Ampli-
loss attributed to the parasitic capaci- fier,” High Frequency Electronics, July 2009, Internet:
http://www.highfrequencyelectronics.com/Archives/
tance of resistor R3 is in the range of Jul09/0709_Lim.pdf.
0.3 to 0.6 dB, increasing the noise 9. W. Hayward and D. DeMaw, “Receiver Design Basics” in
Solid State Designs for the Radio Amateur, r ARRL, Newing-
figure by the same amount. With L1, ton, CT, 1986, pp. 88-89.
there is more in-band variation in 10. Avago Technologies product specification,
“MGA-68563 Current-Adjustable, Low Noise Amplifier,”
noise figure (0.5 dB versus 0.2 dB), Internet: www.avagotech.com.
but this is not critical. The increased 11. Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., Application Note AP0010,
“Resistors in Microwave Applications,” Internet: www.
variation is likely caused by the ferrite vishay.com.
bead’s progressively reduced choking 12. Avago Technologies application note 1049, “A Low
Distortion PIN Diode Switch Using Surface Mount Devic-
capability with increasing frequency, es,” Internet: www.avagotech.com.
13. Avago Technologies application note 5011,
especially above the 100 MHz or so “MGA-62563 High Performance GaAs MMIC Amplifi-
self-resonant frequency (SRF) estimat- er,” Internet: www.avagotech.com.
14. Rogers Corporation product specification, “RO4000
ed from the manufacturer-provided Series High Frequency Circuit Materials,” Internet: www.
performance graphs.17 rogerscorp.com.
15. Avago Technologies product specification, “1N5719,
The LNA’s output third-order in- 1N5767, 5082-3001, 5082-3039, 5082-3077, 5082-3080/81,
5082-3188, 5082-3379 PIN Diodes for RF Switching and
tercept point was measured as several Attenuating,” Internet: www.avagotech.com.
evenly spaced frequency points within 16. Avago Technologies product specification, “HSMP-
389x Series Surface Mount RF PIN Switch Diodes,” Internet:
the mobile television frequency band www.avagotech.com.
using a two-tone input power level of 17. Murata product specification, “BLM18R Series (0603
Size),” Internet: www.murata.com.
-20 dBm. The input third-order inter-

MMICS ON A BUDGET
DesignFeature
Design MMICs
On A Budget
Computer-aided-engineering (CAE) tools can be pricey,
but it is still possible to design a low-noise amplifier at a commercial
foundry using low-cost, open-source software simulators.
JOHN PENN
Professor
Johns Hopkins University
Electronics Engineer
Army Research Laboratory (ARL)
2800 Powder Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783-1197.
D
esigning a monolithic microwave integrated
circuit (MMIC) implies million-dollar mask
sets and expensive computer-aided-engineer-
ing (CAE) software. But for those on a budget,
is it possible to be fiscally responsible and still
create a MMIC? To explore the possibilities,
a GaAs low-noise amplifier (LNA) was chosen as an ex-
ample target design, since it can be created by means of a
linear circuit simulator and an S-parameter file, including
noise data, as supplied by the device foundry.
Although this example relies on a CAE program used
by students at Johns Hopkins University (JHU, www.
jhu.edu), such a design can also be accomplished with a 1. This Smith chart compares the S-parameters for the E-mode pHEMT at
number of free or low-cost design tools. A separate open- 3 V and 4.4 mA and at 3 V and 8.8 mA.
source CAE tool, ICED from IC Editors (www.iceditors.
com), was used for MMIC layout and design verification.
Of course, the design power of a full-featured suite of
programs, such as the Advanced Design System (ADS)
from Agilent Technologies (www.agilent.com) or Micro-
wave Office from Applied Wave Research (AWR Corp.,
www.awrcorp.com), should not be easily dismissed. Still,
it is feasible to accomplish an effective MMIC design
with far less.
The example circuit is an LNA designed for use from
1800 to 2400 MHz, ideal for a variety of wireless applica-
tions. It is based on the TQPED 0.5-μm pseudomorphic
high-electron-mobility-transistor (pHEMT) process and
design library from GaAs foundry TriQuint Semiconductor 2. This block diagram represents the nonlinear TOM3 TriQuint model
(www.triquint.com). The free ICED program was used for for the 300-μm E-mode pHEMT device used in the LNA design.

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These ultra-broadband InGaP HBT and PHEMT amplifiers satisfy a wide range of commercial, industrial and military
applications with a variety of gain, low noise and high IP3 performance to address the most difficult specifications.
Tight process controls produce consistent performance across multiple production runs, ensuring repeatability
and confidence with every unit. In fact, cascading multiple amplifiers often produce less than 1dB total gain variation at
any given frequency. Operating from supply voltages as low as 2.8V, current consumption down to 20 mA and packages
as small as our SOT-363, these MMIC amplifiers can meet critical size and power consumption system requirements.
Visit our website to locate the amplifier that meets your specific needs. Each model includes full electrical,
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WCDMA, LTE, QAM and other digital standards. All models are in stock for immediate shipment.

r Engine
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 476 Rev. Orig.
MMICS ON A BUDGET
DesignFeature
integrated-circuit (IC) layout, design rule checking (DRC),

and layout-versus-schematic (LVS) checking. Simulations
were performed using a simple linear simulator (GeeCAD)
available to students at JHU and that runs on the student
version of Matlab mathematical software. A number of
CAE software suppliers are known for providing free or
low-cost versions of their software for student use, includ-
ing Ansoft (www.ansoft.com), AWR, Agilent, and Sonnet
Software (www.sonnetsoftware.com).
An Internet search found a low-cost RF linear simula-
tor known as LINC2 from Applied Computational Sci-
ences (www.appliedmicrowave.com) with linear simula-
tion capabilities for commercial use. In combination with
this linear simulator, a simple DOS program provided by
TriQuint was used to calculate lossy lumped element in-
ductor models to improve on the initial simulations using
ideal inductances. Noise figure data and optimum noise
match (opt) for the PHEMT transistor were provided by
TriQuint Semiconductor. For comparison, simulations 3. This Smith chart compares the pHEMT’s linear S-parameters at 3 V and
were performed with several “high-end” tools, including 4.4 mA to the TOM3 model at 3 V and 4.5 mA.
ADS and Microwave Office used with
design libraries from TriQuint Semi-
conductor for its 0.5-μm TQPED GaAs
pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility-
transistor (pHEMT) process. A two-
and-one-half-dimension (2.5D) EM
simulation using Sonnet software was
also performed.
A simple design approach was tak-
en starting with a linear S-parameter
file for a 300-μm enhancement-mode
(E-mode) pHEMT from the TriQuint
TQPED process. Bias was chosen as 3
V and 4.4 mA for low DC power con-
sumption. Shunt and Series stabilizing
resistors were added to the drain of the
pHEMT using values tuned to provide
unconditional stability at 1 GHz and 4. This schematic diagram for the LNA was created in Microwave Office.
above. The stabilized pHEMT was only
conditionally stable below 1 GHz prior
to adding the matching circuits.
Four simple input matching circuit
topologies were tried, each containing
four lumped elements (two capacitors
and two inductors); only one of these
initial designs provided unconditional
stability below 1 GHz. The initial out-
put matching circuit also used four
lumped elements (two capacitors and
two inductors) and was designed to
conjugate match the combined input
matching circuit along with the stabi-
lized pHEMT. Then both the input and
output matching circuits were modified 5. This schematic diagram for the LNA was created using the ADS suite.

MMICS ON A BUDGET
DesignFeature
This simple linear simulator employs cludes all interconnects as well as un-
a text-based netlist much like the orig- intended layout parasitics that could
inal Touchstone program from EEsof, be missed in the linear simulations. A
or the original Spice programs from simple model for interconnection that
the University of California at Berke- could be easily added is to approxi-
ley. For graphic illustration of the am- mate a typical 10-μm-wide microstrip
plifier design, the schematic diagram trace on 100-μm-thick GaAs substrate
is included rather than the netlist. using the rule of 1 pH inductance per
After the initial ideal element de- 1 μm of microstrip trace length. Due
sign, the inductor program from to the small circuit size of approxi-
6. This layout was created using the open- TriQuint was
source ICED software. used to calculate
Table 1. Comparing PHEMT models.
“lossy” spiral in- Frequency Noise figure Noise figure Noise figure
(GHz) (min) (dB) circle circle (angle)
to provide DC voltages to the gate ductor models. (magnitude)
and drain of the pHEMT. Large ca- Capacitors and
2.100 0.461 0.75 24.9
pacitors were added to provide a short thin-film resis- 2.100 0.732 0.60 27.2
circuit match at RF while decoupling tors were treated 2.100 0.753 0.60 26.3
the DC bias. The original simulations as ideal elements 2.100 0.734 0.60 27.3
used the Generic computer-aided- while interconnect Notes:
design (GeeCAD) program created by was ignored for 1. Noise figure of the unstablized pHEMT device (.s2p file).
Dr. Lee Edwards and Sheng Cheng all linear simula- 2. Stabilized pHEMT device with ideal source inductor (1 nH).
and used by students in the JHU RF tions. The Sonnet 3. Stabilized pHEMT with lossy source inductor (TriQuint).
4. Stabilized pHEMT with lossy source inductor (MW Office).
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MMICS ON A BUDGET
DesignFeature 20
15
X: 2.1
Y: 10.23
0 10
Gain—dB
–5 5
–10 0 dB S21 lnaq (GeeCAD)

dB S21 lna18 24mwo s2p (MW Office)
Return loss—dB
dB S21 lna18 24ads s2p (ADS)

–15 –5
–20 –10
0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6
Frequency—GHz
–25
8. These plots compare simulated pHEMT LNA return loss using Gee-
–30 CAD, ADS, and Microwave Office CAE simulation software.
0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6
Frequency—GHz
take in the netlist or in the layout that could cause a sig-
dB S11 lnaq (GeeCAD) dB S22 lna18 24mwo s2p (MW Office) nificant mismatch between the simulation and the layout.
dB S22 lnaq (GeeCAD) dB S11 lna18 24ads s2p (ADS)
dB S11 lna18 24mwo s2p dB S22 lna18 24ads s2p (ADS) This kind of mistake can be missed by even the better CAE
(MW Office) tools, so special care is required in verifying the layout and
schematic diagram when using separate tools for simula-
7. These plots compare simulated pHEMT LNA gain using GeeCAD, ADS, tion and layout.
and Microwave Office CAE simulation software. A standard E-mode pHEMT device with dimensions of
6 x 50 μm was chosen as the active device for the LNA
mately 1.2 x 0.8 mm, interconnects were ignored since at design, with the added goal of minimizing power consump-
these frequencies any modeling errors introduced by inter- tion. The E-mode pHEMT has more gain and slightly bet-
connection parasitics should be minimal. After replacing ter noise figure than the depletion-mode (D-mode) pHEMT
the ideal inductors with “lossy” inductor models, the LNA devices in the TriQuint TQPED GaAs process.1 Also, the
design was re-tuned to optimize performance. positive E-mode gate threshold tends to simplify the DC
The layout was created using ICED and standard cells bias for a single positive battery supply, although nega-
from the TriQuint TQPED library. Layouts were created tive threshold D-mode pHEMTs can also be designed for
for the capacitors, resistors, and spiral inductors by modi- a single positive supply by using a resistor in parallel with
fying existing standard cells. Bond pads were added to a large bypass capacitor at the source. Noise-figure data at
provide DC bias inputs and contact points for ground-sig-
nal-ground (GSG) probe-station measurements. For LVS 3.0
checking, a netlist was generated manually—fortunately,
2.5
the design was simple. It would be easy to make a mis-
Amplifier stability—magnitude
2.0 2.0
1.8
X: 2.4 1.5
1.6
X: 2.1 Y: 1.238
1.4 X: 1.8 Y: 1.175
Y: 1.143 1.0
Noise figure—dB
1.2
1.0 0.5
0.8 dB NF lnaq (GeeCAD)
dB NFmin lnaq (GeeCAD) 0
0.6 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6
dB NF lna18 24mwo s2p (MW Office)
0.4 Frequency—GHz
dB NF lna18 24ads s2p (ADS)
0.2 Mag Re Mu1 lnaq (GeeCAD) Mag Re Mu2 lna18 24mwos s2p
Mag Re Mu2 lnaq (GeeCAD) (MW Office)
0 Mag Re Mu1 lna18 24mwos s2p Mag Re Mu1 lna18 24ads s2p (ADS)
0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 (MW Office) Mag Re Mu2 lna18 24ads s2p (ADS)
Frequency—GHz
9. These plots compare simulated pHEMT LNA noise figure using Gee- 10. These plots compare simulated pHEMT LNA stability using GeeCAD,
CAD, ADS, and Microwave Office CAE simulation software. ADS, and Microwave Office CAE simulation software.

MMICS ON A BUDGET
DesignFeature
Table 2. Comparing simulated and measured
(in parentheses) results for the LNA design.
tween the linear Frequency 1.8 GHz 2.1 GHz 2.4 GHz
S-parameter file Noise figure (dB) 1.14 (1.7) 1.18 (1.4) 1.24 (1.4)
and the non-linear Gain, S21 (dB) 11.2 (10.4) 10.20 (9.3) 9.2 (8.2)
model, version Return loss, S11 (dB) 5.9 (6.2) 6.1 (6.2) 6.5 (6.4)
3 of TriQuint’s Return loss, S22 (dB) 12.0 (18.9) 15.0 (20.5) 21.0 (17.4)
Own Model
(TOM3), using Microwave Office at 1 GHz prior to adding the matching
the 3 V and 4.5 mA DC bias setting circuits.
(Figs. 2 and 3). Table 1 shows the minimum noise
In trying to optimize overall per- figure and optimal match at 2.1 GHz
11. This layout was used to simulate pHEMT formance, there are tradeoffs among for the pHEMT S-parameter file (1),
LNA performance using the Sonnet EM simu- stability, gain, noise figure, and return the stabilized pHEMT with an ideal
lation software. loss. A small 1-nH source inductor 1-nH source inductor (2), the stabi-
improved the input match with mini- lized pHEMT with the lossy lumped
3 V and 4.4 mA bias as well as 3 V and mal penalty to the noise figure. Shunt element inductor model (TriQuint
8 mA bias were used for the design and series stabilizing resistors were inductor program) (3), and the sta-
and comparison of performance while added to the drain (i.e., output) caus- bilized pHEMT with a rectangular
maintaining low DC power consump- ing a small increase in noise figure, spiral inductor model in Microwave
tion. A comparison of S-parameters but their impact is minimal compared Office using the TQPED_MRIND2
of the PHEMT plotted on the Smith to stabilizing resistors at the LNA in- element (4). As can be seen, stabilizing
chart shows negligible differences for put. The stabilized pHEMT is uncon- the pHEMT added about 0.3 dB to the
the two DC bias points (Fig. 1). A sec- ditionally stable at 1 GHz and above, noise figure and changed the optimal
ond plot shows good agreement be- but only conditionally stable below match point. As Table 1 shows, there
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Delivered on-time 20
to your specifications
is very little difference in the value of 15 X: 2.1
Y: 10.23
the optimal reflection coefficient γpt = 10
0.6 at +27°C) between an ideal source
Gain—dB
inductor (2) versus the two lossy in- 5
ductor models (notes 3 and 4). 0

dB S21 lnaq (GeeCAD)
The LNA’s input matching circuit dB S21 lna18 24mwos s2p (MW Office)
was designed for optimal noise figure –5 dB S21 lna18 24ads s2p (ADS)
dB S21 lna son2 (Sonnet)
at roughly the middle of the 1.8-to-2- –10
BBand
andpass
d FiltFilter .4-GHz design band. After combining 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
Frequency—GHz
SMA Connectors
SM Con the input matching network with the
stabilized pHEMT, the output match- 12. These plots compare simulated pHEMT
ing circuit was designed for a conju- LNA gain using GeeCAD, ADS, Microwave
gate match to obtain the best gain and Office, and Sonnet EM software.
output return loss over the 600-MHz
0
Bandpaass Filter operating bandwidth. Large capaci-
SMT Tab Connections
SM C tors connected to substrate ground –5
viaholes and shunt inductors in both –10
Return loss—dB
the input and output matching circuits
No Filter
Notch were used to provide an RF ground –15
SSMA Connectors while allowing a DC bias path to the

–20
gate and drains of the pHEMT. Sche-
matic diagrams of the LNA were then –25
created in ADS and Microwave Office –30
(Figs. 4 and 5). The layout of the 1.2 x 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
Frequency—GHz
0.8 mm GaAs MMIC was performed
dB S11 lnaq (GeeCAD) dB S22 lna18 24mwo s2p (MW Office)
in ICED (Fig. 6). Figures 7 through 10 dB S22 lnaq (GeeCAD) dB S11 lna18 24ads s2p (ADS)
show the gain, stability, noise figure, dB S11 lna18 24mwo s2p
(MW Office)
and return loss for the GeeCAD, ADS, dB S22 lna son2 (Sonnet)
and Microwave Office simulations,

respectively. Note the similar agree- 13. These plots compare simulated pHEMT
ment between the simple linear simu- LNA return loss using GeeCAD, ADS, Micro-
lation with lossy inductors versus Mi- wave Office, and Sonnet EM software.
crowave Office and ADS simulation
20
using the TriQuint TQPED libraries.
X: 1.808
All simulations reveal unconditional 15 Y: 10.35
stability for the LNA design.
10
Diplexerr The single-stage LNA shows 10 dB
Gain—dB
X: 1.8
SMA
MA Connectors
Conn 3-pole Ceramic Filter gain at midband with a good noise 5 Y: 11.34
SMT Connections
nnection figure of about 1 dB. Table 2 provides
0 dB S21 lnaq (GeeCAD)
a summary of the simulated and mea- dB S21 lna18 24mwos s2p (MW Office)
sured performance for the LNA from –5 dB S21 lna son2 (Sonnet)
Lowpass Filter 1.8 to 2.4 GHz, with measured results –10
BNC Connectorsrs in parentheses. 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
Frequency—GHz
Any unexpected parasitic elements
can be found by performing an EM 14. The predicted gain performance from the
simulation of the layout. If the layout GeeCAD, ADS, Microwave Office, and Sonnet
is particularly dense, there may be EM software simulators is compared to actual
unintentional coupling not reflected measurements (the solid red trace).
in the linear simulations. While the
Sonnet Professional EM simulator ports replacing the gate, drain, and
is not inexpensive, an EM simula- source of the PHEMT device. Figure
tor can be a valuable addition to the 11 shows the Sonnet layout used to
800-642-2587 www.diplexers.com design process. The LNA layout was generate S-parameters of the physical
MADE IN USA filters@diplexers.com imported into Sonnet with internal layout by means of a 2.5D EM field

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MMICS ON A BUDGET
DesignFeature
solver. The S-parameters from Sonnet 0

are then combined with the pHEMT’s
–5
S-parameters for comparison to the
ADS, Microwave Office, and Gee- –10
Return loss—dB
CAD simulations (Figs. 12 and 13).
–15
There does not appear to be any un-
expected parasitics in the layout that –20
were uncovered in this EM simula-
–25
tion. Careful layout and spacing of
the elements along with verification –30
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
of the MMIC layout are key factors in equency—GHz
a successful design. dB S11 lnaq (GeeCAD) dB S11 lna18 24ads s2p (ADS)
After the LNA was fabricated by dB S22 lnaq (GeeCAD)
dB S11 lna18 24mwo s2p
TriQuint, it was probe tested at the (MW Office) dB S22 lna son2 (Sonnet)
dB S22 lna18 24mwo s2p dB S11 LNA18B36 (measured)
Dorsey campus of JHU. The mea- (MW Office) dB S22 LNA18B36 (measured)
sured results compare favorably to
simulations from GeeCAD, ADS, Mi- 15. The predicted return-loss performance
crowave Office, and Sonnet. Figure 14 levels from the GeeCAD, ADS, Microwave
shows very similar gain response for Office, and Sonnet EM software simulators
all of the simulations compared to the are compared here to actual measurements
actual measured data (the solid red (the solid red trace).
trace) with the amplifier biased at 3.6
LNA18_24 3.6V
V and 6 mA. Return-loss results in 13
12
Fig. 15 show good agreement between 11
10
measured data and all simulations Noise figure—dB 9
8
with some subtle differences in S22 7
NFGCAD
GainGCAD
values. Finally, a noise figure meter 6
5
NFCorr
GainCorr
was used to measure the noise figure 4
3
at a respectable value of 1.4 dB versus 2
1
the simulated 1.2-dB value shown in 0
1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6
Fig. 16. Since individual probe-testable Frequency—GHz
pHEMT devices were included in the
fabrication, a final comparison be- 16. The pHEMT LNA’s noise figure as simulat-
tween measured S-parameters and ed by the GeeCAD software is compared here
simulations using measured pHEMT to actual measurements with a noise-figure
device data from the same wafer may meter. The measured value of 1.4 dB com-
explain the minor differences in out- pares well with the simulated noise-figure
put return loss. value of 1.2 dB.
In short, it is possible to design a
GaAs MMIC LNA with a low-cost possible to design MMICs on a low
microwave simulator and open- CAE budget with good results.
source layout tool, achieving good ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
agreement between simulation-based Many thanks to TriQuint Semiconductor for fabricat-

ing GaAs MMICs for JHU students since 1989. Support
expectations and actual measured from the software vendors, particularly Applied Wave
Research, Agilent, and Sonnet Software, is greatly appre-
performance. While care should be ciated, and especially support from our local AWR appli-
taken when using separate programs cations engineer, Gary Wray. The author continues to
be inspired by former co-teacher of the MMIC design
for simulation and layout in contrast course for the first 15 years, Craig Moore, as well as
to an integrated tool, success is none- other co-teachers and students in the JHU MMIC Design
course. Thanks also to Dr. Edwards who created the
theless possible. The addition of an concept for a MMIC design course at Johns Hopkins and
EM simulator provides invaluable recruited the author to co-teach the course. Dr. Edwards,
with Sheng Cheng, also created the simple-to-learn
insights into parasitic circuit elements GeeCAD program, which is used for teaching RF/micro-
wave design at JHU.
that may be inherent in a layout but
REFERENCE
remain undetected by a linear circuit
1. John E. Penn, “Design a MMIC LNA with GaAs PHEMTs,”
simulator. As the example shows, it is Microwaves and RF, November 2006.

I E E E M T T - S M AY 2 3 - 2 8 , 2 0 1 0 A N A H E I M , C A L I F O R N I A
Have you seen what WWW.IMS2010.ORG

has to offer lately?
If you haven’t been to the IMS2010 website please take a For those family and guest of attendees, please be sure to
moment to log on and view updates for the upcoming IMS2010 visit the IMS2010 hospitality suite which will be located at
symposium. The IMS2010 website is a great place to start if you the Sheraton Hotel. Only a short distance from the Anaheim
are not familiar with the symposium or local area. Here you convention center, we have created a comfortable setting
can gather general information and also learn about travel where you can meet with friends, grab a snack, check email
and lodging near the Anaheim convention center. We also and learn what the local area has to offer. There will also be
recommend that you view the technical program schedule special activities for the children.
along with learning more about who is exhibiting and how
your company can become an exhibitor. We look forward to your attendance and participation in the
coming year at IMS2010!
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for two fun-filled hours
of networking with “Microwave & RF” female colleagues
during IMS2010. There is a Women in Microwave
Come visit D O L I R UQLD
&
KHLP for IMS2010
Engineering (WIM) reception happy hour to be held Tuesday
evening at the Uva Bar located in Downtown Disney. Check the $QD
IMS program for more details.
Official Media Source

Media Partners: of the MTT Society:
May 23-28, 2010
IMS2010 I Anaheim Convention Center
E F F E C T S O F S C AT T E R E R S , PA R T 2
DesignFeature
Forecast Rain Effects

On Microwave Links
Part 2 of this analysis of the influence of a scatterer, such as rainfall,
on the performance of a satellite communications system or other
microwave link, includes near- and far-field antenna effects.
JOHN HOWARD
President
ET Industries, 50 Intervale Road, Boonton, NJ 07005;
(973) 394-1719, FAX: (973) 394-1710, e-mail: sales@
etiworld.com, Internet: www.etiworld.com. x ddvv
S
catterers such as rainfall y
can impose hard-to-predict
effects on the propagation
of electromagnetic (EM) z = z1 z z = z2
waves, often making anal- Antenna 2
Antenna 1
ysis of the near-field and
far-field antenna patterns and perfor- 3. The rainfall scatterers are distributed in an area bounded by the plane z = z1{} and z = z2.
mance difficult. In order to provide
a more meaningful approach to un- When no precipitation is present,
derstanding the effects of scatterers E3H3 is identical to E1H1. But when (20)
on EM propagation, last month Part precipitation is present, E3 and E1 are
1 of this study explored the influence related by the effective complex re-
of distributed scatterers on nearfield fractive index, m^ ,of the precipitation
antenna EM propagation. Part 2 will region:

now be extended to include a precipi-
tation region containing many rain- E3 (221)
drops, with precipitation contained ^ , – 1)(z – z ]
= E1 exp[-jk( m (26)
1
between the planes z = z1 and z = z2
and with the elemental volume dv lo- where z1 ≤ z ≤ z2. Equation 26
cated at plane z. gives the transmitter field (i.e., the
From last month, the following re- field due to antenna 1 in the presence
(22)
lationships need tobe re-established: of precipitation) in the elemental vol-
ume dv (Fig. 3). Equation 25 can be
SEE EQUATION 20 used to find the wave detected by the
SEE EQUATION 21 receiving antenna due to scattering by
SEE EQUATION 22 raindrops: ( )
(24
(24)
SEE EQUATION 23 (Part 1)
SEE EQUATION 24 SEE EQUATION 27
SEE EQUATION 25
where E1 and E2 are the complex (25)

DesignFeature
scalar amplitudes of field vectors E1

and E2, respectively.
(27) Assuming single scattering and a
sufficient number of drops present in
the elemental volume, the wave de-
tected at the receiving antenna due
to scattering from all raindrops in the
(28) precipitation region can be found by
integrating Eq. 27:
SEE EQUATION 28
(29)
where vol indicates integration
over the precipitation volume, i.e., the
region between z = z1 and z = z2. Be-
(30) cause the beamwidth of the transmit
and receive antennas is very small,
the volume integral in Eq. 28 may be
written
SEE EQUATION 29
and Eq. 28 becomes
SEE EQUATION 30
It is useful at this point to recognize

(33) the significance of two equations, Eqs.
9 and 30. It has already been shown
that the received wave in the absence
of precipitation is given by the rela-
tionship for Bi in Eq. 9. And Eq. 30
gives the received EM wave due to
scattering from all the raindrops in
the precipitation region. The total
wave received in the presence of pre-
cipitation is
(31)
(3
36)
From Eqs. 9 and 30,
SEE EQUATION 32
Using this in Eq. 31,
SEE EQUATION 33
Defining α and β as the total at-

tenuation (in Nepers) and phase shift
(39) (in rads), respectively, due to the pre-
cipitation, then

DesignFeature
can be written as
(34)
Comparing Eqs. 33 and 34 yields ∫∫A E1E2 dS,
SEE EQUATION 35 where A is the beamwidth cross section of the common

volume of propagation of the two antennas.
Parameters m̃ and S(0) can be shown to be related by the
simple formula Then
SEE EQUATION H
m̃ = 1 – j(2π/k3)NS(0)
and
Using this relationship in Eq. 35 results in
SEE EQUATION 39
SEE EQUATION 36
for any plane z normal to the direction of propagation.
In naturally occurring rainfall, the raindrops will have a Using Eq. 39 in Eq. 38,
drop size distribution, m̃, given by
SEE EQUATION I
(37)
and
where a is the mean drop radius. If the rate of precipita-
tion is uniform throughout, m will be independent of z and SEE EQUATION 40
Eq. 36 becomes
SEE EQUATION 41
SEE EQUATION 38
SEE EQUATION 42
The integral ∫∫ S2E1 E2 dS predicts the received power at
antenna 1 due to the transmitted power of antenna 2. The This analysis has included the effects of scatterers in the
integral near-field as well as the far-field regions of the transmit
and receive antennas in a communications link. It shows
∫+–∞
∞E1 E2 dS that scatterers such as rain will introduce the same attenu-
ation and phase shift whether in the near-field or far-field
regions, and the same depolarization effects.
Editor’s Note:: This article is based on an article by the

(H) author entitled “A General Scattering Theory,” first ap-
pearing in RCA Review, September 1983.
REFERENCES
1. B. J. Easterbrook and D. Turner, “Prediction of Attenuation by Rainfall in the 10.7-11.7
GHz Communications Band, Proceedings of the IEEE, E Vol. 114, 1967, p. 557.
2. L. C. Tillotson, “A Model of a Domestic Satellite Communication System,” Bell System
Technical Journal,l Vol. 47, 1968, p. 2111.
(I)) 3. D. C. Hogg and T. S. Chu, “The Role of Rain in Satellite Communications,” Proceedings of
the IEEE,
E Vol. 63, No. 9, 1975, p. 1308.
4. D. C. Hogg and T. S. Chu, “Propagation of Radio Waves at Frequencies Above 10 GHz,”
IEE Conference Publication 98, 1973.
(40) 5. W. E. Lothalier, “System Considerations for European Communication Satellites,” IEEE
International Conference o Communication, Philadelphia, PA, 1972, pp. 2-1 to 2-7.
6. J. W. Ryde, “Attenuation of Centimetre Waves by Rain, Hail, and Clouds,” Report 8516,
General Electric Company Research Labs, Wembley, England, 1944.
7. H. C. Van de Hulst, Light-Scattering by Small Particles, Wiley, New York, 1957, p. 28.
8. R. G. Medhurst, “Rainfall Attenuation of Centimeter Waves: Comparison of Theory and
(41) Measurement,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-13, 1965, p. 55.
9. J. W. Mink, “Rain-Attenuation Measurements of Millimeter Waves Over Short Paths,”
Electron Letters, Vol. 9, No. 10, 1973, p. 198.
10. R. K. Crane, “The Rain Range Experiment—Propagation Through a Simulated Rain Envi-
ronment,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-22, 1974, p. 321.
(42) 11. D. P. Haworth, N. J. McEwan, and P. A. Watson, “Effect of Rain in the Near Field of an
Antenna,” Electron Letters, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1978, p. 94.
12. J. Van Bladel, Electromagnetic Fields, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964, p. 254.

WILKINSON DIVIDER
DesignFeature
Powers TV Transmitters
By combining asymmetrical and symmetrical power divider
structures into a single microstrip implementation, it is possible to
create a power divider for use from 470 to 806 MHz.
ANTONIO T. DE CARVALHO Linear Equipamentos Eletronicos S/A 2

Researcher Praça Linear 100, 37540-000, Santa Rita do Sapucaí,
Minas Gerais, Brazil; e-mail: rdgroup@linear.com.br. 0.25 λ Zc
DANIEL D. SILVEIRA
Ph.D. MAURICIO SILVEIRA Za
JOSE DE SOUZA LIMA Professor Z R
Director, R & D Department Pontifical Catholic University, D. Pedro II Highway Km
136, University Park I, 13086-900, Campinas, Sao Paulo,
VANESSA B. S. LIMA Brazil; e-mail: msilveira@puc-campinas.edu.br. Zb
Researcher
3
A
Zd
s digital technology infil- dividers are passive devices used to re-
trates an increasing num- alize this task, delivering in-phase sig- 1. The proposed Wilkinson design consists of
ber of applications, RF/ nals for each power amplifier in the two different power divider sections.
microwave components transmitter signal chain. Power divid-
are handling more band- ers can be realized as different types A Wilkinson power divider can be
width to keep pace. For of components, including directional implemented with transmission lines,
broadcast UHF television, for ex- couplers and resistive power divid- including coaxial lines, stripline, and
ample, a power divider must handle ers, which contain lumped elements microstrip.1 The Wilkinson power
the entire frequency range from 470 only, and Wilkinson power dividers. divider design presented here pro-
to 806 MHz with relative
low loss and good amplitude
and phase characteristics to
ensure the integrity of the
transmitted digital signals.
For this purpose, a three-way
Wilkinson power divider was
developed based exclusively
on microstrip lines. Two
prototypes will be presented,
showing good performance
with respect to essential pa-
rameters, including insertion
loss and return loss.
In a UHF broadcast tele-
vision application, signals
must be split at the transmit-
ter input to feed every power 2. These simulations show predicted performance for the first part of the power divider, the 1:3 Wilkinson
amplifier accordingly. Power divider.

WILKINSON DIVIDER
DesignFeature
vides extremely broadband ed in eq. 1:

1
coverage and can be used to
handle the entire ultrahigh- R = (Za r ;b})/Z (1)
frequency (UHF) band, mak-
ing it a suitable candidate where Za and Zb are the im-
for use with UHF television pedances presented by the
transmitters. λλ/4 sections of the Wilkinson
A basic Wilkinson power divider.1,2
divider has three ports with The microwave architec-
quarter-wavelength trans- ture can be implemented in
mission lines and a load for three steps. The first step in-
imbalance between ports (Fig. volves building a 1:2 asym-
1). It splits a signal applied at 2 3 metrical Wilkinson power
port 1 into two symmetrical divider, with different λ/4 λ
signals at ports 2 and 3. sections, allowing asym-
Performance is directly metrical division of the input
influenced by the impedance values are correctly calculated, differ- signal into 1:3 and 2:3 paths.
connected to the ports 2 and 3. In ent values of output signal levels can Then, an ordinary 1:2 Wilkinson
practice, the impedance of the output be obtained, and no part of the input power divider is designed, to divide
ports is 50 Ohms. So, the only way signal will appear at the resistance R. the 2:3 of the input signal equally be-
to change the ratio of signal division The calculation of the resistance R is tween the output ports. Finally, the
lies in the λλ/4 sections. If different λ/4
λ based on the impedances involved in
sections are used and their impedance the Wilkinson structure, as represent-
4. This is the final prototype implemented

for the asymmetrical 1:2 Wilkinson power
divider.
5. This is the final power divider implementa-

tion, combining the 1:3 and 1:2 sections.

6. These measured data show the S21 values
for the 1:2 asymmetrical Wilkinson power
divider.

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WILKINSON DIVIDER
DesignFeature
1:3 Wilkinson divider is as-

Table 1. Measured phase differences for the maining portion of the input
sembled by joining the asym- power to port 3 (a drop of
1:3 Wilkinson symmetric power divider.
metrical structure of the first 1.77 dB). The asymmetrical
step with the symmetrical S-parameter Wilkinson power divider
S41 S31 S21 |Δ|
structure of the second step. Frequency (deg.) (deg.) (deg.) (deg.) presents three different im-
(MHz)
Before implementing pedances values, as seen by
the microwave structure, 470 -98.2 -95.0 -95.0 3.2 the different thickness of the
simulations of both proto- 570 163.6 167.1 167.0 3.5 lines in the layout. Figure 4
types were performed using 640 94.0 98.0 98.1 4.1 shows the final prototype
Eagleware software (now 730 5.9 9.2 9.2 3.3
that was implemented. The
available from Agilent Tech- 1:3 Wilkinson power divider
806 -69.0 -64.6 -64.5 4.5
nologies, www.agilent.com). implementation includes the
The initial simulations showed good Figure 3 shows the layout of the 1:2 asymmetrical Wilkinson power
results for the 1:2 and 1:3 Wilkinson divider implemented in the labora- divider. Initially, the power is asym-
power divider structures (Fig. 2). All of tory. This 1:2 asymmetrical structure metrical divided and then an ordinary
the scattering parameter (Si,j) results, sends one-third of the input power to 1:2 Wilkinson symmetrical power di-
including return loss and insertion port 2 (a drop by 4.8 dB) and the re- vider is implemented to complete the
loss, were satisfactory.
Both dividers were implemented
using microstrip. Further details of its
impedance calculation can be found in
refs. 3 and 4. The substrate material
was RO5880 from Rogers Corpora-
tion (www.rogerscorp.com), with h =
0.762 (mm), εr = 2.2, and thickness of
70 μm. A minimum insertion loss and
a good matching, in general with a
strong demand better than 20 dB can
be reached for the entire UHF band 7. These measurements show isolation (S22) 8. These plots show the measured S41 perfor-
from 470 to 806 MHz. for the 1:2 asymmetrical Wilkinson divider. mance for the symmetrical Wilkinson divider.
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WILKINSON DIVIDER
DesignFeature
power division. The new divider has of S22. The impedance match is better
four ports, an input and three out- than 23 dB across the UHF band.
puts, all designed for similar levels Next, measurements for the 1:3
of output power and phase. Figure 5 symmetrical Wilkinson power divider
shows the constructed 1:3 Wilkinson were performed. Figure 8 shows S41 for
power divider. one output port, with the other two
The 1:2 asymmetrical Wilkin- ports bearing similar results. The new
son divider and the 1:3 symmetrical Wilkinson divider showed good sym-
Wilkinson divider were simulated metry among ports.
and designed for optimal results in The insertion loss was close to the
both prototypes. Measurements were theoretical value, with a small imbal-
made with the Agilent E5062A vector 9. These plots show the measured S44 perfor- ance between ports. Figure 9 shows the
network analyzer (VNA) from Agi- mance for the symmetrical Wilkinson divider. matching of this port, for S44. Phase
lent Technologies across the full UHF imbalances among ports are minimal.
band. The results displayed in Fig. 6 port were close to the theoretical value Table 1 shows experimental data, while
show the S21 values for the 1:2 asym- of 4.8 dB, corresponding to one-third Table 2 presents results of Sij param-
metrical Wilkinson power divider. of the input power. Figure 7 shows eters for 1 ≤ i,j ≤ 4 corresponding to
The S21 results for the asymmetrical port isolation based on measurements the symmetrical 1:3 Wilkinson power
divider over the UHF band.
Table 2. Summarizing measurements REFERENCES
for the 1:3 Wilkinson power divider. 1. E. Wilkinson, “An N-Way Hybrid Power Divider,” IRE Transac-
tions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. MTT-8, January
S-parameter 1960, pp. 116-118.
S21 S31 S41 S11 S22 S33 S44 2. J. A. Justino Ribeiro, Engenharia de Microondas – Fundamen-
Frequency (dB) (dB) (dB) (dB) (dB) (dB) (dB) tos e Aplicações, First Edition, Érica, Sao Paolo, Brazil, 2008.
(MHz) 3. David M. Pozar, Microwave Engineering, 2nd Ed., Wiley, New
York, 1998.
470 -5.0 -4.9 -4.8 -29.2 -28.5 -28.8 -25.3 4. K. C. Gupta, R. Garg, I. J. Bahl, and P. Bhatia, Microstrip Lines
and Slotline, Artech House, Norwood, MA, 1996.
570 -4.9 -5.0 -4.8 -22.9 -22.0 -22.2 -21.9
5. Q. Guo, Y. Ma, and J. Ju, “A Novel Broadband High-Power
Combiner,” in the Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Asia Pacific
640 -5.0 -5.0 -4.8 -23.2 -23.4 -23.8 -23.6 Microwave Conference, Sushou, December, 2005.
730 -5.1 -5.0 -4.9 -26.4 -25.3 -25.8 -24.3 6. S. Horst, R. Bairavasubramanian, M. M. Tentzeris, and J.
Papapolymerou, “Modified Wilkinson Power Dividers for MM-
806 -5.1 -5.1 dB -5.1 dB -33.6 dB -37.0 dB -37.3 dB -22.01 dB Wave Integrated Circuits,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave
Theory and Techniques, Vol. 55, No. 11, November, 2007.
in T&M for more than 75 years.

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PATC H A R R AY A N T E N N A
DesignFeature
Patch Array Antenna

Serves Satcom Needs
This simple patch array antenna can be fabricated on microstrip
with its own feed and used to achieve narrow azimuth beamwidth
with simultaneous wide elevation beamwidth.
J. S. MANDEEP Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia; +6012-5219097, direction. The antenna features eight
Professor e-mail: mandeeps75@yahoo.com. axial dipole elements, with each ele-
N. MISRAN ment formed with half of the dipole
TAN CHIY HOW on the front-side substrate surface
Associate Professor Engineering Student and half on the back side. An SMA
H. ABDULLAH School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Univer-
end-launch connector carries signals
Senior Lecturer siti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong
Department of Electrical, Electronic & System Engineer- Tebal, Seberang Perai Selatan, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia; to and from the dipole elements.
ing, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, +604-5996001, FAX: +604-5941023, e-mail: chiyhow. The corner reflector patch ar-
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600, UKM Bangi, lm08@student.usm.my. ray antenna includes a feed network
printed on the same dielectric sub-
S
atellite communication An optimal antenna for this ap- strate as the radiating elements, and
(satcom) systems employ plication should be small and simple. a corner reflector consisting of two
one or more fixed earth sta- For cost-effectiveness and ease of in- metal plates forming an 180-deg.
tions and a constellation of tegration, an ideal antenna would be angle (Fig. 1).3,4 A suitable distance
earth-orbiting satellites to based on a planar printed structure must be maintained between the di-
provide transmission/recep- that can be realized with microstrip.2 poles. Too little spacing between ad-
tion of voice, video, and data as well A proposed solution is a corner reflec- jacent elements can lead to adverse
as position information.1 A satcom tor patch array antenna that is driven effects of mutual coupling. But too
system is typically configured with a by a microstrip line feed. The anten- large a spacing between adjacent ele-
directive antenna, which will follow na is comprised of metallic reflectors ments will cause grating lobes in the
the motion of an object relative to a arranged for a desired beamwidth radiation pattern.
given satellite. When the position of
the object changes, the azimuth angle Bottom side of the arrayy TTop side of the array
from the object relative to the satel-
lite will change. What follows are de- 0.75 λ 0.4 λ
tails on the design of a microstrip-fed Corner edge
patch array antenna that can meet the
requirements of these systems.
For such satcom applications, the
antenna beamwidth should be rela-
tively narrow in the azimuth plane, Balun
with wide beamwidth in the elevation
plane. A number of different anten-
nas can meet these requirements, but
typically in too bulky or complex a Coaxial connector
configuration for integration into a
satcom earth terminal. 1. This layout represents the printed patch array antenna with feed network and balun.

DesignFeature
As a suitable compromise, a typi- A simple setup (Fig. 3) based on a

cal spacing in the range of 0.6 to 0.8 calibrated microwave vector network
of the free-space wavelength was analyzer (VNA) was used to measure
chosen for optimum performance. the S-parameters (S11) of the patch
In this particular design, the distance array antenna. During the measure-
between dipoles is three-quarters the ments, the patch array antenna’s
wavelength distance (0.75λ) at the 50-Ω connector was connected to the
center frequency to obtain maximum VNA’s port 1 by means of a low-loss
array gain. The distance of the corner 2. This
2 Thi photograph
hot aph sh
shows the fabricated 50-Ω coaxial test cable. The VNA was
edge from the apex of the radiating el- patch array antenna with corner reflector. used to evaluate the antenna’s perfor-
ements is 0.4λ. The antenna mance from 10 to 14 GHz.
incorporates a balun with Measured S11 log magnitude
continual taper to make the Transmit antenna Receive antenna results from the VNA were
transition between symmet- compared with the simulated
rical (balanced) microstrip results from Momentum.
and conventional microstrip. From the VNA, a resonant
The power divider’s linear frequency of 13.3 GHz was
Distance
taper contributes to maxi- selected for the radiation pat-
mum power transfer from Signal Spectrum tern measurements.
generator analyzer
the source (feed) to the load For transmitter measure-
(the radiating elements). ments, a microwave signal
The layout for the array generator is connected to the
antenna was created with patch array antenna through
the help of simulations per- 3. This test configuration was used for radiation-pattern measurements. the end-launch SMA connec-
formed on the Momentum tor, using a low-loss 50-Ω
electromagnetic (EM) simulation soft- 6. Generate the circuit mesh, and sim- coaxial connector. The signal genera-
ware tool within the Advanced Design ulate array antenna performance. tor is set to the antenna’s resonant fre-
System (ADS) electronic-design-auto- 7. View the simulated results. quency of 13.3 GHz, and its output
mation (EDA) suite of software de- Figure 2 shows the fabricated patch power level is set to +10 dBm. For the
sign tools from Agilent Technologies array antenna. It was constructed on receiver setup, a microwave spectrum
(www.agilent.com).5 The steps used to RO4003C laminate substrate mate- analyzer with frequency range of 10
design the antenna were as follows: rial from Rogers Corporation (www. to 14 GHz is connected to a second
1. Create the layout. rogerscorp.com). The material has a patch array antenna by means of a
2. Choose the Momentum operating thickness o 0.813 mm and a nominal low-loss 50-Ω coaxial cable. The dis-
mode. dielectric constant of 3.38 in the z- tance between the receiver and trans-
3. Define the proposed array antenna axis at 10 GHz. An SMA end-launch mitter is set to 1 m or more so that
substrate material. connector was soldered at the end of the measurements are made of the far-
4. Solve for the substrate parameters. the microstrip line of the proposed an- field radiation pattern. During test-
5. Define the antenna ports. tenna for test purposes. ing, the receiver antenna is rotated in
0 4. These plots show the simu- 5. These plots show the simu-
lated and measured return loss lated and measured radiation
of the patch array antenna. patterns in the azimuth plane.
–10 25
Return loss—dB
20 Simulated
15
Measured
10
Gain—dB
5
–20 0
–5
Simulated –10
Measured –15
–20
–30 –25
10 11 12 13 14 –90 –70 –50 –30 –10 +10 +30 +50 +70 +90
Frequency—GHz θ—deg.

DesignFeature
Comparing simulated and measured results at 13.5 GHz.

Results Gain High- sidelobe High- sidelobe Half-power Half-power
(dB) suppression suppression beamwidth beamwidth
(elevation) (azimuth) (dB) (elevation) (azimuth)
(dB) (deg.) (deg.)
Simulated 21.15 21.96 20.05 10.5 48

Measured 18.50 18.50 17.20 6 60
(extrapolated) (extrapolated)
various angles while

25
the transmitter anten-
na is at a fixed angle. 20
The receiver antenna 15
Gain—dB
is rotated from 0 to 10
360 deg. in 10-deg.
5 Simulated
steps, with the spec-
0 Measured
trum analyzer used to
measure power levels –5
in dBm. An alternate –90 –70 –50 –30 –10 +10 +30 +50 +70 +90
θ—deg.
approach to the ra-
diation pattern mea- 6. These plots show the simulated and measured radiation patterns.
surement setup is to
replace the transmit antenna with a ment, the SMA connector is disposed
horn and parabolic antenna. inside the antenna substrate, making
The gain measurement setup is the actual transmission line shorter
similar to the setup used to measure than the transmission-line model
the radiation pattern of the patch ar- used in the simulation. Figures 5 and 6
ray antenna. From the Friss transmis- show antenna beamwidth results. The
sion formula, the transmit and receive beamwidth in the elevation plane (Fig.
antennas, which are identical, will 6) is relatively wide compared with
have same gain based on calculations the beamwidth in the azimuth plane
made by means of Eq. 1: (Fig. 5). This wide antenna beamwidth
in the elevation plane allows the an-
G0t = G0r = 0.5[20log10}(4π r/λ
/ ) tenna to receive signal sources at wide
+ 10log10(Precc/Pt)] (1) elevation angles without rotating the
antenna in the elevation plane. The
where differences between the simulated and
G0t = transmit antenna gain (in dB); measure radiation patterns are due to
G0r = receive antenna gain (in dB); some interference and obstructions
Pt = the transmitted power (in W); between the proposed antenna and
Prec = the received power (in W); the transmitter during the radiation-
λ = operating wavelength (in m); and pattern measurements, since the mea-
r = the separation distance between surements were not made in a room
antennas (in m). with adequate free space.
Figures 4 through 6 and the table REFERENCES
1. Klein S. Gilhousen, Franklin P. Antonio, Irwin M. Jacobs,
show the simulated and measured re- and Lindsay A. Weaver, Jr., “Alternating Sequential Half
sults. Figure 4 shows return loss. Dif- Duplex Communication System,” United States Patent No.
4979170, issued December 18, 1990.
ferences in the two plots could be due 2. David M. Pozar and G. I Costache, Microstrip Antennas,
IEEE Press, New York, 1995.
to mismatches between the transmis- 3. A. Nesic, I. Radnovic, and Z. Micic, “Printed Antenna
sion line and the coaxial connector Arrays with High Side Lobe Suppression,” Hindawi Pub-
lishing Corporation, Active and Passive Electronic Compo-
since this was not taken into account nents, Vol. 2008, Article ID 542929.
4. D. G. Laramie, “Printed Circuit Antenna Array Using Cor-
during the simulations. The input port ner Reflector,” United States Patent No. 5708446, issued
is at the edge of the substrate during January 13, 1998.
5. Momentum planar EM simulator, ADS 2005, Agilent
simulation; in the actual measure- Technologies (www.agilent.com).

applicationnotes
BY STANDARDIZING AND EXTENDING local-area net- all of the mandatory rules specified in the LXI
Achieve LXI works (LANs), the LXI standard vows to put the standard for Class C, B, and A devices.
Certification In power of the Ethernet and the Web inside test Conformance testing can be performed at
Just Five Steps systems. For test systems, the resulting possibilities either a PlugFest or with an approved, privately
include local, remote, distributed, and time-aware arranged testing house. For products that have
design.To provide best practices for integrating LXI failed, details are provided to explain what must
instruments into a system, the LXI Consortium has be done for the product to pass. For products that
released a three-page white paper titled, “How to have passed, the next step is to submit the “Appli-
Get a Product LXI Certified in Five Steps.” cation for LXI Conformance Certification” with
To manufacture test equipment with benefits the conformance documentation and CoTS XML
like interoperability, the first step to becoming LXI file with test results. The board of directors will
certified is to become a member of the consortium. approve/deny the application within two weeks.
Membership classes range from informational This white paper includes more details on each
($2500) to strategic ($20,000). Conformance of the five steps so that companies seeking LXI
guidance and additional information will then standard compliance know precisely what to
be available. Members also have access to an expect from this process.
anno
an nota
tate
tedd ve
vers
rsio
ion
n of tthe
he ssta
tand
ndar
ard
d,w
whi
hich
ch iinc
nclu
lude
dess
background information. The conformance test LXI Consortium, P.O. Box 1016, Niwot, CO 80544-
suite (CoTS) software can be downloaded directly 1016; (303) 652-2571, F
FAX: (303) 652-1444, Internet:
from the web site. This automated test covers www.lxistandard.org.
Baseband I/Q analysis can be performed early in analog baseband development using a
general-purpose signal analyzer.
RF OR BASEBAND ENGINEERS often need fast, accu- feature of the baseband I/Q inputs, these capa-
Better Signal rate, and cost-effective signal-analysis measure- bilities can be extended to baseband signals.
Quality Begins ments in the spectral and time domains. They By just switching the input channels on the
At Baseband also need to perform digital-modulation analysis.
Such measurements may be made with an oscil-
signal analyzer, any unexpected degradation in
baseband signal quality can be investigated at
loscope and a spectrum analyzer. Using two both RF and baseband. The engineer also can
instruments can introduce errors while raising the perform complex spectrum and I/Q waveform
cost of test, however. Although single-instrument, measurements during analog baseband signal
higher-end solutions are available, they come at analysis. With complex spectrum, sampled com-
a higher cost. These issues are compounded by plex data can be shown in the frequency domain.
the
h fact thhat new, more compact, and d economical
i l In add
ddiitiion, th
he mark
ker functions
i avail
ilabl
ble in th
he
radio-communications devices with higher data analyzer allow channel power, intermodulation
rates are constantly being developed. Agilent distortion (IMD), and spurious signal measure-
Technologies, Inc. illustrates how quick, accurate, ments to be made. If the signal analyzer offers
and cost-effective baseband in-phase/quadrature more sophisticated capabilities like noise and
(I/Q) analysis of radio-communications devices band/interval markers, baseband signals can
can be performed in “Baseband IQ Analysis.” even be fully characterized.
This four-page application note discusses As an example, the note points to the firm’s
how baseband I/Q analysis can be performed MXA signal analyzer with option BBA for base-
early in analog baseband development using a band analysis. Different aspects like the software
general-purpose signal analyzer. Of course, that and probe are recommended and detailed. A
signal analyzer must support multiple band- two-channel analysis example also is included.
widths and be equipped with analog baseband The note emphasizes that the successful operation
I/Q inputs. Such analyzers allow engineers to of a radio-communications device depends on
use a range of standard-based measurements signal quality at the baseband as well as RF.
like spectrum emission mask and local-oscillator
phase noise. In addition, modulation analysis Agilent Technologies,
T Inc., 5301 Stevens Creek
allows the designer to detect, demodulate, and Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95051; (408) 345-8886, FAX
F :
troubleshoot digital signals. With the added (408) 345-8474, Internet: www.agilent.com.

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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 428 rev D
CoverStory AC TIVE INDUC TORS
Active Inductors
Tune Low-Noise VCOs
ULRICH L. ROHDE
Chairman
Dynamic-phase-injection techniques help
AJAY K. PODDAR to tame tunable active inductors for use in
Chief Scientist
Synergy Microwave Corp., 202 McLean Boulevard,
miniature monolithic VCOs that provide
Paterson, NJ 07504; +1-973-881-8800; low phase noise while operating with low
I
FAX: +1-973-881-8361, e-mail: akpoddar@
synergymwave.com, Internet: www.synergymwave.com power consumption.
re a necessary building block in many circuits,

vbn
scillators. Because passive spiral inductors can Cc B(base) rb b' C(collector)
ge amount of real estate in integrated-circuit (IC) ibn

Noise-free
icn
C1 vbe two-port
search has been on for smaller, tunable active bipolar
TAIs) suitable for monolithic fabrication. While Inr

L(v) R(v) E (emitter) C
smaller than passive inductors, TAIs have often meant a C2
sacrifice in linearity and phase noise. To overcome this hurdle
for creating smaller, lower-noise tunable voltage-controlled ATI
oscillators (VCOs), Synergy Microwave (www.synergymwave. ZL –gm(t)
com) has developed TAI-based VCO circuits that employ

dynamic phase injection so that the active inductance value 2. This 12-GHz VCO is based on SiGe HBTs, including the noise sources
changes monotonically with control voltage without degrad- associated with the tank circuit.
ing linearity or phase noise. Experimental oscillators suitable
for high levels of integration have been fabricated using this Radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and monolith-
approach, with measured phase noise of better than -110 ic-microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) are often imple-
dBc/Hz offset 1 MHz from a 12-GHz carrier. The 12-GHz mented in planar configurations. As is often the case, passive
VCO features a 200-MHz tuning range while requiring only spiral inductors tend to dominate the real estate of these designs
12 mA and +3-VDC bias. because of their large size, limiting the cost-effectiveness of
+ +
Vcc Vtune
TAI: L(v, f) –gm2
+
C2 II
C Port 2
R4 Port 1
R5 Phase
L: Increases compensating
R1 network
V
L(v, f) φ(ω) gm1
+ TR3
C1 + L: Decreases L = C(v)/gm1gm2
R2 C3 C4 R6
TR1 TR2 + I
R3
P1 Vtune 3. In this TAI-based oscillator design, a phase-
(a) ATI (b) compensating network was used in an
1. The schematic diagram (a) of a tunable active inductor (TAI) is shown next to a plot of induc- attempt to reduce noise and achieve broad-
tance (L) versus tuning voltage, Vtune. band operation.

Cover Story
A C T I V E I N D U C TO R S
+
12-GHz ATI VCO Vcc
certain designs, such as amplifiers and 5. The TAI with
oscillators, especially when fabricated phase-compensat- Vt +
R10
+ C5
P1 R1
on expensive substrate materials such ing network was + C4 R9 R5 L2
as gallium arsenide (GaAs). used in the design of R8 C8

+ P2
Ideally, those large spiral inductors this 12-GHz VCO. R2 L3
+ TR1 +
could be replaced by an active inductor C3 + C1
C2 +
based on transistors and occupying only R6
C6
a fraction of the amount of substrate R4

+
area as the passive spiral inductors. TR3 R3 TR2 C7 L1
The active inductors should also pro-
R7
vide equal if not better performance at
microwave frequencies as the passive
inductors. But first, one of the traditional active devices, which can impact the oscillators.
limitations of active inductors that must performance of various components, A great deal of effort has already
be overcome is the added noise from the including the phase noise of tunable been devoted to creating high-quality-
factor (high-Q) resonator networks
+ Vcc for integrated tunable oscillators using
active inductor technology.1-8 An active-
4
R1 15 GHz
inductor-based resonator has the same
R4 state equation as a passive inductor-
3 5
30 GHz capacitor (LC) resonator, along with
TR1 4.3 GHz
+
C1 Inductive region
gain and some scaling terms to compen-
+
2
sate for the loss resistance, R, associated
ATI C5
P1
+
C3
+
C2 600 MHz with a passive LC resonator. Because
active inductors are based on active
ф
R3 Capacitive region
+ TR2 1
C4
ф 100 MHz 4. This basic schematic diagram (a) shows a
R2
broadband TAI and its complex impedance in
(b)
(a) Smith chart form (b).

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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 359 rev N
Cover Story
AC T I V E I N D U C TO R S
0
+
R16 Vcc
–25 P2
Phase noise—dBc/Hz
12-GHz ATI VCO

+
–50 C6 R14 C5
+ +
R15
–75 Vt + C11
P1 R10 R1 R6
+ R8 R9 Q2
–100 C4 R13
R2 + Q1
–125 C10
+ TR1 TR4
C2 C1 R17
–150 + + +
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 C3 R11 C8
Offset from carrier—MHz + + R12
C9 R7 C7
R4 R5
6. The 12-GHz VCO with phase-compensating TAIs shows phase-noise
TR3
TR2
performance that is inferior to commercial varactor-tuned VCOs. R3
semiconductor devices, they require a certain amount of

power to realize an inductor with negative resistance, and so 7. Dynamic phase injection was used in this modified VCO with TAIs.
will always be more dissipative than their passive inductor
equivalents. regardless of the magnitude of resistance R.
It is also reasonable to expect that an active inductor will The selectivity of a passive resonator (ω0/Q) is established
also suffer higher root-mean-square (RMS) noise than a passive by the dissipation, according to the relationship 1/Q = (ω0L/
inductor. The noise in an ideal passive resonator, represented by R+). Since noise sets the lower limit for detecting a signal in
an inductor, capacitor, and associated resistance, R+, or LCR+, a resonator network, the upper limit may be arbitrarily large
arises from power dissipation through the loss resistance, if the resonator network is assumed to be free from inductor
Rloss = R+. The mean square voltage of the thermal noise on a saturation or other possible linearity issues.
capacitor, kT/C, appears across the passive resonator (LCR+) Tunable active inductors (TAIs), if properly implemented,
offer great promise for high-performance, miniaturized tun-
able oscillators in RFIC and MMIC technologies. Unfortu-
nately, they have been plagued by a number of disadvantages
compared to passive inductors with comparable values when
implemented in those technologies, including higher noise,
lower dynamic range, higher power consumption, lower
self-resonant frequency (SRF), and limited tuning bandwidth.
Clearing these hurdles is critical to a more effective use of
TAIs in ICs, for example in oscillators where improved Q
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Cover Story
A schematic diagram for an active negative, where inductance decreases the widespread use of TAIs in high-
inductor based on silicon germanium with control voltage, or positive, where frequency ICs.
(SiGe) heterojunction-bipolar-transistor inductance increases with control volt- A TAI-based 12-GHz VCO based
(HBT) technology is shown in Fig. 1(a), age, depending upon the TAI topol- on SiGe HBT technology was devel-
along with its tuning characteristic in ogy. Both tuning curves indicate strong oped with an active capacitor in an
Fig. 1(b). The slope of inductance with nonlinearities under large-signal drive attempt to improve noise performance
control voltage and frequency can be conditions, which have long plagued and dynamic range (not shown). For a
high dynamic range, the inductor must
handle relatively high power levels with
low distortion. Most tunable inductors
in the technical literature rely on adjust-
ing the bias point of an active device,
using the device’s transconductance
(gm) as the tuned value. Unfortunately,
transconductance is not linear with bias
under large-signal conditions, making
it almost impossible to achieve good
SMPM DC Blocks linearity with this approach.
The history of the TAI is relatively
long and often based on the use of a gyra-
tor. Early work can be traced to Dutch
theorist B.D.H, Tellegen of Philips. A
basic circuit using a reactance tube was
designed in 1930 for electronic tuning
and FM generation. Earlier researchers
noted that a TAI was subject to large-
signal limitations and other problems.3
An active inductor based on a gyrator
can be realized by connecting inverting
and non-inverting amplifier back-to-
back in parallel.
A schematic diagram for a TAI based
on SiGe HBTs, including the noise
sources associated with the TAI tank
circuit, is shown in Fig. 2. Part of the
negative resistance, [Rv(t)], generated
by the TAI can be used to minimize an
oscillator’s dynamic noise. It can lower
the oscillator’s power consumption by
means of a reduction in the RF output
current duty cycle.
A typical TAI consists of a grounded
active inductor, a cascade grounded
inductor, and a resistive-feedback active
inductor that can be implemented as part
of an RFIC or MMIC. Such a circuit can
be used in power dividers, quadrature
couplers, and oscillators, provided it has
adequate voltage-handling capability
and is not current limited like a passive
An ISO 9001 Certified Company inductor. Unfortunately, this approach
has limited dynamic range and tuning
range resulting in only narrowband
operation.

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Cover Story
For oscillator and frequency syn- converts capacitance C(v) into induc- phase-compensating network is shown
thesizer applications, it is critical that tance L(v) as a function of delay (φ) and along with a Smith chart tracing the
a TAI provide a wide tuning range. To control voltage, V1, according to complex impedance in Figs. 4(a) and (b).
achieve this, a modified TAI incorporates The chart indicates inductive behavior
a dynamic phase compensating network L(v) ≈ C(v)/(gm1gm2) (1) from 600 MHz to 30 GHz, although
to achieve broadband operation (Fig. the real part of the input impedances
3). In this modified design, the gyrator A schematic diagram for the TAI and are positive everywhere, indicating lossy
operation. Point 3 in the chart is sensitive
(at 4.3 GHz) and should not be encircled,
which can limit some applications. The
TAI was used in the design of a 12-GHz
VCO (Fig. 5) and its phase noise was
plotted (Fig. 6). The phase noise, of -100
dBc/Hz offset 1 MHz from 12 GHz, is
far from impressive and not as good as
commercially available varactor-tuned
VCOs.9
Several approaches to overcome these
problems have been considered, such
as minimizing the noise introduced by
the active devices in the TAI circuits.1-9
However, even these techniques result in
power-hungry and band-limited charac-
teristics because negative resistance gen-
erated in series with the inductance is not
constant with operating frequency. The
approach of using TAIs with dynamic-
phase-injection techniques, however, can
improve oscillator phase noise without
degrading the linearity.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of
using dynamic-phase-injection tech-
niques with a TAI, a 12-GHz VCO
employing TAIs with dynamic phase
injection was fabricated on a dielectric
circuit board from Rogers Corporation
(www.rogerscorp.com). The substrate
material was 30 mils thick with a dielec-
tric constant of 3.38 in the z-direction
at 10 GHz. The schematic diagram for
this improved TAI-based VCO is shown
in Fig. 7 while a simulated phase-noise
plot is shown in Fig. 8. Compared to the
performance of the unmodified (but
phase compensated) TAI-based VCO of
Fig. 5, this new design shows 10 to 15
dB improvement in phase noise. The use
of dynamic phase injection minimizes
oscillator noise while simultaneously
decreasing the current consumption, so
that users no longer have to balance a
tradeoff between phase noise and power
consumption. Measurements on the
oscillator circuit (Fig. 9) show that the

Cover Story
actual phase noise is within 3 dB of the contributions from base current shot 50
Phase noise plots of 18 GHz active inductor oscillator using bipolar transistor
simulated performance, while achieving noise and base resistance thermal noise Area (1.0:0.5)
0
a tuning range of 200 MHz with only (far from the carrier). The result in the
Area (1:1)
12 mA and +3 VDC bias. 18-GHz oscillator design is a typical –50
To further explore the use of TAIs 8-dB degradation in close-in phase
with dynamic phase injection in high- noise (1 kHz offset from the carrier) –100
frequency oscillators, scaling was used with a 5 dB improvement in phase noise
to achieve a higher-frequency oscillator further from the carrier (10 MHz offset –150
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000
by increasing the cutoff frequencies from the carrier), using SiGe transistors Offset from carrier—kHz
of the transistors. Based on 1.0:0.5 scaled to one-half their normal size. 10. Device scaling to achieve the higher fre-
device-scaled SiGe HBTs, a TAI-based Still, the results shown for the quency range of the 18-GHz VCO results in
oscillator designed for use at 18 GHz 12-GHz VCO based on TAIs with improved phase noise far from the carrier but
shows a 20-percent tuning range. As dynamic phase injection are promising. degraded performance close to the carrier.
0 indicates, device scaling increases
Fig. 10 Those results indicate that TAIs can be
the noise contribution from 1/f noise applied to the fabrication of miniature
(close to the carrier) while decreasing high-performance monolithic oscilla- 3. Thomas H. Lee, The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency
Integrated Circuits, Second Edition, Cambridge University
tors to achieve excellent phase-noise Press, New York, 2004, pp. 360, 361.
Top –50 dBc/Hz –83.89 dBc/Hz –110.59 dBc/Hz levels without sacrificing linearity or 4. S. Del Re, G. Leuzzi and V. Stornelli, “A New Approach to
LoopBW the Design of High Dynamic Range Tunable Active Induc-
–70 power consumption. Synergy Micro- tors,” proceedings of Integrated Nonlinear Microwave and
wave Corp., 202 McLean Boulevard, Millimeter-Wave Circuits, 2008, pp. 25-28.
–90
5. D. Zito, A. Fonte, and D. Pepe, “ Microwave Active Induc-
–110
2
Paterson, NJ 07504; +1-973-881-8800; tor”, IEEE MWCL, Vol. 19, No. 7, July 2009.
–130
3 FAX: +1-973-881-8361, e-mail: akpod- 6. S. Angkititrakul, H. Hu, and Z. Liang, “Active Inductor
Current Balancing for Interleaving Multi-Phase Buck-
4
–150 dar@synergymwave.com, Internet: Boost Converter,” IEEE APEC 2009, Feb. 15-19, 2009, pp.
527-532.
–170 www.synergymwave.com. 7. E. Sonmez, P. Abele, K.-B. Schad and H. Schumacher, “16
12-GHz phase-injection TAI VCO
REFERENCES GHz Integrated Oscillator Design with Active Elements in a
0.1 1 10 100 Production Ready SiGe HBT MMIC Technology,” European
Offset from carrier—dBc/Hz 1. U. L. Rohde and A. K. Poddar, “Tunable Active Inductor
Offers Integrable and Cost-Effective Alternatives of Varac- Microwave Conference, Paris, France, Oct. 2-6, 2000.
9. The measured performance of the modified tor Tuned VCOs,” 2009 European Frequency & Time Forum 8. R. Kaunisto, “ Monolithic Active Resonator Filters For
& IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF- High Frequencies,” Dr. of Science in Tech. Dissertation, H.
VCO with TAIs using dynamic phase injection IFCS 2009), Besançon, France, April 20-24 2009. U. of Technology, Finland, November 2000.
is quite close to the simulated performance 2. U. L. Rohde, A. K. Poddar, and G. Boeck, Modern Micro- 9. U. L. Rohde and A. K. Poddar, “Miniaturized VCOs Arm
wave Oscillators for Wireless Applications: Theory and Configurable Synthesizers.” IEEE International Microwave
shown in Fig. 8. Optimization, Wiley, New York, 2005. Symposium Boston, MA, June 7-12, 2009, pp. 1281-1284.
Wireless OEM Solutions

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C A B L E S & C O N N E C TO R S
ProductTechnology
Industry Insight
Cables And Connectors

Link Microwave Systems
The latest developments in high-frequency cables
and connectors seek to cut weight while maintaining
low loss and high phase stability even in flexible assemblies.
the firm’s Vice President and General

Technical Director Manager, Bob Thiele, “By adding bulk
cable to our product line, Dynawave
continues to expand its capabilities to
C
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usually only noticed when tomers will appreciate the opportunity
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can add nothing electrical- offer them a broad range of electrically
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degrade amplitude and phase perfor- through 20 GHz. (Photo courtesy of EAM.) Crystek Corp. (www.crystek.com), a
mance. Recent developments in these company perhaps better known for its
interconnection components have been pylene (FEP) jacket. The cables can be crystal oscillators, introduced a line of
aimed at making them as electrically terminated with a variety of connectors, low-loss flexible coaxial cable assem-
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and the best possible impedance match TNC connectors. construction. The LL142 series cables
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For example, coaxial cable assembly semicrowave.com) is now offering its 0.8 in. with better than 110 dB shield-
supplier Electronic Assembly Manufac- TESTCABLZ family of cable assemblies ing effectiveness (SE) and attenuation
turing, Inc. (EAM, www.eamcableas- for production test applications through of 0.36 dB/ft. at 18 GHz. The cable
semblies.com) recently announced that 18 GHz. The flexible cable assemblies assemblies are available with SMA,
it was offering high-performance flex- include 0.163-in.-outside-diameter or Type N, and TNC connectors.
ible cable assemblies for applications 0.104-in.-outside-diameter cables with Micro-Coax (www.micro-coax.
through 20 GHz (see figure). Based choice of male and/or female SMA, com) weighed in with its new UTi-
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r Engine
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 403 rev P
M AT H / E M S I M U L ATO R S
ProductTechnology
Product Trends
Math/EM Software
Solves Circuit Problems
The newest versions of popular mathematical and electromagnetic
simulation programs add speed by taking advantage of the latest
memory-packed, multiprocessor-based computers.
JACK BROWNE kit on its web site (upon registration), For those seeking a lower-cost math
Technical Director
with data sheets, customer comments, software, Sage (www.sagemath.org) is
and recorded product presentations. an open-source mathematical modeling
system licensed under the GNU (www.
S
oftware simulation has SOLVING EQUATIONS gnu.org) General Public License (GPL)
largely taken the place of Mathsoft, the developer of Mathcad program. It is an open-source alterna-
“trial-and-error” prototypes software, was acquired by PTC (www. tive to such tools as Maple, MATLAB,
in fine-tuning high-frequency ptc.com) in 2006. Version 14.0 of Math- and Mathematica and is composed of
designs. Two of the types of cad features a long list of improve- nearly 100 open-sourced packages with
software tools often used by ments, including full Unicode support a unified interface.
RF and microwave engineers are math- for displaying worksheets across many
ematical and electromagnetic (EM) field different operating systems and the EM SIMULATION TOOLS
simulators. Although math tools can be capability to perform inline numerical EM simulators can be thought of
applied for analysis in almost all scien- evaluations to simplify substituting as mathematical solvers devoted to
tific fields, they can also be run with values for variables in equations. Maxwell’s equations. Programs such as
electrical engineering modules. And EM Version 13 is the latest iteration of the Sonnet Suite of tools from Sonnet
simulators have leveraged the increased the Maple math software from Maple- Software (www.sonnetsoftware.com)
computing power of improved micro- Soft (www.maplesoft.com). In addition operate with a physical description of
processors to provide greater insight to its powerful equation editors and an antenna or planar circuit and apply
into planar and three-dimensional (3D) equation-solving engines, the program a method-of-moments (MoM) analysis
circuits and structures. can recognize handwritten symbols to based on Maxwell’s equations to devel-
MATLAB from The MathWorks simplify data entry. It supports symbolic op models of those subjects. The models
(www.mathworks.com), one of the best and numeric math operations, linear include all parasitic, cross-coupling,
known math software tools, is used algebra, and provides full connectivity enclosure and package resonance effects
for everything from cancer research to to MATLAB. and can be used to produce S-, Y-, or
waveguide analysis. The software com- Mathematica from Wolfram Z-parameters for the antenna or circuit
bines a powerful numeric engine with Research (www.wolfram.com) is now in for further modeling and analysis. The
a technical programming environment Version 7, with built-in image process- company also offers a feature-limited
and practical visualization capabilities ing, vector and field visualization, dis- version of its planar EM simulation
to serve as a versatile analysis tool. The crete symbolic calculus capabilities, and software called Sonnet Lite for free
firm offers a student version with vari- support for delay differential equations download on its web site.
ous tools from the full-featured version, (DDEs). It is now written for computers The RF Module in the COMSOL
including a symbolic math toolbox, a with parallel processors and can read- Multiphysics suite of programs from
signal-processing toolbox, and an opti- ily handle differential and difference COMSOL (www.comsol.com) also
mization toolbox. In addition, the com- equations, perform Boolean analysis, provides EM simulation capabilities
pany provides a free interactive user’s and analyze integer sequences. for modeling antennas, waveguide,

Sonnet® goes to the extremes.
Does your EM software take you where you need to go?
Sonnet’s 3D Planar EM software handles the

most extreme planar geometries
toughest anisotropic substrates
wid
dest frequency range
highest dynamic range
thinnest dielectrics
Experience Sonnet Suites for yourself at IEEE

MTT IMS2010. Take a 20 minute in-booth
class and get Sonnet Lite Plus FREE.
Visit Sonnet at IEEE MTT

IMS2010 booth #2524
(877) 7-SONNET
High Frequency Electromagnetic Software www.sonnetsoftware.com/imsclass
© 2010 Sonnet Software, Inc. All rights reserved.
SONNET® is a registered trademark of Sonnet Software, Inc.
M AT H / E M S I M U L ATO R S
ProductTechnology
microwave components, and even high- release 12.1. This version introduces a with the firm’s Microwave Office and
speed optical components. It includes a new integral equation EM solver option Analog Office suites of software tools
host of advanced post-processing capa- based on full-wave MoM computation. and uses advanced hybrid meshing tech-
bilities, including far-field analysis and It is suitable for large-scale radiating and nology and proprietary full-wave planar
S-parameter computation. scattering studies, such as radar-cross- EM solver technology.
Zeland Software, the developer of the section (RCS) and antenna analyses. The latest version of Agilent’s
popular IE3D 3D EM simulator, was In many cases, EM simulation tools Momentum, the second-generation
acquired by Mentor Graphics (www. are included as part of larger software Momentum G2, is seamlessly integrated
mentor.com) earlier this year. Zeland’s suites. CST Microwave Studio from into the firm’s ADS platform, which is
EM simulator is now integrated with Computer Simulation Technology (www. also well integrated with the company’s
Mentor’s HyperLynx product suites and cst.com), for example, is a software suite test equipment. Momentum is a 3D
adds the capability to perform full-wave that includes 3D EM simulation capabil- planar MoM EM simulator with mul-
EM analysis on 3D structures in circuits ity. Two other leading simulation suites, tithreading algorithms that take advan-
and packages, including viaholes, sol- Microwave Office from AWR (www. tage of the processing speed of modern
der bumps, and wire bonds. Last year, awrcorp.com) and the Advanced Design computers and microprocessors.
Zeland had introduced its IE3D-SI ver- System (ADS) from Agilent Technolo- For those looking for low-cost EM
sion for signal integrity (SI) analysis, gies (www.agilent.com), feature power- simulation, Version 0.2 of Arpeggio
which is now also available as part of ful EM simulation tools, AXIEM and (http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/BlueFly-
the Mentor HyperLynx. Momentum, respectively. er/) is a general-purpose EM simulator
One of the standards in EM simula- AWR’s AXIEM handles 3D planar that performs true 3D simulations that
tion, the High-Frequency Structure Sim- applications, including printed-circuit will provide processing speed in propor-
ulation (HFSS) software from ANSYS boards and monolithic microwave inte- tion to the capabilities of a computer’s
(www.ansys.com), is now available as grated circuits (MMICs). It integrates memory and microprocessors.
EGNAHC
FOCUS¬ON¬THE¬FUTURE
GET¬THE¬WHOLE¬PICTURE
TH¬)NTERNATIONAL¬4RADE¬&AIR
.EW¬-UNICH¬4RADE¬&AIR¬#ENTRE¬
ELECTRONICA
n¬.OVEMBER¬
COMPONENTS¬\¬SYSTEMS¬\¬APPLICATIONS
WWWELECTRONICADE

Advanced Technology – It’s in our Genes
CST MICROWAVE
STUDIO
2010
Next generation
3D electromagnetic simulation
The best available tool for 3D EM simulation has evolved into version
2010. With a user friendly interface, easy data exchange to and from
other software tools, a choice of first class solvers and world class
post-processing tools, you can leverage the latest developments in 3D
electromagnetics to bring designs to market faster and with lower risk.
Choose CST MICROWAVE STUDIO® 2010 – complete technology for 3D EM.
CHANGING THE STANDARDS
CST of America®, Inc. | To request literature (508) 665 4400 | www.cst.com

T U N A B L E M M I C F I LT E R S
ProductTechnology
Tunable MMIC Filters

Span 1.0 To 7.6 GHz
With their tunable frequency coverage and small
surface-mount packages, these MMIC filters can handle any number of
signal-management needs, with stopband rejection to 30 GHz.
JACK BROWNE within ±3 percent of the center frequ-

Technical Director
ency. For the model HMC890LP5E
bandpass filter, the 3-dB bandwidth is
typically 11 percent of the center fre-
T
unable microwave filters quency, with low-side rejection (greater
offer a great deal of ver- than 20 dB) at 0.86 times the center
satility. And when they frequency and below and high-side
are based on monolithic- rejection (greater than 20 dB) at 1.19
microwave-integrated- These tunable lowpass and bandpass filters times the center frequency and beyond.
circuit (MMIC) technol- are varactor-based MMIC designs supplied in Out-of-band rejection drops below 30
ogy and housed within a 32-lead 5 x 5 mm surface-mount packages. dB at 9 GHz. For model HMC890LP5E,
5 x 5 mm surface-mount passband insertion loss is typically 9 dB
package, they can fit almost any appli- the model HMC882LP5E, the stopband with return loss of typically 10 dB.
cation. New families of varactor-tuned frequencies are typically 1.23 times the For the model HMC891LP5E band-
MMIC lowpass and bandpass filters cutoff frequency, with passband inser- pass filter, the 3-dB bandwidth is typi-
from Hittite Microwave Corp. (www. tion loss of typically 2.9 dB and return cally 9 percent of the center frequency,
hittite.com) provide this flexibility with loss of typically 10 dB. with low-side rejection (greater than 20
high stability and fast tuning speeds over For both lowpass models, the tuning dB) at 0.88 times the center frequency
a tuning range of 1.0 to 7.6 GHz. speed is typically 150 ns for a transi- and below and high-side rejection at
Models HMC881LP5E and tion from a 0-percent voltage control 1.15 times the center frequency and
HMC882LP5E are lowpass filters signal to 90 percent of the tuned fre- beyond. Out-of-band rejection drops
that provide stopband rejection of quency. Both lowpass filters are rated below 30 dB at 22 GHz. For model
at least 30 dB through 30 GHz. The for maximum input power of +10 dBm HMC890LP5E, passband insertion
HMC881LP5E filters have adjustable for linear operation. loss is typically 7 dB with return loss of
cutoff frequencies from 2.2 to 4.0 GHz Models HMC890LP5E and 10 dB. For both models, the maximum
while the HMC882LP5E filters provide HMC891LP5E are bandpass filters input power is +10 dBm. For both, the
adjustable cutoff frequencies from 4.5 that use two independent voltage con- tuning speed is typically 200 ns.
to 7.6 GHz. In both, a tuning voltage trols to adjust passband frequency and These tiny MMIC filters (see fig-
of 0 to 14 determines the tuned cutoff bandwidth. Model HMC890LP5E has ure) are housed in RoHS-compliant,
frequency. The stopband frequencies a tunable center frequency from 1 to 32-lead plastic QFN surface-mount
(rejection greater than 20 dB) for the 2 GHz while HMC891LP5E offers a packages that represent considerably
model HMC881LP5E are typically 1.25 tunable center frequency from 2.0 to smaller alternatives to mechanically
times the cutoff frequency, or 5 GHz for 3.9 GHz. As with the lowpass filters, a tuned filters. Hittite Microwave Corp.,
a 4-GHz cutoff frequency. The passband control voltage of 0 to 14 V adjusts the 20 Alpha Rd., Chelmsford, MA 01824;
insertion loss is typically 3.8 dB while center frequency. An additional 0 to 14 (978) 250-3343, FAX: (978) 250-3373,
the return loss is typically 10 dB. For V control voltage tunes the bandwidth Internet: www.hittite.com.

USB POWER SENSOR
-30 to +20 dBm 1to 6000 MHz
POWER SENSO
SOR PWR-6G+ Package
only
Includes:
$
695
95
PWR-SEN-6G+ Power Sensor Unit
a. (qty.1-4
( )
Power Data Analysis Software

SMA Adaptor, USB Cable
Fully loaded software features Now, Mini-Circuits offers a USB Power Sensor
U Power data analysis and software together with your laptop that will
U Power level offset rreduce your equipmentt costs and provide new
U Scheduled data recording application features that will simplify your power measurements. Having a
measurement range of -30 to +20 dBm at frequencies from 1 to 6000 MHz.
U Averaging of measurements
The PWR-6G+ is supplied with easy-to-use, Windows-compatible
U Interface with test software
measurement software to speed and simplify your power measurements,
U Multi sensor support
pp software allowing you to set as many as 999 averages and to record results for further
(up to 16 sensors support software)
analysis. The PWR-6G+ USB Power Sensor provides 0.01-dB measurement
U Compatible with LabVIEW WT,M Delphi, resolution and impressive accuracy over temperature.
w
C++ and Visual Basic software
Visit the Mini-Circuits’ web site at www.minicircuits.com to learn more.
LabVIEW is a registered trademark of National Instruments Corp.
Delphi and C++ are registered trademarks of Codegear LLC. Mini-Circuits...Your partners for success since 1969
Visual Basic is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
The Mini-Circuits USB Power Sensor is not affiliated with
any of the programming software referenced above.

r Engine
MICROWAVES
MICROWAVES&&RF
RFDIRECT
DIRECTCONNECTION
CONNECTIONADS
ADS
TTO
O AD
DVV E R TI SSE
E I N THI S S ECTI ON, C ALL JOANNE REPPAS (201) 666-6698
RF Amplifiers, Isolators and
Circulators from 20MHz to 26.5GHz RF Bay, Inc.
Super Low Noise RF
Amplifiers
Broadband low noise
amplifiers
Input PIN diode
Protected low noise
amplifiers
General Purpose
Gain Block Amplifiers
High power RF amplifiers and broadband power
amplifiers 10GHz Divide-by 13 Prescaler 850-950MHz 10W Power Amplifier 100KHz - 10GHz RF Amplifier
RF isolators and
circulators
s,OW.OISE!MPLIlER s6OLTAGE#ONTROL/SCILLATOR
High power coaxial s0OWER!MPLIlER s0HASE,OCKED/SCILLATOR
and waveguide
terminations
s&REQUENCY$IVIDER s5P$OWN#ONVERTER
High power coaxial s&REQUENCY$OUBLER s2&0OWER$ETECTOR
attenuators
s&REQUENCY-IXER s2&3WITCHES
RF Bay,
y, Inc.
Wenteq Microwave Corporation 15825 Shady Grove Road, Suite 190, Rockville, MD 20850
735 West Duarte Road, Suite 401, Arcadia, CA 91007
Phone: (626) 821-9118, Fax: (626) 602-3101 Tel: (301) 880-0921, Fax: (301) 560-8007, Mobile: (240) 645-8591
Email: sales@wenteq.com, Website: www.wenteq.com
Email: sales@rfbayinc.com, Website: www.rfbayinc.com
Wenteq Microwave Corp. RF Bay, Inc.

Laser Diode Drivers with Sub-nanosecond Butterfly Diode Sockets

Each of the 20 models in the Avtech AVO-9 series Output
of laser diode drivers includes a replaceable output To Laser
Module
Diode Driver
module with an ultra-high-speed socket suitable for
% DUTT Installed in
use with sub-nanosecond rise time pulses. Models High
h
h-Bandwidth
with maximum currents of 0.1A to 10A are avail- ' Sock
k
ket
able. GPIB, RS-232 available. To TEC

C '
Contro
oller
ler
PO Box 265 Tel: 888-670-8729 info@avtechpulse.com

Ogdensburg, NY 13669 Fax: 800-561-1970 www.avtechpulse.com
KR Elecontronics, Inc. Avtech Electrosystems Ltd.
Polyfet RF Devices
New Product Release
50Vdc LDMOS Devices
LK141: 60W, 1GHz, 10dB

60W, 500MHz, 16dB
LK142: 120W, 500MHz, 16dB
LR941: 200W, 500MHz, 13dB
400W, 230MHz, 15dB
LY942: 600W, 88MHz, 19dB
Suitable for broad band and narrow
band applications. Usable operating
across 24-50Vdc. Sample units now
available. Please contact us for
additional details.
jerome@polyfet.com
805-484-4210
Polyfet RF Advanced Switch Technology

MICROWAVES & RF DIRECT CONNECTION ADS
TO A D V E R TI S E I N THI S S ECTI ON, C ALL JOANNE REPPAS (201) 666-6698
Wil
Wilmanco Sector Microwave Industries, Inc.
LED Lighting Solutions Available From Panasonic

Panasonic Electronic Components provides cutting edge
technology that can give your application the perfor-
mance, reliability and quality that today’s consumers de-
mand and that is synonymous with the Panasonic brand.
Our solutions can enhance productivity, cut costs, solve
problems and protect natural resources in ways you may
have never imagined.
s #IRCUIT0ROTECTION s #APACITORS
s 4HERMAL-ANAGEMENT s 2ESISTORS
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piccomponentsmarketing@us.panasonic.com
www.panasonic.com/ind/led/
1-800-344-2112
Panasonic Electronic Components
Linx Technologies KS Electronics

MICROWAVES & RF DIRECT CONNECTION ADS
T O A DV E R TI S E I N THI S S ECTI ON, C ALL JOANNE REPPAS (201) 666-6698
Citel, Inc.
New Modco MCR

Series Ceramic
Resonator VCO
Sector Microwave Industries, Inc.
These Voltage Controlled Os-
cillators offer exceptionally low
Phase Noise in the industry
Standard one half inch square
package. Model MCR1270-
1290MC with an Input Voltage
of +5.0V, Tuning Voltage of
0.5V to 4.5V and a Frequency
Range of 1270-1290MHz is
rated -122dBc @ 10khz offset.
Many other catalog models are
available and custom designs
can be supplied with no NRE.
www.modcoinc.com
Temwell Corporation Modco, Inc. Applied Interconnect

infocenter
Advertiser Website, E-Mail Address Page Advertiser Website, E-Mail Address Page
A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.diplexers.com, email: filters@diplexers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Advanced Switch Technology . . . . . . www.astswitch.com, email: info@astswitch.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Aeroflex / Inmet, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.aeroflex.com/inmet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Agilent Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.agilent.com/find/beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Agilent Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.agilent.com/find/agilentmmic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Agilent Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.agilent.com/find/fastcxa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
American Microwave Corporation. . . www.americanmic.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Analog Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.analog.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Anaren Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.anaren.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Anatech Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.anatechelectronics.com, Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
email: sales@anatechelectronics.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Anritsu Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.anritsu.us/NVNA826 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .COV 2 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Applied Computational Sciences. . . . www.appliedmicrowave.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Applied Interconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.onlinecables.com , email: sales@onlinecables.com . . . . . 118 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Aries Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.arieselec.com, email: info@arieselec.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
ARRA, INC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.arra.com, email: sales@arra.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .COV 3 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15
Avtech Electrosystems Inc . . . . . . . . . www.avtechpulse.com, email: info@avtechpulse.com. . . . . . . . 116 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31
AWR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.awrcorp.com/mwo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 MITEQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.miteq.com, email: components@miteq.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
C MITEQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.miteq.com, email: components@miteq.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
California Eastern Lab. . . . . . . . . . . . . www.cel.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 MITEQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.miteq.com, email: components@miteq.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Carlisle Interconnect Technologies . . www.carlisleit.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 MITEQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.miteq.com, email: components@miteq.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Channel Microwave Corporation. . . . www.channelmicrowave.com, Modco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.modcoinc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
email: sales@channelmicrowave.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 N
CIAO Wireless, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ciaowireless.com, email: sales@ciaowireless.com . . . . . . . . 8 Narda An L-3 Communications . . . . . www.nardamicrowave.com, email: nardaeast@L-3com.com . . . . 3
Citel America, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.citel.us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Narda An L-3 Communications . . . . . www.nardamicrowave.com, email: nardaeast@L-3com.com . . . 44
Coilcraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.coilcraft.com, email: info@coilcraft.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Noisecom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.noisecom.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .COV 4
Communication Concepts, Inc. . . . . . www.communication-concepts.com, Nuhertz Technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . www.filter-solutions.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
email: cci.dayton@pobox.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 O
CST of America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.cst.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Omniyig Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.omniyig.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
D P
Daico Industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.daico.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Panasonic Electronic Components . . www.panasonic.com/ind/led . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
dBm, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.dbmcorp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Phase Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.phasematrix.com, email: sales@phasematrix.com. . . . . . . 66
Digi-Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.digikey.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Polyfet RF Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.polyfet.com, email: jerome@polyfet.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Dow Key Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.dowkey.com, email:dkm@dowkey.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Pulsar Microwave Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . www.pulsarmicrowave.com, email: sales@pulsarmicrowave.com13
E R
EM Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.emresearch.com, email: sales@emresearch.com . . . . . . . . 40 RF Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rfbayinc.com, email: sales@rfbayinc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
EMI Filter Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www. w emifiltercompany.
y com, email: miker@emifiltercompany. y com.76 RF Depot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rfdepot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
ET Industries Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.etiworld.com, email: sales@etiworld.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 RF Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rfcoaxconnectors.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
G RFMW Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rfmw.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Giga-tronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.gigatronics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 RLC Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rlcelectronics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
H Rohde & Schwarz Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rs-us.net/zva003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88-89
Herotek Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.herotek.com, email: sales@herotek.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 S
Hittite Microwave Corporation . . . . . www.hittite.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Sector Microwaves Inc Inc . . . . . . . . . www.sectormicrowave.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Hittite Microwave Corporation . . . . . www.hittite.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Sector Microwaves Inc Inc . . . . . . . . . www.sectormicrowave.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Hittite Microwave Corporation . . . . . www.hittite.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Skyworks Solutions, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . www.skyworksinc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
I Sonnet Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WWW.SONNETUSA.COM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
In Phase Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . www.in-phasetech.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Spectrum Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.specemc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Innovative Power Products . . . . . . . . www.innovativepp.com, email: info@innovativepp.com. . . . . . 101 Spectrum Electrotechnik . . . . . . . . . . www.spectrum-et.com, email: sales@spectrum-et.com . . . . . . . 41
Insulated Wire, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.iw-microwave.com, email: sales@iw-microwave.com . . . 105 Synergy Microwave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.synergymwave.com, email: sales@synergymwave.com . . 47
K Synergy Microwave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.synergymwave.com, email: sales@synergymwave.com . . 79
KR Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.krfilters.com, email: sales@krfilters.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Synergy Microwave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.synergymwave.com, email: sales@synergymwave.com . . 83
Krytar, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.krytar.com, email: sales@krytar.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 T
KS Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.kselectronics.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Temwell Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.temwell.com.tw, email: joe@temwell.com.tw . . . . . . . . . 118
L Times Microwave Systems . . . . . . . . . www.timesmicrowave.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Linear Technology Corporation . . . . . www.linear.com/554x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 TTE Incorporated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.tte.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Linx Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.linxtechnologies.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 V
Linx Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.linxtechnologies.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Vectron. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vectron.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
M VMR Electronics LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vmrelectronics.com, email: sales@vmrelectronics.com . . . . 2
MP Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ims2010.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 W
M/A-COM Technology Solutions, Inc. www.macomtech.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 WL Gore & Associates, Inc. . . . . . . . . . www.gore.com/mwrf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Maury Microwave, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . www.maurymw.com, email: maury@maurymw.com. . . . . . . . . . 91 Waveline Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wavelineinc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Meca Electronics, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.e-meca.com, email: sales@e-meca.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Wenteq Microwave Corporation . . . . www.wenteq.com, email: sales@wenteq.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Meese Munich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.electronica.de. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Wilmanco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wilmanco.com, email: williams@wilmanco.com. . . . . . . . 117
Aeroflex / Metelics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.aeroflex-metelics.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Micro-Coax Components . . . . . . . . . . www.micro-coax.com/testcables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Microhard Systems, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . www.microhardcorp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 *Domestic Edition only **International Edition only This index is provided as an additional service by the publisher,
Microsemi Corp - Power Products Group www.microsemi.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 who assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
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editor’s choice
3-GHz EMI Receiver Provides Testing For Labs
A NEW DIGITAL ELECTROMAGNETIC-INTERFERENCE (EMI) receiver/analyzer
features a measurement range of 10 Hz to 3 GHz for labs with smaller test
chambers, gigahertz-transverse-electromagnetic (GTEM) cells, or those
doing on-site work. The PMM 9010/30P fully complies with CISPR 16-1-1
requirements in the 9-kHz-to-30-MHz measurement range. When paired
with a PMM extension receiver module, it becomes fully CISPR-compliant
and measures to 6 GHz. The PMM 9010/30P’s Smart Measure feature,
which was developed by Narda, significantly speeds the click test. As peaks
that exceed the preset thresholds are found, they are immediately measured
with the slower detectors before stepping to the next frequency. The unit
can be configured as a single- or four-channel click-analyzer module. The RF front end is self-calibrated by a high-stability
internal RF signal generator. Providing 60 to 90 dBμV in 0.1-dB steps, the signal generator can work in tracking mode to 30
MHz. This feature enables the PMM 9010/30P to be used as a scalar network analyzer for characterizing components, anten-
nas, and filters. It also can perform spectrum-analyzer functions with a scan speed of less than 100 ms for full-span 9 kHz to 30
MHz at an IF resolution of 300 kHz. P&A: The PMM 9010/30P starts at $24,100; 12 to 16 weeks ARO.
Teseq, Inc., 52 Mayfield Ave., Edison, NJ 08837; (732) 417-0501, ext. 239, FAX: (732) 417-0511, Internet: www.teseq.com.
40-W Amplifier Covers 6 To 18 GHz Synthesizer Spans 375 MHz To 5.6 GHz
A HIGH-POWER AMPLIFIER BY COVERING A BROAD FREQUENCY RANGE, a new synthesizer
(PA) dubbed model promises to allow base-station providers to implement a one-
L0618-46 operates chip solution for all frequencies instead of using more than
from 6 to 18 GHz. It 10 different discrete solutions. The SKY73134 is designed
delivers an average of 50 to cover all GSM, WCDMA, and LTE frequency bands with
to 60 W and at least 40 one device. This wideband, integer-N frequency synthesizer
W of output power. Small boasts a locking range of approximately 6 GHz. The 5-x-5-
signal gain is greater than mm device includes four differential voltage-controlled
47 dB. The PA offers SMA input and Type N output RF oscillators (VCOs). Thanks to the application of internal
connectors. It operates from a DC supply of +12 V at 52 A. VCO frequency division, they continuously cover the output
The L0618-46 allows many options to be specified via TTL frequency from 0.375 to 5.600 GHz. At 960 MHz, the inte-
command, such as fast on/off switching that is typically grated phase noise from 100 Hz to 100 kHz measures less
35 ns with a maximum of 50 ns. Although the PA package than 0.6 deg. RMS. At 100-kHz, 1-MHz, and 3-MHz offsets,
measures 13 x 1 x 1.5 in., the unit also can be provided in a single-sideband phase noise is −115, −143, and −150 dBc/Hz,
19-in. rack-mount chassis. respectively. The SKY73134 is controlled by a bi-directional
AML Communications, Inc., 1000 Avenida Acaso, Camarillo, CA 93012; read/write serial-to-parallel interface.
(805) 388-1345, FAX: (805) 484-2191, Internet: www.amlj.com. Skyworks Solutions, Inc., 20 Sylvan Rd., Woburn, MA 01801; (781) 376-
3000, Internet: www.skyworksinc.com.
Power Platforms Simplify Multimode, Multi-Band Architectures

TO ENABLE GLOBAL SMARTPHONES and mobile-Internet known as “antenna mismatch.” In addition, the PowerSmart
devices that handle three or more bands of third- or fourth- platforms include all of the necessary switching and signal-
generation (3G or 4G) cellular communica- conditioning functionality in a compact ref-
tions, the PowerSmart platforms leverage an erence design. Each PowerSmart platform
RF Configurable Power Core. That core pro- utilizes a standardized digital interface (SDI)
vides functional efficiency while processing and is optimized to mate with leading multi-
all known cellular-communications modula- band HSPA+/EDGE/GPRS RF transceivers.
tion schemes including those used in GSM/ PowerSmart can support four bands of
GPRS, EDGE, EDGE Evolution, CDMA, 3G (TD-SCDMA GSM/GPRS or EDGE and up to five bands of TD-SCDMA,
or WCDMA/HSPA+), and 4G (LTE or WiMAX) systems. WCDMA/HSPA+, LTE, WiMAX, or CDMA. It also offers
The RF Configurable Power Core incorporates all power superior band coverage (bands 1 to 6 and 8 to 10). Com-
amplification and RF power-management functionality. The pared to current high-volume, triple-band 3G solutions using
PowerSmart platforms also help to extend battery life and power-amplifier-duplexer (PAD) modules, PowerSmart vows
significantly reduce average thermal dissipation by maximiz- to reduce board-space requirements by more than 40 percent.
ing efficiency across power levels, across data rates (voice RF Micro Devices, Inc., 7628 Thorndike Rd., Greensboro, NC 27409-9421;
only to LTE), and during non-ideal load conditions—also (336) 664-1233, Internet: www.rfmd.com.
visit www.mwrf.com APRIL 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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