Rx for RF-to-Digital, and more...

Graphene Delivers Another Building Block for THz Circuits Graphene is an emerging material that promises to deliver components for Terahertz (THz) circuits. Last year, researchers at IBM demonstrated a 280 GHz cut-off frequency in a 40 nm gate-length FET built with graphene. Now, scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed another key building block for THz circuits, a subharmonic graphene FET mixer. Although the subharmonic resistive graphene FET (G-FET) mixer was tested at 2 GHz, it has the potential to operate at THz frequencies.

Coming Soon: GlobalSpec's Electronic Components & Product Design Event — April 25, 2012 Join key manufacturers and industry professionals from around the globe at GlobalSpec's Electronic Components & Product Design event. Learn of the latest trends and technologies shaping the electronics systems that drive innovation in today's consumer electronics, medical equipment, and automotive markets. Watch for registration details. • Exhibitor Opportunities • Speaking Opportunities

Electromagnetic Simulation Software for Microwave Devices and Components Remcom (USA) Remcom's XFdtd is 3D EM Simulation Software for microwave device design and analysis. Whether the application is waveguides, power dividers, filters, or couplers, XFdtd can provide quick, efficient, and accurate simulation results.Explore our Microwave Application page for examples of power dividers, circulators, rotman lens, and waveguides.

Narda Maintains Large Product Inventory for Customers' Requirements Narda Microwave-East Narda is recognized as industry's number one source for catalog RF and microwave components, including couplers, power dividers, attenuators, terminations, phase shifters, detectors, adapters, and electro-mechanical and PIN diode-based control products. For detailed specifications on these components and other Narda products, please visit our web site:www.nardamicrowave.com.

VVA Uses 1-diode TEE Configuration to Cut Size and Cost As mobile traffic booms, low-cost small cellular base stations are coming up everywhere. So, the pressure to deliver highly integrated components at low price is intense. In such applications, voltage-variable attenuators (VVAs) are used for leveling gain of low-noise amplifiers. Although, PIN diodes, configured as the PI or the bridged-TEE topologies, are commonly used for realizing wideband, high linearity and compact VVAs, a 1-diode TEE version cuts total components count while performing the same role with the same degree of performance.
	Highest Capacitance Panel Mount EMI Filters Syfer Technology Limited Syfer's latest solder-in panel mount EMI filters now offer the highest capacitance and voltage combinations available. With maximum values up to 3.3 µF, and voltage ratings to 3 kV, these low-pass filters are aimed at designers looking for space saving solutions in microwave, communications and mil/aero equipment. Visit us here for further details.	Get a Complimentary Trial of the IEEE Xplore® Digital Library IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. The IEEE Xplore Digital Libraryprovides instant, full-text access to all IEEE journal articles, conference papers, and standards — all the cutting-edge research in all aspects of technology. Get acomplimentary trial for your company.	Ultra-wideband Four-channel Downconverter Module MITEQ, Inc. MITEQ's new Model DA40218LC7, Four-channel Downconverter, integrates our standard broadband double-balanced mixer designs and IF amplifiers to provide a phase and amplitude tracked four-channel downconverter with an integrated LO distribution network (read more). Web site: www.miteq.com
Active Antennas Raise Cell Capacity Mobile data traffic has mushroomed, forcing wireless operators to add more cells to handle growth. However, adding cells costs money. German startup Ubidyne GmbH addresses this capacity problem by using a novel antenna-embedded radio that doubles the data throughput at the cell edge to increase cell capacity 40% overall at comparable output power. The successful operation of this 700-MHz active antenna in a U.S. network trial shows that operators can now obtain maximum coverage and capacity from their macrocells using active antenna technology before adding costly small cells.
	Hub Base Station Antenna for BuNGee project Cobham Antenna Systems, Microwave Antennas European Union funded BuNGee Project aims to improve infrastructure capacity by (10x) to 1Gbps/km2. This dual slant-polarized Hub Base Station Antenna projects six (15 degree) beams of each polarity over a 90 degree arc permitting substantially increased data throughput. Model HBSA-3.5DS/1955 (3.4-3.6GHz) equates to six conventional antennas thereby reducing installation costs.	Application and Theory of Dielectric Materials Emerson & Cuming Microwave Products, Inc. Virtually every component of a microwave system usesdielectrics. Proper choice of dielectric properties is a cost-effective way to enhance design. This white paper explores the microscopic basis of dielectrics at the atomic level and the macroscopic basis of dielectrics using Maxwell's equations. For a complimentary download, visit us here.	Amplifier Output Assemblies Apollo Microwaves These assemblies of components are essential foramplifier protection, filtering, and power monitoring. Our ferrite and filter components are cutting edge, and our engineers use the latest simulation and modeling software.
High-power LDMOS Transistors are Extremely Rugged Despite threats from gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors, LDMOS power transistors continue to drive UHF TV broadcast transmitters and ISM band applications because they offer reliability, linearity, and efficiency. With improvements, the ruggedness standard for these RF LDMOS power transistors has been further raised, enabling them to offer high performance even while withstanding a nearly 100% mismatched load (greater than 65:1 VSWR) at full-rated output power of 600 W.
Integrated Rx Modules Simplify RF to Digital Conversion For sake of simplicity, modern 3G/4G wireless communications systems are seeking compactintegrated receiver modules that include all the RF components, such as downconverting mixer, surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) IF filter, gain stages, a variable attenuator, and a single-channel low-power 14 b analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to convert IF signals into digital format. For direct conversion of RF, such receiver modules incorporate an in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) demodulator, differential gain stages, DC-coupled lowpass filters, and a dual-channel 14 b ADC.
AFE Cuts Femtocell Base Station Design Time Whether you are designing a femtocell base station or a software-defined radio (SDR) for portable applications, you need an analog front-end (AFE) for the transceiver that can process incoming signals at a fast enough rate without consuming much power. Unlike discrete designs, integrated AFEs simplify the task of designing heterodyne or direct conversion radios used in these applications. Plus, integration lowers board space, power, and cost.
Frequency Synthesizers with Integrated VCOs Designing local oscillators (LOs) for applications ranging from microwave/millimeter-wave radios to test equipment is now made easier with a full-featured fractional-N PLL frequency synthesizerwith integrated microwave voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs). These new frequency synthesizers offer very low open-loop phase noise of —140 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset.
Cree Licenses GaN Based Doherty Amplifier Patents to RFHIC With rapid expansion of 4G networks, base station designers are seeking further improvements in the efficiency and linearity of power amplifiers. To serve the appetite of these designers, RFHIC Corp. has licensed state-of-the-art GaN HEMT-based Doherty amplifier-related patents from Cree. By comparison to silicon LDMOS or GaAs FETs, Doherty amplifiers built with GaN-based HEMTs can improve amplifier efficiency by as much as five percentage points, while maintaining high linearity.