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TEST &
MEASUREMENT
Issue

News Report Design Feature Product Technology

Tackling The Needs Study Phase Noise Perusing Portable
Of Nonlinear Testing In Sampled PLLs Microwave Testers

p. 99

VIEW ENGINEERING TV AT ENGINEERINGTV.COM

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NewsReport
33 | Nonlinear S-Parameters And SDR Impact Test And
Measurement Equipment
Test and measurement makers are innovating ways to add functionality
and describe the behavior of nonlinear components in response to large-
signal stimuli.

40 | RF Primer

 $07&3
4503:
Spectrum Analyzers Open Windows On An RF World
Spectrum analyzers have evolved over the years due to digital technol-
ogy, but some key specifications can still be applied when comparing
instruments.
Broadband VNAs View
Nonlinear Behavior DesignFeature
These microwave VNA-based 61 | System Performs FM Radio Drive Testing
systems feature powerful nonlinear By recording and playing back actual FM radio signals during a drive
software and measurement capabili- through a difficult environment, it is possible to simulate worst-case con-
ties with support for active and pas- ditions encountered by an automotive FM radio.
sive load-pull tuners.
70 | Analyze Phase Noise In A Sampled PLL, Part 1
78 | Match Loop Antennas Via Mutual Inductance
Departments 88 | Dissect PA Distortion From OFDM Signals
13 52
Feedback Company News
ProductTechnology
17 54
Editorial People 106 | IndustryInsight
Portable Testers Provide Flexibility
22 56 Compact battery-powered portable test instruments and newer USB-
The Front End Educational equipped test instruments are providing flexibility and cost savings over
Meetings larger, traditional benchtop RF/microwave test instruments.
26
Microwaves In 58 110 | ProductTrends
Europe R&D Roundup LTE Challenges Test Gear Suppliers
The demanding requirements of LTE networks in terms of advanced
28 96 modulation and MIMO techniques has pushed test suppliers to develop
Application Notes flexible, software-based environments for testing infrastructure and mobile
Web Table Of units.
Contents
119
22 Infocenter 112 | Upgraded CAE Software Simulates RFIC Designs
Crosstalk
120 114 | Signal Generator Ranges To 20 GHz
50 Editor’s Choice
Financial Lead

focus
SpecialSupplement* Starts after page 31
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JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF visit www.mwrf.com 5

 OCTAVE BAND LOW NOISE AMPLIFIERS
Model No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure (dB) Power -out @ P1-dB 3rd Order ICP VSWR
CA01-2110 0.5-1.0 28 1.0 MAX, 0.7 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 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
CA01-2111 0.4 - 0.5 28 0.6 MAX, 0.4 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 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 No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure (dB) Power -out @ P1-dB 3rd Order ICP VSWR
CA0102-3111 0.1-2.0 28 1.6 Max, 1.2 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 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 No. Freq (GHz) Input Dynamic Range Output Power Range Psat Power Flatness dB 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
Model No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure (dB) Power -out @ P1-dB Gain Attenuation Range VSWR
CA001-2511A 0.025-0.150 21 5.0 MAX, 3.5 TYP +12 MIN 30 dB MIN 2.0:1
CA05-3110A 0.5-5.5 23 2.5 MAX, 1.5 TYP +18 MIN 20 dB MIN 2.0:1
CA56-3110A 5.85-6.425 28 2.5 MAX, 1.5 TYP +16 MIN 22 dB MIN 1.8:1
CA612-4110A 6.0-12.0 24 2.5 MAX, 1.5 TYP +12 MIN 15 dB MIN 1.9:1
CA1315-4110A 13.75-15.4 25 2.2 MAX, 1.6 TYP +16 MIN 20 dB MIN 1.8:1
CA1518-4110A 15.0-18.0 30 3.0 MAX, 2.0 TYP +18 MIN 20 dB MIN 1.85:1
LOW FREQUENCY AMPLIFIERS
Model No. Freq (GHz) Gain (dB) MIN Noise Figure dB Power -out @ P1-dB 3rd Order ICP VSWR
CA001-2110 0.01-0.10 18 4.0 MAX, 2.2 TYP +10 MIN +20 dBm 2.0:1
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

Tel (805) 389-3224 Fax (805) 389-3629 sales@ciaowireless.com
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Error In Figure Correction

I found a small error in Fig. 2 in the December 2009 article, It is with much embarrass- "
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TRUSTED RESOURCE FOR THE WORKING RF ENGINEER

“Mixers Terminate Intermod Distortion.” In the figure, the ment that we apologize
labeling on the y-axis for the 1-dB compression plot has been for any confusion caused www.mwrf.com

NEW RF/MICROWAVE
reversed. +25 by our December cover. MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
Issue
1-dB compression point—dBm

From top to T3 sine wave T3 square wave We accidentally printed News Report Design Feature
Tracking the trends
Product Technology
Use pulse I-V testing to Rugged synthesizers
+20 M1 sine wave M1 square wave in crystal oscillators characterize RF devices take on harsh conditions

bottom, the three headlines for feature

+15
axis should articles that were not to be TOP PRODUCTS OF
go from +25 +10 found in that issue, as they
dBm down were headlines from a pre-
+5
to 0 dBm. vious issue. The headlines
0
The printed +10 +11 +12 +13 +14 +15 +16 +17 +18
were: “Tracking the trends
version is LO power—dBm in crystal oscillators,”
reversed, “Use pulse I-V testing to
making the T3 appear to have worse 1 dB compression— characterize RF devices,”
hopefully readers read the text first and realize the error. and “Rugged synthesizers VIEW ENGINEERING TV AT ENGINEERINGTV.COM

Christopher Marki take on harsh conditions.”

Marki Microwave
Editor’s note:
We apologize for this oversight. The plot in the figure has
been updated on our web site at: www.mwrf.com. The cor-
rected version is also shown above.
Please note that the main headline, “Top Products of 2009,”
did correctly reflect the Cover Story in the December issue.
We sincerely apologize to anyone who saw the cover and
tried to find the articles that were incorrectly listed. Please
stay tuned for articles on synthesizer and oscillator devel-
opments in future issues.

JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF visit www.mwrf.com 13

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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 348 rev D
 from the editor

Sniff Out The Best

Security Solution
F
or decades, generations of children have fantasized
about what they could do if they had Superman’s x-ray
vision. Now, privacy advocates are worried that airline
and other screeners will soon have comparable capabilities.
The call for the widespread use of full-body scanners in
airports is a response to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s
attempt to blow up an airliner over Detroit this past December 25. The
question is whether such scanners are actually the most effective solution
and whether they invade the individual’s privacy.
An example of such a system is the Rapiscan WaveScan 200. At its heart
is a real-time radiometric scanner, which images electromagnetic (EM)
millimeter-wave energy, as well as a video camera, on-board computer,
and video-detection engine. Using the detection engine, Rapiscan Systems
(www.rapiscansystems.com) promises that security screeners will be alerted
and can pinpoint concealed objects without intrusive, personnel-intensive,
and potentially dangerous physical searches. Screeners also will be able to
perform “virtual” pat-downs, which certainly sounds more comfortable
than the physical pat-downs that are now being done on every passenger.
Although Rapiscan Systems claims that the WaveScan 200 does not
reveal anatomical details, privacy advocates are concerned about just
how much screeners will be able to see with such systems. In a Decem-
ber 28 New York Times article titled, “More Questions on Why Terror
Suspect Was Not Stopped,” Eric Lipton and Scott Shane note, “Privacy
advocates have tried to stop or at least slow the introduction of advanced
checkpoint screening devices that use so-called millimeter waves to cre-
ate an image of a passenger’s body, so officers can see under clothing to
determine if a weapon or explosive has been hidden. Security officers,
in a private area, review the images, which are not stored. Legislation is
pending in the House that would prohibit the use of this equipment for
routine passenger screening.”
Even if the use of such screeners is not blocked, some naysayers claim
that these systems fail to detect as much as they promise. Kate Hanni,
President of FlyersRights.org, emphasizes, “While these body scanners
detect ‘anomalies’ that are between the skin and clothing, they will not
detect anything in a body cavity that is deeper than 1/10th of an inch.”
A better solution may be found not in millimeter waves, but in Fido.
According to Dr. Kenneth G. Furton, Professor of Chemistry, International
Forensic Research Institute, Florida International University, “I have con-
ducted research with canines for nearly two decades and these biological
explosive detectors continue to be the most reliable method for locat-
ing concealed explosives. The orthogonal instrumental detectors under
development should be considered as potential complements rather than
replacements for canines’ proven ability to detect vapors emanating from
concealed explosives.” If it lives up to its promises, this combined approach
may guard our privacy while increasing our safety.

Editor

JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF 17

 A Penton Publication

Technical Director
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18 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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 frontend the
Compiled by Dawn Hightower

Wireless Monitors Enhance

Sport And Fitness Equipment
WELLINGBOROUGH, UK—The use of wireless monitors and sensors to enhance physical activity
is a trend that is sweeping the fitness and sports-equipment industry as well as the general
public. Wireless technologies, such as 5-kHz, ANT, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, GPS,
ZigBee, NFC, and Wi-Fi low energy, each could be the front-runner for devices like consumer
heart-rate monitors, speed and distance or cadence sensors, and foot pods. However, the playing
fields aren’t necessarily even, as noted by Filomena Berardi, Market Research Analyst from
IMS Research, in the report, “Wireless in Sports and Fitness Equipment.”
GPS has created a niche in many outdoor sport devices. It can be used for tracking
speed and distance in addition to being used as a compass. Furthermore, GPS can be
used in conjunction with Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, or ANT to stream
data back to host devices. The main obstacle for GPS is that it is power hungry
regarding certain sensors.
Consumers also can purchase ANT-enabled devices. For a long time, ANT
was the key wireless technology in sports and fitness devices. Since the con-
ception of Bluetooth low energy, the industry has questioned whether ANT
will still lead the field. Backers of its rival contend that standards always win.
Yet there are talks of incorporating ANT in multichip protocols to overcome this
issue. From an IC supplier’s perspective, the question is whether the benefits of adding ANT outweigh the cost
of a combination development. The odds seem stacked up against it.
Despite these uncertainties, some facts are clear. For example, 5-kHz technology will run out of steam. Although
this technology has been used in gyms for many years, gym-equipment suppliers are looking for an option to
overcome crosstalk, poor range, and poor pairing. Other wireless candidates, such as ZigBee and low-power
Wi-Fi, also are considered to be out of the running. Meanwhile, one option is threatening mass short-range
wireless adoption: the smartphone. If there are smartphone-independent applications for sports and fitness, the
public will have little incentive to buy special devices. For more information on the report, contact Filomena
Berardi at Filomena.berardi@imsresearch.com.

AT4 wireless Is First To Qualify Bluetooth Low Energy Controller

MALAGA, SPAIN—AT4 wireless, a wireless certification and testing
laboratory, has announced the qualification of the first worldwide
Bluetooth low-energy (dual-mode) design.The Bluetooth low-energy
specification was adopted by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group
(SIG; www.bluetooth.com) on Dec. 17, 2009. The product that was
qualified is the BlueLink 7.0 (BL6450-L) solution from Texas Instru-
ments, Inc. (www.ti.com).
The BlueLink 7.0 platform promises to provide a complete
hardware and software solution for Bluetooth and FM. It lever-
ages TI’s DRP technology and 65-nm process technology to allow
customers to use fewer external components and interfaces
(for the FM function) compared to discrete Bluetooth and FM
solutions. The BL6450 BlueLink 7.0 chip also incorporates TI’s
Bluetooth/wireless-local-area-networking (WLAN) coexistence
hardware and software solution.
To prepare for the Bluetooth low-energy qualification, AT4 wire-
less has been working since 2008 on the development of BITE test
systems. That integrated test tool automatically performs all of the
conformance test cases for Bluetooth RF and protocol requirements
according to the Bluetooth Qualification Test Cases Reference List
(TCRL). With this service, AT4 wireless has been able to expand its
coverage by adding Bluetooth low energy to the laboratory’s already
wide- and full-scope testing and qualification services for Bluetooth
1.2/2.0/2.0+EDR/2.1/2.1+EDR/3.0 technologies.

22 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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‘‘
Our ability to deliver
mobile coverage and
communication even
in remote locations
allows us to provide
a strong communica-
tion infrastructure
Partnership Will Transform Communications
Infrastructure For Turkey’s Lighthouses
ISTANBUL, TURKEY—Turkcell will
collaborate with Turkey’s Direc-
torate General of Coastal Safety
on the pioneering “Remote Man-
agement of Lighthouses” project.
This project will bring the latest
technology to lighthouses while
tion on the weather, sea, and traffic.
Turkcell’s Sureyya Ciliv states, “We
are proud to cover almost 100 per-
cent of Turkish coasts, contributing
to the safety of our coastlines. Our
ability to deliver mobile coverage
and communication even in remote

’’
reinforcing existing infrastruc-
for lighthouses. ture. The contract was signed by
Sureyya Ciliv, Turkcell CEO, and
Salih Orakci, Director General for
Coastal Safety.
During the first phase of the
project, Turkcell will provide communication
between 185 lighthouses and the control center
based in Istanbul. The number of lighthouses
connected will reach 430 by the end of 2011.
Turkcell’s coverage promises to allow seam-
less data transfer between lighthouses while
increasing the communication distance between
lighthouses and boats by 10X. Through the
automated definition system, the project will
enable vessels to receive up-to-date informa-
locations allows us to provide a
strong communication infrastruc-
ture for lighthouses.”
According to statistics provided
by the Minister of Transport, Binali
Yildirim, 55,000 to 60,000 vessels
or boats pass through the Bosphoruses every
year. A modern traffic-information system
has been established between Istanbul and the
Canakkale channels. According to Yildirim,
“The Directorate General of Coastal Safety,
through its partnership with Turkcell, will be
able to communicate with 185 lighthouses
from the control center. Hence, vessels will
be able to receive data from the lighthouses
from 50 miles instead of 5 miles.”

Kudos:
VALENCIA, CA—Cicoil High-Flex Cables’ 6-in.-wide custom flat
cable is in rigorous testing for the Mars Exploration Program at
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA. Mars
Science Laboratory (MSL), which is scheduled to launch in 2011,
is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Essential to the
mission is the MSL’s continuously flexing Robot Arm, which is
run by a custom-formed Cicoil cable assembly that sends power,
signals, and video from the instruments to the main electronics
within the rover’s body.
PALO ALTO, CA—In 2007, the Lockheed Martin team was awarded
a contract by NASA to design and build the Solar Ultraviolet
Imager (SUVI) for the Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellite (GOES) - R series. Now, it has met the requirements of
a critical design review. The SUVI instrument will be built at the
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Advanced Technology Center
(ATC) in Palo Alto, CA under the management of the company’s
Sensing & Exploration Systems organization. The team is on
track for instrument delivery in October 2012. The first GOES-R
launch is scheduled for 2015.
WALTHAM, MA—Raytheon Co. has been named to FORTUNE
magazine’s 2009 list of 25 Top Companies for Leaders in
North America. This is the first time that Raytheon has been
included in this prestigious biennial ranking.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—Frost & Sullivan’s research team has pre-
sented the 2009 World Market Share Leadership Award in the
WiMAX and LTE test-equipment market to Agilent Technologies.
Frost & Sullivan’s research indicates that Agilent held the highest
market share in 2008 with 20.2 percent of market revenues.
SAN RAMON, CA—Giga-tronics, Inc. has received three orders valued
at $5.1 million for microwave components from a major aircraft
manufacturer. The award for high-performance specialty filters
based upon the company’s fast-switching YIG technology will be
fulfilled by Giga-tronics’ Microsource component subsidiary.
NORWOOD, MA—Analog Devices, Inc. has successfully com-
pleted operational improvements to lower cost and achieve
greater wafer-fabrication efficiencies for its proprietary analog,
mixed-signal, and microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS)
manufacturing process technologies. The Wilmington facility,
which manufactures RF, linear, and other analog products, has
assumed production of ADI’s MEMS products. The Limerick fab
has transitioned all production to the company’s high-capacity,
8-in.-wafer fab.

24 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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40TH ®
ANNIVERSARY
1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 459 rev D
 Microwaves
Europe
Paul Whytock, European Correspondent
DEVELOPMENTS ENHANCE
STANDARDS AND RAISE
AIRPORT SECURITY

ZigBee-Based Transmissions Use The JN5148 wireless microcontroller integrates

Only 100 μJ Of Harvested Energy a 32-b RISC central-processing-unit (CPU)

S HEFFIELD, ENGLAND—The JN5148 controller

from Jennic is able to perform multiple packet
transmissions from 100 μJ of energy harvested
core with mixed-signal peripherals and an
IEEE 802.15.4, 2.4-GHz transceiver. The
98-dB link budget supports indoor com-
from an electromechanical switch. The demon- munication over distances to 55 yards. It
stration showed that only a single switch press consumes 15 mA current when transmit-
is required to enable the JN5148 to carry out This controller is able to perform ting, 17.5 mA when receiving, and 200
system startup and initialization, followed by a multiple packet transmissions from nA in sleep mode.
succession of packet transmissions to increase the 100 μJ of energy harvested from an Previously, Jennic announced energy-
probability of packet delivery to the receiver. electromechanical switch. harvesting technology demonstrations
According to Jennic, this product will find using thermal, vibrational, RF, and solar-
applications in home and commercial building-automation energy-harvesting techniques to power end devices in a
lighting systems. In such systems, wireless, battery-less light wireless sensor network. By employing a powered wireless
switches will control the lighting within the building, thereby backbone that contains permanently active proxy server rout-
minimizing the costs associated with cable installation and ers, energy-constrained end devices can broadcast data when
maintenance. The product also links with ZigBee’s Green they are able. They may rely on the backbone to intercept
Power standardization efforts for the integration of wireless, the data messages. The most recent announcement uses the
battery-less light switches with ZigBee HA networks. same approach but with lower energy budgets.

Microwave Sensor Can Identify SMD Antenna Supports 10 Wireless Protocols

Dangerous Liquids At Airports AMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—A switchable-magnetic-dipole (SMD)

J UELICH, GERMANY AND BEDFORD, ENG-

LAND—Emisens and Microtek have
introduced a liquid-identification system
that could enable airport authorities to
lift restrictions on passengers carrying
bottles of liquid in their hand luggage.
The system, which is known as EMILI
1+, uses a microwave-sensing tech-
nique to identify whether the con-
tents of a bottle are harmless,
inflammable, corrosive, or
explosive. At the heart
of the system is a mul-
timode sensor, which
emits an evanescent
microwave field. That
Using a multimode sensor, this field penetrates the bottle
system can identify the type of under test and enables the
liquid in a bottle and instantly dielectric permittivity and
display the result. ionic conductivity of the
liquid to be measured.
From these parameters, the system can determine the
type of liquid in the bottle and display the result. EMIS-
ENS is a spin-off company from the German Federal
Research Centre, Forschungszentrum, Jülich.
C antenna capable of supporting 10 wireless protocols has been
developed by Antenova (www.antenova.com). The Agilis A10346
is a small, switchable magnetic dipole antenna (MDA) providing
global dual-mode GSM/LTE capability plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and
WiMAX in a single structure.
“There has been an increasing demand from device manufacturers
for small, embedded LTE antennas for mobile devices such as smart
phones, portable navigation devices (PNDs), and portable media
players (PMPs),” says Greg McCray, CEO of Antenova. “Agilis is a
high-performing, nine-band antenna capable of dual-mode GSM and
LTE, which is an ideal solution for device manufacturers as networks
migrate from 3G to 4G. Antenova’s MDA technology enables Agilis
to be resistant to de-tuning and offers predictable performance for
a superior mobile-broadband user experience.”
Research and Development Director Dr. Devis Iellici adds,
“Agilis A10346 is a small, 40-x-10-x-3-mm, switchable magnetic-
dipole antenna offering design flexibility for global mobile-device
manufacturers. This single-capacitive feed antenna is implemented
with a three-pin diode switch that enables operation in three sets of
frequency bands: 700 to 750 MHz (LTE Low), DCS, PCS, UMTS,
Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and LTE at 2.7 GHz; 750 to 800 MHz (LTE High),
DCS, PCS, UMTS, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and LTE at 2.7 GHz; and
GSM850, GSM900, DCS, PCS, UMTS, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and LTE
at 2.7 GHz.” The company says that a dual-feed version is currently
under development and will be available soon.

26 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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our n Coverage
For some time, Microwaves & RF Editor
Microwaves & RF web site. She will regularly write
and post both news and product stories. In addition
to Lisa, Microwaves & RF is happy to be featuring
online content from our European Correspondent,
Nancy Friedrich and European Paul Whytock. Paul will regularly update our audi-
Correspondent Paul Whytock ence with both hot and unique news from the Euro-
have been bringing you video pean RF market. Visit www.mwrf.com today to see
Paul Whytock
coverage from the floors of what’s new online.
important tradeshows like the
International Microwave Sympo- Share Your Thoughts With Quick Polls
sium (IMS) and European Micro- Quick polls allow you to regularly share your opinion on a
wave Week. To see Nancy’s most wide range of topics.
recent interviews at IMS in Boston,
LATEST POLL RESULTS:
for example, go to www.mwrf.com
and click on IMS 2009 on the left Do you currently or in the future intend to use the
toolbar. These videos strive to provide mobile Internet for social-networking and other high
both attendees and non-attendees with a data-rate applications?
personal view of some of the key product
developments and trends that emerge at
industry events. As editors, we have the 92% Yes
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benefit of being able to meet and exchange
ideas with some of the greatest minds in the NEW POLL:
microwave industry. We’re hoping that our
Does the use of millimeter-wave-based technologies
video interviews offer insight into the latest product devel-
opments while introducing you to the microwave engineers in airports make you concerned for your privacy?
who created them. Stay tuned for more video coverage on
www.mwrf.com! To cast your vote, go to www.mwrf.com now!

28 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

“I need to achieve profit goals and control costs.”

Fast, lean and ready to adapt.

Pressure to control costs is increasing. But so is pressure to deliver
faster. Agilent’s new CXA signal analyzer helps you do both, whether
for product development or manufacturing testing. It’s the quickest
analyzer in its price class. One-button channel power, ACP, OBW and
SEM* measurements speed design and test results for greater yield. And
it’s one of the new future-ready test tools in the Agilent X-Series spanning
instruments, measurements and software. That’s flexibility to run lean
today and upgrade as needed. Spec Agilent, and expect more.

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note at www.agilent.com/find/fastCXA
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© 2009 Agilent Technologies, Inc. u.s. 1-800-829-4444 canada: 1-877-894-4414
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Available Online at: www.minicircuits.com/oscillat.html

40TH ®
ANNIVERSARY
1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 402 rev K
focus
January 2010
Inside
Passive Components
Cover Report:
Couplers
Directional-coupler makers
are reducing real estate as
they boost the power-hand-
2
ling capability of their units.
New Products
Check out some of the latest
filter, capacitor, duplexer, and
test developments.
Cables & Connectors
3 New Products
Among the latest debuts
in this product area are
terminations, SFP+ cables,
interconnects, and a cable
coiler.
Amplifiers & Oscillators
5 New Products
New developments are
positioning amplifiers and
oscillators to meet the needs
of emerging applications.
www.mwrf.com/focus
PASSIVE COMPONENTS
A SUPPLEMENT OF MICROWAVES & RF
What’s
New
?
pages 2, 3, 5
SHRINKING
DIRECTIONAL
COUPLERS
Boost Power And Bandwidth
ASHOK BINDRA/Technology Writer
D
irectional couplers are often needed to monitor incident or reflected power,
sample signals, or inject signals onto transmission lines. These passive components
are critical to power-measuring instrumentation and communication systems. By
combining construction techniques with simulation software, directional-coupler makers have
been able to reduce real estate as they boost the power-handling capability of their units at higher
frequencies and with broader bandwidths. A large number of manufacturers are behind such high-
performing couplers including the following: Anaren; Anatech Electronics; ARRA; ET Industries
(ETI); Innovative Power Products (IPP); Krytar; Microphase; MECA Electronics; Microlab/
FXR; Mini-Circuits; Narda Microwave-East; Raditek International; Response Microwave; RLC
Electronics; Sage Laboratories; Trilithic; and Werlatone.
By extending its expertise and experience in commercial-grade surface-mount couplers, for
example, Anaren (www.anaren.com) has launched three Xinger couplers for military radios and
counter-improvised-explosive-device (IED) products. The components handle power to 100 W
at frequencies as high as 6 GHz. While the XC0600-B-03P and XC4300-E-03P are 3-dB hybrid
couplers, the XC4300-A-20P is a 20-dB directional coupler. It covers 2500 to 6000 MHz with
power-handling capability of 100 W. The Primary insulator Secondary insulator
frequency bands for 3-dB hybrid couplers
are 225 to 1000 MHz and 2500 to 6000 MHz Inner Outer conductor
while handling 75 and 100 W, respectively. conductor
(i)
These multilayer stripline units exhibit 0.70
and 0.25 dB insertion loss, respectively. Primary insulator Secondary insulator
The units feature isolation of 17, 21, and
18 dB. The two hybrid models measure 0.50 Inner Outer conductor
conductor
x 1.00 x 0.22 inches and 0.20 x 0.56 x 0.089
(ii)
inches while the 20-dB coupler occupies 0.35
x 0.56 x 0.065 inches. According to Anaren’s
Insulator
Business Development Manager for the
Space & Defense Group, Mark Kosalek, Inner Outer conductor
conductor
these units are intended to lower mate-
(iii)
rial costs while achieving board space and
weight savings. A third-generation Xinger 1. Compared to a comparable stripline unit, this air-dielec-
coupler also is in the pipeline. tric directional coupler exhibits low insertion loss.
 Focus
PASSIVE COMPONENTS
Average power to 500 W is said to be
handled by the new directional couplers
from RLC Electronics (www.rlcelectron-
ics.com). The units are optimized for two
octave bandwidths. They offer coupling
values of 30, 40, or 50 dB with type N
(male or female) as mainline connectors
and SMA (female) as secondary-line con-
nectors. The highest-frequency model
(CHP-6018) covers 6 to 18 GHz with 14
dB directivity. It exhibits insertion loss to
0.35 dB. The coupler comes in single and
dual versions. Reverse coupling for the
dual couplers is 30, 40, or 50 dB.
To provide a compact solution at
lower cost, the manufacturer also has
expanded its portfolio with miniature air-
dielectric directional couplers. According
to Product Manager Peter Jeffery, most of
the physical tuning has been eliminated
by using simulation software. In fact,
both the tuning and construction of the
coupler has been simplified to lower its
cost. Jeffery points out that the simpli-
fied construction provides flexibility in
constructing custom configurations. The
six units offer a choice of coupling values
between 20 and 30 dB ±0.5 dB with a
range that can be as high as 2 to 18 GHz.
The average power for the 50-Ω couplers
is 100 W (Fig. 1). For applications requir-
ing couplers at higher frequencies with
wider bandwidths, the maker also has
added a line that spans to 40 GHz.
To serve the needs of precise power
monitoring, signal mixing, or swept
transmission, MECA Electronics (www.e-
meca.com) has developed a series of min-
iature 50-W stripline directional couplers.
The product family covers 500 MHz to 18
GHz with nominal couplings of 10, 20,
or 30 dB. Housed in an ultra-compact
aluminum housing with SMA (female)
connectors and gold-plated contact pins,
it is designed to deliver coupling flatness
of ±1.25 dB while exhibiting insertion loss
of 0.15 dB and 25 dB minimum directiv-
ity. By removing the external termination,
the products in this series also can be
used as bi-directional couplers.
A high-power bi-directional coupler
also is being offered in a miniature pack-
age from Mini-Circuits (www.minicir-
cuits.com). Operating from 2.6 to 4.6
S2
2. This non-traditional coupler uses a pair of
wire center conductors, which are embedded in
a Teflon dielectric and shielded by a drawn outer
conductor.
GHz, the 20-dB, 40-W bi-directional cou-
pler dubbed the ZX30-20-462HP uses
low-loss dielectric material in a microstrip
configuration. The result is that it exhibits
low insertion loss of 0.3 dB. The coupler
comes in a small Unibody case for supe-
rior grounding and heat transfer.
The race to miniaturize broadband
directional couplers also includes com-
panies like ARRA (www.arra.com),
ET Industries (www.etiworld.com),
Innovative Power Products (www.inno-
vativepp.com), Krytar (www.krytar.com),
Microlab/FXR (www.microlab.fxr.com),
Microphase (www.microphase.com),
Narda Microwave East (www.nardami-
crowave.com), Trilithic (www.trilithic.
com), and Werlatone (www.werlatone.
com). IPP claims to offer the widest band-
widths at the highest power in the indus-
try. Spanning 20 MHz to 6 GHz, the firm’s
couplers are designed to handle as much
as 1000 W continuous-wave (CW) power
with impressive coupling flatness, a low
voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), and
low insertion loss.
For its part, Werlatone (www.werla-
tone.com) has patented a line of high-
power broadband bi- and uni-directional
couplers with tight coupling values and
low insertion loss. Compared to tradi-
tional units, these stripline couplers are
electrically shorter and physically smaller.
The manufacturer also released a family
of multi-octave surface-mount and drop-
in couplers for use in amplifier modules.
To reduce size while providing opti-
mal performance, Narda Microwave East
has combined low-loss dielectric material
with meandered coupler sections. The
resulting 10:1-bandwidth, 20-dB coupler
operates from 100 MHz to 1 GHz. It
is capable of handling maximum input
power of 50 W. By placing a high-pow-
er termination on the isolated port, the
maker asserts that its power ability can be
extended to 100 W.
Using a non-traditional approach,
Response Microwave (www.responsemi-
crowave.com) has crafted two distinct
categories of versatile drop-in couplers for
military, space, telecommunications, and
medical applications. HYBRIDLINE is
a drop-in, 3-dB, 90-deg. quadrature
hybrid while the COUPLERLINE com-
prises 4.77-, 6-, 10-, 20-, and 30-dB direc-
tional couplers spanning 50 MHz to 10
GHz. Loose versions have been developed
that vow to offer coupling values as high as
52 dB without compromising perfor-
mance. Structurally, the unit comprises
a pair of wire center conductors embed-
ded in a Teflon dielectric and shielded
by a drawn outer conductor. To attain
the attributes of semi-rigid coaxial cable,
the outer conductor is constructed from
seamless oxygen-free copper. By simply
cutting to an appropriate length cor-
related to the operating frequency, the
engineer can realize a broadband direc-
tional coupler, hybrid, or other circuit
element.
To achieve various coupling val-
ues, the maker employs three different
mechanical configurations (Fig. 2). For
tight coupling, a pair of inner conduc-
tors is set very close in parallel with
constant distance. In addition, one or
both inner conductors are insulated with
polyimide and continuously covered with
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). For loose
coupling—as in the COUPLERLINE
series—the distance of the two inner
conductors is made wider. “Aside from
packaging diversity, the added benefit
of our non-traditional couplers is that
they are space qualified,” says Peter A.
Alfano, Response Microwave’s Director of
Business Development. Efforts are under-
way to make these couplers compatible
with pick-and-place equipment.
To see the table that accompanies this article,
please go to www.mwrf.com and look at the
online version.
focus / January/2010
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 Focus
PASSIVE COMPONENTS

What’s
?
Ceramic Duplexer Serves 1900-MHz Base Stations
A surface-mount, monoblock ceramic duplexer dubbed the

Broadband Capacitors
Provide DC Blocking
Through 40 GHz
A series of ultra-broadband capaci-
tors has been developed to address
DC-blocking issues from 16 kHz to
40 GHz. In most applications, the
GX series of capacitors exhibits res-
onance-free insertion loss below
0.5 dB through at least 40 GHz.
At higher frequencies, insertion losses will
depend at least partially on installation
parameters. The capacitors are offered
in 0.1-μF capacitance with tolerances of
±10 or ±20 percent. They are rated to
New
model AM1880-1960D268 serves wireless-base-station trans-
ceiver communication applications from 1850 to 1960 MHz. In
terms of transmit-to-receive response, the 50-Ω duplexer exhib-
its insertion loss of 3.4 dB or less from 1850 to 1910 MHz and
minimum return loss of 11 dB. It provides attenuation ranging from 45
dB for DC to 1000 MHz to 38 dB for 2040 to 2100 MHz.
Regarding antenna-to-receiver response, it
exhibits insertion loss of 3.7 dB
or less from 1930 to 1990 MHz
and attenuation ranging from 51
dB for 1850 to 1910 MHz to 30
dB from 2150 to 2210 MHz. The
duplexer provides rejection of at
least 54 dB in the transmit band and 49 dB in the receive band. It handles RF input
power to 2 W. The AM1880-1960D268 measures 4.6 x 23 x 6.5 mm.
Anatech Electronics, Inc., 70 Outwater Ln., Garfield, NJ 07026; (973) 772-4242, FAX:
(973) 772-4646, e-mail: sales@anatechelectronics.com, Internet: www.amcrf.com.

handle +16 VDC at +85°C or +10 VDC

at +125°C. Because they incorporate a
proprietary precision termination pro-
cess, the components are insensitive to
orientation. To minimize space require-
ments, they are constructed with a stan-
dard EIA 0402 footprint. The capacitors
are available with either X5R or X7S
dielectric characteristic. Both Ni/Sn and
Ni/Au terminations are available to
cover a wide range of attachment pro-
cesses. P&A: starting at $1.00 to $1.50
each depending on style; 6 weeks.
AVX Corp., 801 17th Ave. South,
Myrtle Beach, SC 29578; (843) 448-
9411, FAX: (843) 444-2864, Internet:
www.avx.com.

LC Bandpass Filters Cover 1616.0 To 1626.5 MHz

A pole-mounted series of compact, rugged LC bandpass filters
is now available for use in the Iridium telephony band. These
filters pass frequencies from 1616.0 to 1626.5 MHz while
exhibiting insertion loss to 2.6 dB. They provide at least 15
dB isolation at GPS L1 and 70 dB at GPS L2 frequencies. In
addition, the filters offer 45 dB isolation from 1710 to 1850
MHz and 55 dB from 1.85 to 10.00 GHz. Measuring just 0.5 x
0.5 x 2.0 in., the rugged filters are suitable for a variety of air-
borne applications—particularly UAV/UAS platforms. Other
frequency bands and isolation requirements can be accommo-
dated to fulfill specific requirements. Both connectorized and
printed-circuit-mount versions are available. Standard delivery
is from five to six weeks.
Trilithic, Inc., 9710 Park Davis Dr., Indianapolis, IN 46235;
(317) 895-3600, FAX: (317) 895-3612, e-mail: sales@trilithic.
com, Internet: www.trilithic.com.

S4 focus / January/2010
 Focus
CABLES & CONNECTORS

What’s
?
New
100-W Terminations
Offer PIM Below −165 dBc
To satisfy the needs of demanding wireless applica-
tions, a new series of 100-W terminations typically
boasts passive-intermodulation (PIM) performance
below −165 dBc. They guarantee performance below
−160 dBc (measured using two 20-W test tones). The
50-Ω TK-27MN (male N connector) and TK-27FN
(female N connector) have been designed using
mechanically stable connections. They achieve typical
VSWR better than 1.05:1 from 700 to 2700 MHz and
better than 1.15:1 down to 380 MHz. The termina-
tions achieve a 5-kW peak power rating from −35° to
+55°C. Typical applications include the termination
of the unused port of a hybrid coupler that combines
different wireless signals. The housing is finished in
black paint on aluminum with tri-plated connectors.
Microlab/FXR, subsidiary of Wireless Telecom
Group, Inc., 25 Eastmans Rd., Parsippany, NJ 07054;
(973) 386-9696, FAX: (973) 386-9191, Internet: www.
microlab.fxr.com.
Connectors Boast 5000+ MΩ
Insulation Resistance At +500 VDC
By implementing an aluminum-compatible hermetic recep-
tacle, the microComp rectangular connectors promise to shave
weight in harsh-environment applications. That hermetic recep-
tacle provides an insulation resistance of greater than 5000
MΩ at +500 VDC when tested in IAW MIL-STD 1344, Method
3003. It is built with beryllium copper-alloy contacts that are fin-
ished in nickel/gold. The microComp receptacle operates from
−55° to +170°C. It is designed for aluminum, titanium, or iron/
nickel alloy applications and is available in both laser-weldable
or O-ring mount styles. Currently, the hermetic receptacle is
designed for the microComp 25-pin configuration. Compared
to stainless-steel alternatives, it offers weight savings to 40 per-
cent. It has a leak rate of less than 1 x 10-9 cm3/s helium at one
atmospheric differential pressure, thanks to proprietary Kryoflex
polycrystalline ceramic. Compared to conventional products,
the Kryoflex-sealed connectors vow to provide as much as 70
times the current-carrying capacity while withstanding extreme
mechanical and thermal stresses. The microComp receptacle
connectors are available in a double-ended bulkhead con-
figuration for applications requiring an interconnection on both
sides. They can be built with as few as seven or as many as 104
contacts. The connectors have a contact pitch of 2.0 x 1.7 mm2.
Each connector offers dismountable contact construction for
wiring flexibility.
PA&E, Inc., 434 Olds Station Rd., Wenatchee, WA 98801; (509)
664-8000, FAX: (509) 664-6868, Internet: www.pacaero.com.

Mechanically Forgiving Interconnect Handles 165 W At 3 GHz

A range of board-to-board, module-to-module, and panel-to-panel
RF coaxial interconnects have been spawned to address telecom-
munications applications required for new compact infrastructure
equipment, such as base stations or handheld devices. Four differ-
ent product groups and 10 connector series are offered including
the latest SMP-MAX, SMP-Spring, IMP-Spring, and other mis-
alignment solutions. For its part, the SMP-MAX large-misalign-
ment solution has a patented impedance-matching insulator that
is optimized for a larger operating gap between connectors. This
feature makes it easier for engineers to handle a maximum board-
to-board distance tolerance to a 0.078-in. (2-mm) gap without a
spring, which is 300 percent more than the standard SMP. The
SMP-MAX solution also features a 3-deg. tilt (radial travel). It
operates from DC to 6 GHz while guaranteeing maximum VSWR
of 1.20:1 to 3 GHz. The interconnect promises to handle as much
as 165 W at 3 GHz. The IMP-Spring, SMP-Spring, and MMBX-
Spring spring-loaded solutions are well suited for both increased board-to-board distance misalignment tolerances to
0.078 in. (2 mm) and tilt (radial travel) to 4.5 deg. In addition, these spring-loaded solutions have a consistent low VSWR
down to 1.15:1 at 3 GHz.
Radiall USA, Inc., 6825 West Galveston St., Chandler, AZ 85226; (480) 682-9400, FAX: (480) 682-9403, e-mail: infou-
sa@radiall.com, Internet: www.radiall.com.

A Supplement to Microwaves & RF / focus S5

 Focus
CABLES & CONNECTORS
Limiting-Port
Copper SFP+
Cables Use What’s
New
Low-Loss Dielectric
By leveraging both the Eye-
Opener+ conductor technol-
ogy and a low-loss expanded polytet-
rafluoroethylene (PTFE) cable dielec-
tric, a series of “limiting-port” SFP+
cables fully complies with the SFF-8431
Revision 4.1, Chapter 3 specification for
limiting modules. This product satisfies
the limiting-port specification to 7 m
without using active technology. SFP+
limiting ports are not required to pro-
vide electrical dispersion compensation
(EDC) on the receive side. In addition,
eliminating this chip or function has
been projected to save $15 per port. Yet
the loss of this function severely limits
the distance over which traditional pas-
sive copper solutions can interoperate
to less than 1 m. To satisfy the standard,
integrators have been required to pur-
chase active copper or optical transceiv-
ers. The specification-compliant 7 m is
a length that spans a significant portion
of the total interconnect space required
for typical high-performance comput-
ing environments. The core/skin design
of the cables provides a distributed or
“per-unit-length” equalization without
resistor-inductor-capacitor (RIC) cir-
cuitry required on the connector paddle
card. Finally, the equalized cables vow
to reduce jitter because the transfer
function (frequency response) of the
cable is “flattened” in the appropriate
frequency band.
W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., 385
Starr Rd., Landenberg, PA 19350-9221;
(800) 311-3060, FAX: (800) 757-4673,
Internet: www.gore.com.
S6
?
Coaxial Terminations Peak At 10 kW
A pair of coaxial terminations promises to deliv-
er extreme ruggedness for applications
ranging from instrumentation to
transmitters in the field.
The models 368BNM and
369BNM operate from 2 to 18 GHz
and 700 MHz to 18 GHz, respectively.
The model 368BNM handles RF input
power to 500 W average and 5 kW
peak. It boasts a maximum VSWR of
1.40:1 from 2 to 3 GHz, 1.30:1 from 3 to 12.4
GHz, and 1.45:1 from 12.4 to 18 GHz. At 6.5 lbs., the model 368BNM mea-
sures 11.9 x 3.88 in. including Type-N connector and heatsink. Its sibling, the model
369BNM, handles average RF input power to 175 W and 10 kW peak. It flaunts maxi-
mum VSWR of 1.20:1 from 700 MHz to 1 GHz, 1.10:1 from 1 to 9 GHz, and 1.20:1 from
9 to 18 GHz. The model 369BNM measures 13.1 x 3.88 in. including Type-N connector
and heat sink and weighs 2.5 lbs.
L-3 Communications Corp., Narda Microwave-East, 435 Moreland Rd., Hauppauge,
NY 11788; (631) 231-1700, FAX: (631) 231-1711, e-mail: nardaeast@L-3com.com,
Internet: www.nardamicrowave.com/east.
Dual-Pan Coiling Machine Neatens Cables
The CableCoiler 1300 is a fully
synchronized, high-speed coil-
er that interfaces with cut or
cut-and-strip machines. Two
high-speed coiling pans and a
user-friendly color touchscreen
make the CableCoiler 1300 a
fast and efficient means of coil-
ing wire, cable, and other round
materials. The all-electric coiler
processes cable diameters to 0.5
in., coiling diameters from 4.3
to 9.0 in., and weights to 22
lbs. The alternating process of
a dual-pan coiling system vows
to eliminate unproductive wait-
ing times. While the operator
is unloading a completed coil
from the first coiling pan, the
next coil is being produced in
the second coiling pan. Plus, an
anti-slip surface and coiling pins
inside of the coiling pans assure
a controlled coiling process.
Schleuniger, Inc., 87 Colin Dr.,
Manchester, NH 03103; (603) 668-
8117, FAX: (603) 668-8119, e-mail:
sales@schleuniger.com, Internet:
www.schleuniger-na.com.
focus / January/2010
 Focus
AMPLIFIERS & OSCILLATORS

37-To-40-GHz
Upconverter Comes
In QFN Package
What’s
New
?
The XU1019-QH upconverter is
a gallium-arsenide (GaAs) mono-
lithic microwave integrated circuit
(MMIC) spanning 37 to 40 GHz.
It integrates an image-reject bal-
anced mixer, local-oscillator (LO)
buffer amplifier, LO doubler, and
RF buffer amplifier within a fully
molded 4-x-4-mm QFN package.
The upconverter offers an input
third-order intercept point of +20
dBm. It boasts conversion gain of
7 dB and image rejection of greater
than −15 dBc. The device can be
tuned to give 2 x LO leakage of less Pallet Amplifiers Satisfy S- And L-Band Radars
than −25 dBm. A pair of pallet amplifiers is available for use in S-band and L-band radar systems.
In addition, variable-gain regula- The IBP2729MH300 is a 50-Ω-matched, high-power pulsed pallet amplifier for S-band
tion can be achieved by adjusting systems. It operates over the instantaneous bandwidth of 2.7 to 2.9 GHz. The amplifier
the bias with turn-down trajecto- supplies at least 300 W of peak pulse power with 100-μs pulses at a 10 percent duty
ries that are optimized to maintain cycle. At 2.7 GHz, it operates at +36 VDC with 22.62 A collector current while deliver-
linearity and minimal 2 x LO leak- ing 363 W output power. It exhibits 11 dB input return loss. The model IBP2729MH300
age over the gain control range. requires 44 W input power to achieve its rated output power, providing 9.17 dB power
gain. This pallet amplifier combines devices with hermetically sealed lids for optimum
The XU1019-QH is well suited for
reliability in the harshest environmental conditions.
point-to-point (PTP) radio, LMDS,
Its sibling, the ILP1214EL200, is the first in a series of high-power L-band, LDMOS-
satcom, and VSAT applications.
based pallet amplifiers. This 50-Ω-matched, two-stage, high-power pulsed pallet ampli-
Engineering samples are available
fier covers 1215 to 1400 MHz. It supplies at least 200 W peak pulse power with 16-ms
from stock with a lead time of 14
pulses at a 50 percent duty cycle with 22.3 dB gain. The amplifier operates with +30
weeks for production quantities. VDC and 19.74 A current and exhibits 18 dB input return loss with 241 W output power.
Mimix Broadband, Inc., 10795 Both pallet amplifiers use transistors manufactured with a complete gold metal system
Rockley Rd., Houston, TX 77099; (die, wire bond, and package) for maximum reliability in pulsed radar applications.
(281) 988-4600; Internet: www. Integra Technologies, Inc., 321 Coral Circle, El Segundo, CA 90245-4620; (310)
mimixbroadband.com. 606-0855, FAX: (310) 606-0865, Internet: www.integratech.com.

VCO Features Phase Noise Of −119 dBc/Hz At 10-kHz Offset

The ZRO1820A1LF VCO operates at L-band from 1818 to
1822 MHz with tuning voltages from +0.5 to +4.5 VDC. This
oscillator features typical phase noise of −119 dBc/Hz at 10
kHz offset and typical tuning sensitivity of 5 MHz/V. The
ZRO1820A1LF is designed to deliver typical output power of
+4.5 dBm from a +5-VDC supply while drawing 20 mA (typi-
cal) over the temperature range of −40° to +85°C. It features
typical second-harmonic suppression of −25 dBc. The oscilla-
tor provides load impedance of 50 Ω with 50 pF input capaci-
tance. The device comes in a MINI-16-SM surface-mounted
package measuring 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.22 in. It is available in tape-
and-reel packaging for production requirements. Delivery is
from stock to four weeks.
Z-Communications, Inc., 9939 Via Pasar, San Diego, CA
92126; (858) 621-2700, FAX: (858) 621-2722, e-mail: sales@
zcomm.com, Internet: www.zcomm.com.

A Supplement to Microwaves & RF / focus S7

 TEST AND MEASUREMENT

NewsReport

Nonlinear S-Parameters
And SDR Impact Test And
Measurement Equipment
Test and measurement makers are innovating ways
to add functionality and describe the behavior of
nonlinear components in response to large-signal stimuli.
at high frequencies. At Agilent (www. small-signal stimuli. At that point, the
NANCY FRIEDRICH
Editor agilent.com), Marketing Program Man- device can be approximated as a linear
agers Jennifer Stark, Frank Palmer, and component at a static (e.g., fixed DC)
Jan Whitacre emphasize that a well-cal- operating point. This trend has created

T
est and measurement is cru-
cial for research and devel-
opment through production.
As a result, test-equipment
manufacturers have had to
speed the evolution of their
instruments to keep up with rapidly
changing wireless-communications
standards. They also are relying more
on software—either through links to
electronic-design-automation (EDA)
tools or via software-designed-radio
(SDR) architectures. At the same time,
test equipment is increasingly being
tasked with performing nonlinear device
characterization, which is lead-
ing companies to handle scatter-
ing parameters (S-parameters)
in new and unusual ways. To
provide the optimal solutions for
microwave engineers working on
both current and next-generation
designs, test and measurement
companies are doing a balancing
act to respond to these trends
while constantly raising the per-
formance of their products.
For almost half a century,
S-parameters have been at the
roots of microwave theory and
measurement. Using a vector net- 1. Using a 43.5-, 50-, or 13.5-GHz NVNA, X-parameters can be
work analyzer (VNA), engineers measured and then imported into the Advanced Design System (ADS) breakthrough in X-parameters
can easily measure S-parameters software suite to simulate linear and nonlinear component behavior. that allows engineers to quickly
ibrated S-parameter measurement will
represent the intrinsic properties of the
device under test (DUT)—independent
of the VNA system that was used to
characterize it. They note that essen-
tial DUT properties, such as gain, loss,
and reflection coefficient, are familiar,
intuitive, and important. As a result,
S-parameters are still commonly used
for nonlinear devices like transistors
and amplifiers.
As the Agilent folks point out, how-
ever, S-parameters are limited in that
they only describe the behavior of a
nonlinear component in response to
an urgent need for a rigorous—but
practical—solution for characteriz-
ing, modeling, and designing nonlinear
components at high frequencies. Agi-
lent’s response has been what it calls
X-parameters. These rigorous supersets
of S-parameters can tackle both linear
and nonlinear components, as they
are excited by small- and large-signal
conditions. In the small-signal limit,
X-parameters reduce to S-parameters.
Unlike S-parameters, however, the Agi-
lent folks note that X-parameters con-
tain detailed and useful information
about the nonlinear behavior of a DUT.
Examples include the magni-
tude and phase of distortion
products generated by the non-
linear component in response
to large-signal conditions.
X-parameters are a key
capability of Agilent’s PNA-X
(Fig. 1). Although it is suitable
for linear network analysis, this
instrument can easily switch
into the nonlinear-vector-net-
work-analyzer (NVNA) mode
for direct nonlinear measure-
ments of amplifiers and other
nonlinear components. The
NVNA capability features a

JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF visit www.mwrf.com 33

 TEST AND MEASUREMENT
NewsReport
and accurately design and develop linear
components and subsystems by reducing
or removing trial-and-error loops from
their design process. The PNA-X family
covers 10 MHz to 13.5, 26.5, 43.5, or
50 GHz. It offers both two and four
ports and an internal combiner and
mechanical switches with a 10.4-in.
touchscreen.
The need for NVNAs also has been
recognized by Anritsu Co. (www.anritsu.
com). According to Steve Reyes, Product
Marketing Manager – VNAs, “Digi-
tal modulation schemes, such as PSK
and QAM (used in 3G systems such as
WCDMA and EV-DO) and OFDM (used
in WiMAX and 4G systems such as LTE),
result in a high peak-to-average ratio
(PAR). Power-amplifier (PA) design engi-
neers must take into account the conse-
quences of amplifying a communication
signal with high PAR yet still maintain
linearity and acceptable error-vector-
magnitude (EVM) rates. A linear VNA
provides useful information regarding
the performance of the PA under linear
conditions. However, as the PA becomes
compressed in a digitally modulated
system, the VNA must provide additional
information to help the design engineer
optimize PA performance.”
The firm has responded to this need
with the VectorStar VNA. To thoroughly
analyze a linear PA, Reyes points out that
this instrument provides many built-
in functions, such as automatic power
sweep for gain compression, intermodu-
lation-distortion (IMD) measurements,
and characterization down to 70 kHz
to measure memory effects. Notably,
the VectorStar VNA can also be easily
upgraded to NVNA status by simply
including an external test set, software,
and miscellaneous hardware, such as
couplers and load pull tuners (see Cover
Feature, p. 99).
While traditional frequency-domain
instruments for linear device character-
ization have adopted new techniques and
proprietary measurement parameters
to represent nonlinear behavior, Tek-
tronix (www.tektronix.com) has teamed
with Mesuro Ltd. (www.mesuro.com),
a Cardiff University Venture, on a time-
34
2. With a measurement bandwidth to 30 MHz,
this VNA allows pulse profile measurements
on amplifiers with a resolution of 12.5 ns.
domain approach for nonlinear device
characterization. According to Darren
McCarthy, Tektronix’s Microwave & RF
Technical Marketing Manager, “Wave-
form engineering overcomes today’s
fragmented collection of measurement
techniques, enabling the replication of
S-parameter concepts within the non-
linear domain. By directly working with
the time-domain stimulus and response,
the Mesuro Active Harmonic Load Pull
system overcomes many of the limita-
tions of traditional systems with low
frequency, high power, and direct device
measurements at the impedances that
matter. As part of the founding mem-
bers of the OpenWave Forum (www.
openwaveforum.org), Mesuro and Tek-
tronix are committed to the continued
advancement of nonlinear technologies
and measurement techniques with open
data formats.”
Based on Tektronix’s AWG7122B
arbitrary waveform generator (AWG)
and DSA8200 sampling oscilloscope,
the Mesuro MB 20 open-loop, active-
harmonic load-pull systems enable the
characterization of devices and power
amplifiers for any signal and impedance
environment to 150 W. At the heart of
these systems is a waveform-engineering
technique that enables the replication of
S-parameter concepts within the nonlin-
ear domain. Thanks to this capability, the
systems can test applications that are still
in development over wider harmonics to
arrive at reference designs with better
impedance-matching efficiencies. In addi-
tion, on-wafer measurements enable the
device manufacturer to efficiently char-
acterize RF power devices before sorting
and packing begins. For device and PA
manufacturers, the Mesuro active-load-
pull product provides an opportunity to
fully characterize devices within an accel-
erated amplifier design cycle. The systems
can measure RF waveforms, power spec-
trum, S-parameters, and direct-current
current-voltage (DCIV) data.
The move to nonlinear S-parameters
will certainly provide increasingly advan-
tageous capabilities going forward. Yet it
is important to note that many engineers
are focused on the immense amount of
passive products that are essential to
microwave designs. According to Justin
Panzer, Manager, Product Marketing
for Rohde & Schwarz North America
(www.rohde-schwarz.com), “Many of
our VNA customers are involved with
passive-device development (like filters
and couplers), where nonlinear S-param-
eters have no advantages. And many
amplifier developers are still content to
use the techniques they’ve been using
for several decades—techniques that
have been honed to provide consistent,
timely results that instill confidence for
their customers. Of course, for very
high-performance applications, nonlin-
ear S-parameters may provide keys to
improved product design. But it’s still
not proven to justify the incremental
cost and complexity.”
According to Panzer, Rohde & Schwarz
offers a nonlinear S-parameter solution
using its ZVA VNA and the “ZVA Plus”
hardware and software package devel-
oped by NMDG. It provides nonlinear
results that may be exported into model-
ing tools, such as AWR’s Virtual System
Simulator (VSS) software or Agilent’s
Advanced Design System (ADS) suite of
software programs. The latest member
of the ZVA family is the R&S ZVA67,
which spans 10 MHz to 67 GHz (Fig. 2).
The R&S ZVA67 boasts a dynamic range
of 110 dB at 67 GHz with measurement
time of just 3.5 μs for each test point. With
+6 dBm output power at 67 GHz and a
power sweep range of more than 40 dB,
this VNA can characterize small and large
signal behavior on active components.
In addition to S-parameters, it analyzes
harmonics, compression, intermodula-
tion, and noise parameters. This VNA has
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
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40TH ®
ANNIVERSARY
1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 457 rev H
 TEST AND MEASUREMENT
NewsReport
garnered a lot of attention for its ability to
measure the relative and absolute group
delay on frequency-converting compo-
nents like mixers even when the local
oscillator is not accessible (see November
Cover Story, p. 99).
SOFTWARE TAKES A DEFINING ROLE
Test and measurement manufacturers
are increasingly turning to software-
programmable approaches so that they
can provide increased functionality while
meeting shortened time lines. With SDR
at the heart of an instrument, for exam-
ple, firms are able to make test equipment
available just as a standard is emerging
and fine-tune it when the standard is
finalized. As noted by Tektronix’s Dar-
ren McCarthy, “With the re-farming
of digital broadcast channels and with
the proliferation of multiple technolo-
gies vying for the same RF spectrum,
the use of adaptive and cognitive radio
technologies will increase the impor-
tance of testing digital technologies.
This will continue to put an emphasis on
time-correlated measurements across all
domains of the test environment: digital,
analog, and RF.”
One example of software-program-
mable platforms can be seen in the Aero-
flex PXI 3000 series (Fig. 3). The product
range includes a broad choice of PXI
chassis and modular PXI instruments for
wide-bandwidth RF signal generation,
analysis, and conditioning for signals
to 6 GHz. The series is supported by
the PXI Studio application software
for the waveform generation and vec-
tor signal analysis of complex wireless
communications systems. According
to Bill Burrows, Business Development
Manager for Aeroflex International,
“The Aeroflex PXI 3000 series addresses
wireless parametric measurements for
all of the existing cellular and wireless
broadband technologies on a single plat-
form. By building a wideband, generic
signal source and signal analyzer, we are
able to characterize its performance to
the customer requirement by supplying
a software application.”
The 3020 series compact, 3U-high
precision PXI modular RF signal gen-
36
3. By combining the appropriate digitizers
and signal generators, an engineer can
set this system’s overall bandwidth and
frequency range to fit current needs while
allowing for future expansion.
erators come with an integrated dual-
channel arbitrary waveform generator
(AWG). They serve RF test systems for
design verification and manufacturing
to 6 GHz. The signal generators provide
RF output-power control ranging from
–121 dBm to +17 dBm with modulation
bandwidths to 90 MHz. They boast level
accuracy of ±0.3 dB.
Those generators are complemented
by RF conditioning modules and the
3030 series of RF digitizers. The digitizers
are used with a 3010 series synthesizer
module to provide precision conversion
of RF signals into digital IF or I and
Q data. When used with PXI Studio
application software, the 3030 series RF
digitizer family can perform vector signal
analysis of RF signals for manufacturing
and design verification. The digitizers
span 250 kHz or 330 MHz to 3 GHz and
6 GHz. They offer a digitized bandwidth
that is 36 or 90 MHz wide (1 dB) with
13- or 14-b analog-to-digital-converter
(ADC) resolution. The digitizers sample
at rates to 200 MSamples/s. They boast
75 dB spurious and intermodulation-
free dynamic range, level accuracy that
is typically 0.3 dB, and noise spectral
density below −145 dBm/Hz.
Of course, not all aspects of an instru-
ment can be software programmable.
Mike Barrick, Anritsu’s Business Devel-
opment and Global Account Manager,
states, “All modern instruments are soft-
ware programmable, with some instru-
ments providing the user with access to
manipulation of data once a measure-
ment has been made. An example of this
is the MS269X VSA, in which the user can
install PC-based analysis tools that may
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
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 TEST AND MEASUREMENT

NewsReport

implement user-specific functions ranging
from filtering to custom data displays.
Lower levels in an instrument, such as
RF/baseband hardware and fundamental
measurement algorithms, are related to
underlying measurement accuracy, which
must be specified by the instrument man-
SATCOM & Cellular/PCS
ufacturer. If user-implemented changes to
the basic measurement algorithms were
allowed by an instrument manufacturer, it
is doubtful that the resulting data would
be useful.”
In the excitement over new capabili-
ties, it is easy to overlook the roadblocks
that are inherent to the traditional RF
test arena. Rohde & Schwarz’s Justin
Panzer notes that high-performance
requirements necessitate the careful
selection of RF, IF, and LO frequencies,
power budgets, and data-processing
algorithms. Within this hardware-
defined context, however, he points
out that instruments like the Rohde &
Schwarz FSQ and FSV spectrum analyz-
ers use SDR algorithms to take down-
converted I/Q samples and demodulate

RF Test Equipment many popular waveforms from LTE and

WiMAX to Bluetooth and CDMA.
Of course, nonlinear S-parameters
Satellite Link Emulator and the increasing reliance on SDR
approaches are not the only develop-
RF link emulation for payload or VSAT ter-
ments forcing the evolution of test and
minal development. Doppler, delay, path loss,
phase shift and fading may be independently
measurement equipment. The test indus-
programmed . Dynamic changing delay offers try has to keep up with ongoing trends,
fully phase continuous operation. Up to four such as the increasing integration of
independent channels. hardware and software and the trend
toward millimeter-wave frequencies.
Low cost CW Synthesizer Development also is largely being driven
by the needs of the fourth-generation
High performance (10MHz to 4 GHz) CW Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard.
synthesizer with downloadable date file to
For example, test equipment must now
control power and frequency for sweep test-
ing. Ethernet, GPIB and RS 232 control
incorporate aspects like multi-channel
capability and new fading scenarios to
simulate multiple-input multiple-output
AWGN Carrier/Noise Generators (MIMO) performance. Due to the great
Complete line of frequency tunable broad- number of services that are now pro-
band Additive While Gaussian Noise vided by digital broadcasters, mobile
(AWGN) generators with built-in power network operators, and other providers,
measurement. Eb/No ratio accuracy of the potential for interference between
0.1dB over full frequency range them is heightened. As a result, Panzer
has seen impressive growth in the areas
of interference hunting and spectrum-
monitoring applications.
Modern communications is creating
a growing need for real-world testing
as well. According to Graham Celine,
Senior Director of Marketing at Azi-
muth Systems (www.azimuth.com),
“While statistical modeling of wireless
conditions has been the norm for many
years, the proliferation of the technology
drives vendors to want to find methods
to capture field conditions and recreate
32A Spruce Street ‹ Oakland NJ 07436 them in the lab. This is a complex and
Tel (201) 677-0008 ‹ Fax (201) 677-9444 challenging operation.”
RF Test Equipment for Wireless Communications www.dbmcorp.com Thanks largely to communications,
microwave testing also has to adapt as
digital technologies become more criti-

38 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 TEST AND MEASUREMENT

NewsReport

cal to designs. For example, faster DSPs products as spectrum analyzers, power increase, these will get closer to direct
are causing ADCs and digital-to-analog meters, and vector analyzers will merge connection to the RF domain. The result
converters (DACs) to be placed closer into generic test platforms supporting of this will be increased accuracy and
to the antenna. This proximity makes all of the expected capabilities of these analysis capability, allowing signal com-
it critical for the system engineer to individual products. This will be aided by plexity to grow to provide the increased
be able to diagnose and troubleshoot the increasing use of digital technology throughput that our information-fueled
potential software errors. Converters and, as the speed of ADCs continues to lives demand.”
also are being put on the same board
as the RF front end. Because most RF
front-end suppliers are not the same as
those supplying the baseband receiv-
ers, Panzer notes that they need testing
solutions that allow them to easily work
together on product development. The
increasing use of digital modulation
also comes into play here, as it will
increasingly create a need to accurately
measure modulated signals.
Tektronix’s Darren McCarthy has
seen a profound increase in the impor-
tance and advancements of wideband
technologies supporting the spectrum
efficiency and linearity of modern radars:
“The ability to create spectrally efficient
radar pulses is important as the NTIA
and FCC work on the coexistence of
commercial wireless frequencies and
those frequency bands required for
national infrastructure (aircraft landing
and weather radars). The linearity of the
chirp radars helps to improve the effec-
tiveness of the technology.” Tektronix’s
IPR measurement, impulse response,
measures the time-side lobe response of
chirp radar pulses and can detect distor-
tions and nonlinearities due to imped-
ance, amplitude, and phase distortions.
It has replaced the use of component
testing of constituent parts of the radar
to give the true performance of the triple
returns and other components of error
within the radar transmit chain.
Clearly, test and measurement com-
panies will continue to have to quickly
adapt their equipment to meet the needs
of future applications. Although the
major drivers of tomorrow’s innova-
tions may be hard to predict, it is very
likely that today’s breakthroughs will
spawn the next wave of developments.
As stated by Aeroflex’s Bill Burrows,
“The increasing use of software-defined
instruments will blur the boundaries of
our current instrument definitions. Such

JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF 39


RF Primer
Spectrum Analyzers Open
Windows On An RF World
Spectrum analyzers have evolved over the years due
to digital technology, but some key specifications
can still be applied when comparing instruments.
JACK BROWNE
Technical Director
S
pectrum analyzers have
changed drastically in recent
years, due largely to the use
of digital components. Once
predominately based on a
superheterodyne receiver
architecture to downconvert input
signals to intermediate-frequency (IF)
signals that were then filtered and pro-
cessed, newer spectrum analyzers are
just as likely to be called “signal analyz-
ers” and employ sampling techniques
with a high-speed analog-to-digital
converter (ADC).
As with computers, spectrum ana-
lyzers are available in large and small
versions, for benchtop or portable
applications, respectively. Although
portable instruments were once
considered lightweight in terms of
performance, portable spectrum and
signal analyzers from a number of
manufacturers now offer impressive
performance and accuracy. (For more
information on portable test equip-
ment, see p. 106.)
Although modern spectrum ana-
lyzers may incorporate a good deal
of digital processing, including Fast
Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis capa-
bilities, the signals they display are in
the frequency domain, magnitude as a
function of frequency. As a result, many
40
of the key performance specifications
for a spectrum analyzer have to do with
amplitude or frequency characteristics.
The user selects the range of frequencies
for the analyzer to sweep across, and
different sweep speeds and filters can
be applied to capture and analyze a sig-
nal of interest. In addition to showing
continuous-wave (CW) and modulated
signal waveforms, a spectrum analyzer
with adequate bandwidth can also dis-
play information about pulsed signals.
Frequency range
may seem like an obvi-
ous starting point when
choosing an analyzer,
but instantaneous analy-
sis bandwidth is also an
important consideration.
Understanding the key performance
parameters and functional controls
of a spectrum analyzer can help when
choosing a spectrum analyzer for dif-
ferent requirements.
The frequency range may seem like
an obvious starting point in choosing
an analyzer, since it will ultimately limit
the number of applications that can
be handled by the instrument, but the
instantaneous analysis bandwidth is
also an important consideration when
S P E C T R U M A N A LY Z E R S
comparing instruments, especially for
communications applications. The fre-
quency range sets the limits on low
and high frequencies, but the analysis
bandwidth determines the amount of
signal modulation that can be analyzed.
In LTE systems, for example, the total
range of available frequencies is 700 to
3000 MHz, but the channel bandwidth
allocations can be as wide as 20 MHz,
requiring a spectrum analyzer with an
instantaneous or real-time bandwidth
of 20 MHz or more. (For more on LTE
testing, see p. 110.) In addition, har-
monics may be of interest, so that when
specifying a frequency range for a given
application and band of interest, the
total range may have to be doubled or
tripled in order to evaluate second and
third harmonics. In amplifier studies,
for example, these additional harmonic
signals can force an amplifier to work
overtime, and ultimately will limit the
power-added efficiency possible for a
given power amplifier (PA) design.
For any spectrum analyzer to effec-
tively display a signal, the proper fre-
quency span must be selected and the
unwanted energy around the signal
of interest must be rejected by means
of the analyzer’s filters. The choice of
span must be wide enough to accom-
modate a signal’s full bandwidth, and
the filters must be set appropriately.
A spectrum analyzer provides two
sets of adjustable filters: resolution-
bandwidth (RBW) filters and its video-
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40TH ®
ANNIVERSARY
1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 451 Rev D

RF Primer
bandwidth (VBW) filters. The RBW
filters are like the IF filters for a receiver,
determining how much information
about a signal will be displayed on
the analyzer’s screen, and with what
frequency resolution. The VBW filters
are used to remove noise from a dis-
played signal. The bandwidths of these
filters are usually specified in term of
3-dB points from the center frequency,
with typical bandwidths as narrow as
1 Hz and as wide as 20 MHz or more.
Narrower filters can provide greater
detail and resolution, but will result
in slower sweep times.
A spectrum analyzer’s filters are
related to one of the instrument’s key
dynamic-range characteristics, its dis-
played average noise level (DANL),
essentially the noise floor for a given
sweep speed and filter settings. The
narrowest RBW filter in an analyzer
will give the lowest displayed average
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noise level (DANL) as well as the lon-
gest sweep time. Selecting wider RBW
filters result in faster sweep speeds but
with higher DANL. The type of signal
to be studied will usually determine the
trade off to be made. For a modulated
signal, for example, the RBW filter
must be set wide enough to include the
signal’s center frequency and sidebands.
Similarly, the widest possible RBW
setting is usually required to pass the
harmonic information contained within
a pulsed signal.
A spectrum analyzer’s amplitude
measurement range is set by the DANL
at the low-level end and the largest
signal that the analyzer can accept for
analysis without distortion, usually
determined by the instrument’s maxi-
mum safe input power level. Higher
power levels may be possible at the
input to the analyzer through the use
of built-in attenuators, although attenu-
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S P E C T R U M A N A LY Z E R S
ation will also degrade the frequency
response of the instrument.
Analyzers typically display ampli-
tude in either logarithmic or linear
scales, depending upon the need of
the measurement, and in a wide range
of units, including V, W, dBm, and
dBmV. The amplitude or level accu-
racy is usually specified in terms of a
decibel variation (such as ±0.3 dB) for
a given frequency range and under a
given set of conditions, such as with or
without internal attenuation and with
or without an internal preamplifier.
When comparing different analyzers, it
is important to match these conditions
for each instrument.
Some analyzers may include or offer
an option for EMI measurement band-
widths, compliant to either Comite
International Special des Perturbations
Radioelectriques (CISPR) or MIL-STD-
461E military requirements. For EMI
© 2010 Microsemi Corporation
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
 S P E C T R U M A N A LY Z E R S

RF Primer

measurements, the CISPR bandwidths for a RBW setting of 1 Hz. The phase bandwidth (OBW), and third-order
are 200 Hz, 9 kHz, 120 kHz, and noise is -133 dBc/Hz offset 10 kHz from intercept (TOI). In addition, add-on
1 MHz, while the MIL-STD-461E any carrier. In addition to the sterling software can arm the analyzers for
bandwidths are 10 Hz, 100 Hz, 1 kHz, performance, the analyzers include performing standards-based testing
10 kHz, 100 kHz, and 1 MHz. automatic measurement routines for a on wireless communications designs,
When comparing specifications wide range of tests, including for adja- greatly simplifying both research and
for different spectrum analyzers, it cent-channel power (ACP), occupied production-line testing.
is important to remember that some
functions, such as sweep speed, depend
on how other settings, such as RBW
filter, are adjusted. The time of a sweep
also depends on the frequency span.
Other factors to consider in choos-
ing a spectrum analyzer include the
inherent noise of the analyzer, in the
form of single-sideband (SSB) phase
noise and spurious signal products, and
the sensitivity of the analyzer. When
testing oscillators for phase noise, for
example, the instrument’s own phase
noise will set a limit on the measure-
ment capability.
With their generous digital content,
some newer spectrum analyzers offer
triggering functions much like an oscil-
loscope, allowing operators to capture
a signal based on timing rather than
just on frequency, as in the case when
examining pulsed signals. The RSA6000
series of real-time spectrum analyzers
from Tektronix (www.tek.com) can
trigger on events as short as 10 ns in
the time domain and boast capture
bandwidths as wide as 110 MHz. These
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qualified and frequency-mask triggers
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according to predetermined parameters.
All of the instruments digitize signals
at a standard sampling rate of 100
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In addition to pure performance,
modern spectrum analyzers typically
pack a number of automatic measure-
ments into their firmware. The R&S
FSU spectrum analyzers from Rohde
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com), for example, include models from
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JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF 43


Jim McGillivary is Vice Presi-
dent and General Manager of
the Electronic Measurements
Group for Agilent’s EEsof EDA
Division. He was responsible
for the strategic alliance that
brought EEsof high-frequen-
cy computer-aided-engineer-
ing (CAE) design expertise
and tools to the Cadence
Design Systems RFIC design
flow. In 2005, Jim led the
acquisition of the Eagleware
Elanix Corp. into the EEsof
product line. He notes that
he is uniquely positioned
because he is in the EDA
space and connected into the
test and measurement space.
As a result, Jim is always on
the lookout for how software
and EDA can connect into
test and measurement.
44
crosstalk
An Interview With
Jim McGillivary
NF: Software—especially EDA software—is increasingly playing a bigger role
in test and measurement. How do you see that trend growing?
JM: There’s currently a disaggregation of the design process as manufacturers
focus on being a system integrator and trying to build software ecosystems. For
example, handset designers have sockets and they want vendors to compete
for those sockets. They need a power amplifier (PA) that will work. They don’t
have time to write a detailed spec. Instead, they tell their vendor, “I want a PA
with a bit error rate of X with these wireless standards.” The people design-
ing the ICs want to win the socket and be the first to prove that what they’re
doing is going to work. That’s driving an interesting ecosystem change. We
have found that there’s a big inefficiency around the communication between
the IC vendors and what we call system integrators. Right now, they send
these gigantic specifications back and forth and they’ll specify, “Do a part like
this.” Then the vendor takes it and tries to understand it. The vendor designs
it, fabricates it, and tests it like crazy. That testing can take a big lab of test
equipment, lots of time and people, and it generates a giant report.
NF: Did you find a better way to communicate what the system integrator
wants versus what the IC can deliver?
JM: We’ve brought in nonlinear X-parameters so the system integrator can
use some EDA tools to specify what kind of behavior they would like from
that part and send it to the chip designer. If this ecosystem makes it easier to
communicate back and forth, the system integrator could work with many
more vendors. The first vendor back that can prove that their design works
will win the socket. To do this quickly, the vendors can develop their PAs
in our EDA software, which will enable them to generate an X-parameter
model of the schematic. Rather than going through a fab cycle, they can just
push a button and say, “Here’s how it will behave” and send it back up to the
integrator, who can run it in their simulation and say, “yes, but I want this”
or “something has changed; now I want something different.”
NF: It’s been six months or so since Agilent announced its X-parameter
capability. What has been the market feedback?
JM: A lot of customers have said, “Prove it. Here are some parts, show me
the model, and I’ll take it back to my lab” and they basically run that cycle
back and forth. But it’s becoming pretty popular with the customers that have
it and we’re starting to see sales of the nonlinear vector network analyzer
(NVNA). The ADS version that has the X-parameter generator came out in
the fall and customers are excited about it. The other feedback we’re getting
is from IC vendors, who really like the fact that intellectual property does
not change hands. If you have a design and you generate this model and send
the model across, they can’t reverse-engineer the design.
NF: With the advent of Long Term Evolution (LTE), I’m sure you have seen
an increased need for both test and software.
JM: With an LTE implementation, you can have a bunch of radios that
are all relatively the same frequencies and jammed in a very, very small
space and they’re all transmitting and receiving. How do you keep one
visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
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40TH ®
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1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 457 rev H
 crosstalk
from blowing out the other? And you foundational technology for the people in that we have customers right down the
have to interface it to an antenna or a doing this kind of work. hall—a lot of them. My office is actually
bunch of antennas, which brings in all right over a gallium-arsenide (GaAs)
of the multiple-input multiple-output NF: Could you tell me a little bit about the foundry. So we get to see the trends in
(MIMO) challenges. People don’t really EEsof group versus the test and measure- the high-frequency and microwave areas.
know what’s going to happen. It is the ment groups in Agilent and how much But we run the EEsof group just like a
ultimate EDA opportunity. We’re mak- you coordinate and work together? business. I use a lot of synergies with the
ing big investments in 3D electromag- JM: I like to tell customers that we eat what instrumentation. My software will run
netic (EM) simulation because that’s a we cook. We’re unique in the EDA world inside some of the latest instruments.
Let’s say a customer wants to use LTE but
try a different version of encoding. They
can use my software to modify the LTE
standard. This software will connect into
 
       Agilent instruments and generate it. Then
you can take the instrument and hook it

 
  
  up to an antenna and now you’ve got an
extremely expensive but very accurate
transmitter that you can play around with
and see how it works. Some of the really
deep R&D folks in leading companies and
universities really utilize that capability
because it gives them a lot of flexibility
to develop new standards.


   



      ! "# $%& ' (   )* We're unique in
" !( "!  + #, - #, " "% ! !!  the EDA world in that
   !!  !  (# "# $% "%, "    
    '!  .( ! , %, " !" we have customers right
/    "# $% down the hall—a lot of
 

  

them. My office is actu-
    
    
   
! 
&
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$  % ally right over a gallium-
'  ' ' '( '( '( '( ' ' ) '( '( *
  +
,
-. /, 0#10
11#21 0#10
11#21 /, 0#10
11#21 /, 0#10
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34 arsenide (GaAs) foundry.
5/630 
   



    )00 )00 )00       7 221
5/6303 
    



    ))0 ))0 )30       70)1 NF: When you talk about the changing
wireless standards, it brings to mind
5/360 
   



    )0 381 320       7 891
the increased use of software-defined
5/3603 
   



    )40 ))0 )30       790 radio (SDR) in test equipment.
JM: We’ve been seeing the same thing
5/23 
   



    )00 320 390       7))1
with the field-programmable gate arrays
5/260 
   



    )00 380 320        7421 (FPGAs) and the enormous capacities
that have been coming online. Plus,
#! " % " !!  (# ( /!#0  " " "     !!  ( 
designers are pushing to do more in
digital and digital signal processing (DSP)

   
 
 
 

    
 

 in that whole transmit and receive area.
  ! !   !  " 
  # That opens up the flexibility for SDR—to
change that radio on the fly—especially

 
for people investing in base-station infra-



structure. There’s also the homeland

 
    

        ! " security/defense need. They want to be

# $%&'(&) *  +)),-.    


  / 


 able to quickly set up or monitor com-

0001",)
*&+21*&'  '  *&+23",)1*&'
munications in different areas. If you look
at the two wars that we’re in, remotely

46 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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detonated roadside bombs are also a
huge issue. Part of the SDR is having a
product or device that can quickly see
what’s out there and then configure itself
to be able to receive or interrupt.
NF: Everyone looks at Agilent as a leader
in both test equipment and EDA. To
what do you attribute all of that con-
stant innovation?
JM: It comes from the Hewlett-Packard
roots. We hire bright people and we
appreciate bright people and new ideas.
It’s a very open environment. Everyone
has open-office cubes. How do you
create an environment where you can
innovate? You end up building an orga-
nization that is really good at particular
areas and you find—especially with
social networking these days—people
who like work of a certain type. Let’s
say they really like simulation. They’ll
figure out that Agilent has some of the
best simulators in the world and say, “I
want to work there.” Then we connect
and we bring them in.
NF: Aside from bringing in great talent in
terms of the individual engineer, Agilent
has made some great acquisitions. Can
you talk about some of those and what
they’ve helped you bring to the table?
crosstalk
Especially with
software, you’re not
buying a special machine
that makes something.
You’re buying people
who have great ideas
and source code.
JM: We did two acquisitions in the
last couple of years: Eagleware and
Xpedion. The attrition from those is
extremely small. It’s one or two people.
Especially with software, you’re not
buying a special machine that makes
something. You’re buying people who
have great ideas and source code. You
have to keep the people, leverage their
ideas, and move people into different
positions so they can contribute to new
areas. The Chief Technical Officer for
Eagleware became the person in charge
for the whole ADS platform.
With Xpedion, they had some fan-
tastic mathematical simulation. When
we bought them, we brought our tech
guys together and found out that their
technology was very complementary. So
we took the best of both and each saw
major performance enhancements.
NF: What emerging applications are you
starting to hear more about?
JM: ZigBee is something we’re starting to
hear more about. Everyone is trying to
figure out a way to connect more devices
to the Internet. Another trend is wireless
HDMI. A lot of companies are trying
to send these high-speed digital signals
to displays. This involves frequencies
around 60 GHz. One of the challenges is
that as frequencies go up, the width of the
signal starts to beam. They’re struggling
with finding ways to steer that beam. Say
you’ve got a person who’s got a DVR or
BluRay player and they’re trying to send
their signal to a flat-panel display. The
consumers are going to put that display
in different places and maybe move it
around. So how are you going to steer
that beam? We’re also seeing high-speed
digital designers who are encountering
microwave problems, but are not micro-
wave engineers. One example is SATA
disk drives, where the serial bit streams
run at wickedly fast speeds but use cheap
connectors inside a PC. It’s a microwave
problem and they must find a way to get
the signal through the low-speed cable
and connectors.

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 financialnews

Cree Acquires Daimler AG SiC And Power Patent Portfolio

CREE, INC. has acquired a portfolio corporation Daimler AG. The portfo- U.S. Patent No. 5,856,231 ('231)
of patents and patent applications lio consists of approximately 20 patent titled “Process for Producing High-
related to semi-insulating silicon- families including issued patents in Resistance Silicon Carbide” is an
carbide (SiC) material and power the US, Germany, Japan, and China. important piece of the portfolio. It
device technology from German car Financial terms were not disclosed. relates to the manufacturing of semi-
insulating SiC using vanadium dop-
ing. The vanadium doping process is
® used to make silicon carbide chips
for higher-end radio-frequency (RF)
applications.
Microwave Components & Instruments “We had licensed this impressive
DC to 67 GHz group of patents for many years and
the full acquisition is a valuable addi-
tion to our already extensive intel-
lectual-property position,” says Dr.
Cengiz Balkas, Cree Vice President
and General Manager, Power and
RF. Dr. Vijay Balakrishna, Cree Prod-
Directional Detectors uct Line Manager, Materials, adds,
Directional Couplers “Cree is already the leader in high-
3 dB 90° Hybrid Couplers to 50 GHz
to 67 GHz
to 40 GHz purity semi-insulating SiC and acquir-
ing the '231 patent further bolsters our
IP position, especially in semi-insul-
ating SiC achieved through vanadium
doping.”
According to Cree’s Michelle
Detectors Murray, “Silicon carbide is typically
Zero Bias an electrically conductive material
Schottky
when it is grown. Adding vanadium
Double Arrow 3 dB 180° Planar Doped
Hybrid Couplers to 26.5 GHz Barrier Planar MLDD Power Divider/
allows one to easily convert the SiC
Tunnel Diode Combiner to 40GHz from a conductor to an insulator.
Threshold Detectors Semi-insulating SiC is preferred for
to 40 GHz
high-power RF transistor applica-
tions, such as cellular communica-
tions or military radio broadcast…
Adding (doping) Vanadium to SiC
is an effective method to produce
Adapters: DC to 50 GHz semi-insulating SiC for high-power
In Series: SMA, 2.92 mm, 2.4 mm Coaxial
RF & Microwave Terminations RF/microwave transistors.”
Between Series: 2.29 mm to 2.4 mm
Power Meter to 50 GHz Cree is an innovator of lighting-
100 KHz to 40 GHz
Broadband Limiters class light-emitting diodes (LEDs),
Pin-Pin Diode LED lighting, and semiconductor solu-
Pin-Schottky Diode to 18 GHz tions for wireless and power applica-
tions. Cree’s product families include
MIL Qualified Components Available LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green
®
LED chips, high-brightness LEDs,
1288 Anvilwood Ave. Sunnyvale, CA 94089 lighting-class power LEDs, power-
Toll Free: (877) 734-5999 • Fax: (408) 734-3017 • sales@krytar.com switching devices, and RF/wireless
www.krytar.com lists complete specitications devices. Cree also offers solutions in
and application ideas for all products applications like general illumina-
tion, backlighting, electronic signs and
signals, variable-speed motors, and
wireless communications.

50 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 companynews
CONTRACTS
Harris Corp.—Has received a $228-million order from the
US Marine Corps to provide Falcon II AN/VRC-104 high-
frequency radio systems for use in US Department of Defense
(DoD) MRAP-All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs). The contract
was awarded by the US Marine Corps - Systems Command
on behalf of the Joint MRAP Vehicle Program. The AN/
VRC-104 is a vehicular transceiver/amplifier that includes
the AN/PRC-150(C), the only Type-1 certified HF radio
available today.
RELM Wireless Corp.—Has received an order from the DoD
valued at approximately $750,000 for the company’s Rapid
Deployment Portable Repeater (RDPR). Approximately
$32,000 of the order was to be fulfilled in 2009. The remain-
der is to be fulfilled during 2010 with unspecified delivery
dates, which are at the customer’s option.
Giga-tronics, Inc.—Has received three orders valued at $5.1
million for microwave components from a major aircraft
manufacturer. The award for high-performance specialty filters
based upon the company’s fast-switching yttrium-iron-garnet
(YIG) technology, will be fulfilled by Giga-tronics’ Microsource
component subsidiary located in Santa Rosa, CA.
White Electronic Designs Corp.—Has been awarded multiple
contracts worth approximately $6.8 million for the manu-
facture of products used in Global Positioning System (GPS)
platforms. The NAVSTAR GPS design allows a security
architecture that includes anti-tamper technology, which
has been selected by the DoD to implement next-generation
security functions for GPS. The use of this security architecture
enhances the combatant commander’s ability to use precise
positioning, velocity, and time in all environments.
F R E S H S TA R T S
Nitronex—Has announced a collaboration with Modelithics to
create nonlinear models for Nitronex’s high-power gallium-
nitride (GaN) devices. Initial models will focus on Nitronex’s
new thermally improved products targeting broadband and
high-efficiency amplifiers for the military-communications,
electronic-warfare, and radar markets. The models will be
available as a free download from Modelithics’ web site
for Agilent Technologies Advanced Design System (ADS)
and AWR Microwave Office (MWO) software at http://
www.modelithics.com/mvp/NIT/. The models will also be
included in Modelithics Select free shareware library, which
is available for ADS and MWO.
RF Connections—Has launched a new e-commerce web site
(www.RF-Connections.com), which is designed to provide
easy access to high-quality microwave components, cable
assemblies, and connectors. RF Connections’ mission is to
support the component engineer, program office, test engineer,
and supply-chain manager with online access to standard
products. The company provides support when custom or
52 visit www.mwrf.com
prototype design is required. It is an authorized distributor for
ResponseMicrowave (Hub-Zoned Small Business), Coaxant
(VOSB), Precision Connector, and Intelliconnect USA.
California Eastern Laboratories (CEL)—Has announced the
addition of two domestic sales-representative firms. Rep
One Associates, Inc. covers the Southeastern United States
while Anchor Engineering, Inc. covers New England. Both
firms will carry the full line of CEL products including NEC-
based RF and wireless ICs and discrete devices, optocouplers,
solid-state relays, lasers, and detectors for fiber optics. They
also will market CEL’s MeshConnect line of IEEE 802.15.4/
ZigBee modules and ICs as well as other modules.
DigitalBridge Communications Corp. (DBC)—Has been awarded
a grant from the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative
(MBC) to triple its current broadband wireless coverage in
Appomattox County, VA. This last-mile, matching-grant
award was funded by the Virginia Tobacco Commission.
It will enable DBC to bring affordable broadband services
to underserved areas of Appomattox County. DBC’s initial
launch in Appomattox during 2008 was also supported
by an MBC matching grant and led to the deployment of
affordable wireless broadband services within six months
with over 30-percent broadband adoption by residents and
businesses.
Curtiss-Wright Corp.—Has acquired Skyquest Systems Ltd.
for approximately $16 million. Skyquest is a supplier of
aircraft video displays, recorders, and video/radar converters
for surveillance aircraft applications in the aerospace and
defense markets. The business will become part of Curtiss-
Wright’s Motion Control segment.
Lockheed Martin Corp.—Has announced the name and top-
level organizational structure for its new Mission Systems &
Sensors business—one of three primary operating companies
within the Electronic Systems Business Area. Abbreviated as
“MS2,” Mission Systems & Sensors represents the realignment
of two prior standalone businesses in Electronic Systems (the
former Maritime Systems & Sensors) and Systems Integration
- Owego. The new MS2 retains a unique breadth and depth
of support for maritime forces. With the integration of the
former Systems Integration - Owego, however, it now has a
significantly expanded portfolio of capabilities in products,
processors, and integration expertise. The two businesses
officially combined on Jan. 1. As a result of the anticipated
synergies and efficiencies resulting from this combination,
the company expects to eliminate approximately 1200 US
positions from the MS2 business.
Motorola, Inc.—Has announced that its Home & Networks
Mobility business has joined forces with UAE telecom pro-
vider, du, in the launch of Dubai Metro’s mobile WiMAX
network. Motorola’s WiMAX equipment provides mobile
connectivity and effective backhaul for Wi-Fi traffic on the
Dubai Metro transport-system train carriages as well as in
Metro stations. The Dubai Metro will be the longest fully
automated rail transport system in the world. The Red Line,
which is 52 km long, is already functional and is expected
to be followed by the Green line in early 2010.
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
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40TH ®
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1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 428 rev C
 people

Bruno Appointed To US Naval

Research Advisory Committee
DR. MICHAEL S. BRUNO, Dean of Stevens Institute
of Technology’s Schaefer School of Engineering &
Science, has been appointed to the Naval Research
Advisory Committee (NRAC) by the Secretary of
BRUNO
NAME the Navy with the concurrence of the Office of the
Secretary of Defense. Since arriving at Stevens in 1989, Bruno has distin-
guished himself as a leader in the field of coastal and ocean engineering
and as a pioneering expert in the expanding field of maritime systems.
As Director—first of the world-renowned Davidson Laboratory and,
after 2003, of the Center for Maritime Systems—Bruno has helped
to create national awareness of the need for new technologies and
methods to support the country’s vital naval and industrial maritime
infrastructure. Bruno was appointed Dean of the Charles V. Schaefer
School of Engineering & Science in March 2007.

General Dynamics C4 Systems—JAMES Giga-tronics—JIM ZAZKOWSKI has been

NORTON has been named Director of
Homeland Security and Federal Strate-
gies. He will lead the General Dynamics
C4 Systems Washington Operation’s
Federal, Civil, and Intelligence Com-
munity group from the Crystal City,
VA office.
His government-service credentials
include senior-level positions at the
Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) from 2003 to 2007 and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
from 2001 to 2003. He previously
served as a Director of Government
Relations for General Dynamics.
Lockheed Martin Corp.—JOSEPH LAMA-
RCA, JR., has been named Vice Presi-
dent, Communications, for Lockheed
Martin’s Aeronautics business area. He
formerly worked at Bell Helicopter in
Fort Worth, TX, where he served as Vice
President, Communications.
Scintera Networks, Inc.—ANTHONY J.
LEY has been appointed to the board
of directors, bringing the number of
directors to seven. Ley served as Presi-
dent and Chief Executive Officer at
Harmonic for 18 years and as Chairman
until 2008. Before Harmonic, he was at
Schlumberger Ltd. in both Europe and
the US—most recently as Vice President,
Research and Engineering.
named Vice President of Business Devel-
opment for Microwave Components.
He has more than 20 years of experience
in aerospace and defense as well as in the
semiconductor industry. Zazkowski’s
career highlights include R&D, sales,
and marketing at Watkins-Johnson
(WJ), Fujitsu, and Microsemi.
Aeroflex — LUIS F. RIANO has been
appointed as area Sales Manager for
Latin America for Aeroflex’s test and
measurement product lines. He joins
Aeroflex Test Solutions after 11 years
with Ericsson, Inc. and Sony Ericsson
Mobile Communications, where he
worked in various roles throughout
Latin America.
Herley Industries, Inc.—GERALD A. GAGLI-
ARDI has been appointed to the board of
directors. He also will serve as Chair-
man of the Audit Committee replacing
Admiral Robert Moore, who passed
away in October. The company’s board
now has six members—five of whom
are non-employee directors. Gagliardi’s
business career includes 28 years at Bur-
roughs Corp./Unisys Corp., where he
served in executive positions including
President of Global Customer Services
and Corporate Executive Vice President.
He is currently Managing Partner of
Lyme Technology LLC.

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 education
MEETINGS
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56
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May 3-6, 2010 (Annapolis, MD)
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Topics include antenna fundamentals,
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antennas for wireless communications, and
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40TH ®
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1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 376 rev J
 R & finan-
Droundup
Modulation IN CONVENTIONAL PHASED-ARRAY transmission,
information is transmitted in undesired directions
Approach Uses through sidelobes. To provide more secure com-
Arrays With munications, some research has delved into time
Driven Elements modulation in arrays. While conventional arrays
have static-element phase shifts and weighting,
time-modulated arrays exploit an additional degree
of freedom—time—in order to raise performance.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Michael P. Daly and Jennifer T. Bernhard created
a directional-modulation (DM) technique based
on the use of phased-array antennas.
With this technique, each element is phase
shifted to achieve the desired amplitude and phase
of every symbol in a DM scheme for a given direc-
tion. Data rates are determined by the switching
speed of the phase shifters. Because this signal is
direction-dependent, it can be purposely distorted
in other directions. This distortion results from
PA MMIC MODERN ELECTRONIC-WARFARE (EW) systems require
amplifiers with high power, wide bandwidth, and
Leverages high efficiency. One way to increase output power
GaN-On-SiC for high-bandwidth applications is to use a high-
HEMT voltage transistor technology. Today’s gallium-
nitride (GaN) transistors operate with nearly an
Technology order-of-magnitude increase in power-supply
voltage while delivering gain and efficiency that
rival gallium-arsenide (GaAs) PHEMT devices. At
TriQuint Semiconductor, the design and measured
continuous-wave (CW) performance of a GaN-
on-silicon-carbide (SiC), nonuniform-distributed-
power-amplifier (NDPA) monolithic microwave
integrated circuit (MMIC) has been presented by
Charles Campbell, Cathy Lee, Victoria Williams,
Ming-Yih Kao, Hua-Quen Tserng, Paul Saunier,
and Tony Balisteri.
This amplifier covers 1.5 to 17 GHz. From a
30-V supply, experimental results credit the PA
with more than 10 dB small signal gain, 9 to 15
Radar Sensor FOR PHASED-ARRAY RADAR sensors, the design
should be a simple structure with fewer receivers
Has Roots than antennas. A K-band, frequency-modulated,
In Antenna CW (FMCW) phased-array radar sensor with a
Switching low-complexity receiver based on antenna switch-
ing was recently proposed by Moon-Sik Lee from
Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications
Research Institute together with Yong-Hoon Kim
from Korea’s Gwangju Institute of Science and
Technology. Using a beamforming method, the
researchers evaluated the radar sensor’s perfor-
mance based on angle and range information.
58 visit www.mwrf.com
the fact that the modulation is produced by the
array instead of at the baseband.
When phase shifters are adjusted, the chan-
nel transfer function is altered differently for the
various directions. As a result, a DM signal can be
distorted in undesired directions or send multiple
independent signals simultaneously. Even if side-
lobes exist, the DM technique can create distortion
in almost every undesired transmit direction. In
doing so, it will prevent eavesdropping even with-
out knowing the location of undesired receivers.
In their work, the researchers describe both a DM
transmitter using driving elements and an efficient
algorithm for achieving digital modulations. They
also manage to measure the security aspect of
DM using a bit-error-rate (BER) approach. See
“Directional Modulation Technique for Phased
Arrays,” IEEE Transactions On Antennas And
Propagation, September 2009, p. 2633.
W saturated output power, and 20 to 38 percent
peak power-added efficiency. The amplifier
utilizes dual field-plate, 0.25-μm GaN-on-SiC
device technology integrated into TriQuint’s
three-metal-interconnect (3MI) process tech-
nology. That technology features high-density
capacitors (1200 pF/mm2), thick plated lines
(6.77 μm), and capacitors that are constructed
directly over substrate vias.
The PA’s epitaxial structure has a Si GaN buffer
with advanced Fe doping to improve isolation.
An AlN spacer is inserted between the buffer
and AlGaN Schottky barrier layer. To provide
better leakage performance, the surface is ter-
minated by a GaN cap layer. The active device
epitaxial layers are isolated by performing a
mesa etch to the GaN buffer. See “A Wideband
Power Amplifier MMIC Utilizing GaN on SiC
HEMT Technology,” IEEE Journal Of Solid-State
Circuits, October 2009, p. 2640.
The short-range radar sensor comprises the
following: a transmitter; transmitting antenna;
four receiving antennas; a single-pole, four-throw
(SP4T) switch; a receiving channel; two analog-to-
digital converters (ADCs), a digital-to-analog con-
verter (DAC), and a digital signal processor (DSP).
The receiving antennas are periodically switched
to the single receiving channel. See “Development
of a K-band FMCW Phased Array Radar Sensor
with Low Complexity Receiver Based on Antenna
Switching,” Microwave And Optical Technology
Letters, December 2009, p. 2848.
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
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40TH ®
ANNIVERSARY
1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 463 rev B
 FM RADIO DRIVE TESTING

DesignFeature

System Performs FM
Radio Drive Testing
By recording and playing back actual FM radio signals during a
drive through a difficult environment, it is possible to simulate
worst-case conditions encountered by an automotive FM radio.

HANS TROEMEL
Senior RF Engineer
nfuzion LLC
e-mail: hanst@nfuzion.com,
Internet: www.nfuzion.com
DOMINIQUE FORTIN
Director of RF Products
DAVID BRACE
Senior RF Applications Engineer
Averna Technologies, Inc., 87, Prince
Street, Suite 140, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada H3C 2M7,
e-mail: david.brace@averna.com,
Internet: www.averna.com.
C
ommercial automotive AM/
FM radios must perform de-
pendably under a variety of op-
erating conditions. Because de-
signers of these radios employ
digital-signal-processing (DSP)
algorithms to overcome the ef-
fects of reflections, signal mul-
tipath, and fading, they often spend weeks
in the field analyzing the effects of different
signal conditions. A more practical and less
time-consuming solution is the use of actual
recorded radio signals to simulate the condi-
tions faced by an automotive AM/FM radio
design in the field.
A particularly challenging test of AM/FM
radio performance is an evaluation of adja-
cent- and/or alternate-channel performance
in which the radio must receive a moder-
ately weak RF signal in the presence of a
strong adjacent RF signal. To evaluate the
subjective reception quality between radios,
OEM car radio manufacturers often apply
test plans based on specific in-field routes at
different locations. When driving in cities,
for example, it is common to have an RF
environment called “urban canyon” where
large buildings will create a complex pattern
of multipath and shadowing specific for FM
stations. Channel simulators are often used
to recreate typical multipath models for a
specific channel. The approach is no longer
practical, however, when multiple simula-
tors are needed to simulate adjacent interfer-
ers—one of the reasons that the automotive
industry still performs radio optimization
using field test drives.
The test drive approach presents major
repeatability problems, however. Since prop-
agation conditions change due to weather
conditions and the proximity of large ve-
hicles, the results are never the same from

1. This map shows a typical

test drive in the Ann Arbor
area of Detroit for evaluating
FM radio performance under
changing fading and other
signal conditions.

Microwaves & RF ■ JANUARY 2010 visit www.mwrf.com 61

 FM RADIO DRIVE TESTING

DesignFeature

2. Centered around 106.9 MHz, this simulation.

segment of the FM band includes
a weak desired signal and strong
interfering signal.
one test drive to the next.
Also, since test drives are
performed over a wide range
of locations, test repeatabil-
ity is critical for evaluating
an AM/FM radio design for
use in different areas. For-
tunately, due to advances
in RF signal recording and
storage, recording of actual
FM broadcast signals offers
a viable alternative to traditional test
drives for evaluating commercial AM/
FM radio designs.
For example, the RF Record &
Playback System from Averna (www.
averna.com) can capture the full FM
band (20-MHz bandwidth) with 14-b
resolution. Based on a PXI hardware
Figure 1 shows this test
drive superimposed on a
map, with the 3-kW trans-
mitter located on top of a tall
building. While the antenna
is in direct line of sight, the
interferer is at its peak level
and the reception of the de-
sired frequency at 106.7
MHz is seriously degraded.
Figure 2 shows a typical
frequency spectrum of the
signal strength while Fig. 3
shows the strength of both
signals over the duration of
sight reception. This type of fading is the test drive.
not well represented by models found Although the dynamic-range speci-
in RF signal generators and is better fication of the RF Record & Playback
suited for record-and-playback signal System is 80 dB, practical recording
Ann Arbor power pattern 3. This plot shows
Strong interferer and weak signal signal strength over
+10
–10 107.1
time for strong and
Power—dBm

architecture from National Instru- –30 MHz weak signals.

ments (www.ni.com), the digital re- –50
corder can also make parallel record- –70 106.9
–90 MHz
ings of the GPS location, the radio’s –110
audio, and a video of the drive test 0 50 100 150
from an onboard camera. The system Time—s
has an 80-dB spurious-free dynamic
range (SFDR) that may seem large, URT
but FM receivers can handle a much
NI PXIe-1065
wider range of signal levels from -2 to 18-slot chassis SATA 2T
over +110 dBuV (-109 to +3 dBm).
The Ann Arbor area of Detroit Controller
represents a “hard-to-reproduce,” (NI PXIe-8106)
extreme-dynamic-range test case,
which can be used to evaluate a ra- Tunable
Power
dio’s capability to mitigate the effects Waveform Upconverter amplifier bandstop filter
of very strong adjacent interference. RF player generator (MFC 16878-2)
(NI PXI-561D) (Mini-Circuits
(NI PXI-5442)
In the test drive, a local 3-kW trans- ZHL1010+)
mitter at 107.1 MHz interferes with
FM Waveform
a signal from Detroit at 106.7 MHz. fading Upconverter Dynamic
generator range
During the test drive, the interferer simulator (NI PXI-5442) (NI PXI-561D) extender
will range from 65 to 95 dBμV while Splitter/combiner
the desired channel will vary from 25 (Mini-Circuits ZFCS-2-4-S+)
to 50 dBμV. Besides multipath fading,
there is a shadowing effect from a tall
building that at times blocks line-of-
Dynamic signal acquisition AM/FM tuner
4. This block diagram represents the proposed and generation
(audio analyzer)
RF Record & Playback system for drive testing of Shielded box
FM automotive radios.

62 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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40TH ®
ANNIVERSARY
1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 432 rev H
 FM RADIO DRIVE TESTING

DesignFeature

has shown the usable dynamic range must be at least 5 dB below saturation. Audio SNR measurements
to be around 60 to 65 dB. This re- For multicarrier signals, such as FM- per Gen 1 delta offset
duction can be explained by digitizer band or COFDM signals in an urban
frequency from Gen 2.
saturation and the peak-to-average environment, the recorded signal will
DELTA AUDIO SNR
ratio (PAR) of multicarrier signals. To commonly have a 10 to 15 dB PAR
(kHz) (dB)
avoid possible saturation of the digi- due to vector addition of multiple RF
400 41
tizer (signal clipping), recorded data signals present within the 20-MHz
600 42
800 47
1000 49

passband of the RF signal chain. The

combination of the two factors leaves
60-to-65 dB of usable dynamic range
for good-quality recording of multiple
carriers.
Despite this limitation, the RF Re-
cord & Playback system has proven
to be very effective in capturing mul-
tipath and weak signals if strong in-
terferers (greater than 40 dB) are not
present in the band of interest. The
system employs a low-noise ampli-
fier with better than 2-dB noise fig-
ure to capture weak signals in rural
areas with no noticeable degradation,
taking into account impedance mis-
matches. The RF Record & Playback
system is designed for a 50-Ohm im-
pedance while an automotive FM an-
tenna and/or a radio input are tradi-
tionally matched to 75 Ohms for FM
and to a high-impedance (above 1.5
kOhms) for AM.
Figure 4 presents a block diagram
of the proposed solution that uses the
Universal Receiver Tester (URT) to
replicate a test condition such as the
radio environment found in Ann Ar-
bor; a weak signal is received in the
presence of a strong interferer and
combined with an impediment such
as multipath effects. The first genera-
tor (Gen 1) provides the strong in-
terferer. Since the noise floor of this
source is high at the frequency of the
weak signal, a notch filter is required
to suppress the noise before combin-
ing it with the weak signal from a
second generator (Gen 2) to simulate
the desired signal. The notch filter,
a three-pole cavity filter that can be
tuned across a 10-MHz range, has at
least 50-dB rejection (Fig. 5).

64 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 FM RADIO DRIVE TESTING

DesignFeature

Gen 2 is configured with a Dynam-
ic Range Extender (DRX), which is a
programmable attenuator. By provid-
ing attenuation of the desired signal,
the noise floor is also attenuated. Also,
the effect of multi-path fading can be
imposed on the weak signal since the
DRX response time is sufficient to re-
act to the fading profile (nominally, 40
times per second). For the purpose of
the test, the radio is mounted within a
shielded enclosure to suppress poten-
tial interference from external signals.
With the hardware configuration
and the performance as described, an
accurate representation of the RF sig-
nal condition must be provided from
the output of the generators. The
strong interferer is provided through
Gen 1 from an on-site RF recording of
the FM band. The Universal Receiver
Tester (URT) RF recorder was used to
capture the signal on a test drive dur-
Multipath fading is
a common type of signal
impairment on mobile
signal reception. For FM
signals, it can cause deep
dropouts of the signal, to
several times per second.
ing typical weather conditions. The
weak signal is generated through Gen
2 by using the FM Fading Simulator,
a .wav file format music track, and
playback of the power profile derived
during a field recording of the weak
signal.
Multipath fading is a common type
of signal impairment on mobile signal
reception. In the case of FM signals, it
will cause deep dropouts of the signal,
to several times per second, depending
on the speed of the vehicle. The FM
Fading Simulator applies a flat fading
response to the test signal compared
to the more comprehensive effects of
a standard channel simulator. How-
ever, this approximation of multipath
is normally sufficient for testing FM
tuner performance.
The FM Fading Simulator allows
test tones to be generated as a stan-
dard AM/FM generator, or a given
audio track in the form of a .wav file
to be modulated. Additionally, the
envelope of the generated signal can
be modulated through playback of a
tab-delimited text file. The power pat-
tern envelop can be extracted through
simple signal processing of any prere-
corded FM signal by use of a simple
utility within the playback toolkit.
Figure 6 illustrates the basic func-

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#"

 

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Microwaves & RF ■ JANUARY 2010 65

 FM RADIO DRIVE TESTING

DesignFeature

tional aspects of the test culate the effective dynamic

setup. The capability to
play back any given audio
signal or track, with the im-
pairment of multipath flat
fading on the desired sig-
nal, provides an additional
degree of freedom not pos-
sible during field test. This is
important considering that
some DSP algorithms are
designed to react differently,
according to the type of au-
dio program.
For the sake of an ex-
ample analysis, assume that
the desired weak signal is 5. This microwave vector network analyzer plot shows the frequency
at a level of 30 dBμV and response of the notch filter.
a strong interferer exists at
110 dBμV, 400 kHz away from the
desired signal. This would be one of
the most stressful tests that can be
applied to an FM radio, and typical
of what one would encounter in the
worst part of the Ann Arbor test drive
(Fig. 7). With these experimental as-
sumptions, it is now possible to cal-
range of the system. With an
in-field ADC recording dy-
namic range of about 65 dB
and FM cavity notch filter
with about 50 dB suppres-
sion, the test system dynamic
range is about 115 dB at the
frequency of interest.
It must be determined if
115 dB is sufficient for test-
ing a standard FM radio.
The required dynamic range
for the test is based on sev-
eral assumptions: that the
FM receiver has a 4-dB noise
figure, that the wideband
AGC threshold is about 80
dBμV, that the noise figure
increases 1 dB due to the interference
signal strength beyond the wideband
AGC threshold, and that the RF in-
terference signal is only 110 dBμV.

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66 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 FM RADIO DRIVE TESTING

DesignFeature

Based on the last three as- Gen 2 to -20 dBm. There is

sumptions, the receiver will FM fading
desensitize by 80 to 110 dB simulator
control
or a 30-dB range. Therefore,
the noise floor of the FM .wav file
or
radio receiver in this case test tone
is -15 dBμV + 4 dB (for the
noise figure) + 30 dB (for de- Power
pattern
sensitization), or 19 dBμV. file
Therefore, the RF dynamic
range needed for the test is
110 – 19 = 91 dB, allowing 6. The FM fading simulator can run by means of a test tone or .wav file
better than 20 dB of margin and a power profile file.
from the set-up for the test-
case measurements.
Before using the system, the mea-
surement setup was tested in order to
confirm that it would not introduce
any significant noise or distortion that
would degrade the measurements.
Power levels were calibrated by ad-
justing the relative insertion values.
The specified levels were measured at
RF generator DRX
Frequency Amplitude
Data RF
modulation modulation
Data
the output of the combiner, the point
of the radio antenna connection. Lin-
earity was measured at above the re-
quired signal level. This was done by
setting both generators to CW mode
at the respective frequencies and at a
total power level that is higher than
that used for the test case. Referring
to Fig. 8, Gen 1 is set to 0 dBm and
no measurable third-order
intermodulation (IM3). Fig.
ure 7 illustrates the signals set
RF to near the maximum of test
out condition.
The spectrum analyzer
plots in Figs. 8 and 9 prove
that the power levels are ac-
curate and that there is no
IM3 introduced by combin-
ing the two signal genera-
tors. An additional test was
performed to confirm that
the notch filter does effectively sup-
press the noise from Gen 1 and that
the subsequent measurements at the
frequency of interest are limited by
thermal noise, and not by that from
the test system. Audio measurements
were performed on the output of the
test receiver using the URT Audio
Analyzer over different offsets of the

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Microwaves & RF ■ JANUARY 2010 67

 FM RADIO DRIVE TESTING

DesignFeature

interferer signal center fre- desired RF signals for testing

quency. In this way, the
effect of receiver desensiti-
zation would demonstrate
that the noise floor of the
setup does not impact the
test-case measurements.
Both generators were
set to FM mode: Gen 1 at
107.1, 107.3, 107.5, and
107.7 MHz with +3 dBm
output power, 1-kHz mod-
ulating tone, stereo mode,
and 75-kHz deviation; Gen
2 at 106.7 MHz, -62 dBm
output power, 1-kHz mod-
ulating tone, mono mode, 7. This diagram illustrates how the system dynamic range is calculated. then compared in terms of fi-
and 22.5-kHz deviation.
At the different Gen 1 frequency
settings, the following was observed.
If the test setup is the limiting factor, electronics markets.)
the audio signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
will not change as the interference
RF signal moves further away. As the
table illustrates, the desensitization of Averna’s laboratory (Montreal, Que-
the receiver is caused by the strong
interferer, and therefore proves that
noise from the test setup is not the
limiting factor at the test frequency of Gen 2 was used with the URT FM
106.7 MHz.
The signals used to stimulate the
test receiver were derived from broad-
casted RF signals captured during a
test drive at Ann Arbor, MI. Audio lis-
tening tests were performed at Averna
by expert listeners Hans Troemel from
Nfuzion LLC and an engineer from a
Japanese automotive OEM. (Nfuzion
LLC is a full product design engineer-
400-kHz alternate channel,
110 dBμV
Usable ADC
dynamic range
= 65 dB
Desired signal
= 30 dBμV
Black line = noise floor
Cavity
notch
depth
= 50 dB
Thermal noise
ing consulting company that services
the automotive OEM and consumer
The audio tracks were taken from
the output of the same test receiver
during the on-site recording and in
bec, Canada). Also recorded in Ann
Arbor was the RF signal played back
through Gen 1 of the setup. Finally,
Fading Simulator to generate the
weak signal at 106.7 MHz. The .wav
file used with the FM fading simula-
tor was the same artist and track as
the off-the-air audio recording made
during the test drive.
The test plan can be summarized as
follows:
The URT RF Player is started and
the FM Fading Simulator with the
are passed to the test receiver,
which is tuned to the weak
signal at 106.7 MHz.
Next, the audio from the test
receiver is recorded during the
RF playback.
Then, listening is performed
to the recorded audio collect-
ed from the site by trained,
experienced listeners.
Following this, listening is
performed to the recorded
audio collected from the test
setup in the lab.
The two audio recordings are
delity and quality in order to
determine whether signal degradation
has taken place due to environmental
or signal fading effects.
After a comparison of the audio
recordings, it was determined that the
recordings were similar. Both audio
recordings contained the same mitiga-
tion from the DSP within the receiver,
such as switching from stereo to mono
and audio high-frequency cutoff. Fur-
ther listening tests were performed
with and without multipath fading ap-
plied to the weak signal. In this way,
the effect of receiver desensitization
was isolated. This method is a valu-
able engineering test tool to isolate the
impairment variables of the site in or-
der to gain greater understanding and
optimization of the audio quality. In
addition, the approach can be applied
to a wide range of radios.

8. This spectrum analyzer plot shows the results of the third-order inter- 9. This spectrum analyzer plot shows the output power levels of the
modulation (IMD) test for linearity. desired and interfering signals near the test conditions.

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 S A M P L E D P L L S , PA R T 1

DesignFeature

Analyze Phase Noise

In A Sampled PLL
The first installment in this three-part series helps understand the noise
sources in a PLL synthesizer and the effects of the sampling frequency
upon the ultimate phase-noise performance.

of the PLL’s behavior. But when the φo ( s )

PETER BEESON loop bandwidth is a considerable per- φe ( s ) = φr ( s ) − (2)
RF Consultant N
centage of the sampling frequency, as
LA Techniques Ltd., The Works, Station Road, Claygate
KT10 9DH, United Kingdom +44 1372 466040, in fast-switching frequency synthesiz- The sampled version of φe is de-
FAX: +44 1372 466688, e-mail: peter.beeson@latech- ers, linear analysis may not provide scribed by Eqs. 3-5,
'
niques.com, Internet: www.latechniques.com. accurate predictions. This opening ⎛ φo ( s ) ⎞
installment of a three-part article will φ' e ( s ) = ⎜ φr ( s ) − ⎟ (3)
explore a nonlinear approach to the ⎝ N ⎠

P
hase locked loops (PLLs) analysis of the effects of sampling on φ' o ( s )
have been used for years PLL performance. φ' e ( s ) = φ' r ( s ) − (4)
to stabilize signal sources Figure 1 shows the essential com- N
such as oscillators. In the ponents of a typical PLL in block-dia- φo ( s ) = φ' e ( s ) ⋅ GK( s ) + No ( s ) (5)
past, loop bandwidths gram form, with the reference phase,
tended to be small com- φr(s), given by Eq. 1: with the additional descriptions given
pared to the sampling frequency, but φi ( s ) in Eqs. 6, 7, and 8:
with modern communications sys- φr ( s ) = (1)
tems, requirements for faster switch-
R
p
GK( s ) = G( s ) ⋅ K ( s ) (6)
ing times mean that this is no longer There is an argument that the (see equation 7)
the case. Narrow-bandwidth PLLs output phase, φο(s)/Ν and refer-
GK'( s )
can be effectively modeled and simu- ence phase, φr(s), should already be φ' e ( s ) = φ' r ( s ) − φ' e ( s ) ⋅ (8)
lated by means of linear analysis, but sampled by the action of the PLL’s N
these same approaches fall short for dividers, However, this makes little With a little rearrangement, it is
wide-bandwidth-sampled PLLs. In difference since both sources of phase possible to solve for the output phase
a sampled PLL, when the sampling noise are synchronously resampled as a function of the input noise
frequency is large compared to the by the sampler that leaves the result
loop bandwidth, a linear simulation unchanged, as shown by the equality (see equation 9)
provides a fairly close approximation in Eq. 2: (see equation 10)
(see equation 11)
fs No(s) (see equation 12)
Kpd G(s) K(s) (see equation 13)
фi(s) фr(s) фe(s) ф'e(s)
Divide Loop
by Rp
PD
filter VCO ∑
Putting φ’o(s) into the expression
фo(s)/N for φo(s) results in Eq. 14 ( on p. 73).
фo(s) Note that throughout this article se-
Divide
by N ries, the “prime” symbol, such as in
φ’o(s), is used to denote a sampled
1. This simple block diagram shows the essential components of a PLL frequency synthesizer. signal.

70 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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 S A M P L E D P L L S , PA R T 1

DesignFeature

'
⎛ φ' e ( s ) ⋅ GK( s ) + No ( s ) ⎞
φ' e ( s ) = ⎜ φ' r ( s ) − ⎟ (7)
⎝ N ⎠
⎛ φ' o ( s ) ⎞
φo ( s ) = ⎜ φ' r ( s ) − ⎟ ⋅ GK( s ) + No ( s ) (9)
⎝ N ⎠

φ' o ( s )
φo ( s ) = φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK( s ) − ⋅ GK( s ) + No ( s ) (10)
N
φ' o ( s )
φ' o ( s ) = φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK'( s ) − ⋅ GK'( s ) + N'o ( s ) (11)
N

φ' o ( s ) ⋅ ⎛⎜ 1 +
GK'( s ) ⎞
⎟ = φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK'( s ) + N'o ( s ) (12)
⎝ N ⎠

φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK'( s ) N'o ( s )

φ' o ( s ) = +
⎛ 1 + GK'( s ) ⎞ ⎛ 1 + GK'( s ) ⎞ (13)
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟
⎝ N ⎠ ⎝ N ⎠

φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK'( s ) GK( s )

φor ( s ) = φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK( s ) − ⋅ (15)
⎛ 1 + GK'( s ) ⎞ N
⎜ ⎟
⎝ N ⎠

At this point, this analysis will proceed to separate out

the noise at the output due to reference noise and VCO
noise. The first step is to find the noise due to the reference
by means of Eq. 15:
(see equation 15)
where
φor(s) = the output phase due to the reference, and can be
found by Eqs. 16 and 17.

φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK( s ) ⋅ ⎡⎢ 1 − ⎤
φor ( s ) GK'( s )
= ⎥
GK'
( s )
⎢ N⋅ ⎛⎜ 1 + ⎞
⎟⎥
⎣ ⎝ N ⎠⎦

φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK( s ) GK'( s ) ⎞

= ⋅ ⎡⎢ N⋅ ⎛⎜ 1 + ⎤
⎟ − GK'( s )⎥
⎛ GK'( s ) ⎞ ⎣ ⎝ N ⎠ ⎦
N⋅ ⎜ 1 + ⎟
⎝ N ⎠

φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK( s )
= ⋅ ( N + GK'( s ) − GK'( s ) )
N⋅ ⎛⎜ 1 +
GK'( s ) ⎞
⎟ (16)
⎝ N ⎠

φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK( s )
φor ( s ) = (17)
⎛ 1 + GK'( s ) ⎞
⎜ ⎟
⎝ N ⎠

This is effectively the sampled reference noise modified by

the transfer response of the loop.
Now, consider the contribution to output phase noise,
φo, due to VCO noise, No(s)

72 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 S A M P L E D P L L S , PA R T 1

DesignFeature

φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK'( s ) N'o ( s )

+
⎛ 1 + GK'( s ) ⎞ ⎛ 1 + GK'( s ) ⎞ (14)
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟
⎝ N ⎠ ⎝ N ⎠
φo ( s ) = φ' r ( s ) ⋅ GK( s ) − ⋅ GK( s ) + No ( s )
N

where
GK( s )
Tr' ( s ) =
GK'( s )
1+
N
∞

= No ( s ) − ∑ (
No s − j ⋅ ω s ⋅ n ⋅ ) N1 ⋅ GK( s )
⎛ ∞ ⎞
n =− ∞ ⎜1 + 1 ⋅
∑ (
GK s − j ⋅ ω s ⋅ n ⎟ )
⎜ N ⎟
⎝ n =− ∞ ⎠ (29)

1 GK( s )
φoNo ( s ) = No ( s ) − No ( s ) ⋅ ⋅
N GK( s )
1+
N

No ( s ) ⋅ ⎛⎜ 1 − ⋅ ⎞
1 GK( s )
=
N GK( s ) ⎟
⎜ 1+ ⎟
⎝ N ⎠

No ( s ) GK( s ) 1
= ⋅ ⎛⎜ 1 + − ⋅ GK( s ) ⎞⎟
⎛ 1 + GK( s ) ⎞ ⎝ N N ⎠
⎜ ⎟
⎝ N ⎠

No ( s )
=
⎛ 1 + GK( s ) ⎞ (30)
⎜ ⎟
⎝ N ⎠

−φ' o ( s ) impulse sampled f(t), f ‘(t) be defined

φoNo ( s ) = ⋅ GK( s ) + No ( s ) as in Eqs. 20 and
N
f''( t ) = f ( t ) ⋅ δ( t ) (20)
∞
− N'o ( s )
= ⋅
GK( s )
+ No ( s ) f ( t ) ⋅ δ( t ) =∑ f ( t ) ⋅ δ( t − n ⋅ T ) (21)
⎛ 1 + GK'( s ) ⎞ N
⎜ ⎟ n =− ∞
⎝ N ⎠
Tr'( s ) where T = 1/Fs.
= No ( s ) − N'o ( s ) ⋅ (18) This may be represented by the
N
Fourier series
where ∞
j ⋅ ω s⋅ n ⋅ t

Tr' ( s ) = GK( s )
(19)
δT ( t ) =
∑ C ⋅e
n
(22)
⎛ 1 + GK'( s ) ⎞ n =− ∞
⎜ ⎟
⎝ N ⎠
where
It is now necessary to develop the π
mathematical functions for perform-
ωs = 2⋅ (23)
T
ing the phase-noise analysis. Let the

Microwaves & RF ■ JANUARY 2010 73

 S A M P L E D P L L S , PA R T 1 

DesignFeature

T
∞
⌠ Now, call F’(s) the Laplace transform ∞ ⌠ − (s − j ⋅ ω s ⋅ n )⋅ t
∑ ⎮
⎮ 2 1
= ⋅ f ( t) ⋅ e dt
C =⎮ δ( t) ⋅ e
− j⋅ω ⋅t
dt of the sampled time function, f’(t),
T ⌡
n
⎮ where n =− ∞
0
⌡− T

2
F'( s ) = L( f''( t ) )
∞

= 1
(24)
= 1
T
⋅ ∑ (
F s − j ⋅ ωs ⋅ n ) (25)
T n =− ∞

Then, apply this to the reference

noise:

Repeatable Signal Integrity φor ( s ) =

φr ( s ) ⋅ GK( s )

⎛ 1 + GK'( s ) ⎞
⎜ ⎟
⎝ N ⎠

GK( s )
= φr ( s ) ⋅
∞

∑ ( )
1
1+ ⋅ GK s − j ⋅ ω s ⋅ n
N
n =− ∞ (26)

where
φi ( s )
φr ( s ) = (27)
Rp
Note the sampled function has been
multiplied by a factor of T. This is be-
cause in a sampled PLL design, this is
taken into account by the phase de-
tector.
The noise due to the VCO can be
found from
Tr'( s )
φoNo ( s ) = No ( s ) − N'o ( s ) ⋅
N
where
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(see equation 31)
Armed with these mathematical
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and observe the results. For exam-
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10500…1000000(2π). The loop filter
values for a standard charge-pump-
type phase detector are shown in Fig. 2

74 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 S A M P L E D P L L S , PA R T 1

DesignFeature

and are R1 = 10 x 103; C1 = 18 x 10-9; In Out


 !
"!
!#
and C2 = 2.7 x 10-9. The phase de- 
tector gain for the charge pump using
4 mA, Kpd, is Kpd = 4 x 10-3/2π. The

$%$
C1
phase detector comparison frequency

of 25 kHz (sampling frequency, fs) is C2
given as fs = 25 x 103. The reference
divider ratio, Rp, is 672, and the sam- R1
pling frequency, ωs, in radians, is ωs & 

)
 
)
 
)
( 
)

= 2πfs. The VCO gain in radians/s/V %'*
(for a VCO with a tuning sensitivity of
20 MHz/V), KωVCO = (2π)20 x 106. 2. The loop filter values for a standard charge- 3. This plot shows the open-loop gain (mag-
The loop division ratio, N, is 35200. pump-type phase detector are shown here. nitude as a function of frequency) for a con-
The gain parameter, G(s), which in- tinuous-time PLL system with an open loop
cludes the phase detector gain and the bandwidth set to approximately 3 kHz .
loop filter response, becomes ( R1⋅ s ⋅ C1 + 1) ⋅ Kpd
⎛ R1 + 1 ⎞ ⋅ 1 G( s ) := (33)
⎜ ⎟ [ s ⋅ ( R1⋅ s ⋅ C1⋅ C2 + C2 + C1) ] which is the combination of oscilla-
⎝ s ⋅ C1 ⎠ s ⋅ C2
G( s ) := ⋅ Kpd (32) with K(s) given by: tor gain and frequency response, and
1 1
R1 + + Kω vco phase detector gain and loop filter fre-
s ⋅ C1 s ⋅ C2 K ( s ) := (34) quency response, is found by Eq. 35:
which simplifies to s
GK( s ) := G( s ) ⋅ K ( s ) (35)
The overall forward gain, GK(s),


 


         
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Microwaves & RF ■ JANUARY 2010 75

 S A M P L E D P L L S , PA R T 1

DesignFeature


!
# !"!
 "$

1 GK( s ) 
φoNo ( s ) = No ( s ) − No ( s ) ⋅ ⋅

%&%

N GK( s ) '
1+
N '

No ( s ) ⋅ ⎛⎜ 1 − ⋅ ⎞
1 GK( s ) '
=
N GK( s ) ⎟
⎜ 1+ ⎟ '

*
) 
*
 
*
 
*

⎝ N ⎠ &()+

No ( s ) GK( s ) 1 4. This plot shows the phase response for a

= ⋅ ⎛⎜ 1 + − ⋅ GK( s ) ⎞⎟ continuous-time PLL system with an open
⎛ 1 + GK( s ) ⎞ ⎝ N N ⎠
⎜ ⎟ loop bandwidth of about 3 kHz.
⎝ N ⎠
The gain and phase responses for an
No ( s )
= open-loop continous-time PLL system
⎛ 1 + GK( s ) ⎞ (30) can be seen in Figs. 3 and 4. Figure 3
⎜ ⎟ shows the magnitude reponse versus
⎝ N ⎠
frequency, while Fig. 4 shows a plot of
φoNo ( s ) = open-loop phase versus frequency for
− 1
a continuous-time PLL system.
No ( s )
+ ∑ (
No s − j ⋅ ω s ⋅ n ⋅ ) 1
⋅
GK( s ) Next month, this three-part series
on the effects of sampling frequency
⎛ 1 + GK( s ) ⎞ N ⎛ − 1 ⎞
⎜
⎝ N ⎠
⎟ n =− ∞ ⎜1 + 1 ⋅
∑ ( )
GK s − j ⋅ ω s ⋅ n ⎟ on PLL performance will compare
⎜ N ⎟ key characteristics of continuous-time
⎝ n =− ∞ ⎠ PLL systems with sampled (discrete-
∞
time) PLLs. To begin, the open-loop
+ ∑ (
No s − j ⋅ ω s ⋅ n ⋅ ) N1 ⋅ GK( s )
curves of Figs. 3 and 4 will be com-
⎛ ∞ ⎞
n =1 ⎜1 + 1 ⋅
∑ (
GK s − j ⋅ ω s ⋅ n ⎟ ) (31)
pared to closed-loop responses, and
⎜ N ⎟ the analysis will delve deeper into the
⎝ n =1 ⎠ effects of sampling on PLL phase noise
by examining PLL noise sources.

76 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 M ATC H I N G LO O P A N T E N N A S

DesignFeature

Match Loop Antennas

Via Mutual Inductance
This approach simplifies matching printed-circuit loop
antennas to transmitter and receiver circuits in small electronic
devices for one- and two-way UHF applications.

R1. R1 is the sum of the radiation Ohms) must be known.1 The value of
ALAN BENSKY resistance, antenna losses, and the se- C1 can then found from
Consultant
ries resistance of capacitance C1. The
Ateret Radio Engineering, P.O. Box 5090, Gan Yavne, C1 = [(2πf)2(LL – L1)]-1 (3)
Israel; e-mail: abensky@smile.net.il. antenna efficiency is the ratio of the
radiation resistance to R1. In Fig. 1(a), where
C1 is shown in series with the loop;

L
oop antennas are widely L1 in Fig. 1(b) is the equivalent of the f = the frequency of operation.
used in small wireless prod- loop inductance LL, reduced by the Loss resistance R1 is the sum of
ucts, particularly for UHF negative reactance of C1. The equa- the radiation resistance, loop conduc-
bands between 300 and tions for L1 and C2 to match R1 to tor resistance, component losses, and
1000 MHz. They are small R2 are losses due to surrounding objects.
in size relative to wave- Equation 4 provides the radiation re-
L1 = (1/2πf)(R1R2 –R12)0.5 (1)
length, independent from a ground sistance (Rrad) in Ohms:
plane, and relatively immune to the
C2 = L1/(R1*R2) (2) Rrad = (320π4A2)/λ4 (4)
influence of nearby objects. They are
also easily implemented in printed- The values of R1 and LL must be where
circuit form with corresponding low estimated from the dimensions of the A = the area enclosed by the loop
cost. But their low radiation resis- loop, and the impedance to which the and
tance makes them difficult to match loop is matched, and R2 (typically 50 λ = the wavelength with dimension
and subject to low efficiency. They 1. A loop antenna
exhibit high quality factor (Q) and as- L1 can be represented
sociated narrow bandwidth that can by a simple match-
LL
make performance nonuniform over R2 C1 Loop
R2 C1 ing network (a) with
a normal range of matching compo- C2 antenna C2 R1 equivalent inductor
nent tolerances. Fortunately, mutual and resistor circuit
inductance techniques can help re- (a) (b) elements (b).
duce loop-antenna losses and achieve
optimal impedance matching.
In many applications, a simple L1 L1
C3 L2
circuit matches the low-resistance
component of a loop antenna to the R2 C1
LL
R2 C1
LL

generally higher output impedance C2 R1 C2 R1

of a transmitter or the input imped-
ance of a receiver [Fig. 1(a)]. Figure 1(b) (a) (b)
is an equivalent-circuit representation
with the loop impedance shown as 2. A loop antenna with alternate coupling circuits (a) and (b) give additional freedom to choose
loop inductance LL and resistance component values.

78 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 M ATC H I N G LO O P A N T E N N A S
DesignFeature
L L'
C =
R R'
Equivalent circuit
Loop antenna
3. Spurious capacitance C affects the appar-
ent inductance and resistance of the loop.
units corresponding to A.
The loop conductor loss (in Ohms)
can be approximated by
Rloss = 1.31 x 10-4(len/w)(freq)0.5 (5)
where
len = the loop perimeter,
w = the conductor width in the
same units as len, and
freq = the frequency in MHz.
Equation 6 gives a good approxi-
mation for the inductance of a printed
rectangular loop (in nH) with sides s1
and s2 and conductor width w, (with
units in mm):2
L = 0.4(s1 + s2)ln[4s1s2/(s1 + s2)w] (6)
The matching configuration of
Fig. 1 (has the disadvantage that, for
a given set of entry parameters, only
one value each is found for C1 and
C2, and these results may not even
be close to standard capacitor values.
Matching configurations in Figs. 2(a)
and 2(b) provide an additional degree
y referenced to ground. An example
x spurious capacitance on the effective
z 2
z
5. For these concentric single-turn loops, the
small (feed) loop connects to the device RF
circuit and the large loop is the antenna.
80
Loop antenna with
resonating capacitor
Small loop
of freedom so that at least one of the
matching component values can be
chosen as a standard value, preferably
C1 since it is most critical, and the
others calculated accordingly (Eqs.
7-13). As before, the value of C1 is
found using Eq. 3. The resulting com-
ponent values are varied by adjusting
the chosen Q according to Eq. 7:
Q > [(R2/R1) – 1]0.5 (7)
From Fig. 2 (a),
L1 = QR1/2πf (8)
with C2 and C3 in Eqs. 9 and 10, and
from Fig. 2 (b),
L1 = QR1/2πf (11)
and C2 and L2 in Eqs. 12 and 13.
Although it is necessary to know
the loop inductance and total resis-
tance to calculate matching-network
component values, this knowledge
may not come routinely. While there
are fairly accurate formulas for coil
inductance, the actual inductance is
often higher than the calculated value
due to spurious capacitance across the
coil terminals. This capacitance can
be due to nearby conducting objects
or printed-circuit-board (PCB) traces
helps to demonstrate the effect of the
C2 = (1/2πf)((R2 – R1)/{R1(R2Q + [R2(R1 – R2 + R1Q2)]0.5}) (9)
C3 = {R12 + [(2πf)L1 – 1/(2πfC2)]2}/{(L1/C2)[(1/C2) – (2πf) L1)] – (R12/C2)} (10)
C2 = (1/2πf) ((R2 – R1)/{R1(R2Q – [R2(R1 – R2 + R1Q2)]0.5})
X1 XM
R2
–XM
4. A network analyzer
and small loop can be
Network analyzer
used to find resonant
frequency, without a
direct connection to
the circuit.
impedance and resistance of the loop.
Assume a printed square loop mea-
suring 30 x 30 mm with 2-mm trace
width and frequency of 434 MHz.
From Eqs. 4, 5, and 6, R = 0.274
Ohm and L = 82 nH. Now, assume
a spurious capacitance of C = 0.8 pF,
and the circuit then has the form of
Fig. 3. The impedance of this circuit at
434 MHz can be found to be Z = 1 +
436j Ohms. The inductance of the cir-
cuit, found from the reactance of 436
Ohms, is 160 nH. The resistance to be
matched to the transmitter or receiver
output or input impedance is 1 Ohm,
plus the resistive loss of the series ca-
pacitor of the matching circuit, which
will be approximately 0.3 Ohms.3
The spurious capacitance is dif-
ficult to measure directly, but it can
be determined by calculation from the
resonant frequency of the loop when
it is connected in parallel to two dif-
ferent capacitors. Measurements are
performed as follows. In the circuit
of Fig. 1(a), a short circuit is used in
place of C2. A standard value should
be chosen for C1 that is close to the
value that resonates with the value of
LL that is calculated from the loop di-
mensions; this capacitance is called Ca.
The true resonant frequency is mea-
sured using a vector network analyzer
(VNA) or scalar network analyzer
(12)
6. This equivalent cir-
cuit of a transformer
XM X2
presents the reac-
R1
tive components as
inductive reactances.
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
 M ATC H I N G LO O P A N T E N N A S
DesignFeature
L2 = ((L1/C1){L1 – [(2πf)2C2]–1} + R12/[(2πf)2C2]){R12 + [(2πf)2 L1 – 1/(2πf)C2]2}–1 (13)
(SNA) configured for one-port mea-
surements. A small round wire loop
of approximately 10 mm diameter
is attached to the end of a coaxial
cable connected to the analyzer test
port. When the coil is brought near
to the loop, a narrow dip will be
observed on the analyzer’s display (Fig.
4). The trough of the dip is the first
resonant frequency, fa. The next step
is to replace Ca with a capacitance
value that is about 30-percent lower,
called Cb, and measuring the result-
ing second resonant frequency, fb.
The spurious capacitance and loop
inductance are calculated as follows:
ds'
7. Parameters ds and ds’ are infinitesimal sec-
tions on circular loops C and C’ with directions
shown by the arrows and Rss’ the distance
between them.
2.5
2.0
Inductance—square root (area)
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0.0
8. These curves of normalized mutual induction versus relative loop
area are plotted with the normalized distance between loop planes as
a parameter.
82
C = (fa2 Ca – fb2Cb)/(fb2 – fa2)
L = 1/[(2πfb)2(Cb + C)]
Then, the apparent inductance at the
desired frequency f is
L' = L/[1 – (2πf)2LC]
For example, assume a 2.2-pF
parallel capacitor with observed reso-
nance at 363.8 MHz. The capacitor is
changed to 1.5 pF and the resonance is
then observed at 415 MHz. From Eqs.
14 and 15, the spurious capacitance is
0.8 pF and the true inductance is 63.8
nH. At an operating frequency of
434 MHz, Eq. 16 shows that the ap-
parent inductance is 102.8 nH. The
effective loop resistance, derived from
Fig. 3, is
R' = R/{(2πfRC)2 + [1 – (2πf)2 LC]2} (17)
ds In this example, R = 0.274 Ohms
Rss' and, from Eq. 17, R’ = 0.71 Ohms.
There are two important conse-
quences of the spurious capacitance.
c
Since the effective inductance increas-
c'
es, a smaller serial capacitance is need-
ed to resonate the matching circuit. In
the case of a large-area loop, the self-
resonant frequency may even be below
the operating frequency, making the
effective impedance capacitive instead
of inductive. Another aspect is that
Concentric loop mutual inductance
z=0
z = 0.1square root (area)
z = 0.2square root (area)
z = 0.3square root( area)
z = 0.4square root (area)
Inductance—square root (area)
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Relative area
9. These curves are similar to those of Fig. 8 except that the feed loop
axis is skewed such that its perimeter at one point is opposite that of
the antenna loop.
the spurious capacitance
may not be stable and,
consequently, antenna
(14)
performance may vary over time and
between different production units.
(15)
A version of inductive matching
in which the feed loop is connected
to the radiating loop by wire taps
was described previously.4 The pres-
(16)
ent approach is to couple the loops
electromagnetically, with no physical
connection between them. Figure 5
shows a configuration of two concen-
tric circular loops. The feed loop does
not have to be centered on the axis
of the radiating loop. The two loops
may be in the same plane, but usually
their planes are parallel and separat-
ed by a distance z. This arrangement
has several advantages: the radiating
loop is floating and less susceptible to
spurious capacitance, even harmonics
are suppressed, component loss is re-
duced, and there is physical flexibility
in some applications when the radiat-
ing loop is a small distance from the
PCB, with no connecting wires.
The two loops effectively form
a transformer, coupled through
their mutual inductance. Figure 6 is
a simplified equivalent circuit of a
transformer,5 with reactive com-
ponents labeled as impedances. Pa-
rameters X1 and X2 are primary
and secondary winding impedances,
respectively, and XM is the mutual
Skewed loop mutual inductance
2.5
z=0
z = 0.1square root (area)
z = 0.2square root (area)
2.0 z = 0.3square root( area)
z = 0.4square root (area)
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Relative area
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
 4
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 M ATC H I N G LO O P A N T E N N A S

DesignFeature

impedance of the transformer. This

circuit can be compared to the match-
ing circuit of Fig. 2(b). By making the
transformer in such a way that, at the
desired operating frequency X1 + XM
equals the impedance of L2 in Fig.
2(b), X2 + XM equals the impedance
of L1, and the mutual impedance XM
is the negative of the impedance of
C2, the transformer circuit will match
R1 to R2. By using Eqs. 11, 12, and
13 to design the matching circuit of
Fig. 2(b), the implementation can be
carried out by a transformer with ap-
propriate values of mutual impedance
and primary and secondary winding
impedances. The transformer will be
in the form of the two electromagneti-
cally coupled loops. As in Fig. 2(b), a
capacitor is needed in series with the
antenna loop to adjust the impedance
of the secondary branch of Fig. 6. Pa-
rameter Q in Eqs. 11 and 12 is also
adjusted to help make Figs. 2(b) and 6
compatible.
Mutual inductance M must be
found from the size and configura-
tion of the antenna loops. The mutual
inductance M between two coils can
be defined as the flux enclosed by the
windings of one of the coils that is cre-
ated by current flowing in the other
coil. Symbolically, M is represented
by Eq. 18:
M = Ф2/I1 (18)
The flux ' is related to the mag-
netic field B by Eq. 19:
Ф = ∫∫ B · dA (19)
which states that the flux is the
Outer loop: 30 x 30 mm
9-mm
separation
50-Ohm
port
sections on the two curves.
Note that ds·ds’ is a dot product
of two vectors, which means that the
product is that of their scalar lengths
times the cosine of the angle between
them. Equation 20 may be more easily
understood by referring to Fig. 7.
Equation 20 implies that the value
of M depends on the shapes of the in-
ner and outer loops, since the integra-
tion has taken over their perimeters.
However, the mutual inductance
depends predominantly on the ar-
eas included by the loop perimeters.
To use this observation, normalizing
factors must be found for the mutual
inductance, the areas, and the separa-
tion between the planes of the loops.
The normalizing factor for the mutual
inductance and separation z will be
taken to be the square root of the area
of the outer loop, and the small loop
area will be expressed as relative to
the area of the outer loop.
Now, it is possible to calculate
0.70
0.65
0.60
0.55
0.50
Inductance—square root (area)
Resonating
capacitor 10. An inductively
coupled and matched
loop antenna was
simulated using the
Sonnet Lite EM simu-
Inner loop: 14 x 14 mm lator from Sonnet
Software (www.son-
netsoftware.com).
the mutual inductance from Eq. 20
and plot relative induction, which is
the mutual induction divided by the
square root of the area of the larger
loop, against the relative areas—the
area of the smaller loop divided by
that of the larger loop. Figures 8 and 9
plot such curves. Figure 8 was plotted
for two circular loops whose centers
are on the same axis. The five curves
are for separations between the paral-
lel planes of the two loops of 0, 0.1,
0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 times the square root
of the area of the larger loop. In Fig. 9.,
the axes of the two loops are skewed.
The distance between them are such
that the perimeter of the smaller loop
almost touches the larger loop when
z = 0. Although the curves in Figs. 8
and 9 were calculated from circular
loops, they are usable for rectangular
or irregularly shaped perimeter loops,
as long as the enclosed areas and self-
inductance can be defined.
Figure 10 shows an example of how
Skewed loop mutual inductance
z=0
z = 0.1square root (area)
z = 0.2square root (area)
z = 0.3square root( area)
z = 0.4square root (area)

integral over the dot product of the

0.45
magnetic field and the area through
0.40
which the flux flows. From Eqs. 18
0.35
and 19, Eq. 20 was derived to allow
0.30
M to be found when the geometry of
0.25
the coils, or the loops in our case, are
defined mathematically6 as 0.20

0.15
M = (μ0/4π) ∫C ∫C’ (ds · ds')/|Rss'| (20) 0.10

where 0.05

μ0 = permeability, 0.0
0.00
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
0.10
0.11
0.12
0.13
0.14
0.15
0.16
01.7
0.18
0.19
0.20
0.21
0.22
0.23
0.24
0.25
0.26
0.27
0.28
0.29
0.30
0.31
0.32
0.33
0.34
0.35

ds, ds’ = differential sections on the

Relative area
two loops, C and C’, and
|Rss’| = the distance between those 11. This magnified part of the skewed loops curve in Fig. 9 helps find the small loop area.

84 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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 M ATC H I N G LO O P A N T E N N A S

DesignFeature

mutual inductance curves can for L2 in Fig. 2(b) was 31.4

Smith Plot
be used to design an induc- Impedance
tively coupled loop antenna Z0 = 50.0
Rectloop_1
based on the given geometry. [S11]
The outer loop has sides of 30 m1: 434.0 MHz
ZMag = 1.241325
mm and an area of 900 mm2, ZPhase = 16.76169
VSWR = 1.446345
with 2-mm-wide printed con-
ductors. The feed loop is po-
sitioned 9 mm from the radi-
ating loop, with its feed point
opposite an edge of the large
loop. A goal is to estimate the
feed loop area needed to match
a 50-Ohm transmitter or re-
ceiver circuit at 434 MHz.
Using Eqs. 4, 5, and 6, the 12. This Smith chart from a Sonnet Lite software simulation shows
radiating loop inductance is some amount of under coupling.
estimated to be 82 nH and
total resistance to be matched, includ-
ing the resistances of the resonating
capacitor and some proximity losses,
is 1 Ohm. The feed loop area can then
be found through the following steps.
1. Use Eqs. 7, 11, 12, and 13 to find
matching values for the components
in Fig. 2(b) and, consequently, the re-
quired mutual inductance. Values of
R2 = 50 Ohms and R1 = 1 Ohm are
selected, and Q is assigned a value of
14. The mutual coupling capacitance
C2 = 29.25 pF. Its equivalent value
in terms of inductance at 434 MHz
is -4.6 nH, so the required mutual in-
ductance M in Fig. 6 is 4.6 nH. The
required inductance L2 at the imped-
ance step up side, on the left of the
matching circuit Fig. 2(b), is 31.4 nH.
2. Now it is necessary to estimate the
area of the feeding loop. Figure 11 is
a magnified portion of the skewed
loop curves of Fig. 9. The separation
of the loop planes is 9 mm, so the
curve in Fig. 11 labeled “z
= 0.3xsqrt(Area)” [which
equals 0.3 x (900)0.5 = 9] is Responating
used. The mutual inductance capacitor
is normalized by dividing
M by the square root of the
m1: 434.0 MHz
ZMag = 1.241325
ZPhase = 16.76169
VSWR = 1.446345
m1
Sonnet Software, Inc.
mately 0.23. Multiplying by the radi-
ating loop area of 900 mm2 yields an
estimate of 207 mm2 for the feed loop
area. The feed loop dimensions are as-
sumed to be about 14 x 14 mm.
3. Using Eq. 6 with a conductor width
of 2 mm and mean sides of 14 x 14
mm, the self-inductance of the small
loop is estimated to be 29.5 nH.
4. The estimates of M and L1 must be
tested in the equivalent transformer
circuit, Fig. 6, to see if the left branch
meets the matching requirement of
Fig. 2(b). That is, the sum of the self-
induction of the small loop (X1 in Fig.
6) plus the mutual induction M should
equal the calculated value of L2 in
Fig. 2(b). The inductance of the right
branch in Fig. 2(b) does not have to be
considered because it will be adjusted
when C is chosen for resonance at the
operating frequency. The small loop
induction plus M = 29.5 + 4.6 = 34.1
nH. The required inductance found
Antenna loop on Feed loop on
upper side of board lower side of board
nH, which is close enough for
simulation or initial prototype
implementation. In the event
that the left branch require-
ment of Fig. 2(b) is not met, the
estimation process must be re-
started at step 1, with different
value of Q, to change the re-
quired mutual inductance and
left branch inductance.
A simulation was performed
using Sonnet Lite electromag-
netic (EM) software from Son-
net Software,7 with a small
loop geometry as determined in
step 2. The layout and dimen-
sions of the loops are shown
in Fig. 10. The Smith chart in Fig. 12
shows the simulation result. The
return loss was simulated as 14.8
dB at 434 MHz using a resonating
capacitance of 1.50 pF. Slight under-
coupling is evident from the Smith
chart, and the matching can be im-
proved by increasing the area of the
small loop, bringing it a little closer to
the larger loop, or adding an appro-
priate capacitance in series with the
feed line.
To demonstrate the effectiveness
of this approach, a loop antenna
matched for 318 MHz was fabricated
by means of the mutual inductance
coupling technique (Fig. 13). A 50-
Ohm coaxial cable connects the feed
loop to the main RF circuit board with
no additional matching components
required. Considering the advantages
of inductive coupling, the method can
be recommended for many compact,
short-range devices at UHF.
50-Ohm termination pads
for feed loop REFERENCES
1. Alan Bensky, Short-range wireless commu-
nication, 2nd Ed., Elsevier, 2004, pp. 49-51.
2. F. L. Dacus, J. Van Niekerk, and S. Bible,
“Introducing loop antennas for short-range
radios,” Microwaves & RF, July 2002.
3. Murata Chip S-Parameter & Impedance
Library, Version
ing Co., Ltd.
3.5.0, Murata Manufactur-

radiating loop area, so the 4. J. Van Niekerk, F. L. Dacus, and S. Bible,

“Matching loop antennas to short-range
relative inductance on the radios,” Microwaves & RF, August 2002.
5. W.W. Lewis and C. F. Goodheart, Basic Elec-
ordinate of Fig. 10 is 4.6/30 tric Circuit Theory, The
pany, New York, 1958, p. 223.
Ronald Press Com-
= 0.153. The corresponding 13. This compact loop antenna with resonance at 318 MHz was fabri- 6. Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com), definition
for inductance.
relative area from the z = 9 cated by means of the mutual inductance coupling technique, using a 7. Sonnet Software, North Syracuse, NY (www.
sonnetsoftware.com).
curve is found to be approxi- direct 50-Ohm connection to the feed loop without added matching.

86 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 PA D I S TO R T I O N

DesignFeature

Dissect PA Distortion
From OFDM Signals
Several approaches are available for minimizing the distortion
generated by power amplifiers used in high-power transmitters
employing complex modulation formats.

in demanding OFDM-based commu- effects from a variety of factors, in-

DANIEL D. SILVEIRA nications systems. cluding device bias conditions, tran-
Researcher
All PAs suffer from some distor- sistor transit-time, and thermal ef-
JOSE DE SOUZA LIMA tion, independent of input signal levelfects. Operating an amplifier with
Researcher and device technology, since transis- significant backoff can minimize
Linear Equipamentos Eletronicos S/A tors are not ideal linear components.1 phase distortion but with degradation
Praça Linear 100, 37540-000, Santa Rita do Sapucaí, The three basic types of distortion of amplifier efficiency. One method
Minas Gerais, Brazil; e-mail: rdgroup@linear.com.br
are amplitude, frequency, and phase for minimizing amplifier phase dis-
MAURICIO SILVEIRA distortion. Amplitude distortion is tortion while maintaining efficiency
Researcher caused by amplifier gain compression is the use of linearization techniques.
Pontifical Catholic University, D. Pedro II Highway (P1dB), which is device dependent. Linear Equipamentos Eletroni-
Km 136, University Park I, 13086-900, Campinas, Sao During amplifier clipping, unwanted cos S/A began research on power
Paulo, Brazil; e-mail: msilveira@puc-campinas.edu.br
harmonics are generated, a form of amplifier (PA) linearization some
frequency distortion. The magnitude years ago. Initial results for AM/AM

P
ower-amplifier (PA) dis-
tortion must be mini-
mized in any broadcast
application to prevent
interference with adja-
cent channels. Distor-
tion can be present in the
form of amplifier clipping, 39
intermodulation distortion
(IMD), and memory effects. 38
For some communications
Gain magnitude—dB
of these harmonics is increased with
the amount of signal clipping, con-
sequently increasing the amplifier’s
overall distortion.
PA phase distortion in power am-
plifiers is caused mainly by memory
analysis were obtained by inferring
that the transfer function of a PA’s
output voltage had third-order non-
linear dependence with respect to the
input signal. Although the numerical
approach adopted for this analysis
was efficient in this particu-
80 lar case, it did not compen-
78 sate for the nonlinear effects
76 of amplitude-modulation/
74 phase-modulation (AM/PM)

distortion.2, 3 References 4
Gain phase—deg.

standards, such as Brazil’s

37 72
ISDB-T standard, which is and 5 provide examples of
based on orthogonal fre- 70 models that can compensate
quency-division-multiplex 36 68 for these and other distor-
(OFDM) modulation, exces- 66 tions; in ref. 5, for example, a
sive phase distortion in the 35 64 study was performed involv-
transmit amplifiers can dis- ing several practical models.
62
rupt proper system opera- 34 An accurate model represents
tion. But by the use of prop- –50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 +10 +20 the first step for implement-
er models and linearization Input power—dBm ing an efficient predistortion
techniques, it is possible to 1. These curves of gain magnitude and phase are typical of high-fre- system. Using the parallel
minimize PA distortion even quency Class AB power amplifiers. model described in ref. 5, Lin-

88 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

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TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 396 rev H
 PA D I S TO R T I O N

DesignFeature

ear Equipamentos Eletroni- frequency, the bandwidth of

cos obtained good results, DC Fundamental Second-harmonic Third-harmonic the second-order distortion
zone zone zone zone

Output power—dBm
compensating for both AM/ will be 2 x 5.6 = 11.2 MHz,
AM distortion, AM/PM dis- the third-order distortion will

tortion, and memory effects.
2
Communications systems
based on OFDM techniques
can employ signals with
thousands of carriers, as in
standard ISDB-T systems.
The carrier combination can
generate a reasonable num-
ber of voltage spikes in the
time domain, depending on
its phase. The magnitude of
these peaks can be measured 2. A two-tone test signal applied to a PA generates a number of differ-
through a figure of merit, the ent IMD components.
peak to average ratio (PAR),
which is defined by:
PAR = 20log(|Xpeak|/Xav)
where Xpeak and Xav are the maxi-
mum and average values (in V), re-
spectively, of a signal under test.
The Xpeak value can be measured in
the time domain using an oscilloscope
with sufficient bandwidth. The Xav
value can be measured using a watt-
meter and then converting the value
to voltage, assuming a 50-Ohm load.
The PAR from some commonly used
signals are: 3 (dB) for a continuous
wave (CW) signal, 3.5 to 4 dB for a
QPSK signal, and approximately 12
dB for the ISDB-T standard OFDM
signal. This implies that, if a
Class AB PA has a 1-dB com-
pression point at +10 dBm
(Fig. 1), an OFDM signal per
)
IMD
2 3 3 2
4 5 5 2 2
6 7 7 4 4 5
6 6
w0 2w0
monic component.6 Intermodulation
can be easily measured when more
than one carrier is used as a PA input
signal, such as using a test signal con-
sisting of two-tones with equal ampli-
tude. When a two-tone test signal is
applied to an amplifier, it is possible
to observe several IMD components
in the output spectrum generated due
to the nonlinear behavior of the tran-
sistors (Fig. 2).
In an ISDB-T standard OFDM sig-
nal with thousands of carriers, distor-
tion can appear as multiple distortion
signals (Fig. 3). The bandwidth of the
distortion is related to the signal band-
width. Thus, if a signal has a band-
width of 5.6 MHz at the fundamental
 between the origin of the
$""!#&*" 
have a bandwidth of 3 x 5.6
MHz, and so on. Odd-order
33 distortion lies within the
3 3
5 fundamental zone, requiring
7 7
a different treatment than
3w0 w—rad/s for even-order ones. These
lie outside the fundamental
Fundamental
Harmonics zone and at the DC zone, and
Sum of IMPs can be removed by means of
Difference of IMPs filters.7
One way to avoid PA
IMD is through backoff tech-
niques, although this increas-
es transmission costs by the
need for an increased number of PAs
for a required transmit power. The
approach does guarantee high qual-
ity of the transmitted ISDB-T signal,
measured by the modulation error ra-
tio (MER, in dB),8 by which excellent
levels are over 40 dB. Unfortunately,
if high backoff values are used, the
PA efficiency is degraded. As a result,
a tradeoff between backoff (or high
MER values) and PA efficiency must
be established.
In a system with memory effects,
the condition of the output signal is
dependent upon the past states of the
input signal. The extent of the mem-
ory effects can be estimated through
observation of the first-order Volterra
kernel. The amount of mem-
ory is defined as the time
kernel until the point where

the ISDB-T standard can be it passes through zero, and

boosted without compres- is directly dependent on the
)
sion using this amplifier with bandwidth of the transmit-
input levels to -2 dBm. This )  ted signal.9
indicates that all amplifiers An RF PA has a complex
used in the ISDB-T trans- )
 structure with many differ-
mitter chain require a large ent types of memory effects.
)
backoff compared to ampli- These can be classified10
fiers used in analog broad- ) as low-frequency (kHz to
cast transmitters. MHz) effects (such as ther-
Amplifier gain compres- )  mal effects, trapping effects,
) ) ) )
)   
  
sion results from the IMD "'
"!#&*%(
" 
the influence of biasing cir-
characteristics of the ampli- cuits, and the influence of
fier’s transistors, with major 3. This PA distortion was generated as a result of amplifying an ISDB-T AGC loops) and high-fre-
influence of the third-har- standard signal. quency (GHz) effects (such

90 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 PA D I S TO R T I O N

DesignFeature

as transistor transit time methods are available. The

+2
and reactance parasitic and
group delay from matching
+1
networks).
Such memory effects are
0
mixed together (nonlinearly
coupled) in a PA and the |G|—dB
problem of estimating be- –1
havioral models becomes
very difficult.11 A general –2
classification of memory ef-
fects, in linear and nonlin- –3
ear form, can be found in
ref. 12. A memoryless sys- –4
–15
tem is one in which the out-
put signal envelope follows
the variations of the input 4. This plot shows an AM/AM characteristic curve, with the center line
signal envelope. Matching providing an estimate of memoryless amplifier behavior.
networks are the origin of
linear memory, and nonlinear memo-
ries are generated in the nonlinear dy-
namic interactions of the input signal.
A practical RF PA output signal has
both linear and nonlinear memory,
and an ISDB-T OFDM signal that oc-
cupies a bandwidth of 5.7 (MHz) and
as many as 8,000 carriers will cause
more memory effects in a PA than an
analog signal, which has only three
carriers.
The influence of memory effects
on a system can be seen in the form
of AM/AM effects in Fig. 4 and AM/
PM effects in Fig. 5, where the cen-
tral line shows the behavior of an
amplifier without memory
+20
effects. The spreading of
points around the curves for +15
a particular instantaneous
+10
power level indicates a
greater amount of memory
Phase (G)—deg.
–10 –5 0 +5 +10
Input power—dBm
AM/PM curves.” IMD mixed with an
amplifier’s memory effects can gener-
ate distortion that seriously degrades
the quality of the PA’s output signal,
and makes the task of achieving the
required spectral mask for ISDB-T
even more difficult. Because every
amplifier exhibits some amount of
distortion, the only way to produce
efficient, cost-effective amplifiers is by
implementing methods to compensate
for or correct the distortion.
Amplitude-related distortion can
be corrected by means of amplifier
backoff, although efficiency will suf-
fer. If linearization is used, many
most frequently used ones
are feed-forward and pre-
distortion.14, 15 The amount
of distortion compensation
varies according to the RF
PA, the occupied bandwidth,
and the model structure and
complexity used for the pre-
distortion implementation—
whether a model with or
without memory effects. If a
memoryless model is chosen,
like ordinary polynomials, a
+15 +20
considerable part of the dis-
tortion can be compensated
for, but only models that in-
clude memory in their struc-
tures can be effective against
distortion generated by modern RF
PAs. Examples of these models, the
Wiener and Hammerstein models,
are shown in Fig. 6. Additional models
are listed in ref. 5. Choosing the right
model is the key to compensate for the
various forms of distortion generated
by an RF PA.
Linear Equipamentos Eletronicos
has built a basic evaluation platform
that can simulate several models to-
gether with ISDB-T OFDM signal
generation. The circuit-board ar-
chitecture includes essential devices
such as analog-to-digital converters
(ADCs), digital-to-analog convert-
ers (DACs), memory, and a
field-programmable gate ar-
ray (FPGA), which was used
to realize the multiplexer
and demultiplexer for Trelis-
Encoder and Reed-Solomon

+5
effects, although close to the advanced digital communi-
origin at the abscissas axis 0 cations formats.
may include some errors In this platform, the
–5
of synchronization as well FPGA and digital-signal-
as measurement noise. The –10 processing (DSP) techniques
plots in Figs. 4 and 5 were were used to implement
obtained from time-domain –15 digital filters with excellent
measurements performed –20 sideband rejection, without
by a vector signal analyzer –15 –10 –5 0 +5 +10 +15 +20 the need for analog filters,
Input power—dBm
(VSA). Another definition such as a surface-acoustic-
for memory effects is given 5. This plot shows an AM/PM characteristic curve. Values close to the wave (SAW) filter, which can
in ref. 13, as “a time inter- origin at the abscissas axis may include some errors of synchronization as present problems with pass-
val between AM/AM and well as measurement noise. band ripple, high insertion

92 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF


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94
PA D I S TO R T I O N
DesignFeature
6. Examples of models
Linear dynamic Static nonlinear
include linear and
nonlinear blocks. The
u(k) x(k) y(k)
L N
Wiener model contains
a filter before the non- (FIR filter) (Polynomial)
linearity block, while Static nonlinear Linear dynamic
the Hammerstein model u(k) x(k) y(k)
N L
has the nonlinear block
first. (Polynomial) (FIR filter)
loss, and high cost. In addition, it was also possible to com-
pare two distinct theoretical and experimental approaches;
Weaver and Frequency Complex Methods combined with
DSP techniques, which permit it to generate amplitude-
modulation-vestigial-sideband (AM-VSB) analog television
and eight-state vestigial-sideband (8-VSB) digital television
signals through a simplified architecture.16,17
This FPGA structure was used to implement the non-
linear experimental approach discussed in this report,
and to achieve the best results for the use of predistor-
tion approaches. This architecture was designed, imple-
mented, tested and was in industrial production as part of
the first transmission high-definition-television (HDTV)
equipment in Brazil for the ISDB-T standard. The same
architecture can also serve other complex communica-
tions standards.
REFERENCES
1. K. Clarke, D. Hess, Communication Circuits: Analysis and Design, Krieger Publishing
Company, 2nd ed., 1994.
2. A. A. Mello, H. D. Rodrigues, M. P. Silva, and M. Silveira, “Adaptive Digital Pre-Distortion to
Reduce the Power Amplifier Non-Linearity,” IEEE APS-URSI 2003, Columbus, OH.
3. A. A. Mello, H. D. Rodrigues, J. Souza Lima, M. P. Silva, and M. Silveira, “A New Numerical
Approach in the Linear Analysis of RF Amplifiers,” IEEE 33rd European Microwave Confer-
ence, 2003 Munich, Germany.
4. J. Kim and K. Konstantinou, “Digital predistortion of wideband signals based on power
amplifier model with memory,” Electronics Letters, Vol. 37, No. 23, 2001, pp. 1417-1418.
5. D. D. Silveira, P. L. Gilabert, P. M. Lavrador, J. C. Pedro, M. Gadringer, G. Montoro, E.
Bertran, G. Magerl, “Improvements and analysis of nonlinear parallel behavioral models,”
International Journal of RF and Microwave Computer-Aided Engineering, DOI: 10.1002/
mmce.20385.
6. P. B. Kenington, High Linearity RF Amplifier Design, Artech House, Norwood, MA, 2000.
7. J. Vuolevi and T. Rahkonnen, Distortion in RF Power Amplifiers, Artech House, Norwood,
MA, 2003.
8. W. Fischer, Digital Video and Audio Broadcasting Technology – A practical engineering
guide, Springer, New York, 2008.
9. V. Z. Marmarelis, Nonlinear Dynamic Modelling of Physiological Systems, Wiley, New
York, 2004.
10. E. Ngoya and A. Soury, “Modeling Memory Effects in Non-Linear Subsystems by
Dynamic Volterra Series” IEEE Behavioral Modeling and Simulation Workshop, 2003.
11. N. Le Gallou, E. Ngoya, H. Buret, D. Barataud, and J. M. Nebus, “An improved behavioral
modeling technique for high power amplifiers with memory” IEEE MTT-S International
Microwave Symposium Digest, Vol. 1, 2001, pp. 983-986.
12. J. C. Pedro and S. Maas, “A comparative overview of microwave and wireless power-
amplifier behavioral modeling approaches,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and
Techniques, Vol. 53, No. 4, 2005, pp. 1150-1163.
13. S. C. Cripps, Advanced Techniques in RF Power Amplifier Design, Artech House, Norwood,
MA, 2002.
14. P. B. Kenington, “Analysis of instability in feed-forward loop,” Electronic Letters, Vol.
33, 1997.
15. J. K. Cavers, “Amplifier Linearization Using a Digital Pre-Distorter with Fast Adaptation
and Low Memory Requirements,” IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol. 39, No. 4,
November 1990, pp. 374–382.
16. J. S. Lima and M. Silveira, “The Weaver theoretical approach to generate some impor-
tant TV digital signals for the transmission systems”, IEEE International Microwave and
Optoelectronic Conference 2005, Belém, PA, Brazil.
17. H.D. Rodrigues, M. Silveira, J.A.J. Ribeiro, and D. G. da Silva, “Complex Filtering for
Generation of SSB and VSB Signals”, IEEE Asia Pacific Microwave Conference 2008, Hong
Kong, China.
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
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 applicationnotes
Front-End IN WIRELESS DIGITAL communications, the integrated
transceiver often fails to produce enough power
Modules Narrow to realize the full potential of a specification
Wireless (typically +20 dBm). For a fully integrated CMOS
radio on a single die, for example, output power
Performance seldom exceeds 0 dBm. In a white paper titled
Gaps “RF Front-End Integrated Circuits,” RFaxis, Inc.
notes that the limitations of today’s high-density
radios have created a need for external amplifiers
in various wireless systems. The note provides an
overview of various front-end modules (FEMs)
and their packaging options. It then spotlights the
firm’s own RF front-end integrated circuit (RFeIC),
which houses a matching and switching network
for transmit/receive operation as well as a high-
performance linear power amplifier and low-noise
amplifier (LNA) in a single BiCMOS die.
The firm points out that gallium arsenide
(GaAs) is very suitable as a substrate for high-
frequency circuits, as bulk GaAs has high resis-
The limitations of today’s high-density radios have created a need for external amplifiers
in various wireless systems.
Smart-Grid THANKS TO DISTRIBUTED computing and commu-
nications, the smart grid will be able to deliver
Communication real-time information when and where it is needed.
Needs Become To implement such capabilities, the system must
Clearer leverage two-way data communications systems
that will manage both new applications and assets.
In a white paper titled,“Developing a Communica-
tion Infrastructure for the Smart Grid,” individuals
from WireIE Holdings International and the Uni-
versity of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT)
discuss a number of smart-grid applications. They
also estimate the communication requirements of
medium data-intensive smart-grid devices.
The authors of this paper—V.K. Sood, D.
Fischer, J.M. Eklund, and T. Brown—note that
two-way communications will assist timely net-
work realignment for more efficient power flow.
Because the smart grid will cover all aspects of
generation, transmission, distribution, and user
networks as well as a large geographic territory,
communication links will exist in a variety of
formats including hardwired links, fiber-optic
links, wireless systems, satellite systems, and ter-
restrial microwave links. The paper includes an
evaluation of two potential smart-grid scenarios
to evaluate their communication requirements:
a sparsely populated rural environment or a
densely populated, highly integrated meshed
urban environment.
96
visit www.mwrf.com
tivity. Yet MESFETs formed on this material
require a dual voltage supply and associated
bias circuitry, which increases size while reduc-
ing power efficiency. The note also explores the
strengths and weaknesses of GaAs HEMTs,
PHEMTs, and HBTs as well as composite GaAs
(which will include indium-gallium-phosphide
[InGaP] HBT and PHEMT devices on the same
die). In addition, the document provides an
overview of FEM design options including quad-
flat-no-leads (QFN), low-temperature co-fired-
ceramic (LTCC), and flip-chip packaging. The
second half of this note details the company’s
own design process, which allows the fabrica-
tion of all of the components needed for a FEM
on a single die.
RFaxis, Inc., 36 Discovery, Suite 140, Irvine, CA
92618; (949) 336-1360, FAX: (949) 336-1361,
Internet: www.rfaxis.com.
After assuming some basic conditions, such
as the sampling of three voltages and three
currents, the authors deduce that a basic data
rate of 12 kb/s is required to broadcast raw
data samples. Computed quantities like phase
amplitude are likely to increase the bandwidth
requirement to roughly 2 to 5 Mb/s. This data
rate should be considered indicative of an
application with a relatively low- to medium-
data-rate production.
In an example of a fault-detection system, the
authors estimate that data throughput would
be only on the order of tens of kilobytes per
second for each distributed-generation unit. The
maximum data latency for this application is
very relaxed—on the order of minutes. In con-
trast, system faults require continuous, high-rate
monitoring on the order of millisecond sampling.
They result in throughputs to 5 Mb/s latencies in
the tens of milliseconds to allow for rapid fault
detection. Five to six cycles (80 to 100 ms) is the
accepted fault-detection time.
WireIE, 1 West Pearce St., Suite 505, Richmond Hill,
ON, Canada L4B 3V2; (905) 882-4660, FAX: (905) 886-
1958, Internet: www.wireie.com.
UOIT, 2000 Simcoe St. North, Oshawa, ON, Canada
L1H 7K4; (905) 721-8668, FAX: (905) 721-3178,
Internet: www.uoit.ca.
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
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40TH ®
ANNIVERSARY
1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 458 rev B
 75dB Dynamic Range
3.8GHz Log Detector
2.14GHz VOUT vs Input Power
2.0 3
VCC = 5V

1.7 2

Linearity Error (dB)

1.4 1

±0.8dB
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0.8 –1

0.5 TA = –40°C –2
TA = 25°C
TA = 85°C
0.2 –3
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Input Power (dBm)

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LT5534 60dB 50MHz to 3GHz 7mA @ 3V 2mm x 2mm SC-70

Log Detector LT5537 83dB LF to 1GHz 13.5mA @ 3V 3mm x 2mm DFN

LT5538 75dB 40MHz to 3.8GHz 29mA @ 3V 3mm x 3mm DFN

LT5570 60dB 40MHz to 2.7GHz 26.5mA @ 5V 3mm x 3mm DFN

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LT5581 40dB 10MHz to 6GHz 1.4mA @ 3.3V 3mm x 2mm DFN
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LTC5532 35dB 0.3GHz to 12GHz 0.5mA @ 3.3V TSOT-23, , LTC, LT, LTM and Burst Mode are registered trademarks of
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CoverStory
Broadband VNAs View
Nonlinear Behavior
L
STEVE REYES
Product Marketing Manager
Anritsu Company, 490 Jarvis Dr.,
Morgan Hill, CA 95037-2809; (408)
778-2000, FAX: (408) 776-1744,
Internet: www.us.anritsu.com.
1. The MS4640A family of Vec-
torStar VNAs can be configured
as part of a nonlinear measure-
ment system for measurements
through 18 GHz.
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
NONLINEAR VNA SYSTEMS
These microwave VNA-based systems feature powerful
nonlinear software and measurement capabilities with
support for active and passive load-pull tuners.
LAST YEAR, THE NEW VECTORSTAR MICROWAVE VECTOR NETWORK ANALYZERS VNAs
from Anritsu (www.us.anritsu.com) created a stir in the industry, with their powerful combi-
nation of high accuracy, fast measurement speed, and broad bandwidths (see Microwaves &
RF, January 2009 Cover Feature). Since then, the industry’s appetite for nonlinear S-parameter
measurements has grown. To satisfy that need, the firm has made its MS4640A family of
VNAs available as part of a system for nonlinear measurements, allowing analysis and
model development of amplifiers and other active RF/microwave components tasked with
processing microwave signals with complex modulation. The VectorStar Nonlinear Systems
are available with a low-frequency limit of 0.5 GHz and a high-frequency limit of 18.0 GHz
in various configurations.
The MS4640A family of VectorStar VNAs (Fig. 1) feature 0.1-dB compression at +10 dBm,
with dynamic ranges of 123 dB to 20 GHz, 119 dB to 40 GHz, 100 dB to 110 GHz. The
synthesized, error-corrected switching speed is 20 μs/point with 100,000 measurement points
available per channel. The analyzers can control as many as four independent signal sources for
multitone measurements and include direct-access loops for source and receiver monitoring.
When measuring small-signal amplifiers, the linear VectorStar VNAs provide many built-in
functions to fully evaluate these active devices. Applications include built-in programmable
power sweeps for gain-compression analysis at multiple frequency points, intermodulation
distortion (IMD) measurements, and harmonic measurements.
As part of the nonlinear measurement systems, the VectorStar VNAs include the additional
components and software required to measure how active
devices operate under nonlinear, large-signal conditions. In
the new system configurations, the VectorStar VNAs deliver
the information needed to develop optimized nonlinear
devices. To extract meaningful nonlinear data, a VNA must
take into account harmonics as well as the fundamental
frequencies at the output of a device under test (DUT). The
VNA must also be able to view fundamental and harmonic
output frequencies over a wide range of load impedances,
with the aid of source-pull and load-pull impedance tun-
ers. As with all active on-wafer devices, the performance is
directly related to the source and load impedance presented
to the device. To optimize performance of a nonlinear DUT,
visit www.mwrf.com 99
 Cover Story
NONLINEAR VNA SYSTEMS
the impedance presented to the DUT must be optimized for
both the fundamental and harmonic frequencies.
The VectorStar Nonlinear System stems from collaboration
between the Anritsu labs and High Frequency Engineering
Sagl of Switzerland (HFE). Software from HFE provides
nonlinear information in a number of formats to facilitate
analysis and aid in the evaluation and design process. In addi-
tion to HFE software, a VectorStar Nonlinear System also
requires an HFE test set and appropriate components (Fig. 2).
An owner’s VectorStar VNA can be upgraded to a nonlinear
system at any time by simply adding the software, test set,
and components. The only requirement of the VectorStar for
a nonlinear upgrade is that the external loop and receiver
offset options (Options 51 and 07) are installed.
Either active or passive tuners can be used in a VectorStar
Nonlinear system with load-pull measurement capability.
Compared to passive tuners, active tuners provide a greater
range of loads to a DUT, which is critical for nonlinear device
characterization. Many nonlinear amplifier classes of operation
require a reflection coefficient or gamma of 1 at harmonic
frequencies for optimum performance.
The VectorStar Nonlinear System differs from traditional
load-pull systems in the location of its tuners and monitoring
100
VectorStar VNA HFE MMSNT_LP
software
HFE test set
Pin Pout
Г
Prefl
Source
DUT
Low-loss
coupler Passive or active 50-Ohm
load
load-pull tuner
2. This simplified block diagram shows the main components of the
Anritsu VectorStar and HFE nonlinear load-pull system, including the
VNA, HFE software, and HFE test set.
couplers. A typical load pull system locates the coupler outside
the tuner and monitors the power output of the DUT as the
tuner is varied in impedance. This method requires that the
tuner be pre-calibrated. The accuracy of the measurement
in the typical load pull setup is determined by the repeat-
ability of the tuner, cables, and connectors after calibration.
The tuner in this traditional configuration is controlled by
vendor software for both calibration and control and cre-
ates a complex relationship between the tuner software and
nonlinear VNA software. Since many DUTs must be tuned
over a large area of the Smith Chart, the calibration table for
a traditional load pull system can be large, with calibrations
often requiring hours.
The Anritsu/HFE load-pull system inserts a low-loss
coupler between the DUT and tuner, achieving improved
measurement accuracy of the source and load impedances
at the DUT. This approach makes it possible to monitor the
impedance in real time while also monitoring the performance
of the DUT. The VNA provides immediate display of the
DUT’s performance in response to changes in impedance,
allowing real-time tuning. It also means that precalibrated
tuners are not needed, nor is tuner repeatability important
since the impedance can be monitored while the DUT is
being measured.
When configured with the Anritsu/HFE active loop tuner,
gammas values to 1 at the DUT port are possible (Fig. 3). A
combination of passive and active tuners can also be used for
flexibility when upgrading a measurement system. With the
Anritsu/HFE approach, any type of impedance tuner from
any vendor can be used in the load-pull system. Vendor tuner
calibration software is no longer necessary since the tuner can
now be controlled by the MMSNT_LP software for reduced
interface complexity. Even tuners with poor repeatability can
be used to achieve accurate load-pull results.
Nonlinear measurement results for a DUT can be used to
design an optimum impedance matching network or exported
to an electronic-design-automation (EDA) program, such as
AWR’s Microwave Office, for model development. Unlike some
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
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40TH ®
ANNIVERSARY
1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 416 rev M

nonlinear VNA measurement solutions,
the Anritsu/HFE system does not port
the data to a “black box” representation
within the EDA tool. Rather, data are
available directly from the MMSNT_LP
software.
Because of the large quantity of data
provided during nonlinear measure-
ments, the data should be formatted in
a way that is easy to store, convenient
to open and view, organized in a manner
that is flexible and pliable, and easy to
share with colleagues. In support of these
goals, the OpenWave Forum (OWF)
is an alliance of RF and microwave
firms formed to collaborate, create,
and promote a unified and transparent
data exchange format for large-signal
nonlinear simulations, measurements,
and models. An open standard ensures
that data files will be compatible and
transportable to an EDA environment
that recognizes the standard. As a found-
RF & Microwave
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102
Cover Story
NONLINEAR VNA SYSTEMS
DC power GPIB
Meter (V) Meter (V)
Meter (V) Meter (V)
Г
Source Bias Passive or active Low-loss Low-loss
tee source tuner coupler source
Ф load-pull
Variable Phase YIG-tuned
attenuator shifter filter
3. The Anritsu/HFE system is available with active loop tuners to provide gammas to 1 at the
DUT source and load ports.
ing member of the forum, Anritsu/HFE
is participating in defining the open
standard and is incorporating the format
into the MMSNT_LP software.
The MMSNT_LP software is struc-
GPIB
Low-loss active Low-loss Bias
loopcoupler coupler tee
DUT
Active
tuner
tured to acquire a large number of data
files while still providing a user-friendly
environment for analysis. The software
is structured as a multidocument and
multiview application. Each document
represents a particular measurement
task: an S-parameter measurement is
associated with one document, and
a load-pull session is held in another
document. The result is measurement
software that can simultaneously dis-
play power sweep curves, time domain
waveforms, load pull contour maps,
eye diagrams, and I/V parameters on
the same screen. To simplify the user
interface, each document controls the
presentation of the main application
menu and toolbars; the respective mea-
surement is triggered and updated by
the corresponding window.
Five different documents reside
within the MMSNT_LP software:
the Test Set document (*.tst) handles
the calibration, multiport system port
assignments, and the control of the bias
and the tuners; the S-parameter docu-
ment (*.spx) performs the S-parameter
measurements, stores and retrieves the
S-parameter data, and computes the dif-
ferential parameters if appropriate; the
Macro document (*.mcx) programs and
runs Visual Basic for Application (VBA)
macros; the CalKit document (*.std)
creates, stores, and retrieves calibration
standard descriptions, using the auxil-
iary Winkit Manager application; and
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
 




  



  
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 Cover Story
NONLINEAR VNA SYSTEMS

the Load Pull document (*.lpx) creates, stores, and retrieves

load-pull and time-domain waveform load-pull data.
A document can be split into multiple views, enabling the
visualization of different parameters or graphs in multiple
windows (Fig. 4). This multiple-view approach is particularly
useful when performing tuning and optimization on nonlinear
active devices, to see the effects of changes in impedance on
amplifier efficiency and gain, for example.
The MMSNT_LP software sets up and controls DUT
current-voltage (I-V) parameters via GPIB-controlled power
supplies, controls the load-pull tuners for fundamental and
harmonic impedances, drives the power source for power
swept conditions to the DUT, and controls and switches
the VNA waveforms for real-time display of measurement
results including time-domain and eye-diagram waveforms.
The flexible software also provides storage and organization
of the data files for future analysis within the MMSNT_LP
software and companion EDA software, such as AWR’s
Microwave Office.
The MMSNT_LP software also coordinates calibration of
the nonlinear VNA system. The dynamic calibration is based
on a computer analysis of the measurement system’s topology
and operating conditions. From this analysis, an optimized
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4. This multiple-window view is typical of the nonlinear VectorStar sys-
tem's capabilities, with a time domain waveform display, Smith Chart,
and data table on one screen.
standard sequence is generated to lead a user through the
calibration procedure. The software offers a wide range of
calibration options to achieve the best possible accuracy for
a given connector scenario. Available calibrations include
a number of techniques based on the use of short (S), open
(O), load (L), reflect, and thru standards, including ESOLT,
QSOLT, SOLR, TRL/LRL/LRM/LSM, and MTRL. An extra
calibration step is needed to perform time-domain waveform
measurements to ensure absolute phase alignment. This part
of the calibration is performed across a bandwidth of inter-
est in fixed steps (e.g., 10 MHz), and one of the calibrated
frequencies must fall on the desired fundamental frequency
of the DUT in order to calibrate the VNA for harmonics as
well as the fundamental frequency.
The VectorStar’s use of active loop modules makes it pos-
sible to configure the test system for load-pull measurements of
differential devices. Since it is possible to actively monitor the
real-time impedance presented to the device, it is also possible
to actively and independently tune the input of the device to
specific phase positions. In the case of a differential device,
this means by adding a second leg to the device, it is now
possible to actively control the differential input and tune the
device under varying source and load conditions. Upgrading
to the differential configuration does not require additional
modifications or options to the VectorStar VNA.
The Anritsu/HFE nonlinear VNA system offers unique
nonlinear load-pull measurements in a flexible, powerful, yet
low-cost approach. It can be used to optimize the efficiency
of power amplifiers for emerging wireless communications
systems and offers an upgrade path that can be traveled in
increments, ultimately allowing multiharmonic active loop
nonlinear load pull measurement systems including true bal-
anced differential measurements. Anritsu Company, Americas
Sales Region Headquarters, 1155 East Vollins Boulevard, Suite
100, Richardson, TX 75081; (972) 644-1777, FAX: (972)
671-1877, Internet: www.us.anritsu.com/vs_mwf.

104 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

    
  

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 P O R TA B L E T E S T E R S

ProductTechnology

Industry Insight

Portable Testers
Provide Flexibility
Compact battery-powered portable test instruments and newer USB-
equipped test instruments are providing flexibility and cost savings over
larger, traditional benchtop RF/microwave test instruments.

JACK BROWNE achieves a displayed average 1. The model 2658A portable

Technical Director
noise level (DANL) of -127 spectrum analyzer weighs only
dBm. It includes a Univer- 1.8 kg but provides frequency
sal Serial Bus (USB) port to coverage from 50 kHz to 8.5

P
ortable RF/microwave
test equipment may
fall short in perfor-
mance compared to
their benchtop coun-
terparts, but they pro-
vide other benefits,
including adding test
power in places that larger gear won’t
go. This survey samples available por-
table high-frequency test instruments
and how they are being used in tradi-
tional and some novel applications.
Perhaps one of the most popular of
portable RF/microwave test instruments
is the spectrum analyzer. Many weigh
just a few pounds, including battery, but
incorporate features and performance
approaching benchtop units.
The model 2658A portable spectrum
analyzer from B&K Precision (www.
bkprecision.com), for example, weighs
only 1.8 kg (4 lbs.), but fits comfortably
in one hand and operates for about 4
hours on a battery charge. The com-
pact analyzer (Fig. 1) covers 50 kHz to
8 GHz and shows signal information
on a color thin-film-transistor (TFT)
liquid-crystal-display (LCD) screen
with 640 x 480 pixel resolution. The
analyzer has phase noise of -90 dBc/
Hz offset 100 kHz from the carrier and
transfer data to a personal
computer, and has an auto
tune feature that automati-
cally tunes to the largest sig-
nal in its measurement range.
Automatic measurements
include adjacent-channel
power (ACP), occupied
bandwidth (OBW), and electric and
magnetic field strength.
The N9340B handheld RF spectrum
analyzer from Agilent Technologies
(www.agilent.com) features a 6.5-in.
TFT color LCD as well as Ethernet
LAN and USB interfaces. It operates
from 100 kHz to 3 GHz with 10-ms
sweep time and can run 4 hours on its
rechargeable battery. It delivers a third-
order intercept of +10 dBm with -144
dBm DANL when using an optional
3-GHz preamplifier. In addition, an
optional 3-GHz tracking generator
allows scalar-network-analyzer type
measurements on coaxial cables and
other transmission lines. The portable
analyzer provides several one-button
measurements for ease of use in the
field, including channel power, ACPR,
and OBW. With its recent acquisition of
products and technology from Keithley
Instruments, Agilent has added the
latter’s popular model 3500 RF power
GHz. (Photo courtesy of B&K
Precision Corp., www.bkpreci-
sion.com.)
meter to its mix of portable
RF/microwave test tools.
The 3500 covers 10 MHz
to 6 GHz with an integrated
power sensor providing a power mea-
surement range of -63 to +20 dBm.
The absolute accuracy of the handheld
power meter is as good as ±0.21 dB. It
includes an internal power reference
and USB port for data transfer to a
personal computer.
The model 9103 handheld spectrum
analyzer from Willtek (www.willtek.
com) can perform scalar network analy-
sis and spectrum analysis from 100 kHz
to 7.5 GHz and resolution bandwidth
(RBW) as fine as 1 kHz. It is suitable
for antenna measurements and EMC
pre-qualification tests and, with its
optional tracking generator, it can per-
form cable measurements. Additional
portable spectrum analyzers include
the 10-kHz-to-6-GHz model FSH3-03
from Rohde & Schwarz (www.rohde-
schwarz.com), the 10-MHz-to-8-GHz
model HF-6080 from Spectran (www.
spectran.com), and the Spectrum Master
series of instruments from Anritsu Co.

106 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 2 W &5 W
DC to18 GHz ATTENUATORS
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COMPLIANT

40TH ®
ANNIVERSARY
1969-2009 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
TM P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine finds the model you need, Instantly • For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS 331 rev M
 P O R TA B L E T E S T E R S

ProductTechnology

(www.us.anritsu.com), cessing power for con- AnaPico AG (www.anapico.com)

with models covering trol and monitor for offers several battery-powered portable
100 kHz to 3 GHz, 9 its display capabilities, signal generators, including the model
kHz to 7.1 GHz, 9 kHz essentially containing APSIN3000 with frequency range of 9
to 13 GHz, and 9 kHz the RF circuitry needed kHz to 3.3 GHz, and the newer model
to 20 GHz. to provide key mea- APSIN6000, with coverage of 9 kHz
In support of LTE surement functions, to 6.4 GHz. Both units feature level
measurements, Anritsu such as power mea- uncertainty of better than 1 dB for an
recently announced surements or signal output range of -100 to +13 dBm. The
optional LTE capabil- generation. The Lab switching time between frequencies is
ity for its MS272xB Brick line of signal 1 ms while the phase noise is -130 dBc/
Spectrum Master 2. The Lab Brick line of signal genera- generators (Fig. 2) from Hz offset 20 kHz from a 1-GHz carrier
portable spectrum tors includes models covering a total Vaunix Technology and -115 dBc/Hz offset 20 kHz from
analyzer, as well as range of 50 to 6000 MHz in a package Corp. (www.LabBrick. a 5-GHz carrier. The signal genera-
for its MT8222A and measuring just 124 x 80 x 40 mm. com) includes models tors include a rechargeable battery and
MT8221B BTS Mas- (Photo courtesy of Vaunix Technology covering a total range provide 0.001-Hz frequency resolution
ter handheld analyzers. Corp., www.LabBrick.com.) of 50 to 6000 MHz in a as well as amplitude modulation (AM),
The LTE RF measure- package measuring just frequency modulation (FM), phase mod-
ment option allows users to accurately 124 x 80 x 40 mm. The LSG-602, for ulation, and pulse modulation.
and quickly analyze the spectrum for example, operates from 1500 to 6000 For USB power measurements, Lady-
interference and spectral compliance, as MHz with fixed-frequency, stepped- Bug Technologies (www.ladybug-tech.
well as conduct OBW and ACLR tests. frequency, and single-sweep modes of com) was a winner of a 2009 Top Prod-
An LTE modulation quality measure- operation. It provides a stan- uct of the Year from Microwaves & RF
ment option allows error-vector-magni- dard output range of +10 for its PowerSensor+ power
tude (EVM), frequency error, and control to -45 dBm and fre- meters/sensors. The
channel power tests to be performed on quency resolution combination sen-
LTE infrastructure equipment. of 100 kHz. The sors and power
The iHA Companion from Summitek phase noise is -75 meters measure
Instruments (www.SummitekInstru- dBc/Hz offset 10 only 1.60 x 2.25
ments.com) is one of the more unique kHz from the car- 3. Model in., yet can provide
portable instruments, designed to pro- rier and -95 dBc/ MBS-8000 is a power measurements
vide passive intermodulation (PIM) Hz offset 100 kHz portable synthesized over a frequency range
testing at a cellular base transceiver from the carrier. signal generator that operates from 500 of 10 MHz to 26.5
station (BTS). Designed for custom fre- Spurious content to 8000 MHz in 100-kHz steps with bet- GHz. They can measure
quencies, such as 870 and 894 MHz, is typically -80 ter than 100 ms switching speed. (Photo the power levels of CW
the iHA Companion can identify major dBc and no greater courtesy of EM Research, www/emre- and pulsed signals over
sources of PIM at a base station, offering than -70 dBc. search.com.) a dynamic range of -60
a range of -83 to -153 dBc at 846 MHz The model to +20 dBm, as well as
when testing with two +33-dBm (2-W) MBS-8000 is a test signal generator from time-gated pulsed and peak measure-
tones. The measurement accuracy is ±3 EM Research (www.emresearch.com), ments, including measurements of pulse
dB at -153 dBm. The handheld instru- perhaps better known for its modular, repetition frequency (PRF), rise and fall
ment runs for 2 hours on a rechargeable embedded frequency synthesizers. The time, pulse width, duty cycle, and peak-
battery, measures 330 x 230 x 90 mm MBS-8000 (Fig. 2) spans 500 to 8000 to-average power ratio.
and weighs 5 kg. It is automatically MHz in 100-kHz steps with better than Another source for USB power mea-
calibrated when powered on. 100 ms switching speed. The miniature surements is Mini-Circuits, with its
Portable instrumentation used to signal generator delivers +7 dBm output model PWR-SEN-6G+ power sensor and
imply test gear with a lightweight hous- power with phase noise of -95 dBc/Hz associated power data analysis software.
ing with a battery. But an increasing or better offset 100 kHz from an 8-GHz It covers a frequency range of 1 to 6000
number of portable instruments are carrier. It draws 230 mA current from a MHz and a power measurement range of
being equipped with USB ports, so that +5-VDC supply. It can operate from an -30 to +20 dBm. The software provides
they can be easily transported, and then internal or external 10-MHz reference support for as many as 16 sensors and
powered by a USB hub or a laptop com- source. It measures just 3.5 x 2.5 x 0.6 is compatible with Visual Basic, C++,
puter with a USB port. These compact in. and is controlled by means of a 21-pin and LabView software from National
instruments leverage the computer’s pro- male Micro-Mini-D connector. Instruments (www.ni.com).

108 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

Stretching Technology
Generates Revolutionary Oscillator Products
Phase Noise Measurement
2-18 GHz and 2-20 GHz frequency coverage is now 0
available in fundamental (continuous single band unit) -20
and switched band products. Micro Lambda Wireless, Inc. -40
MLXB & MLXS Series
introduces two new oscillator model series that provide -60
Noise (dBc/Hz) SSB

excellent phase noise performance over the 2-18 GHz and -80
2-20 GHz bands. -100
MLXS-T Series
-120
-140
MLXB & MLXS- Series Low Noise Fundamental
-160
(Continuous Single Band Unit) YIG-Tuned Oscillators
-180
covering 2-18 GHz and 2-20 GHz -200
10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 5 10 6
1.25” cube and 1.75” cylinder packages offer +12 to +13 dBm Frequency (Hz)
power output levels and operate over the 0° to +65°C
commercial temperature range. Phase noise at 100 kHz
offset is -112 dBc/Hz at 18 GHz and -107 dBc/Hz at 20 GHz. www.microlambdawireless.com
MLXS-T Series Low Noise Switched Band YIG-Tuned
Oscillators covering 2-18 GHz and 2-20 GHz
2.0” cylinder packages provide +13 to +14 dBm power
output levels and operate over the 0° to +65°C commercial
temperature range. Phase noise at 100 kHz offset of
-123 dBc/Hz is provided for all models “Look to the leader in YIG-Technology”

46515 Landing Parkway, Fremont CA 94538 4 (510) 770-9221 4 sales@microlambdawireless.com

 LT E T E S T E R S

ProductTechnology

Product Trends

LTE Challenges
Test Gear Suppliers
The demanding requirements of LTE networks in terms of advanced modu-
lation and MIMO techniques has pushed test suppliers to develop flexible,
software-based environments for testing infrastructure and mobile units.

time-division-duplex (TDD) systems.

JACK BROWNE
Technical Director Add the fact that LTE is an evolving
standard, and test equipment man-
ufacturers have their hands full. In

L
ong Term Evolution (LTE)
wireless networks pose some
challenges for test equipment
suppliers. The LTE air inter-
face, as defined by Release
8 of the Third Generation
Partnership Program (3GPP), employs
orthogonal frequency-division-multi-
ple-access (OFDMA) techniques in the
downlink and single-carrier-frequency-
division-multiple-access (SC-FDMA)
methods in the uplink along with mul-
tiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO)
antenna configurations to maximize
data transfers. For test solution pro-
viders, the air interface represents an
advanced measurement problem.
LTE networks are designed to oper-
ate around 700 to 3000 MHz, with
IP-based data packets supporting all
(voice, data, and video) services. The
bandwidth allocations are flexible; in
addition, each cell can be scaled for
bandwidths of 1.5 to 20.0 MHz. By
using OFDMA, available bandwidth
is divided among multiple subcarriers
using a variety of modulation formats,
including quadrature phase shift keying
(QPSK), 16-state quadrature amplitude
modulation (16QAM), and 64-state
QAM (64QAM). LTE systems can also
be configured as paired frequency-
division-duplex (FDD) or unpaired
some cases, test equipment for general-
purpose use can be adapted for LTE
testing with the proper software. For
example, the model N9030A PXA vec-
tor signal analyzer (VSA) from Agi-
lent Technologies (www.agilent.com)
with model 89600 VSA LTE FDD and
LTE TDD software can apply its 140-
MHz maximum analysis bandwidth
to LTE networks. The VSA (see figure)
is available in various models cover-
ing a total frequency range of 3 Hz to
26.5 GHz.
Similarly, the MS269xA series of
signal analyzers from Anritsu (www.
us.anritsu.com) offer a standard analy-
sis bandwidth of 31.25 MHz that can
be extended to 125 MHz with options.
Four models in the series cover a total
range of 50 Hz to 26.5 GHz.
AT4 wireless (www.at4wireless.
com) has developed its E2010 Broad-
band Wireless Test Set as a flexible
measurement system for wireless net-
works based on multiple radio access
technologies (RATs), including LTE
and WiMAX systems. The one-box
solutions employ a software-defined-
radio (SDR) configuration to change
measurement personalities.
The TM500 TDLTE test system
from Aeroflex (www.aeroflex.com)
supports measurements on TDD LTE
The model N9030A PXA VSA offers analysis
bandwidths as wide as 140 MHz across a fre-
quency range of 3 Hz to 26.5 GHz.
infrastructure equipment, notably under
development in China. It can handle
MIMO architectures and 20-MHz
analysis bandwidth and coexist in the
same unit as the firm’s TM500 LTE-
FDD test solution for measurements
on FDD-based LTE systems.
Rohde & Schwarz (www.rohde-
schwarz.com) offers a variety of test
solutions aimed at LTE, including its
R&S CMW5500 HSPA+ and LTE pro-
tocol tester. For mobile units and infra-
structure testing, the company’s R&S
SMU200A vector signal generator (VSG)
is available in models covering a total
range of 100 kHz to 6 GHz. The firm’s
R&S TS8980 LTE RF mobile test systems
covers from 400 MHz to 3 GHz.
The growing number of LTE test
solution providers includes Tektronix
(www.tektronix.com), with its real-time
spectrum analyzers (RSAs), Keithley Instru-
ments, with RF VSG and VSA products
recently acquired by Agilent, and OSS
Nokalva (www.oss.com), with its S1 and
X2 Protocol Stacks, UE Protocol Stack,
and LTE-1Step testing and analysis tool.

110 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 R F I C D E S I G N S O F T WA R E
ProductTechnology
Upgraded CAE Software
Simulates RFIC Designs
Version 4.4 of the GoldenGate software aids designers of mixed-signal
RFICs with new stability and noise analysis capabilities as well as powerful
yield analysis for optimizing a design and its production process.
JACK BROWNE
Technical Director
L
ow-cost wireless products
rely on the timely design and
cost-effective production of
radio-frequency integrated
circuits (RFICs). To help that
cause, Agilent Technologies
(www.agilent.com) has released version
4.4 of its GoldenGate RFIC simulation,
verification, and analysis software with
new capabilities in RF mixed-signal
simulation. This latest version of the
computer-aided-engineering (CAE)
software supports stability and yield
analysis as well as wireless-standards-
based virtual test-bench capabilities.
The GoldenGate software solution
is designed to run within the Cadence
Virtuoso design flow from Cadence
Design Systems (www.cadence.com). In
addition to GoldenGate, Agilent’s RFIC
EDA often involve a variety of other
electronic-design-automation (EDA)
tools from Agilent, including the firm’s
Momentum three-dimensional (3D)
planar electromagnetic (EM) simula-
tion software, the Ptolemy Wireless Test
Benches for system-level verification
of RFICs, and the company’s popular
Advanced Design System (ADS) and its
Data Display capabilities (see figure).
GoldenGate is fully compatible with
Cadence IC5 and IC6 platforms.
112
According to Paul Colestock, Product
Planning and Marketing Manager with
Agilent’s EEsof EDA organization, the
software is designed to aid RF designers
grappling with even the most complex RF
mixed-signal architectures: “Advanced
node RFIC design makes you rethink
what’s important from a simulation
point of view. GoldenGate version 4.4
delivers improvements for just about
every important aspect of RFIC design in
advanced CMOS technology nodes.”
On a standard PC with quad-core
microprocessor and 32 GB of random-
access memory (RAM), version 4.4 of
GoldenGate runs with twice the process-
ing speed of earlier versions for harmon-
ic-balance (periodic-steady-state) analy-
sis. The software can perform periodic
steady-state based stability analysis for
oscillators and other RF-driven circuits
to check for instability when operating
under large-signal conditions. In addi-
tion, it can check on the effects of dif-
ferent factors on yield at any stage in an
RFIC design. This type of yield analysis
is not possible with traditional Monte
visit www.mwrf.com
Fast and accurate yield analysis
is among the many new capa-
bilities within Version 4.4 of the
GoldenGate mixed-signal RFIC
design, analysis, and verifica-
tion software.
Carlo simulation methods.
While a variety of techniques, such as
DC-based and small-signal S-parameter
methods, can be used to perform small-
signal stability analysis, transient analy-
sis is often used for large-signal stability
analysis, even though this can result
in long simulation times. To increase
efficiency, GoldenGate 4.4 employs
periodic steady-state stability analysis
using harmonic balance and Nyquist
and Eigenvalue stability analyses.
GoldenGate 4.4 improvements in
wireless design include new wireless test
benches tied to communications stan-
dards. Verification test bench libraries
consist of appropriate simulator settings,
standards-based or custom-modulated
RF/baseband sources, baseband algo-
rithmic data-processing sinks, and Data
Display visualization templates. Over a
dozen wireless verification libraries are
available. Agilent Technologies, 5301
Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara, CA
95051; (877) 424-4536, (408) 345-
8886, FAX: (408) 345-8474, Internet:
www.agilent.com.
JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
The spirit of innovation knows no bounds.
Let us help you embrace the endless possibilities. Intercept's superior RF, Hybrid, and PCB design
software gives you total design flexibility from analysis to layout to manufacturing. Our RF solution
includes bidirectional analysis interfaces, parametric RF models, a parametric model route mode
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Visit us at www.intercept.com to learn more about how we can drive your next innovation.

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©2010 Intercept Technology, Inc.

 C O M PAC T S I G N A L G E N E R ATO R
ProductTechnology
Signal Generator
Ranges To 20 GHz
This low-cost synthesized signal generator provides clean, high-level
output signals without the complex modulation formats and complicated
control interfaces of more expensive test signal sources.
JACK BROWNE
Technical Director
! 
'
!
! &
'
!
! 
'
!
!
T
esting microwave compo-
nents usually calls for a high-
quality signal source. The
model HMC-T2100 synthe-
sized signal generator from
Hittite Microwave Corp.
(www.hittite.com) provides reliable,
accurate test signals from 10 MHz to
20 GHz. It can be used for CW, swept-
!
frequency, and swept-power testing
using its front-panel controls or a choice
of programming interfaces.
The HMC-T2100 signal generator
(Fig. 1) is designed to generate clean
output signals without undue fuss
or unneeded modulation. It does not
provide amplitude modulation (AM),
frequency modulation (FM), or pulse
1. The HMC-T2100 signal
generator provides a low-cost
alternative for high-quality test signals from
10 MHz to 20 GHz.
114
modulation like #
&
(
many of its more
# 
'
expensive compet- &
'
itors. But it does

$
# 
deliver low-noise
CW output signals
#
to 20 GHz, tun-
able with 10-kHz
#
resolution at out-
put levels to +27
#
dBm. The source’s
output levels can
#
be adjusted over % %      
"
 $
a 40-dB dynamic
range, from -17 2. The HMC-T2100 delivers consistently good SSB phase-noise perfor-
to +27 dBm, in mance at all carriers, dropping to a noise floor of -150 dBc/Hz or better.
0.1-dB steps. Out-
put signals are what one might expect Setting up the HMC-T2100 in
from a test signal generator costing con- an automatic-test-equipment (ATE)
siderably more, with harmonic content application is straightforward. Each
held to -39 dBc at 1 GHz and spurious HMC-T2100 is supplied with instru-
levels controlled to -65 dBc at 10 GHz. ment drivers as well as LabWindows
The single-sideband (SSB) phase noise graphical-user-interface (GUI) software.
is a respectable -113 dBc/Hz offset 100 For more advanced requirements, multi-
kHz from a 1-GHz carrier, dropping to ple HMC-T2100 units can be integrated
a noise floor that is at or below -150 within a single environment.
dBc/Hz for all carriers (Fig. 2). At just 7 lbs. (3.2 kg), the HMC-T2100
With switching speed of 300 μs, the is light enough to easily move around
HMC-T2100 can execute a broadband a laboratory or production facility for
frequency sweep quickly, meeting the spot testing. In addition, a rack-mount
needs of most production environments. kit is available to simplify integration
In addition to the front-panel controls, into an ATE system. P&A: $7998.00;
the HMC-T2100 includes Universal stock. Hittite Microwave Corp., 20
Serial Bus (USB), GPIB, and Ethernet Alpha Rd., Chelmsford, MA 01824;
interfaces for flexibility in setting up a (978) 250-3343, FAX: (978) 250-3373,
test system with remote control. Internet: www.hittite.com.
visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF
 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

32 Reasons
why IMS2010 l i f orn ia
im, C a
See you in
A n a h e
FOR IMS2010
MTT-S IMS2010 Steering committee members are
working hard to provide the Microwave/RF industry a
fresh new look in 2010. With 32 technical areas, our
goal is to reach out and present new technologies and
applications with significant advancements.
These Technical Topics cover the areas of Microwave
Field and Circuit Techniques; Passive RF and Microwave
Components; Active RF and Microwave Components; RF
and Microwave Systems and Applications and of course
Emerging Technologies.
Did we mention exhibits? Visit the exhibition where
industry leaders are presenting their latest products and
services. Don’t just read about new products, come out
and see them!

y our visit. To see what is new a

rd t o t IMS
r wa 2010
, visi
k fo t ww
e loo w.IM
S 2010.
W

o r g.

Official Media Source

Media Partners: of the MTT Society: May 23-28, 2010
IMS2010 I Anaheim Convention Center
 MICROWAVES
MICROWAVES&&RF
RFDIRECT
DIRECTCONNECTION
CONNECTIONADS
ADS
T O A DV
D V E R TI SSE
E I N THI S S ECTI ON, C ALL JOANNE REPPAS (201) 666-6698
RF Amplifiers, Isolators and
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 Super Low Noise RF

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 Broadband low noise
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 Input PIN diode
Protected low noise
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 General Purpose
Gain Block Amplifiers
 High power RF amplifiers and broadband power
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 RF isolators and
circulators
 High power coaxial
and waveguide
terminations
 High power coaxial
attenuators

Wenteq Microwave Corporation

735 West Duarte Road, Suite 401, Arcadia, CA 91007
Phone: (626) 821-9118, Fax: (626) 602-3101
Email: sales@wenteq.com, Website: www.wenteq.com

Wenteq Microwave Corp. Advanced Switch Technology

RF Bay, Inc.

10GHz Divide-by 13 Prescaler 850-950MHz 10W Power Amplifier 100KHz - 10GHz RF Amplifier
s,OW.OISE!MPLIlER s6OLTAGE#ONTROL/SCILLATOR
s0OWER!MPLIlER s0HASE,OCKED/SCILLATOR
s&REQUENCY$IVIDER s5P$OWN#ONVERTER
s&REQUENCY$OUBLER s2&0OWER$ETECTOR
s&REQUENCY-IXER s2&3WITCHES
RF Bay, Inc.
15825 Shady Grove Road, Suite 190, Rockville, MD 20850
Tel: (301) 880-0921, Fax: (301) 560-8007, Mobile: (240) 645-8591
Email: sales@rfbayinc.com, Website: www.rfbayinc.com
KR Elecontronics, Inc. RF Bay, Inc.

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 Citel, Inc.

116 JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 MICROWAVES & RF DIRECT CONNECTION ADS
T O A D V E R TI SE I N THI S S ECTI ON, C ALL JOANNE REPPAS (201) 666-6698

Reach new heights…

Innovation – Teamwork – Solutions!
COBHAM Sensor Systems, San Diego
is a leading provider of RF and microwave
products for the defense and space industry.
Make an impact and join our team!
RF/MICROWAVE ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERS
PROGRAM MANAGERS
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Please email resumes to:
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Visit:
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click on “careers” on left-hand side
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Tel: (805) 523-2390 Fax: (805) 529-0892
E-mail: williams@wilmanco.com

Wilmanco COBHAM Sensor Systems

New Modco MCR

Series Ceramic
Resonator VCO
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
Modco, Inc. KS Electronics

Microwaves & RF ■ JANUARY 2010 117

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

20 09
EM BE R

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D EC

 
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09 /2010
The Industtro
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PDD 20
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09/ 2010 n u f a ct u r O
QBHFT
6-7
Ma oducts

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Product Da
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& Pr O
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53, 93

4FF
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151
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Applied Interconnect O
QBHF

4FF
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Material Testers
4FF
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O
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30-34
Measure , μ, Insertion loss

4FF
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83-90

4FF
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43-46

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Model 1000T

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/0 
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4FF
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Calibration Standards

% FD FN

Holders for Solids, Liquids &

CF S
 

Thin Shielding Materials

MU-EPSLN™ software


www.damaskosinc.com
(610)358-0200 fax(610)558-1019
Damaskoss, Inc.
Your Online Resource
For RF and Microwave Products and Manufacturers
Dudley Lab
RF Amplifiers .01 to 40 GHz
+10dBm to 2,000 Watts
Hughes TWTA 1.0 to 40 GHz
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MCL Klystron 12.7 to 14.5 GHz
Solid State 0.01 to 18 GHz
www.dudleylab.com/surplus.html
e-mail: hdudley@dudleylab.com
732-240-6895 NJ
Dudley Lab
Electronic engineers typically create designs that require hundreds and, some-
times, thousands of different components from a wide range of suppliers. Finding
the optimum components for a design from a reliable vendor can be an exercise
in futility without the proper research tools. And one of the most important refer-
ence sources is the online version of the Microwaves & RF Product Data Direc-
tory, at www.mwrfpdd.com.
This powerful website and search engine offers thousands of high-frequency
manufacturers, searchable by means of more than 500 different product cat-
egories, from amplifiers to wire. The site provides access to names, addresses,
telephone numbers, FAX numbers, e-mail addresses, and even provides active
links to key suppliers.
Take a few minutes to set up your user file at www.mwrfpdd.com. After that,
you’ll be able to log on in second by just entering your telephone number. While
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If you need a part, you’ll find it at:
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118 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

 infocenter
Advertiser Website, E-Mail Address  Page Advertiser Website, E-Mail Address  Page
A Microhard Systems, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . www.microhardcorp.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Advanced Switch Technology . . . . . . . www.astswitch.com, email: info@astswitch.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Microsemi Corp - Power Products Group www.microsemi.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Aeroflex / Inmet, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.aeroflex.com/inmet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Aeroflex / Weinschel, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . www.aeroflex.com/weinschel, Microtool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.microtoolinc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
email:weinschel-sales@aeroflex.com" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Agilent Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.agilent.com/fi nd/fastCXA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Analog Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.analog.com/BroadbandRF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Anaren Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.anaren.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COV 4 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Applied Computational Sciences. . . . . www.appliedmicrowave.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Applied Interconnect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.onlinecables.com , email: sales@onlinecables.com . . . . . . 118 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
AR Worldwide-Modular RF. . . . . . . . . . www.ar-worldwide.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Aries Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.arieselec.com, email: info@arieselec.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
ARRA, INC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.arra.com, email: sales@arra.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COV 3 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
AWR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.awrcorp.com/mwo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
B Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Bowei Integrated Circuits, Inc. . . . . . . www.cn-bowei.com, email: cjian@cn-bowei.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
C Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
CIAO Wireless, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ciaowireless.com, email: sales@ciaowireless.com . . . . . . . . . 8
Citel America, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.citel.us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Cobham Sensor Systems . . . . . . . . . . . www.remecrds.com, email: gabi.shute@cobham.com. . . . . . . . . 117 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Coilcraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.coilcraft.com, email: info@coilcraft.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Mini Circuits/Sci Components. . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31
CST of America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.cst.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Mini Circuits/Sci Components . . . . . . . www.minicircuits.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15
D MITEQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.miteq.com, email: components@miteq.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Daico Industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.daico.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Damaskos, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.damaskosinc.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 MITEQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.miteq.com, email: components@miteq.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
dBm, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.dbmcorp.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 MITEQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.miteq.com, email: components@miteq.com. . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Diamond Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.diamondeng.net, email: sales@diamondeng.com. . . . . . . . 32 Modco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.modcoinc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Digi-Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.digikey.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Dow Key Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.dowkey.com, email:dkm@dowkey.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 N
Dudley Labs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.dudleylab.com/surplus.html, Narda An L-3 Communications . . . . . . www.nardamicrowave.com, email: nardaeast@L-3com.com . . . . . 3
email: hdudley@dudleylab.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Nexyn Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.nexyn.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
E O
Electro Technik Industries . . . . . . . . . . www.electrotechnik.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 OE Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.oewaves.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
* EM Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.emresearch.com Omniyig Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.omniyig.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
email: sales@emresearch.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COV 4
EMI Filter Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.emifiltercompany.com, P
email: miker@emifiltercompany.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Peregine Semiconductor. . . . . . . . . . . www.psemi.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Empower RF Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.empowerrf.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Phase Matrix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.phasematrix.com, email: sales@phasematrix.com. . . . . . . . 43
ET Industries Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.etiworld.com, email: sales@etiworld.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Polyfet RF Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.polyfet.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
F Programmed Test Sources. . . . . . . . . . www.programmedtest.com,
Fairview Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.fairviewmicrowave.com, email: sales@programmedtest.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
email: sales@fairviewmicrowave.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
G R
Greenray Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . www.greenrayindustries.com, RF Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rfbayinc.com, email: sales@rfbayinc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
email: sales@greenrayindustries.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 RF Depot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rfdepot.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
H RFMD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rfmd.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Herotek Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.herotek.com, email: sales@herotek.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 RFMW Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rfmw.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Hittite Microwave Corporation. . . . . . www.hittite.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Richardson Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rell.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Hittite Microwave Corporation. . . . . . www.hittite.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 * RLC Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rlcelectronics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S3
Hittite Microwave Corporation. . . . . . www.hittite.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Hittite Microwave Corporation. . . . . . www.hubersuhner.com, email: info@hubersuhner.com . . . . . . . . 55 S
I Skyworks Solutions, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . www.skyworksinc.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Insulated Wire, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.iw-microwave.com, email: sales@iw-microwave.com. . . . . 51 Spectrum Electrotechnik. . . . . . . . . . . www.spectrum-et.com, email: sales@spectrum-et.com. . . . . . . . 77
Intercept Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.intercept.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Synergy Microwave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.synergymwave.com, email: sales@synergymwave.com . . . 79
J Synergy Microwave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.synergymwave.com, email: sales@synergymwave.com . . . 93
JFW Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.jfwindustries.com, email: sales@jfwindustries.com. . . . . . . 13 Synergy Microwave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.synergymwave.com, email: sales@synergymwave.com . . 111
K T
KR Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.krfilters.com, email: sales@krfilters.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Teledyne Cougar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.teledyne-cougar.com, email: amp@teledyne.com. . . . . . . . 46
Krytar, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.krytar.com, email: sales@krytar.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
KS Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.kselectronics.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 TTE Incorporated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.tte.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
L V
Lansdale Semiconductor, Inc. . . . . . . . www.lansdale.com, email: sales@lansdale.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 VMR Electronics LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vmrelectronics.com, email: sales@vmrelectronics.com. . . . . 2
Linear Technology Corporation. . . . . . www.linear.com/5538. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 W
Linx Technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.linxtechnologies.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
WL Gore & Associates, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . www.gore.com/mwrf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
M Waveline Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wavelineinc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
MP Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ims2010.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
M/A-COM Technology Solutions, Inc.. www.macomtech.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COV 2 Wenteq Microwave Corporation. . . . . www.wenteq.com, email: sales@wenteq.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Marki Microwave, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.markimicrowave.com, email: info@markimicrowave.com. 12 Wilmanco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wilmanco.com, email: williams@wilmanco.com. . . . . . . . . 117
Maury Microwave, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.maurymw.com, email: maury@maurymw.com. . . . . . . . . . 91
Meca Electronics, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.e-meca.com, email: sales@e-meca.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Micro Lambda Wireless, Inc. . . . . . . . . www.microlambdawireless.com, *Focus Supplement- Domestic Edition Only
email: sales@microlamdawireless.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 This index is provided as an additional service by the publisher, who assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
Micro-Coax Components . . . . . . . . . . . www.micro-coax.com/testcables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
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january 2010 n Microwaves & RF  119

001MRF_Infocenter.indd 119 1/12/10 3:49:17 PM

 editor’s choice

Electro-Absorption Modulator Reaches 60 GHz

PHOTONICS INNOVATIONS are behind the release of a
combined modulation and photodetection transducer
that can work to 60 GHz. The device, dubbed the 60G-R-
EAM-1550, exhibits just 3.6 dB insertion loss. It provides
digital optical modulation at 50 Gb/s and RF modula-
tion over its bandwidth. In terms of photodetection,
the transducer offers 1.0 A/W responsivity and 43 GHz
bandwidth. The 60G-R-EAM-1550, designed for use
with a laser diode source, operates within the 1550-nm
band with a low chirp parameter. The combination of
modulation and photodetection in a single device means
that both up and downlinks can be duplexed over a single
fiber. This reflective electro-absorption modulator strives
to satisfy the need for a low-insertion-loss, low-drive-volt-
age optical modulator in applications like remote anten-
nas and radio over fiber. It is especially suitable for the
28-GHz Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS)
band as well as experimental and research work in bands
to 60 GHz. The standard package with RF connectors is
suitable for use with external RF components and drivers.
Customer-specified variants can be provided on request.
CIP Technologies, Phoenix House, Adastral Park, Martlesham Heath,
Ipswich IP5 3RE UK; +44 (0)1473 663210, FAX: +44 (0)1473 663295,
Internet: www.ciphotonics.com.

Cable Assemblies Attenuate EMI Shielding Maintains Strength In Harsh Conditions

0.22 dB/ft. At 18 GHz
THE LL335 SERIES of extremely low-loss
cable assemblies features attenuation of
0.22 dB/ft. at 18 GHz. The 0.335-in. cable
assemblies achieve typical attenuation of
0.048 dB/ft. at 1 GHz and 0.17 dB/ft. at 10
GHz. They can handle 1800 W CW input
power at 1 GHz and 600 W CW input
power at 10 GHz. The cable assemblies
offer shielding effectiveness of greater than
95 dB with a low coefficient of thermal
TO MAINTAIN STRENGTH at elevated temperatures and under cryogenic con-
ditions, new tubular braided electromagnetic-interference (EMI) shielding
combines the conductivity of an outer metal coating with the strength, light
weight, and flexibility of genuine KEVLAR fibers. Dubbed ARACON, it
comes in standard inner-diameter sizes ranging from 0.62 to 2.00 in. When
braided into a shield, it vows to provide impressive performance against EM
and RF interference. The conductors of ARACON are made up of many
very fine fibers—just 16 μm in diameter—that are twisted together into a
yarn. These metal-clad fibers are aromatic polyamides. Their structure gives
ARACON a combination of very high tensile strength, chemical resistance,
and thermal stability. The specific gravity of aramid fibers is only 1.44 g/
cm3 compared to copper at 8.9 g/cm3. Even with the addition of metal coat-
ings, the specific gravity of ARACON fibers ranges from 3 to 5 g/cm3. At
the same time, the tensile strength of the aramid core (350 ksi) is from 3X to
10X higher than that of traditional or high-strength copper cores (35 to 95
ksi). Strands from 38 AWG to larger than 24 AWG can be made from single
or multiple bundles of ARACON. Fiber resistance can be tailored from 100
to greater than 500,000 Ω per 1000 ft.
Micro-Coax, 206 Jones Blvd., Pottstown, PA 19464-3465; (610) 495-0110, FAX: (610) 495-
6656, Internet: www.micro-coax.com.

expansion from −55° to +200°C, thereby Frequency Synthesizer Acts

ensuring that attenuation and phase per-
formance remain stable over time and
temperature. They provide a minimum
bend radius of 1.7 in. Available in custom
lengths with outer cable diameters of 0.195
and 0.335 in., the cables feature custom
connectors with rugged stainless-steel,
solder-clamp construction for optimum
reliability and performance. Assemblies are
available with a wide range of connector
choices including SMA, Type N, and TNC
connectors.
Electronic Assembly Manufacturing (EAM), Inc.,
126 Merrimack St., Methuen, MA 01844; (978)
374-6840, FAX: (978) 374-6375, Internet: www.
eamcableassemblies.com.
As Broadband Signal Generator
TO SERVE A VARIETY of applications requiring a portable test source, the
MBS-8000 broadband RF signal generator covers 500 to 8000 MHz.
The unit tunes in 100-kHz steps with better than 10 ms switching speed.
It utilizes a 10-MHz external or internal reference. The MBS-8000
operates from +5 VDC at 230 mA. From −30° to +70°C, it features
+7 dBm output power and less than −95 dBc/Hz phase noise offset 100
kHz from an 8-GHz carrier. The 3.5-x-2.5-x-0.6-in. signal generator
has female SMA connectors on the reference and RF input/output (I/O)
ports. The programming connector is a Micro-Mini-D, 21-Pin male. The
unit includes a graphical user interface (GUI) for laboratory or field-pro-
gramming via PC. It can be used in applications like portable RF signal
generators, electronic warfare, ATE, and software-defined radio.
EM Research, Inc., P.O. Box 10430, Reno, NV 89510-0430; (775) 345-2411, FAX: (775)
345-1030, Internet: www.emresearch.com.

120 visit www.mwrf.com JANUARY 2010 ■ Microwaves & RF

  
        
 
    
   

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