After many years of charting a solo course, in 2008 the RF & Hyper Europe trade show joined four others, running alongside l’Electronique, Mesurexpo, Opto and the Vision-Show. This year there were two more additions to the family for the three-day event as Espace Laser Paris and Forum Radiocoms were introduced.

All housed under one roof (the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center), the seven individual, yet interconnected trade shows made one large exhibition with separate designated floor areas. RF & Hyper Europe comprised 103 exhibitors, along with a designated Antennae Area and a meeting point for radio amateurs.

Alongside the exhibitions there was a program of conferences that dealt with several major themes, including electronics, EMC, metrology, RFID, test and measurement, radiocoms, vision, optics, etc., which were not categorized by trade show, but grouped by sector. Particular to RF & Hyper Europe and new for 2009 was a Packaging Area, focusing on packaging, microelectronics and interconnection. The EMC conferences were presented by AFCEM and there was also a conference on Intelligent Clothing organized by IETR Insa de Rennes.

RF & Hyper Europe 2009 remains an exhibition with a French core and focus that also embraces the rest of Europe and the global market. On the exhibition floor, mainstays of the industry, including test and measurement equipment, components, subassemblies, antennas and software manufacturers were prominent. Following is a taster of some of the products that were showcased at the show.M

The AMD-Group offered a European preview of its Linear L Band variable attenuator that covers the L band and provides attenuation between 0 and 50 dB, which is set by an adjustable resistor placed on the front panel or by a voltage between 0 and 5 V. It can be used on site to validate telecommunication systems and also has applications in the aerospace, military and defense and electronics industries. An optional USB programmable interface is also available. The company also announced an online webshop for its wide range of RF/ microwaves connectors.

AMESYS showed the FRL-540 high performance microwave receiver that covers the frequency range from 0.5 to 40 GHz with a step of 1 kHz. It is a low noise receiver with high dynamic range and low differential group delay that has been specially designed to match the quality required to demodulate the newest digital modulations with very high bit rate and number of states (i.e. : QAM, OFDM, etc).

The company also previewed the DI-BRIDGE, which is designed for satellite IP/DVB links interception and the 48 MHz-BW (ENRLB 48) wide band digital recorder that enables real-time acquisition, recording and replaying of up to 48 MHz BW analog signals on IF up to 200 MHz.

EM Test France showcased the NetWave single phase AC power source, specifically designed to meet the requirements of IEC/EN 61000-4-13, IEC/EN 61000-4-14, IEC/EN 61000-4-17, IEC/EN 61000-4-27 and IEC/EN 61000-4-28. It can also serve as a DC power source to cover the requirements of IEC/EN 61000-4-29 for voltage dips and interruptions on DC supplies.

The company also showed the ESD 30N Electrostatic Discharge Simulator up to 30 kV, which operates in accordance with IEC 61000-4-2 / ISO 10605 with one discharge module RCN 1 (61000-4-2) – 150pF/330 Ω or RCN 2 (ISO 10605) – 150pF/2000 Ω.

The Munich-based manufacturer GAUSS Instruments introduced the TDEMI 6G to its TDEMI family. The time-domain measurement instrument can be used for emission measurements from 9 kHz up to 6 GHz, which covers the measurement range required by the CISPR 22 for measurements of information technology equipment (computers, accessories etc.). The instrument processes the digital signal in real-time. By the digitalization and the FFT-based transformation into the frequency-domain the signal is processed at several thousand frequency points in parallel. Thereby a measurement can be performed up to 4000-times faster than with traditional RF test receivers, depending on the test setup.

ETS-Lingren launched a new series of omnidirectional biconical antennas, namely, models 3180, 3181, 3182 and 3183 for broadband spectrum monitoring. The omnidirectional radiation pattern means the antenna can receive signals from every direction around its axis. In addition, for Models 3180 and 3182, the elements have been optimized to avoid any splitting of the main radiation beam in the elevation cut.

These two models are designed to cover the traditional frequency range of EMC measurements, from 30 MHz to 1 GHz. The antennas also cover all of the VHF and UHF bands. Model 3181 is a ‘mini-bicon’ antenna designed primarily for CISPR-16 chamber characterization over the 500 MHz to18 GHz frequency range, while the 3183 is designed for CISPR 16 chamber characterization.

Jacques Dubois introduced Cemabsorb, a range of RF and microwave absorbers designed to reduce and absorb electromagnetic waves. They are designed to absorb a wide range of frequencies in applications as diverse as electronics, RFID tags, telecommunications, defense, radars, and satellite links. The company also introduced CEMTAPE, an EMI shielding tape available in rolls or cut-to-size, which combines ease of use with good EMC shielding and THERMOSILHEAT, a range of silicone-based thermoconductors that act as a thermal interface between an electronics component and a dissipating part.

The SR D02 Oven Controlled SAW Oscillator from Temex is designed for airborne applications. This Ultra Low Noise oscillator is housed in ruggedized packaging including vibration and shock absorbers in order to withstand the harsh environment of airborne radars. It is features an ultra low noise figure of -165 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz from the carrier and -181 dBc/Hz at noise floor for a 500 MHz output frequency.

Sema Industries, part of the Efinor Group outlined its electroforming process. It consists of depositing a thick coat of electrolytic copper around stainless steel or aluminum alloy cores to produce parts with complex, inner shapes that are difficult and sometimes impossible to achieve with conventional machining techniques, and which must have a perfect inner surface finish (deposits range from 2 to 8 mm).