Test & Measurement Channel - Leading Manufacturer News, Articles & Content

A Dynamic Approach to Synthesizer Design

New developments in direct digital synthesis-based synthesizer technology
Broadband synthesizers based on direct digital synthesis (DDS) technology have traditionally led the industry in frequency agility and switching performance, but have also led in high NRE and recurring costs. These high costs stem from the custom nature of DDS-based synthesizers and have resulted in digital synthesizers being primarily...
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Fast and Accurate High Power Device Characterization with a Microstrip SOL Method

High power device characterizations, performed with a microstrip short-open-load (SOL) calibration kit, are presented. This article demonstrates an interesting alternative to the classical through-reflect-line (TRL) method, when only terminating impeda...
Precise device characterization is the starting point of any good circuit design. This task can be particularly challenging when the device is a high power transistor having low input and output impedances. For devices working only under pulse conditions, specific test benches exist 1 but are rather complicated and...
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High Performance Comb Generator Multipliers

A new line of comb generator multiplier products is featured
A comb generator is a device with outputs that are multiple harmonics of an input signal. The output spectral tone lines are uniformly spaced at integer multiples of the input reference. A spectrum analyzer display of the output looks much like the teeth of a comb, which is how...
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Specification and Measurement of Local Oscillator Noise in Integrated Circuit Base Station Mixers

Residual phase noise from local oscillators can be degraded by additive noise of on-chip local oscillator (LO) drivers/buffers in integrated circuit mixers. Reciprocal mixing of strong RF signals with the LO noise degrades the receiver sensitivity. Spe...
Cellular base station receivers work in the presence of high level blockers/interferers while being required to sense weak signals of interest at the antenna. The interferers are usually rejected by filters but only at an intermediate frequency (IF) after the first down conversion. The LNA and mixer preceding the...
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An Enhanced 3D-TLM Solver

The main criterion when an EM engineer uses modeling and design packages is that it should enable him to meet his daily challenges of designing new products that work in their intended environment. This is now becoming a reality with the advent of the Micro-stripes Version 6.1 3D-EM modeling...
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Software for Creation of Custom Radar Pulse Patterns

Creating single-emitter pulse patterns for testing radar receivers is a complex, time-consuming process because of the extensive mathematics required, whether creating the initial waveform, modifying any of its characteristics such as pulse shaping and compression, or creating custom pulse patterns. A comprehensive software application called Signal Studio for Pulse...
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Precision Test Cable Assemblies to 40 GHz

The Accu-Test™ products are a family of precision cable assemblies that are designed for use in the DC to 40 GHz frequency range, intended to facilitate accurate measurements and exhibit low loss characteristics at a competitive price for precision test and measurement applications. The family is currently comprised of...
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Pulsed I-V for Nonlinear Modeling

Current-voltage characterization under suitably performed pulsed bias conditions can more closely approximate the dynamic behavior of transistors and diodes under large signal RF conditions. Some understanding of the basics and a relatively simple inst...
Accurate, nonlinear, active device models are critical to achieving design success for circuits such as power amplifiers, oscillators and mixers, using computer-aided engineering (CAE) software such as Agilent Technologies' Advanced Design System (ADS™), Applied Wave Research's Microwave Office™, Eagleware's Genesys™ or Ansoft's Serenade™. Prior work has made it clear...
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