Articles by Microwave Journal

Check out the new products in our Jan issue ranging from ICs to components to test/measurement equipment.  The Microwave Journal Buyer's Guide also offers a variety of vendors listed by product category.

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If you are a fan of John Wooden, the celebrated UCLA coach, you will know that he had more than his share of clever sayings.  My husband who played basketball all his life, and who went to college on a full-ride scholarship—nearly worships Coach Wooden.  For this reason, I have heard many of these wise and witty Wooden-isms over the years.  One that comes to mind is: “Be quick, but don’t hurry.”   With the speed of advancing technologies, we all have to be quick, but we cannot afford to hurry—or be hasty—putting revenue and market share opportunities at stake....
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Choosing a substrate material for use as the printed-circuit board (PCB) in a new design can be a stressful experience, unless it is a matter of sticking with that “tried-and-true” material that has worked so well in the past. But with ever-evolving and improving dielectric and laminate materials, and increasing demands to achieve high performance levels at reduced costs, most design engineers are wise to consider the cost-versus-performance benefits of different types of commercial PCB materials. Previous blogs have detailed how selecting a PCB material can be influenced by different performance requirements. This blog will explore the role that a computer-aided-design software tool plays in choosing the most suitable PCB material.

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The holidays are a time to share your favorite stories—so let’s hear yours!   From now until May 1 2012, tell us how you and your team have used Rogers’ materials to design your award-winning application in one of six categories: Best Digital Application, Under the Most Extreme Conditions, Most Challenging Board Build, Most Innovative Design, Longest Product Life and Most Unique and Creative Use of Material.  One winner will be selected from each category. Winners will be featured in a full-page ad with their story and team photo. Winners will also receive a  free  Ad in Microwave Journal for their company and a...
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Selecting a high-frequency PCB laminate from the many commercially available choices may sometimes seem like an impossible task. But it can be simplified by sorting materials by their key parameters, such as dielectric constant, dissipation factor, thermal conductivity, and CTE, and using those parameters to help match a material to an application. Of course, this also assumes confidence in the values of those key parameters as published by different materials suppliers, and such confidence comes from an understanding of the measurement methods used to determine the values of those key parameters.

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Selecting a PCB laminate for a high-frequency application is like picking a foundation for a new building: the strength of the whole project relies on the right choice. The previous blog introduced a strategy to help simplify the PCB laminate selection process, by relating the requirements of an application to laminate specifications. Each RF/microwave application is unique, with its own requirements. But at least one laminate will usually offer the right set of specifications to best meet those requirements.

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Before I begin my blog-rant, let me wish you and yours a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving!  While I hope you enjoy your holiday, and stuffing yourself with turkey, I wouldn’t want you to look like a turkey at work.  So, I thought I would share a bit of insight offered to me recently.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, my friend Michael Ingham of Spectrum Integrity and I recently spoke at PCB West, and co-authored a paper to discuss some of the challenges of RF/MW PCB Design and Fabrication.  Michael helped me to understand one of the...
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We want to hear from YOU! Tell us how Rogers’ materials helped you design your award-winning application and you could WIN! From now until May 1, 2012, The ACM ROG Contest is collecting entries in six categories: Best Digital Application, Most Extreme Conditions, Most Challenging Board Build, Most Innovative Design, Longest Product Life, and Most Unique and Creative Use of Material.  One winner will be selected from each category to receive: a full-page ad featuring  your story and team photo; a free Ad in Microwave Journal for your company; and a cool ROG Display Trophy. Winners will be announced...
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Previous blogs examined some of the key material parameters pertaining to high-frequency laminates, such as dielectric constant, thermal conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and even flexibility when used in conformal circuits. But how does an engineer combine all this information about a material’s electrical and mechanical properties when trying to choose the perfect substrate for a particular application? It can be a complex process, but it may be possible to simplify that process.

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Oct 21, 2011 Judy Warner is currently the Director of Sales and Marketing for Transline Technology, Inc. in Anaheim, CA. Judy has been in the Printed Circuit Board industry for nearly two decades. Her career began with Details, Inc. (later to become DDi). She was a Top-Producing Sales Professional for 10 years for Electroetch Circuits (later to become Tyco, then TTM). She has also spent several years as an Independent Sales Representative including time as the owner of her own Rep firm, Outsource Solutions. This blog is part of Microwave Journal's guest blog series . A few weeks back,...
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