White Papers

Low noise amplifiers (LNAs) play a key role in radio receiver performance. The success of a receiver's design is measured in multiple dimensions: receiver sensitivity, selectivity, and proclivity to reception errors. The RF design engineer works to optimize receiver front-end performance with a special focus on the first active device. This paper considers device- and board-level variables that affect LNA performance and confront the engineer at each level of design in accommodating the various requirements of specific applications.

In this paper, we present a versatile and robust fabrication method to build circuit boards used for RF and microwave telecommunication devices over a large frequency of interest from MHz up to several tens of GHz range.

Do you have confidence that your 50 MHz reference port Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) is within specifications? It is important to have this confidence and by adhering to these procedures, you can be certain that your 50 MHz reference is within the manufactures tolerance!

This White Paper provides a view on radar waveforms for Aerospace and Defence and commercial radar systems. Waveforms such as pulse and pulse-Doppler signal, continuous wave and frequency shift keying waveforms are described. It also shows continuous waveform trends designed for specific needs and application differences of continuous wave radar compared to pulse radar systems.

This application note introduces the practical aspects of cable and antenna testing. It covers interpreting measurement results and instrument operation including calibration options such as CalReady and QuickCal using FieldFox configured as a cable and antenna analyzer. Measurement examples are provided showing techniques for measuring insertion loss, return loss, and locating faults in a transmission system.

Accel-RF Instruments President, Roland Shaw, addresses the significant parameters that affect the reliability assessment of solid state power amplifiers utilizing GaN HEMT semiconductors. This tradeoff study contrasts three architectures of SSPA designs to demonstrate how a chosen topology may affect the mean time to failure of the resulting amplifier module. The example details the decision process for a multi-stage GaN HEMT Ka-band frequency SSPA utilizing the following topologies: Septum binary combiner, Waveguide radial combiner and Parallel-plate combiner. These architectures are viable candidates for Ka-band SSPA designs due to the low-loss combining techniques used in the implementation of the balanced output stage.

How Accurate Are Your High Power RF Measurements? Accurate power measurements of RF signals can be difficult to achieve without the proper calibration infrastructure. This paper describes a flow calorimeter that lowers the uncertainty of 100 W, 1 GHz measurements to 0.43% of full scale. Using this system, through-line wattmeters can be calibrated automatically with an uncertainty of 0.55%.

This Application Note describes testing S-parameters under pulsed conditions. A constant power level calibration is included. A LDMOS S-band radar power transistor is used as example DUT. The pulse profile mode of the R&S ZVA is used to analyze the time-dependent behavior of the DUT.

The Defense Industry is facing many challenges. From shrinking budgets to Better Buying Power 2.0 to increased competition for program wins. And, for applications that rely on RF and microwave technologies, the supply base is highly fragmented resulting in increased costs and risks for prime contractors. Mercury is pioneering open architectures for RF/Microwave solutions and has implemented a concept around Advanced Microelectronics Centers (AMC) to provide the design, manufacturing and testing capabilities needed to deliver on key program needs. This whitepaper discusses why open architectures will be a game changer in RF/Microwave and what makes the AMCs unique and relevant.

AR has just completed a brand new edition of our sought after full line product catalog. We have expanded our facility to provide unparalleled high power capabilities to test RF amplifiers in excess of 10,000 watts and added various new RF and microwave power amplifiers to our extensive product lines. The catalog continues to be easy to use, with "find-it-fast" charts and color coding to help get right to whatever you need for RF & EMC testing.