Industry News

International Report

International Report lSEVIRI to Help Nowcasting Meteorology Successfully launched aboard the European Space Agency/European Meteorological Satellite's (EUMETSAT) Meteosat Second Generation (MSG)-1 satellite on 28 August 2002, the Astrium-sourced Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infra-Red Imager (SEVIRI) payload is set to radically upgrade the accuracy of nowcasting short-term weather forecasting for...
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The Commercial Market

The Commercial Market Bluetooth is Steadily Gaining Market In the midst of the technology downturn, Bluetooth is steadily gaining market traction - evidenced by steady market growth in 2002 - and proving the skeptics wrong. Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) projects Bluetooth chipset shipments to increase to 33.8 M in...
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The Book End

Theory and Design of Microwave Filters Ian C. Hunter The Institution of Electrical Engineers 353 pages; $89 ISBN: 0-85296-777-2 Microwave filters are important components used in many RF and microwave systems, such as cellular radios, satellite communications and radar. The classic treatise on microwave filters and couplers by Matthaei,...
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An LTCC Double-balanced Mixer

Double-balanced mixers are used extensively in transmitters and receivers. For frequencies below 5 GHz, the designs are normally realized using ferrite-based transformers, because they are very compact and their technology is mature. As the operating frequency increases, distributed element baluns become smaller in size and more attractive. Semiconductor-based mixers...
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Design Advantages of CDMA Power Amplifiers Built with MOSFET Technology

CDMA power amplifiers are now being produced in volume using MOSFET technology, enabling improvements in amplifier performance and system cost. This article discusses the design characteristics of these very flexible and stable devices and explains how...
Each of the many process technologies that can be used for RF power amplifiers - GaAs HBT, PHEMT, InGaP HBT and silicon RF MOSFET - have different advantages, such as better frequency characteristics, wider linearity and higher power capability. A fundamental comparison of the different process technologies is shown...
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Specifications and Definitions for Quadrature Demodulators and Receiver Design Measurements

This article discusses the common and questionable definitions of the specifications for quadrature demodulators, including gain, intercept point and noise figure. Emphasis is on the mapping between single-tone measurement data and the modulated signal...
The quadrature demodulator is used in either heterodyne or homodyne receivers. In commercial communication receivers, the local oscillator frequency ranges from a few kilohertz to a few gigahertz. It is usual to test the individual part with a single tone to avoid the complexity of the baseband waveform. The...
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Reviewing the Basics of Suspended Striplines

Suspended striplines are widely used for several reasons. They provide high Q-factor, wide bandwidth and good temperature stability. This tutorial reviews some of the basic principles and new concepts for suspended striplines.
There are several reasons for the wide use of printed transmission lines. They are simple to produce, they operate over a wide bandwidth, and have small weight and dimensions. The earliest form of printed transmission lines was the stripline ( Figure 1a ). 1,2 The printed stripline consists of...
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