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The evolution of integrated circuit technology demands that designers in this field adapt to ever-changing manufacturing techniques driven by performance, cost, benefit, and risk demands. Today’s power amplifier (PA) designer working in solid state technologies must navigate a plethora of available processes, including gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT), radio-frequency complementary metal oxide semiconductor (RF CMOS), and GaAs or silicon germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT), to name just a few. Similarly, different design challenges demand different amplifier classes and/or topologies like Class AB, Darlingtons, switch-mode PAs, and digital predistortion.
As more companies take advantage of the benefits of wireless technology, output device manufacturers must depend on highly linear, quality test equipment to meet those demands. Wireless communications encompass a number of applications.
This field brief will discuss phase-matching cables, S-parameter definitions as they apply to cable characterization and other cable parameters such as Phase Shift and Group Delay. Advanced Time-Domain measurements will also be presented as enhancements to the well-known Distance-to-Fault (DTF) techniques. In addition, diagnostic tools like the Smith Chart will be briefly described.
Mobile network operating costs are driving the requirement for increased infrastructure efficiency, particularly in the final stage RF power amplifier. The venerable Chireix outphasing architecture proposed in 1936 by Henry Chireix has been updated with Gallium Nitride HEMT transistors operating in class E, and shown to deliver class leading efficiency.
The oscilloscope is arguably one of the most useful tools ever created for use by electronic engineers. In the more than five decades since the modern analog oscilloscope was created, hundreds of useful documents and thousands of articles have been written about what it is, how it works, how to use it, and application-specific examples of the oscilloscope in action. It is the purpose of this primer to instead describe digital oscilloscopes, which have for practical purposes replaced their analog predecessors in the vast majority of applications.
RF transmitters are an essential part of modern communications. Designed and assembled from core RF components, RF transmitters have many different forms and applications. We often think of RF transmitters in wireless communications, but the concept applies equally to wired applications such as cable television.
In this guide, the concept of calibration is presented and discussed in detail. Specific topics to be covered include how to configure the VNA for calibration, types of calibration and calibration kits. A minimal amount of calibration mathematics and theory will also be covered.
The airwaves are becoming increasingly crowded as demand for RF spectrum continues to grow. As a result, every type of wireless communication system faces a complex and unpredictable signal environment.
Cable and antenna measurements are often required to verify and troubleshoot the electrical performance of RF and microwave transmission systems and antennas. Measurements are often made along the coaxial cable connecting a transmitter to its antenna and/or between an antenna and its receiver.
This artice is the second half of a detailed discussion of noise factor for modern RF radio receivers. In Part 1 we discussed the general concept of noise figure and how it is used to convey noise-performance requirements by product definers and circuit designers. It is also used to predict the overall sensitivity of receiver systems. We also presented calculations for a cascaded receiver. In this continuation article we focus on the Y-factor measurement as it applies to mixers. We state which measurement is applicable to the cascade equations derived in Part 1. We also explore some variations of the measurement method the could be used to obtain an approximation to the SSB noise figure of a mixer.
