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RF DesignLine Newsletter
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The RF DesignLine Newsletter is delivered to you
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To view the RF DesignLine visit:
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06-17-2009

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This issue sponsored by: Elsevier

Newnes Press is a portfolio of practical books for engineers,
developers, and designers that make things happen. Newnes
offers timeless fundamentals mixed with cutting-edge techniques
and hot technology to give today's working engineers a toolkit
for beating deadlines and creating the next best thing! Click
here to become a Newnes Press member and start saving today:
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0G5Na0Ei
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EDITOR'S NOTE
--Let's get this out of the way first: last week's IEEE MTT-S event
(aka IMS2009) was a blast. There are four reports linked below,
including some photos I took of the fascinating historical exhibit
there, as well. We also have some new products from IMS this week, and
will have more in the next few days.

IMS 2009 was busy, with lots of buzz but a strong SNR
(substance-to-noise ratio) unlike hype-fests such as the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES), which is mostly hype mixed with hope but often
with little substance, and thus has very high noise and poor SNR.
There were lots of solid, sampling or fully released products from
vendors (with specs!) and lots of impressive ICs, modules, and test
equipment. For those who used to work in the hundreds of MHz and
thought 1 GHz was "high", let me put it this way: "1 GHz is the new
DC." There were lots of components and test units pushing 30 GHz, 40
GHz, and beyond operation. All I can say is: "wow!"

--To those of you who have attended shows in the past, there was also
one strong trend in the mechanics of how products are demonstrated on
the show floor. Traditionally, show booths had complex, often wordy,
printed panels (signage). But here many of the booths had just the
company name and logo, perhaps with basic graphics with a few key
words ("Model ABC GHz oscillator") with large flat-screen displays
hung on the panels, driven by a PC-based presentation (Powerpoint or
other).

This way, the booth personnel could easily show you or a group many
aspects of the products--no need to squint at a small screen on a PC
or try to walk around and figure out the big-panel graphics; they
could embed some performance and dynamic (non-static) on-the-bench
demonstrations ("see how the chip remains cool even as we increase the
power level") and they could also go back or skip ahead, as
appropriate. This was much more effective than a printed panel
presentation, and probably cheaper, too, since printed panels are
costly and have to be ordered well in advance.

--But last week was not only about IMS2009. We finish our 3-part
feature on power control in handset PAs. We also have an "Under the
Hood" teardown of the latest Palm Pre, which, of course, has RF
"issues". And we look at upgrading a venerable RS-232 interface to an
IEEE 802.11n wireless link. There are also some general news items to
check out.

--That's it. I still have to sort through all the goodies I got at the
event (mostly pens, some mouse pads, and some other things I can't
quite figure out), it was a bonanza of giveaways!

--A request from EETimes: Where were you, and what were you doing,
when Neil Armstrong took, "one small step for man, one giant leap for
mankind"? EE Times is planning to launch a special digital edition on
celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first manned landing on the
Moon. We want to hear from you about how Apollo 11, and the five other
lunar landings, inspired you to become an engineer and problem solver.
And at the bottom of the story, “Apollo: The epic that launched a
generation of engineers”
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HJdQ0EC
you can find all the engaging comments to date. Log in and post your
own story of that historic day. Include your name as we'll be using
these personal stories in our digital edition to appear on July 20th.

And that's it for this week.

Bill Schweber, Site Editor, RF DesignLine
bschweber (AT) techinsights (DOT) com
P.S. Be sure to check our next set of RF-related technical articles of
interest from other sources (at the very end).

TECHNICAL ARTICLES

--Power detection and control for mobile handsets, (Part 3 of 3):
Power control feedback-- Understand the various biasing methods and
tradeoffs in GSM/EDGE mobile unit PA stages
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkQ0EK

--Power detection and control for mobile handsets, (Part 2 of 3):
Power detection methods-- Understand the various biasing methods and
tradeoffs in GSM/EDGE mobile unit PA stages

http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKCj0E4

--Power detection and control for mobile handsets, (Part 1 of 3):
Power amplifier biasing for power control-- Understand the various
biasing methods and tradeoffs in GSM/EDGE mobile unit PA stages

http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKCi0E3

--A first look inside the Palm Pre--
A new multi-touch display controller from Cypress Semiconductor is one
of few surprises inside the modular design of the Palm Pre handset,
according to a teardown by Portelligent.

http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkR0EL

--Replacing RS-232 with 802.11n wireless-- How a wireless link based
on 802.11n WLAN can be configured and deployed for this purpose.

http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkS0EM

PRODUCTS

--Murata samples industry's smallest RF switch connector -- Murata
Electronics North America has developed what it claims is the world's
smallest RF switch connector that measures only 2.0mm x 2.00 x 0.9mm.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkT0EN

--Skyworks unveils 2-stage low noise amplifiers with high linearity--
Fabricated using Skyworks' advanced pHEMT process, these LNAs are for
global positioning systems (GPS), satellite digital audio radio
services, WCDMA and LTE infrastructure platforms, and ISM base
stations, repeaters and access points.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkU0EO

--Peregrine expands UltraCMOS digital step attenuator line--
Peregrine's 50-ohm series UltraCMOS 5- and 6-bit DSAs feature high
broadband linearity and a serial-addressable CMOS control interface.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkV0EP

--RF vector analyzer offers fast data transfer via USB-- Keithley has
upgraded its RF vector signal analyzers with new capabilities that
reduce signal acquisition and measurement times.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkW0EQ

--Microchip expands wireless products with ISM band, sub-GHz
transceiver radio -- The MRF49XA radio is intended for bi-directional,
short-range wireless applications, and more.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkX0ER

--Agilent Nonlinear Vector Network Analyzer family extends active
device test to 50 GHz; yields X-parameters for advanced component and
system insight-- PNA-X NVNA network analyzer extends range,
performance; reduces cost, test time, footprint
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKCm0E7

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NEWS

--BiCMOS technology excels at high frequency-- NXP has announced a
highly advanced QUBIC4 BiCMOS silicon technology, delivering higher
levels of integration and performance at high frequencies, all in a
cost effective way.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkY0ES

--Terahertz SiGe imager sees through clothes-- A silicon germanium
image chip designed in a UCSD lab operates in the terahertz range to
provide X-ray-like imaging using safe, naturally occurring millimeter
wavelengths. The chip can be produced using inexpensive silicon chip
processing techniques, its developers said at the IEEE RFIC Symposium.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkZ0ET

--Cree demos record efficiency for GaN HEMT amplifier-- LED and high
frequency component specialist Cree Inc. is demonstrating at this
week's MTT-S International Microwave Symposium what it suggests is a
record efficiency for a commercially available 2GHz microwave
amplifier.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKka0Ea

--Ember targets smart metering with ZigBee SoC-- Targeting industrial
rather than consumer applications, and specifically smart metering in
the medium term, Ember Corporation will start shipping in the third
quarter of this year an SoC for ZigBee networking based on an ARM
Cortex-M3 processor.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkb0Eb

VIEWPOINT

--IMS 2009 looks to future, while acknowledging the past-- In addition
to the buzz and action and IMS 2009, there was a fascinating
historical exhibit.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkc0Ec

--Conference report: Hard to see the recession from the IMS show
floor-- Look over the floor and listen to the buzz at the IEEE's MTT-S
International Microwave Symposium, and you'd hardly know there's a
recession out there. A spate of tech advancements and the sheer
pervasiveness of wireless could account for the industry's strong
showing in a down economy
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkd0Ed

--Agilent CTO cites measurement trends, challenges at IMS 2009--
Nonlinear performance measurement, synchronized data collection and
data visualization are among the solutions for clearing engineers'
data acquisition and measurement hurdles, Darlene J.S. Solomon,
Agilent Technologies CTO and vice president and director of Agilent
Laboratories, said at the IEEE's MTT-S International Microwave
Symposium.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKke0Ee

--IC sensibilities come to RF/Microwaves-- Things were busy at
IMS2009, and max/min specs were everywhere . . . .
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkf0Ef

--The next Silicon Valley--
The next Silicon Valley? You're kidding, right?
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkg0Eg

--RF4CE vs IR: the next remote-control "battle"?-- IR remote controls
have a viable, up-and-coming, RF-based competitor--maybe
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKCv0EH

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

--10 companies in trouble--
EE Times has assembled a list of 10 companies (or more) that seem in
particular danger of continuing to spill red ink, being acquired,
seeking bankruptcy protection or just not being around in current form
a year from now.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkh0Eh

--MEMS barometers boost hard drives, GPS-- Microelectromechanical
system sensors for head height are being designed into hard drives
alongside MEMS accelerometers, according to Freescale, which entered
the digital barometric pressure sensor market with a rollout at
Computex in Taipei.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKCr0ED

--Power detection and control for mobile handsets, (Part 1 of 3):
Power amplifier biasing for power control-- Understand the various
biasing methods and tradeoffs in GSM/EDGE mobile unit PA stages

http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKCi0E3

--Researchers warn of major flaw in transistor theory-- Researchers at
the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S have
warned of a fundamental flaw in the understanding of transistor noise,
and suggest that unless it is solved, it could stand in the way of
developing more efficient, lower powered devices.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HJeq0Ej

--Getting some basic RF experience--
The best way to learn RF circuits is to build some basic ones, but
where to start?
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HHgE0Ez

--Design Considerations for Robust, Low-Power RF Products (Part 3)--
Understand the techniques you can use to minimize power dissipation
while achieving performance goals
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HIhS0EH

AROUND THE WEB
Some interesting technical articles recently seen in other
publications:

--Designing a multimode WEDGE receiver needs a full understanding of
the minimum performance requirements of individual GSM and WCDMA
cellular receivers:
"Analyze Requirements For WEDGE Receivers,"
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKki0Ei
Microwaves & RF, March 2009

--Key installation, maintenance and troubleshooting issues for
wireless base stations:
"RF Testing During the Installation and Maintenance of Wireless Base
Stations,"
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkj0Ej
High Frequency Electronics, March 2009

--A design procedure for crystal filters with a bandstop response,
accomplished by adapting a well-known transform from a lowpass
prototype:
"Multi-Section Crystal Bandstop Filter Design,"
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HKkk0Ek
High Frequency Electronics, March 2009

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOW HIRING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Electronics Group Now Hiring 05/08/09

Boston Scientific seeking Principal Electrical Engineer in Natick, MA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HFFO0Ea

EnergyHub seeking Senior Electrical Engineer in Brooklyn, NY
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HFFP0Eb

Schweitzer Engineering Labs seeking Engineer III in Pullman, WA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HFBI0EQ

Schweitzer Engineering Labs seeking Manufacturing Engineer in
Pullman, WA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HHFF0ET

Osram Sylvania seeking Sr. Engineer in Hillsboro, NH
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HIEp0EB

For more great jobs, career-related news, features and services,
please visit TechInsights EETimesCareers.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0EfwY0E3
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