FPGA Central

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RF DesignLine Newsletter
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The RF DesignLine Newsletter is delivered to you free of charge from
the staff of RF DesignLine.
To view the RF DesignLine visit:
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0EtYM0ER

07-15-2009

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This issue is sponsored by ESC Boston 2009

ESC Boston 2009, Sept 21-24th
The Industry's Leading Embedded Systems Event
Now in its 16th year, ESC brings together the largest community
of designers, technologists, business leaders, and suppliers
all in one place. FREE EXHIBIT PASS REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HGGw0E8

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EDITOR'S NOTE

--We start this week by finishing, to twist a phrase. We have the
third and final part of the tutorial on the new JEDEC standard for the
digital interface for high-speed converters, and I can see from the
page-view data that parts 1 and 2 were winners with the audience. So
check out the last part and you'll have done a good job of keeping
your design skills and engineering currency viable, always a good
thing--and especially a good thing these days.

We also had a technical article on programmable integer-N PLLs and
where they are a good fit (and where not). We love PLLs here, they are
extremely useful building blocks for synthesizers, for clock recovery,
for recovering data from satellites and deep-space probes where there
is jitter, drift, Doppler, signal levels are near zero dBm, and the
SNR is below 0 dB. And as one professor quipped to me back in the day,
"they are the engineering equivalent of James Joyce's 'Ulysses', with
the near-infinite number of papers they have spurred!" Can't argue
with that, can I?

--If that's not enough, we have a non-RF but still interesting
engineering story. It's an "under the hood" teardown of the latest
Flip (now part of Cisco) UltraHD digital camcorder. Even though it has
no RF content in the strict sense, you can often get new ideas by
looking at how things were done, what components were used, and how
things "came together" by looking at associated applications.

Of course, we have products and news, as usual, highlighted by a
discouraging EE (un)employment update.

--Finally, I forgot to mention an interesting item I saw recently from
Agilent Technologies, it's a series of education kits for analog,
digital and RF engineering, you can read about them at
http://www.agilent.com/about/newsroo...y-em09087.html
..
The series addresses the very genuine dilemma: it takes serious
equipment (and money) to have a realistic engineering program lab,
while the alternative of lower-cost, simulation-only based labs just
don’t have the same impact and benefit. I applaud Agilent for what
they are doing, and at these prices, I hope many schools or programs
can take up the coursework.

And that's it for this week. . . .

Bill Schweber, Site Editor, RF DesignLine
bschweber (AT) techinsights (DOT) com
P.S. Check out this upcoming TechOnline course, July 16: “High Power
Amplifier Design Using Accurate Non-Linear Models in Agilent Genesys
RF/MW Software, details at
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzo0Ew

TECHNICAL ARTICLES

--Design considerations when using programmable integer-N PLL ICs--
Understand how parameters of the PLL divisor loop affect performance
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzp0Ex

--Tutorial: the new JEDEC interface standard for data converters, Part
3 of 3-- Understand the design implications of JESD204A for high-speed
analog/digital and digital/analog converters
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzq0Ey

--Teardown: Inside Cisco's Flip UltraHD digital camcorder-- The
insides of the new Flip UltraHD, while leading edge, are not quite as
interesting as the questions surrounding Cisco's acquisition of its
developer, Pure Digital.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzr0Ez

--Wireless Handheld Devices—The 802.11n Advantage-- Here's how
the full benefits of 11n in an enterprise scenario may be compromised
by the presence of legacy 11b/g devices, and why a single-stream 11n
solution is the best fit for upcoming handheld devices.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzs0E1


PRODUCTS

--LTE/WiMax synthesizer IC offers extremely low noise, improves EVM,
sensitivity, spectral purity -- ICs in National Semiconductor LMX2541
frequency synthesizer family feature integral VCO
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzt0E2

--Ultra-low-noise amplifier features selectable gain and broad
bandwidth -- ADI's AD8432 dual ultra-low-noise amplifier is designed
for high channel count, wide-bandwidth communications and medical
applications.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzu0E3

--Bluetooth and WiFi SAW filter has high power capability-- The latest
advances in Murata's filter technology are implemented in a SAW filter
whose high power capability means it can be used as a top filter,
replacing two interstage filters with a single component.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzv0E4

--TV tuner IC captures analog, digital standards, features LNA and
tracking filters for superior performance-- Silicon Labs CMOS Si217
has low-IF architecture, minimizes external passives, reduces BOM,
increases in-field performance consistency
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMLI0EY

--Downconverting mixer debuts for WCS, LTE, WiMAX, and MMDS base
stations-- Maxim Integrated Products' fully integrated, 2000MHz to
3900MHz downconverting mixer features an on-chip LO buffer.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HLry0Ex

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NEWS

--EE unemployment soared in 2Q to 8.6%-- U.S. engineering unemployment
soared to a record in the second quarter of 2009, nearly doubling on a
quarterly basis to 8.6 percent.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzw0E5

--Linear Tech device gets designed into Mitsubishi all-electric car--
Linear Technology's multi-cell battery monitoring IC got a design win
for Mitsubishi Motors' zero-emissions i-MiEV, Japan's first
all-electric car. Calling the auto industry entering "an innovation
cycle," Lothar Maier, CEO of Linear Technology, expects Linear's
automotive revenue to double to 20 percent in the next few years.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzx0E6

--Five enablers for future chip scaling -- Here are some of the
proposed options for transistor-level scaling.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMLK0Ea

--Retrofit kit said to transform cars into hybrids-- A former IBM
electrical engineer has designed a retrofit kit that he claims can
transform existing automobiles into hybrids by placing an electric
motor inside each wheel, thereby doubling gas mileage.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMLL0Eb

--IC recovery: 10 reasons to be optimistic, pessimistic -- Here's 10
reasons to be hopeful--or pessimistic--about the IC outlook, based on
various and random data points from analysts and others.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzy0E7

VIEWPOINT

--RF links come home--
Even simple wired links in the home are succumbing to the lure and
benefits of basic RF connectivity
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzz0E8

--What's the status of software-defined radio?-- We keep hearing that
SDR is coming soon to widespread applications, but where does it
really stand?
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMLO0Ee

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

--LTE/WiMax synthesizer IC offers extremely low noise, improves EVM,
sensitivity, spectral purity -- ICs in National Semiconductor LMX2541
frequency synthesizer family feature integral VCO
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMzt0E2

--Tutorial: the new JEDEC interface standard for data converters, Part
2 of 3-- Understand the design implications of JESD204A for high-speed
ADCs and DACs
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMLG0EW

--Tutorial: the new JEDEC interface standard for data converters, Part
1 of 3-- Understand the design implications of JESD204A for high-speed
analog/digital and digital/analog converters
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMLF0EV

--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....rT0QTC0HKkh0EY

--TV tuner IC captures analog, digital standards, features LNA and
tracking filters for superior performance-- Silicon Labs CMOS Si217
has low-IF architecture, minimizes external passives, reduces BOM,
increases in-field performance consistency

http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMLI0EY

AROUND THE WEB
Some interesting technical articles recently seen in other
publications:
--Industry experts weigh in on the state of LDMOS, GaN, SiC and
HV-FETs:
”The New Power Brokers: High Voltage RF Devices"
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMz10Eu
Microwave Journal, May 2009
--High-frequency lowpass filters with flat passband responses ideal
for digital signal transmissions can be fabricated with microstrip
dot-terminations:
"Build LPFs With Dot-Terminations,”
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMz20Ev
Microwaves & RF, May 2009
-- Industry heavyweights deliver new technologies to satisfy the
expanding and ever-changing arena of wireless testing:
"Latest Test Solutions Measure Up To Wireless Challenges,"
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HMz30Ew
Electronic Design, June 11, 2009

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

Electronics Group Now Hiring 07-13-2009

SEL seeking Engineer II in Pullman, WA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HFBI0EH

SEL seeking Power Systems Instructor in Pullman, WA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HLi80Ej

D. E. Shaw seeking ASIC Design in New York, NY
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HFFQ0ET

Kforce seeking Inside Sales Associate in San Diego, CA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HLHt0EC

Osram Sylvania seeking Mechanical Design Engineer in Danvers, MA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0HLvS0EP

For more great jobs, career-related news, features and services,
please visit TechInsights EETimesCareers.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0QTC0EfwY0Et
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