New Brochure on RF Test Cells Benchtop Systems

ETS-Lindgren™ has released a new brochure on RF Test Cells. The brochure presents detailed information, including construction and capabilities, on a variety of standard and custom benchtop systems for RF isolated measurement. Full specifications and shielding data for each test cell is also listed.

ETS-Lindgren’s 5210 and 5220 Test Cell Series are typically used for testing small wireless devices. Both series include near field coupling devices and have interiors lined with premium RF anechoic absorber on all six surfaces. Welded construction and a dual latched, zero perimeter lid with finger stock provides typical RF isolation of 80dB.

The 5230 Test Cell Series is an upright benchtop system for testing larger sized DUTs. The welded construction offers a progressive RF gasket compression mechanism with typical RF isolation of 80dB. The zero perimeter door means that bigger DUTs can be more easily placed inside and staged for testing.

With a typical RF isolation up to 120dB, the 5240 Series, also an upright model, can be constructed of steel, aluminum or copper panels. The door is a maximum performance DEI RF sealing door with two toggle action-over-center draw latches.

Contact ETS-Lindgren, phone: (630) 307-7200, fax: (630) 307-7571, e-mail: info@ets-lindgren.com, or visit: www.ets-lindgren.com.

EMI Gasket Catalog

Laird Technologies has a catalog outlining its full line of copper beryllium strip metal gaskets, grounding products and connector shields, along with load/compression data, shielding effectiveness charts and numerous new product additions. Laird manufactures EMI shielding, thermal interface and wireless antenna products for computer, telecommunications, aerospace, defense, medical, automotive and general electronics industries.

Contact Laird Technologies, phone: (800) 843-4556 or contact sales@lairdtech.com.

RF and Microwave Power Amplifier Design

The main objective of this book, written by Andrei Grebennikov (432 pages, $99.99), is to present all the relevant information required to design RF and microwave power amplifiers. Included are well-known and novel theoretical approaches and practical design techniques as well as suggestions on design approaches combining analytical calculations and computer aided design.

In Chapter 1, the two-port networks are introduced to describe the behavior of linear and nonlinear circuits. Chapter 2 presents widely used design techniques to analyze nonlinear power amplifier circuits. In Chapter 3, all the necessary steps to provide an accurate device modeling procedure, starting with the determination of the small-signal equivalent circuit parameters, are described and discussed. A variety of nonlinear models for MOSFET, MESFET, HEMT and bipolar devices, including HBT, which are very prospective for modern microwave integrated circuits of power amplifiers and oscillators, are presented.

Chapter 4 covers impedance matching, which is very important when designing power amplifiers. Chapter 5 describes the basic properties of three- and four-port networks as well as a variety of different combiners, transformers and directional couplers for RF and microwave power applications. Chapter 6 presents the fundamentals of power amplifier design, which is generally a complicated procedure when it is necessary to provide simultaneously accurate active device modeling, effective impedance matching depending on the technical requirements and operating conditions, stability in operation, and ease in practical implementation.

Chapter 7 includes details on the possible circuit solutions to provide a high efficiency power amplifier operation based on using different overdriven B, F and E classes of operation or newly developed subclasses. Chapter 8 covers power amplifier design based on a broadband concept that provides some advantages when there is no need to tune the resonant circuit parameters. Chapter 9 describes the different approaches to improve linearity and efficiency of the power amplifiers in telecommunication systems

To order, contact: McGraw-Hill, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121, phone: (212) 904-2000.

EMC Shortform Catalog

A new EMC shortform catalogue from Schurter contains details of an assortment of power entry modules (with and without filters), block filters, chokes, pulse transformers and power stage driver modules.

The components and product information are designed to support design engineers of single-phase and three-phase AC power supplies and the like.

Presented with functional selector charts, type reference and distribution information, as well as a clear structure, the new shortform provides designers with quick access to specific products of interest.

For information, visit www.schurter.com.

IEEE 802.11 Handbook

The IEEE, under its Standards Information Network, has published a second edition of the “IEEE 802.11 Handbook: A Designer’s Companion.”

Authored by Bob O’Hara and Al Petrick, the new edition provides the most up-to-date information available on the IEEE 802.11 standard and its numerous amendments, including: 802.11d, P802.11e, 802.11F, 802.11g, 802.11h, 802.11i, 802.11j and 802.11n. It provides a preface authored by Stuart J. Kerry, chair of the 802.11 Committee, along with a detailed list of abbreviations and acronyms.

The increasing need for mobility has spawned the greatest growth in the use of wireless technology. As IEEE 802.11 equipment moves into its second stage, the new handbook will help system network architects, and hardware and software engineers stay informed on the underlying technology that makes wireless mobility a reality.

To order, visit http://shop.ieee.org/ieeestore.

NPL EMC Antenna Guide

The United Kingdom’s National Physical Laboratory has updated its “Measurement Good Practice Guide: Calibration and use of antennas, focusing on EMC applications.” It contains updates to address antenna calibration from 30Hz to 40GHz. The guide covers monopole, loop, dipole, biconical, log-periodic and horn antennas used in EMI emissions testing in open area test sites and fully anechoic chambers.

The guide also covers the assessment of uncertainties in their use for radiated-emission measurements based on EMC standards. Expanded sections include those on horn and rod antennas, with more detail on calibration methods and uncertainties than in previous editions. New sections include TEM cells, the calibration of loop antennas, and designing a ground plane.

The guide covers background to uncertainties in emission testing and the use of antennas, background to the tuneable dipole antenna, measurement of near-field strength, emission measurements in screened rooms operating below cutoff, choosing the right calibration, the role of a national standards laboratory for antenna measurement, self-calibration using transfer standards, and calibration intervals.

Visit www.npl.co.uk/electromagnetic/publications.

EE Times Updates List of 60 Emerging Startups

The EE Times 60 Emerging Startups list, first published as the Silicon Strategies 60 Emerging Startups in April 2004, has been updated to version 3.0 to reflect the latest corporate, commercial and technological conditions.

Some companies have dropped off the list, otherwise known as The Silicon 60, because they have been acquired; some have moved to an initial public offering of shares; and others have moved beyond the list with the passage of time. Other younger startups have been nominated to move off the EE Times radar list and onto the main list.

In version 3.0, the magazine’s editors have selected companies based on a mix of criteria including: technology, intended market, maturity, financial position and investment profile. Startups on the list include companies involved in semiconductors, fab equipment, packaging, foundry, materials, MEMS and EDA software.

Readers can nominate their own emerging startups for inclusion on a future list. Nominations should be accompanied by a short explanation of support. Send comments and nominations to Peter Clarke (pclarke @cmp.com) or Mark Lapedus (mlapedus@cmp.com).

To view the list, visit www.eetimes.com.

2005 Could Be Breakthrough Year for BPL

Broadband over powerline (BPL) technology may be “primed for real growth in 2005 and beyond” across the United States, according to a report by the New Millennium Research Council (NMRC). Trials and actual commercial deployments of BPL systems are on the rise, with over 20 projects in operation in 2004 and more expected to come online in 2005. By one estimate, roughly a quarter million homes in the United States already had the opportunity to choose BPL services in 2004.

Entitled “Powering the Broadband Market in 2005 and Beyond,” the NMRC publication asks: “Is 2005 the year of BPL? There are a number of signs that suggest this could be the time the technology begins its emergence as a viable competitor in the broadband market ... Today, electric utilities across the country are deploying the necessary technology to provide broadband and other advanced communications services, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), via the power lines that connect to virtually every home and business. Many industry watchers and representatives now believe BPL can dramatically change the landscape of the broadband market, offering new forms of competition and delivering high-quality service to remote areas. During the past two years, the commercial and media perspectives on BPL in the United States have evolved from categorizing the technology as ‘almost ready’ to ‘really here.’”

Though still in its early stages in the U.S., BPL technology already is available in such places as sections of New York City (ambient) and — in what is the first city-wide commercial BPL network in the United States — in the suburban Washington, D.C. community of Manassas, Virginia (Communication Technologies, Inc., or COMTek). Both of the firms are profiled in the report.

For the full text of the NMRC report, visit: www.thenmrc.org.