RF Military Electronics Featured Articles
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A New Approach To Wireless Broadband Technology For IoT
1/31/2014
Wi-Fi has been incredibly successful in making wireless broadband communication ubiquitous among mobile computing devices like laptops and smart phones. Wi-Fi’s cost-effective, IP-based flat architecture (i.e. a simple wireless extension to Ethernet) is a primary contributor to this success. A positive spiral of R&D investments and manufacturing scale and efficiencies are pushing Wi-Fi’s price-performance ratio to unprecedented levels. This trend will continue for the foreseeable future. By Nimesh Parikh, Doodle Labs
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Overcoming Gain Slope Issues In Microwave Modules
1/21/2014
If you are a microwave hardware engineer, you most likely have had a few sobering experiences when testing your new design the first time. This is particularly true for wideband high frequency modules — they almost never look like the model.
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The Design Of Ultra Narrow-Band Amplifiers Using Small Signal Varactor Up-Converters For ESM, ECM, ECCM, And ELINT Applications
1/17/2014
A method is presented in this paper for realizing tunable amplifiers with bandwidths of less than 0.5%; without the use of superconductors and cryogenic cooling. This method uses a small signal varactor up-converter to achieve these ultra narrow bandwidths.
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Enhancing Link Network Performance In Tactical Communications
1/17/2014
In tactical communications the link networks are the critical layer that connect brigade command posts and various operational units such as artillery and combat battalions together. The Combat Net Radio (CNR) systems provide communications for the front line troops equipped with portable and vehicle installed radio equipment allowing information and command messages to be relayed between the command centers and the operational units. However, seamless connectivity between the CNR network and the link network cannot be always provided due to incompatibility and limited functionality of equipment available.
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VNA Advances Meet Challenges Of Advanced Radar Systems
1/9/2014
This column focuses on improvements made to VNA architectures and their importance in testing today’s more advanced radar systems.
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Shock, Rattle, And Roll: Managing Vibration Effects In VHF Oscillators
9/16/2013
This brief article describes crystal clock typical performance under acceleration and approaches to manage vibration effects. Methods are compared and shortcomings discussed. Intriguing results from a new resonator design are previewed, and a shock test facility is introduced. By Phil Smith, MtronPTI
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Testing Modern Radar System Signals: A Primer
8/28/2013
The demands placed on modern radars create challenges for both the radar designer and test engineer. Advanced radar systems require greater precision to measure narrower pulse widths and/or to examine intra-pulse behavior with finer resolution, including rise/fall edge effects or the profile within a pulse compression signal. In order to best understand the complexity of testing today’s radar designs, it is good to first review some basic applications of radar systems and the fundamentals of pulse measurements. By Walt Strickler, senior product manager, Anritsu Company
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Smart Microwave Sensors For Critical Site Protection
8/21/2013
Miniaturized, high-performance smart radar sensors with multiple features and operating mode capabilities can easily and effectively protect large open sites by detecting and tracking moving or stationary targets over a 360° azimuth.
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The Expanding Role Of GaN HEMT Devices In Military Electronics Design
7/3/2013
In the early 2000s, military designers developing the next generation of high-frequency, high-power amplifiers for radar, communications and EW equipment had reached the performance limits of conventional technologies, namely Traveling Wave Tubes (TWTs), silicon Laterally Diffused Metal Oxide Semiconductor (Si LDMOS) transistors, and gallium arsenide (GaAs) MESFETs. By Tom Dekker, Cree
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Fundamentals And Applications Of Polyimide In 3D Thin Film Multilayer Circuitry
7/3/2013
Today, the cost and complexity of all platforms and systems in military and defense technologies are being challenged by the need for high functionality in smaller but less expensive architecture, especially in light of current national budget challenges. By Michael D. Casper, UltraSource, Inc.