MTT-S 2006: Notes From The Exhibition Floor -- Part 1
By
Christine Brearey
Editor
There
was a definite sense of optimism during the 2006 IEEE MTT-S International
Microwave Symposium (IMS 2006), held June 11 – 16 at San Francisco's Moscone
Center. Attendance was up 10% over IMS 2005, and the general feeling on the show
floor was that the industry is solidly in a better place than it was last year.
Exhibitors stated that business has definitely improved – they aren't
looking over their shoulders as much as they have during recent years, and they
are finally starting to look ahead more than three months into the future.
In this
three-part article series, we will explore the
hottest technologies and major headlines from the IMS 2006 exhibit floor. Click
on the company names below to read about their activities during the show. For
more RF Globalnet coverage of this year's event, check out the article "Highlights
From The IEEE MTT-S 2006 International Microwave Symposium" and our MTT-S
2006 Photo Diary.
Agilent Technologies
Agilent
introduced several new design and
measurement solutions at the show (see
related story). Several
enhancements have been made to the PNA
Series network analyzer to simplify complex measurements for multiport and
active device tests. In addition, Agilent has upgraded its 89600
Series vector signal analysis software with IEEE 802.11n MIMO
(multiple-input, multiple-output) modulation analysis capability. The company
also featured its N4010A
wireless connectivity test set and its PSA
with built-in measuring receiver personality (Option 233) at the show.
Agilent
EEsof EDA demoed its new 3-D
electromagnetic (EM) design and verification software, EMDS, which is based
on the finite-element method (FEM). EMDS is used for simulation of
arbitrarily-shaped, passive three-dimensional structures, and is suitable for
designers working with RF circuits, MMICs, PC boards, modules, and signal
integrity applications.
For more information, visit
the Agilent Technologies and
Agilent EEsof EDA
storefronts.
Ansoft
Ansoft
announced its collaboration with United Monolithic Semiconductor (UMS) on MMIC
process, simulation, and design technology (see
related story). The two companies will work together on the
implementation of a GaAs IC design methodology for millimeter-wave frequencies
utilizing on-chip electromagnetic extraction, as well as a new Ansoft Designer/Nexxim
RF design kit for the PH15 PHEMT process.
Ansoft
also demonstrated Nexxim v3 and Ansoft Designer v3 for the Red Hat Enterprise
Linux v.3 and Sun Solaris 8 and 9 operating systems at the show (see
related story).
Zoltan Cendes, chairman and CTO of Ansoft, and Jim Pomager, RF Globalnet editor in chief
For more information, visit
the Ansoft
storefront.
Applied
Wave Research (AWR) made a couple of announcements at the show, the first of
which was the integration of Vector Fields' Concerto 3-D EM modeling software
with AWR's Microwave Office circuit design platform (see
related story). The interface will be available without additional
charge to any customers using both Concerto version 6.0 and Microwave Office
2006 software.
AWR
also announced the availability of a process design kit (PDK) supporting
Cree's high-power silicon carbide (SiC) process (see
related story). The PDK enables monolithic microwave integrated circuit
(MMIC) designers to use Cree's MMIC process within AWR's Microwave Office
software environment.
Jim Pomager and Ted Miracco, AWR's executive VP of worldwide sales and marketing
For
more information, visit the AWR
storefront.
Boonton Electronics
Boonton
featured its new 4500B
Peak Power Analyzer, which provides the ability to capture, display,
analyze, and characterize RF power in both the time and statistical domains. The
4500B offers automatic peak-to-peak, delay-by-time, and delay-by-events
triggering, in addition to 100 ps timebase resolution.
For
more information, visit the Willtek Communications
storefront.
COM DEV
COM
DEV and SenarioTek demonstrated the new Smart RF Switch Matrix at the show. This
switch matrix has the ability to perform inline calibration corrections to
reduce errors due to cable movement, temperature change, or switch
repeatability. The product covers many applications up to Ka band.
For
more information, visit the COM DEV Web site.
CST
CST
announced several new product enhancements at the show. Among them was an
upgraded CST Studio Suite 2006B
software, which features improved and extended solver technology (see
related story). The company also previewed Integral Equation Solver, a
new 3-D EM tool for Microwave Studio (MWS) that
is based on the multilevel fast multipole method (MLFMM) (see
related story). Typical application examples for this new solver include
antenna placement on an airplane and radar cross-section (RCS) calculations of
large scattering objects.
In addition, CST announced
plans to integrate Microwave Studio with Applied Wave Research's Microwave
Office circuit design software suite (see
related story). The interface between the two
open design environments will enable users to export layout data easily into CST
MWS, add 3-D components, and re-import S-parameters into their circuit model.
For
more information, visit the CST
storefront.
Dow-Key
Microwave
Dow-Key
introduced a new compact 409 PCB mount switch that can be mounted directly on an
electronic board. The company also showed its newly introduced family of 40 GHz
RF switches and an extended life switch for the ATE market (see
related story). In addition, Dow-Key executives discussed the
company's recently announced reduction in lead time for its 401, 411, and
535-565 product lines.
For
more information, visit the Dow-Key Web site.
EMAG
showcased its new EMLOUNGE
3-D EM CAD environment at its booth (see
related story). EMLOUNGE is a visual CAD tool for full-wave simulation
of large-scale radiation, scattering, and propagation problems in engineering
applications. It features a comprehensive 3-D CAD modeler with native solid and
surface objects and edit/transform operations.
EMAG
also announced a partnership with Poseidon Capital and its wholly owned
subsidiary Acceleware (see
related story). As a result of the partnership, EMAG's EMLounge software
can now utilize the Acceleware FDTD product family to speed simulation time.
For
more information, visit the EMAG
storefront.
Fairchild
Semiconductor
Fairchild
previewed its new RMPA2276
UMTS Band 1 WCDMA/HSDPA power amplifier module at the show. The RMPA2276
integrates a power-control ASIC (supplied by Fairchild's Power Solutions
division) with a power detector and an internally 50 W matched 2-stage power
amplifier in a 4 x 4 mm footprint. The RMPA2276 is currently sampling.
Fairchild
also introduced the FMPA2151,
a dual-band WLAN power amplifier module optimized to increase performance and
reduce PCB board footprint in the latest 802.11a/bg WLAN applications, including
notebooks, digital cameras, and portable handsets. The dual-band FMPA2151
combines 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz power amplifiers into a single compact 4 x 4 mm
package.
Jim Pomager and Russ Wagner, GM, Fairchild RF
For
more information, visit the Fairchild
storefront.
Freescale's
major announcement was its expansion into the ISM market with transistors
designed for both the HF/VHF frequency space (10 to 450 MHz) and the 2.45 GHz
ISM band (see
related story). Freescale offers three transistors that use VHV6 50V
LDMOS technology. For the 2.45 GHz ISM band, Freescale offers three devices that
use 28V LDMOS technology.
Freescale
also introduced its 2 GHz high-power RF transistors, housed in over-molded
plastic packages (see
related story). This technology is designed to give designers of
cellular infrastructure the ability to reduce the cost of base station
amplifiers while maintaining performance requirements.
For
more information, visit the Freescale Web
site.
K&L
Microwave
At
the show, K&L introduced a new family of microwave filters designed
specifically to support OEM compliance with the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) mandate to relocate incumbent broadcast auxiliary service
(BAS), cable television relay service (CARS), and local television transmission
service (LTTS) licensees operating within frequency ranges of 1990 to 2110 MHz (see
related story).
Other
technologies on display included the company's band-pass/band-stop diplexer
(which assists the out-of-band emission levels measurements of wireless base
stations), rugged up-converter/down-converter assemblies, and fast-switching
filter banks (see
related story).
For
more information, visit the K&L Microwave
storefront.
Labtech Microwave
Labtech
highlighted its new range of Detector
Log Video Amplifiers (DLVAs) at the show (see
related story). With DC
coupled and CW immune options available, these DLVAs have a temperature range of
-40° C to 85° C, are small in size and weight for airborne applications, have
fast rise times, and are hermetically sealed.
Labtech also showcased its line
of 2
to 18 GHz broadband amplifiers, 2 to 18 Ghz gain modules, and its microwave
MIC assembly service for customers who are looking for outsourcing solutions (see
related story).
For more information, visit the
Labtech storefront.
Laird
Technologies
Laird
highlighted its new micro-miniature,
low profile in-building wireless antenna (see
related story). The UltraSphere
CAF 94895 provides as high as 3.6 dBi gain and operates over the frequency range
of 800 MHz to 2.4 GHz, enabling six different technologies (AMPS, GSM, PCS, DCS,
UMTS, and Wi-Fi) to radiate through a single antenna device. In addition, Laird
also unveiled its new line of aesthetically colored fabric-over-foam shielding
gaskets at the show.
For
more information, visit the Laird Web site.
M/A-COM
M/A-COM
expanded its RFID line with two new RoHS-compliant power amplifiers (see
related story). The MAAPSS0095
and the MAAP-007649-000100 have been designed for applications requiring high
power and high efficiency, such as RFID, remote meter reading, electronic
vehicle toll systems, and industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM)
applications.
M/A-COM
also introduced a new RoHS-compliant 0.5
To 3.0 GHz switch for applications requiring cross-modulation performance
(see
related story). The MASWSS0191
is a high-power switch configured to enable switching from a common antenna port
to CDMA cellular, CDMA PCS, or GPS ports.
Pat Hindle, M/A-COM's eBusiness manager
For
more information, visit the M/A-COM
storefront.
Microsemi RF Power Products Group
Microsemi's RF Power Products
division, formerly a division of Advanced Power Technology, made several
announcements at the show. First,
the company introduced a new high-power, high-gain medium pulse transistor to
its line of products for S-band radar applications (see
related story). The 2731-100M utilizes a new chip design and processing
enhancements to offer high power and high gain over the 2.7 to 3.1 GHz frequency
range.
Microsemi also featured a new
high-power Mode-S, extended length messaging (ELM) transistor designed for
avionics applications (see
related story). The MDS 500L provides 500 watts of output power with a
55% collector efficiency and a 3:1 load mismatch tolerance for Mode-S
applications in the 1030 to 1090 MHz frequency range.
For more information, visit the
Microsemi RF Power Products Group storefront.
MicroWave Technology
MicroWave
Technology (MwT) announced two new medium-power
amplifiers for wireless and WiMAX applications at the show, the MMA-HDA1-Q3
and the MMA-4959M-1W-Q3.
The MMA-HDA1-Q3
is a 500 to 3200 MHz fully matched high dynamic range amplifier for 2G, 2.5G,
and 3G wireless infrastructure standards, such as GSM, TDMA, CDMA, EDGE,
CDMA2000, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, and UMTS. The MMA-4959M-1W-Q3
is high-linearity amplifier for 802.16 WiMAX applications or output stage for
802.11 WLAN applications in the 4.9 to 5.9 GHz bands. Both amplifiers utilize
MicroWave Technology's proprietary linear MESFET device technology.
For
more information, visit the MwT
storefront.
Peregrine
Semiconductor
Peregrine launched two new RF
ICs at the show. The first was the RoHS-compliant PE42742 RF switch for
broadband applications (see
related story). This 75 Ohm single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) device
offers isolation of 88 dB at 216 MHz and 78 dB at 806 MHz. Peregrine also
introduced the PE42555 50 Ohm switch for RF applications such as cellular
infrastructure, WiMAX, and high-precision RF applications (see
related story). A proprietary design feature enables this device to
eliminate the phase and insertion loss drift that occurs after a switching
event.
Peregrine's other big news
was the appointment of Craig Ensley as
its new president and COO (see
related story). Ensley, who was most recently with Cirrus Logic,
will be responsible for leading Peregrine's operations in order to meet market
demand for UltraCMOS RFICs.
For more information, visit the
Peregrine Semiconductor Web site.
QuinStar
launched several new products, one of which was its new 1
watt W-band pulsed power amplifier (QPP–94043018–G0).
This amplifier features continuous wave (CW), long pulse, short pulse, and burst
modes of operation delivering 1 watt (30 dBm) power with ± 0.75 dB flatness
over the 92 to 96 GHz band.
QuinStar
also highlighted its 35
GHz solid-state transceiver (QBX-3534A0) in both CW and pulsed mode, which
delivers 2.5 watts ( 34 dBm) of output power with 33 dB gain in the frequency
range of 34 to 35.5 GHz. The RF switching time for pulse modulation of this
transceiver is 250 ns.
From left to right, QuinStar's Leo Fong (president/CEO), Roy Burtrum (sales manager), and Dr. H.J. Kuno (executive VP)
For
more information, visit the QuinStar
storefront.
RF
Micro Devices
RF
Micro Devices (RFMD) made two new product line announcements at the show.
First, they unveiled a new line of gallium
nitride (GaN) high-power transistors
for the cellular infrastructure and WiMAX base station markets (see
related story). These GaN HEMT transistors are targeted to the UMTS or
3G base station segment and show peak drain efficiency up to 67% at UMTS and up
to 60% at WiMAX frequency bands.
RFMD
also launched a new line of gallium
arsenide (GaAS) pHEMT low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) for GSM, CDMA, UMTS, EDGE,
and WiMAX air interface standards (see
related story). Packaged in 5 x 5 mm plastic QFN packages, these LNAs
offer a frequency range of 380 to 3,800 MHz with a noise figure of 0.7 dB.
For
more information, visit the RFMD
storefront.
The
big news for Skyworks during the show was its introduction of a new
ceramic packaging process that allows many of the company's existing linear
products to operate at higher frequencies with a smaller footprint (see
related story). Suitable for high-volume, hermetically sealed devices
such as diodes that are used in WiMAX, military, space, and a variety of other
applications that require higher frequency operation, the new ceramic packaging
solution is currently in use on a number of Skyworks' product lines.
Skyworks
also announced a new direct
quadrature demodulator with integrated low-noise amplifier (LNA) for
broadband wireless applications (see
related story). The SKY73013 operates from 4.9 to 5.925 GHz (at an LO
range of 3.2 to 3.9 GHz), has a 6 dB noise figure, and features an input 1-dB
compression point of -15 dBm.
For
more information, visit the Skyworks
storefront.
STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics
recently announced a line of integrated multi-band RF synthesizers (see
related story), which the company demonstrated at its booth. Targeted
at a wide range of radio transceiver applications from cellular network
infrastructure to point-to-point radio, cable TV, and satellite systems,
STMicroelectronics' STW81101 and STW81102 exhibit integrated phase-noise
performance for single-chip RF Integer'N synthesizers. The STW81101 and
STW81102 synthesizers are supplied in QFN-28 lead-free packages.
For
more information, visit the STMicroelectronics Web
site.
SUSS
MicroTec
SUSS
announced the newest member of its IZI Probe family, the IZI Probe Card (see
related story). The IZI Probe Card integrates the IZI Probe technology
into an RF probe card specifically designed for production test. The product can
test up to 32 RF channels, and the PCB carrier board is customizable to
accommodate SMD's and other designs.
SUSS
also demonstrated its latest release of SussCal
Professional software (see
related story). The updated software now includes the SUSS LRM
calibration method, which provides on-wafer calibration up to 110 GHz and
beyond.
For
more information, visit the SUSS MicroTec
storefront.
Taconic
Taconic
featured its latest development, HyRelex laminates. HyRelex is a
new line of low-loss, thin, flexible interconnect materials (see
related story) constructed with
the benefits of reinforced high temperature polymer chemistry to provide
thermal, mechanical, electrical and moisture resistant properties. These
laminates are suited for high-frequency, high-temperature, and harsh environment
applications.
For
more information, visit the Taconic Web
site.
WJ Communications
WJ
Communications showcased several new products. The company's
new AP512
and AP513
12 V power amplifiers exhibit improved ACPR/ACLR (adjacent channel power/level)
performance and feature power down mode using a simple 5 V control line. WJ's
new VG112
variable gain amplifier feature high linearity and high power for applications
such as GPRS, GSM, CDMA, TD-SCDMA, and W-CDMA.
WJ
also introduced the ML401
and ML501
mixers with integral LO amplifiers, both of which are housed in low-cost
lead-free/green/RoHS-compliant SOIC-8 packages. In addition, WJ featured its CV221-2A
dual-channel converter with integral LO and IF amplifiers, which operates over
the 1900 to 2400 MHz RF frequency band with an LO frequency range of 1600 to
2335 MHz and an IF frequency range of 65 to 300 MHz.
For
more information, visit the WJ
storefront.
Zeland
Software
Zeland
demonstrated its new release of IE3D,
the company's method-of-moments (MoM)-based EM simulation and optimization
software, as well as an update to its Automatic Geometry to IE3D Flow (AGIF)
feature
(see related story). Zeland also announced that IE3D can now be integrated
with AWR's Microwave Office.
In
addition, Zeland also demonstrated newly released version 5.0 of FIDELITY,
its full 3-D EM simulator is based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD)
method.
Jim Pomager and Dr. Jian Zheng, president of Zeland Software
For
more information, visit the Zeland
storefront.
Click here for MTT-S 2006: Notes From The Exhibition Floor -- Part 2.