WIRELESS/PORTABLE 99—Merrimac Develops Online Microwave Service, Wins US Patent
Merrimac Industries has completed the development of On-Line Co-Design. This online service allows RF and microwave circuit designers to work over the Internet with the latest Series IV RF and microwave circuit design tools from HP EEsof and proprietary circuit elements from Merrimac's Multi-Mix multilayer packaging technology.
Multi-Mix is a microwave design and manufacturing process based on fluoropolymer composite substrates that are fusion-bonded together into a planar, multilayer structure. The fusion process provides a homogenous dielectric medium that yields strong performance at microwave and millimeter wave frequencies. Bonded layers can contain embedded semiconductors, MMICs, etched resistors, circuit patterns, and plated-though via holes.
The resulting circuit becomes a self-contained surface-mount module that does not require additional packaging. These modules can be placed on the circuit board automatically with standard pick-and-place equipment.
On-Line Co-Design lets engineers select and place RF components as well as specifically shaped, dimensionally coupled multilayer circuit elements, including dielectrics, passive networks and components, interconnects, and transmission line components. One the circuit is simulated, performance can be analyze and optimized, and the customer has the choice of either finishing the design or allow Merrimac's engineers to complete the design.
On-Line Co-Design is available to Merrimac customers. It is supported by a dedicated engineering staff.
New Patent
Merrimac has also landed a US patent for a microwave double-balanced biphase modulator incorporating a balun design. This modulator improves the amplitude and phase balance of two binary states of a biphase modulator. It also increases carrier suppression.
The patented biphase modulator employs two baluns, which transform an unbalanced impedance to a balanced impedance at some point in an RF or microwave transmission line. The first balun transforms the unbalanced RF input impedance to a balanced diode impedance. The second balun transforms the balanced diode impedance to the unbalaned RF output impedance, which provides access for data input.
For more information on On-Line Co-Design or the patented modulator, contact Merrimac at 973-575-1300.