DECEMBER2010
ALSO PUBLISHED ONLINE:
www.highfrequencyelectronics.com
INSIDE THE MICROWAVE
CONNECTOR – MATERIALS
AND CONSTRUCTION
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Technology Report—Update on Nanoscale Technologies
Design and Test of 600-Watt Laser Driver
Generalized Resistive Power Divider Design
Design Notes—Notes on Shannon’s Theorem
Featured Products—Resistive, mm-Wave and Test Products
Online Edition
JUMP DIRECTLY TO THE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
JUMP DIRECTLY TO THE
ADVERTISER INDEX
Copyright © 2010 Summit Technical Media, LLC
Ideas for today’s engineers: Analog · Digital · RF · Microwave · mm-wave · Lightwave
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DECEMBER2010
ALSO PUBLISHED ONLINE AT:
www.highfrequencyelectronics.com
Vol. 9 No. 12
You can view this issue page-by-page, or click on any of
the articles or columns in the Table of Contents below
18
42
50
rf laser driver
resistive dividers
tutorial
The Design and Test of
a 600-Watt RF Laser
Driver Using LDMOS
Transistors
Generalized Resistive
Power Divider Design
Inside the Microwave
Connector: Materials
and Construction
Greg Adams
Gary Breed
Richard Brounley
38
technology report
32
product coverage
An Update on NanoScale Technologies for
RF and Microwave
Applications
62
product coverage
Product Highlights
Featured Products
54
product coverage
New Products
64
design notes
Notes on Shannon’s
Theorem
Regular Columns
6 Editorial
12 In the News
62 Product Highlights
8 Meetings & Events
54 New Products
63 Advertiser Index
On the Cover—On this issue's cover, connector products from SGMC Microwave, Times
Microwave Systems, Rosenberger, Molex and Koaxis illustrate our tutorial topic.
December 2010
5
EDITORIAL
Vol. 9 No. 12, December 2010
Editorial Director
Gary Breed
gary@highfrequencyelectronics.com
Tel: 608-437-9800
Fax: 608-437-9801
Get Ready for
the 3G/4G Wireless
Data Explosion
Publisher
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scott@highfrequencyelectronics.com
Tel: 603-472-8261
Fax: 603-471-0716
Associate Publisher
Tim Burkhard
tim@highfrequencyelectronics.com
Tel: 707-544-9977
Fax: 707-544-9375
Associate Editor
Katie Landmark
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Tel: 608-437-9800
Fax: 608-437-9801
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Copyright © 2010, Summit Technical Media, LLC
6
High Frequency Electronics
Gary Breed
Editorial Director
T
his past summer, I began noticing a
lot of underground utility construction wherever I traveled. Manufacturers of guided boring machines must be
very happy to see their equipment hard at
work placing gas pipelines and water
mains, or helping a phone company
upgrade from copper to fiber. But lately, I
realized that the majority of the work is
running fiber optic cable for wireless network backhaul. It wasn’t hard to
figure this out—the construction passes by every cell tower!
The issue of backhaul capacity has been a big item in wireless industry
news in the past couple years, so we shouldn’t be surprised. However, after
watching the development of some recent trends in wireless usage, I just
hope they are laying enough cable to handle the coming demand.
And I mean LOTS of demand for wireless data services!
The 3G/4G smart phone phenomenon is just starting to take off. All
those apps require bandwidth (sometimes a lot), and with the growth of
other devices like pad computers, the availability of larger screens and
more computing power will only accelerate the desire for anywhere/anytime connectivity. Wireless service users are just beginning to understand
that many unique services are possible, and will soon become accustomed
to Internet access on their handheld devices wherever they are. “The World
at Your Fingertips” is no longer just a marketing slogan—it’s reality.
Technical Implications of All That Data
The picture is not entirely rosy. Besides the need for a backbone infrastructure, there are other serious challenges to be overcome before the full
potential of wireless broadband can be realized.
The first is basic wireless network coverage. The amount of data carried by wireless providers is doubling every 10 months, and there is evidence that the rate of growth will increase. For example, as the provider of
choice for the Apple iPhone, AT&T has reported that it experiences a large
jump in data traffic whenever a popular new app is introduced. A couple of
the early ones caused serious temporary outages.
Imagine the size of the problem as more Windows, Android and other
highly capable Internet-connected
devices reach the market. All those
users downloading the online
release of a blockbuster movie,
watching streaming video of the
Super Bowl or NCAA Final Four, or
trying out the latest release of a
popular video game, will create a
huge increase in wireless network
traffic.
Dealing with that traffic means
network operation must be maximized with smart antennas,
MIMO, and other transmission
technologies. Uninterrupted coverage will require difficult locations
to be filled in with microcells or picocells. Transmitting wide bandwidth data reliably requires maximum signal-to-noise ratio, so the
handsets must be optimized for low
noise figure, high dynamic range
performance, including better ways
to avoid degradation due to the
embedded, miniaturized antennas
used in most wireless devices. It’s a
big problem to solve.
There are other, more subtle
problems, too. A well-known annoyance with some smart phones is
short battery lifetime, so when a
new app to help this problem was
released a short time ago, it was
widely downloaded and put to use.
Unfortunately, part of that app’s
power reduction procedure was to
place the phone in “sleep” mode
quite often. This does save batteries, but every time the phone wakes
up, it contacts the network and
goes through a series of registration procedures. The amount of
overhead generated by tens or hundreds of thousands of phones reestablishing network sign-up over
and over again is enough to bring a
network system engineer to tears!
Of course, the answer is to
establish some kind of standards
for software apps that will run on
wireless devices—creating a type of
bureaucratic overhead that discourages creativity. However, it’s
still required, because of the inherent “laws of physics” limitations of
a wireless connection.
Which brings me to a final
point, one I try to get across to
friends, neighbors and colleagues
whenever possible—that the wireless device in their hand is first,
and irrevocably, a radio. Yes, it is
also a computer, telephone, naviga-
tion aid, camera, game console and
video player. Those things are secondary to the fact that, at the
heart, every wireless device is a
two-way radio—a fact that was forgotten for a while by wireless
device engineers, who are once
again realizing that radio performance is key for reliable wireless
broadband service.
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MEETINGS & EVENTS
CONFERENCES
January 5-8, 2011
National Radio Science Meeting
Boulder, CO
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.nrsmboulder.org
January 9-12, 2011
8th Annual IEEE Consumer Communications and
Networking Conference (CCNC)
Las Vegas, NV
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.ieee-ccnc.org
January 16-19, 2011
Radio Wireless Week:
IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS);
IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated
Circuits in RF Systems (SiRF)
Phoenix, AZ
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.radiowirelessweek.org
February 7-9, 2011
4th Annual Military Radar Summit
Washington, DC
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.MilitaryRadarSummit.com
February 20-24, 2011
IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference
San Francisco, CA
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.isscc.org
March 22-24, 2011
International CTIA Wireless 2011
Orlando, FL
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.ctiawireless.com
April 3-6, 2011
Int’l Symposium on Power Line Communications
Udine, Italy
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.ieee-isplc.org/2011/
April 9-14, 2011
2011 NAB Show
Las Vegas, NV
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.nabshow.com
April 11-15, 2011
European Conference on Antennas and Propagation
Rome, Italy
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.eucap2011.org
8
High Frequency Electronics
April 18-19, 2011
12th WAMICON 2011—IEEE Wireless and Microwave
Technology Conference
Clearwater, FL
Information: Conference Web site
http://wamicon.org
May 2-4, 2011
Sarnoff 2011—34th IEEE Sarnoff Symposium
Princeton, NJ
Information: Conference Web site
http://ewh.ieee.org/conf/sarnoff/2011/
May 16-19, 2011
APEMC 2011—Asia-Pacific EMC Symposium
Jeju Island, Korea
Information: Conference Web site
http://www.apemc2011.org
SHORT COURSES
UCLA Extension
Engineering, Information Systems and Technical
Management
10995 Le Conte Ave., Suite 315
Los Angeles, CA 90024-1333
Tel: 310-825-3344
E-mail: shortcourses@uclaextension.edu
http://uclaextension.edu/shortcourses
January 20, 2011—DSP-Based Carrier and Timing
February 7, 2011—Transitioning from Technical to
Managerial Responsibilities
February 20, 2011—Advances in Satellite Communications: Efficient and Reliable Transmission Systems
February 24, 2011—Software Defined Radio
Besser Associates
201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 115
Mountain View, CA 94040
Tel: 650-949-3300
Fax: 650-949-4400
E-mail: info@besserassociates.com
http://www.besserassociates.com
EMC/Shielding/Grounding Techniques for Chip & PCB
Layout
January 24-28, 2011, Web class
Phase Noise and Jitter
February 8-11, 2011, Web class
Designing High Efficiency RF Power Amplifiers
February 28-March, 2, 2011, San Diego, CA
Antennas & Propagation for Wireless Communications
February 28-March 2, 2011, San Diego, CA
Applied Design of RF/Wireless Products and Systems
February 28-March 2, 2011, San Diego, CA
Power Conversion & Regulation Circuits for VLSI Systems
February 28-March 2, 2011, San Diego, CA
RF Measurements: Principles & Demonstration
March 14-18, 2011, San Jose, CA
Military and Commercial Applications up to 120 GHz
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MEETINGS & EVENTS
Applied RF Techniques I
March 21-25, 2011, San Jose, CA
Applied RF II: Advanced Wireless and Microwave
Techniques
March 21-25, 2011, San Jose, CA
Practical Digital Wireless Signals - Measurements and
Characteristics
March 21-25, 2011, San Jose, CA
LTE Mobile Access
March 24-25, 2011, San Jose, CA
European School of Antennas
Prof. Stefano Maci
Dept. of Information Engineering
University of Sienna
53100 Siena ITALY
macis@ing.unisi.it
http://www.esoa-web.org
Antenna Project Management
March 21-25, 2011, EPFL—Lausanne
Propagation for Space Application
March 28-30, 2011, ESTEC—Supaero, Toulouse
Industrial Antenna Design
April 4-8, 2011, IMST—Duesseldorf
Leaky Waves and Periodic Structures for Antenna
Applications
April 26-29, 2011, SAPIENZA—Rome
Antenna Measurements at Millimeter and Submillimeter
Wavelengths
May 16-20, 2011, AALTO—Helsinki
Propagation and MIMO
May 30-June 3, 2011, UNISI/KIT—Siena
Compact Antennas
June 6-10, 2011, UPC—Barcelona
Terahertz Technology and Applications
June 13-17, 2011, UPC—Barcelona
Advanced Near-Field Antenna Measurement Techniques
June 20-24, 2011, DTU—Copenhagen
Body Area Network
June 27-30, 2011, QMUL—London
CALLS
FOR
PAPERS
14th Annual European Microwave Week
Manchester, UK
Conference Dates: October 9-14, 2011
Submission Deadline: February 12, 2011
Topics:
The European Microwave Conference is the largest
event within Europe to be dedicated to microwave technology and wireless systems. This is the premier forum
that covers the present status and future trends in
microwave, millimetre-wave and terahertz technologies.
On the hardware side, all aspects from components to
circuits to subsystems to applications are represented
by theory, design and measurements. Advances in the
synthesis and analysis of passive networks are welcome.
Breakthroughs in semiconductor device technologies
10
High Frequency Electronics
are also sought for applications that include ultra-low
noise signal sources and high efficiency power amplifiers for communications, radar, metrology and industrial applications. The wireless technologies sessions, with
an increased focus upon key applications, will encompass the major topics within the fast-moving mobile and
broadcast communications area—covering major
mobilestandards such as 3GPP, LTE+, WiMAX as well
as the broadcast technologies for HD and 3D transmission. Other important wireless topics will include the
increasingly important wireless power transfer technologies as well as telematics, personal area networks,
medical applications and assisted living.
Information:
In 2011 the submission of summaries is replaced by submission of preliminary papers. Authors should submit a
4-page preliminary paper in the standard conference
proceedings layout. A template can be downloaded from
the EuMW2011 website: www.eumweek.com. The paper
must be uploaded in pdf format. The maximum file size
is 1 MB. It is essential to emphasize the novelaspects of
your paper. One author information form per paper
must be completed at the EuMW2011 website when
uploading the paper. The week comprises three conferences. A paper can only be submitted to a single conference. Do not upload the same paper to more than one
conference. The deadline for submission of preliminary
papers is February 12th, 2011, 12:00 pm CET. Late submissions cannot be accepted.
ICEAA 2011—International Conference on
Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications;
IEEE APWC—IEEE-APS Topical Conference on
Antennas and Propagation in Wireless
Communications
Torino, Italy
Conference Dates: September 12-17, 2011
Submission Deadline: February 25, 2011
Topics:
Suggested topics for ICEAA include the following:
adaptive antennas, complex media, EM applications to
biomedicince, EM education, EM theory, finite methods,
intentional EMI, metamaterials, radar imaging, reflector antennas, and more. Suggested topics for APWC
include the following: active antennas, channel modeling, cognitive radio, DOA estimation, low-profile wideband antennas, MIMO systems, RFID technologies,
smart antennas and arrays, vehicular antennas, wireless security, and many more.
Information:
Authors must submit a full-page abstract electronically by February 25, 2011. Authors of accepted contributions must submit the full paper, executed copyright
form and registration electronically by June 3, 2011.
Each registered author may present one paper at
ICEAA and one paper at IEEE APWC. One additional
paper may also be accepted if space permits. All papers
must be presented by one of the authors. Please refer
to the website for details: http://www.iceaa.net.
Yes, chip inductors are among
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Broadband Conical Inductors
Air Core Inductors
High impedance from 10 MHz to
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For the highest possible Q
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RFID Transponder Coils
Wideband Transformers
A variety of antenna coils for 125
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Our low insertion loss transformers come in a wide range of turns
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IN THE NEWS
Technology News
Maravedis predicts over 350 million LTE subscribers by
2016, while the number of WiMAX subscribers should
reach 50 million. “Market forecasts have been revised to
reflect the economic slowdown and the progress made by
the LTE ecosystem,” said Maravedis Research Director
Adlane Fellah. With over 600 WiMAX deployments, 185
devices and 62 base stations certified, the worldwide
WIMAX industry accounted for over 13 million subscribers projected at the end of 2010. The WiMAX subscriber market share breakdown by standard was 57%
mobile, 25% fixed and 17% proprietary in Q2 2010.
Maravedis also anticipates that 14 LTE networks will be
operational worldwide by the end of 2010.
Business News
Morgan Technical Ceramics’ ElectroCeramics business in Bedford, OH has added finite element analysis
(FEA) capability for piezoelectric assemblies and transducers to address requirements in the medical, aerospace,
industrial, oceanographic, commercial, automotive and
state-of-the-art research applications. The goal is to use
this tool to better visualize, quantify and optimize the
performance of piezoelectric transducer concepts before
proceeding to physical prototypes, yielding a superior
solution for the end-user.
austriamicrosystems’ Full Service Foundry business
unit released its expanded fast and cost-efficient ASIC
prototyping service, known as Multi-Project Wafer (MPW)
or shuttle run, with an even more extensive schedule in
2011. The service, which combines several designs from
different customers onto one wafer, offers significant cost
advantages for foundry customers as the costs for wafer
and masks are shared among a number of different shuttle participants.
ARC Technologies has revamped its website for
smoother navigation and easier document download. The
site—www.arc-tech.com—now features a new design and
the addition of flash animation on its homepage. For customers looking for the latest information on ARC
Technologies’ microwave absorber products and electrically tuned composite materials, the new site provides
streamlined navigation for easier site browsing and easy
access to download brochure-catalog PDFs.
Dielectric Communications announced that it will
now operate under the name of SPX Communication
Technology, effective immediately. The full range of
Dielectric products—including its RF broadcast antenna
systems, transmission line, switching and patching components, and transmission accessories—will continue to
be sold globally by SPX Communication Technology
under the Dielectric® brand.
Herley Industries, Inc. announced that its Herley New
England division in Woburn, Massachusetts, has received
a $3 million contract from a U.S. prime contractor to produce diplexers and attenuators for use in Radar Warning
12
High Frequency Electronics
Receivers (RWR). Radar warning receivers are electronic
systems that detect all radar signals, determine the
threat levels, and command countermeasures.
Skyworks Solutions, Inc. announced that it has opened
an office in Singapore (Skyworks Global Pte Ltd) to support increasing demand for solutions within its linear
products portfolio and to further enhance its manufacturing activities in the region. Skyworks’ Singapore office
will support strategic sourcing, supply chain planning,
logistics and engineering; provide storage for finished
goods and die-bank distribution; and serve as a Failure
Analysis laboratory to help shorten customer response
time.
Agilent Technologies Inc. and Nomor Research
GmbH announced the availability of a simple, cost-effective method for generating realistic LTE uplink inter-cell
interference signals using Agilent’s MXG signal generators. This is the most cost-effective approach for engineers
who need to generate real-world cellular interference signal conditions to validate LTE system performance. The
uplink signals are required for LTE field trials.
RF Micro Devices announced that it has been awarded
a $1.5 million R&D contract by the Office of Naval
Research (ONR) related to gallium nitride (GaN) microelectronics, including the development of materials,
device fabrication and high power circuits. The $1.5 million R&D contract award expands RFMD’s contract backlog over the next six quarters to approximately $5 million. Since calendar 2004, RFMD has been awarded over
$14.5 million in R&D contracts by the U.S. Government
for development of its GaN high power RF technology.
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc. announced that
its Santa Clara Design Center has moved to a new facility with state-of-the-art equipment to accommodate the
expanded engineering and business functions that occur
at this location. This Design Center is focused on the
design and development of monolithic pHEMT integrated
solutions covering 6 to 50 GHz for commercial and military applications.
Maxtek Components Corporation, a Tektronix company, announced that it will now be known as Tektronix
Component Solutions. Leveraging one of the technology world’s most trusted brands in test instrumentation,
this name change reflects the customer’s increased access
to core capabilities and high-performance technologies
developed by Tektronix Component Solutions in support
of its parent company, Tektronix.
TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. has received a $2 million contract from the U.S. Naval Research
Laboratory (NRL) to develop S-band amplifiers with
new benchmarks for noise floor, linearity and efficiency
performance. TriQuint was awarded the contract based
on its expertise developing new semiconductor processes
±0.5dB RMS Power Accuracy
6GHz Dual, Matched RMS Detector with
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High Frequency Electronics
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High Frequency Design
RF POWER AMPLIFIER
The Design and Test of a
600-Watt RF Laser Driver
Using LDMOS Transistors
By Richard W. Brounley
Brounley Engineering, Inc.
T
he use of LDMOS
transistors in RF
laser drivers presents major potential
improvements over MOSFETS like the MRF151
and BLF177 that have
been used successfully for
many years. This article
describes a two-transistor push-pull design at the commonly used frequency of 40.68 MHz, comparing its performance with a design using push-pull MOSFETS using the MRF151 or BLF177.
The design of a reliable laser driver
involves ensuring that the RF power amplifier
(RFPA) is stable and protected from mis-
This article decribes the
major differences in the
behavior of RF MOSFETs and
LDMOS devices in RF power
amplifiers used for laser
driver applications, which
have varying VSWR during
striking and operation
matches that can vary from a voltage standing
ratio (VSWR) of 1:1 to as high as 20:1 at any
phase angle of the reflection coefficient. The
RFPA must be able to strike the laser when its
VSWR is highest. Normally, the RFPA cable
length between the RFPA and laser is selected
for the best striking voltage across the laser
resonant circuit. This also results in the maximum power dissipation in the transistors
should the laser fail to strike, requiring suitable protection. The average power dissipation
of the transistors must not be exceeded, the
RFPA must be free from any unstable operation that may cause it to be uncontrollable by
protection methods, and drain voltage excursions must be limited so that drain voltage
breakdown is avoided.
Push-Pull MRF151s
Data Sheet Specifications
125 V
1. Vdss:
±40 V
2. Vgs:
16 A
3. Id:
300W at Tc = 25 deg. C
4. Pd:
200 deg. C
5. Tj:
0.6 deg. C per watt
6. Rjc:
Vdss: –0.5, +110 V
Vgs: –0.5, +10 V
Not Given
729W at Tc = 25 deg. C
Tj: 200 deg. C
Rjc: 0.24 deg. C per watt
RFPA Performance
1. B+:
2. Power output:
2. *Striking power:
3. Gain:
4. Efficiency:
5. Operating VSWR:
6. Harmonics:
7. Spurious:
48 V
600 W pk, 600 W average
600 W pk
25 dB
80%
14:1
>30 dBc
>50 dBc
48 V
600 W pk, 300 W average
800 W pk
15 dB
75%
2:1
>30 dBc
>50 dBc
Push-Pull MRF6V2300NBR1s2
*Striking power is the maximum forward power developed into a 10:1 VSWR and represents the RFPA’s ability to
strike the laser before lasing, after which the input is matched.
Table 1 · Basic push-pull RFPA comparison.
18
High Frequency Electronics
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High Frequency Design
RF POWER AMPLIFIER
Basic Push-Pull Circuit
The basic circuit for both RFPAs is the well-known
push-pull input and output design using ferrite loaded 4:1
and 1:4 tube type transformers. The cores in the output
transformer are enclosed in a heat-sink to provide cooling. Additional low pass filtering in the output circuit
reduces the harmonics. The output transformer for the
MRF6V2300-NBR1 uses larger cores because of the
600 W average power. Care must be exercised to prevent
the cores from overheating or saturating due to the RF
power, which can cause core losses to increase permanently. An alternate output circuit is used for the
MRF6V2300NBR1 that uses a balun transformer in order
to reduce the possibility of saturation of the cores and the
resulting increase in losses. However, the balun transformer requires DC blocking and LC matching circuit
components. Little power is dissipated in the balun transformer cores from out-of-phase currents and heat-sinking
of the cores may not be required as long as the core temperature remains below about 80 degrees C.
Drain Voltage Problems
High efficiency RF amplifiers have an ongoing problem with regard to drain voltage excursions that exceed
the manufacturer’s DC breakdown ratings. At a B+ voltage of 50 V, drain voltage peaks can approach four times
the B+ or close to 200 V [1]. The oscilloscope waveform of
Figure 1 was taken under the following test conditions:
· B+: 40 V
· Frequency: 40.68 MHz
· Power output: 544 W
· Efficiency: 85%
· Vd: 150 V pk
· Gain: 24 dB
These excursions are on the order of only 2 nsec long
during the time they exceed the DC breakdown rating,
and it is generally concluded that the RF breakdown is
higher than the DC value specified by the manufacturer.
In recognizing this problem, Microsemi has introduced
versions of their VRF151 with an increased breakdown
voltage from 130 V to 180 V, which should result in more
rugged transistors when operated in one of the high efficiency modes—Classes D, E, Mixed Mode, etc. Some failures experienced with the MRF6V2300NBR1 appear to
be caused by this failure mode.
Since the existence of these drain voltage peaks is
commonplace with high efficiency amplifiers, the choice is
to either use a lower B+ voltage where the peaks don’t
exceed the manufacturer’s DC breakdown rating, or risk
possible failures at a higher voltage and increased power.
To reduce the B+ to a safe level, can result in a substantial reduction in available output power, thereby requir20
High Frequency Electronics
Figure 1 · Dain voltage waveform: Pv = 544 W; Eff. =
85%; 40.68 MHz.
ing additional transistors at an increase in cost and complexity. To provide a way to ensure that the transistors
are sufficiently rugged at a B+ voltage that results in
New High Voltage LDMOS Devices
Freescale has added a line of transistors that have
addressed the failure problems encountered with the
MRF6V2300NBRE, particularly under high VSWR
conditions. Since this article was written, the
MRFE6VP6300H [2] has
been tested and compared
with the MRF6V2300NBR1
at 100 MHz. No failures
have been encountered into an open circuit at all phase
angles. The resulting performance of a single transistor
in an LC input and output matching circuit under CW
operation is shown below.
· B+: 48 V
· Power output: 350 W
· Efficiency: 73%
· Gain: 23 dB
· VSWR: 14:1 all phases CW
· Harmonics: >30 dBc
Six transistors were tested. Future testing will be at
done at lower frequencies, like 40.68 MHz and 13.56
MHz, to ensure that the transistors are free from failure where the drain voltage waveform is more stressful
because of its true switching characteristic and harmonic content.
© 2010 AWR Corporation. All rights reserved.
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High Frequency Design
RF POWER AMPLIFIER
maximum power from the transistor, but has drain voltages that exceed the manufacturer’s breakdown specification, a test has been developed called a “Transient VSWR”
test. In this test, the transistor is operated in the pulsed
mode at a low duty cycle and short pulse length so that
excessive dissipation will not be a factor. A VSWR of 14:1
is used and the reflection coefficient phase is rotated
around the Smith chart to ensure that breakdown doesn’t
occur during mismatched loads where the drain voltage
can increase over the matched condition. Since the average power dissipation is low, a jig can be used so that the
transistor doesn’t have to be soldered in the circuit. This
test ensures that the transistor is rugged enough to be
used in the circuit before it is actually installed for operation.
Even though this test has proven successful in making
sure that transistors used in high efficiency RFPAs are
free from this kind of breakdown before being used, it
would be helpful if power device manufactures would
provide sufficient RF breakdown ratings so this test
would not be necessary.
Other Comparisons Between LDMOS and
MOSFET Transistors
1. The high gain of the MRF6V2300NBR1 and the low
gate voltage break-down rating of +10, –0.5 V, can result
in failure if the gate is over-driven. Therefore, it is important to use a driver transistor whose power rating is limited to about 1.0-1.5 W per device driven. For example,
the MRF134 is rated at about 5 W and can drive four of
the MRF6V2300NBR1s. Also, the MRF6V4300NBR1 has
a gate voltage rating of +10, –6 V, and it may be better to
use it under conditions where higher drive power is possible. Otherwise, no difference has been found between
the two LDMOS transistors. MOSFETs like the MRF151
or BLF177 have a ±40 V gate breakdown rating and have
no overdrive problems.
2. MOSFETS, like the MRF151, have significant
changes to the input impedance as the drive level is varied. This makes cascading transistors difficult and subject
to spurious responses. The LDMOS transistors are very
linear with drive power and the input impedance changes
very little. Because of the high gain and low feedback,
there is very little exchange of power from the output to
the input.
3. MOSFETS have a droop in power as the junction
temperature increases from the power dissipated. Normal
droop is from 0.5 to 1.0 dB. More than that is considered
excessive. The MRF6V2300NBR1 shows very little
change verses the junction power dissipation. This is due
to its higher power rating, but the specifications also
show a major improvement in temperature stability. This
is important in applications where the average power
varies over a wide range as is the case for lasers. It also
22
High Frequency Electronics
allows operation into higher VSWR loads without failure.
4. The case for the MRF6V2300-NBR1 is much different from the MRF151. Its source is both the RF and thermal ground. Care must be taken to mount the transistor
according to the Freescale application notes. AN3263
describes the method of mounting, including the preferred thermal pad. The TGON-805 was used in the testing of this RFPA. It appears from the application note,
that measuring the temperature of the plastic top is very
close to measuring the junction temperature and is useful
in evaluating it under power. In the push-pull pair used,
it appeared to be worthwhile to use a copper bar across
the two transistors rather than to use only screws in the
mounting holes. This method appeared to make better
thermal contact across the length of the transistor.
AN1965 is also informative in explaining how the measurement of the 0.24 degrees C per watt thermal resistance was made.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The superiority of the LDMOS transistors in power
dissipation, gain, and linearity, compared to MOSFETs
like the MRF151 and BLF177, make them an attractive
choice for use in applications like laser drivers and plasma generators. However, to date there have been failures
attributed to drain voltages that exceed the DC breakdown rating [2]. Also, they are not capable of providing as
much peak current into mismatched loads, resulting in
reduced striking power. However, there are other methods to enhance the striking power for laser applications.
It is appreciated that the LDMOS transistors are capable of much higher frequency operation than the
MRF151 or BLF177 and are superior as linear amplifiers. The choice of whether or not to use them in place of
the MOSFETS is a matter of choosing the best transistor
for the application.
References
1 Krauss, Bostian, and Raab, Solid State Radio
Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, 1980, pp. 405, 408, 472.
2. Freescale Semiconductor, “RF Power Field Effect
Transistors,” data sheet.
Author Information
Richard Brounley is the founder of Brounley
Engineering, and for more than 40 years has been developing high power RF equipment for communications, military, medical, industrial and scientific applications at frequencies from 2 to 1000 MHz.
He can be reached by e-mail at: richardbrounley@
tampabay.rr.com
An Appendix describing VSWR testing for laser driver
applications begins on the following page.
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High Frequency Design
RF POWER AMPLIFIER
Appendix: VSWR Testing of RF Power Amplifiers to be Used in Driving Lasers
I
n order to ensure that a RF power
amplifier can safely withstand
operation into mismatched loads, a
test procedure has been developed
whereby a safe rating can be established as part of the RFPA’s specification. It also gives useful information
how to select the interconnecting 50
ohm cable length between the RFPA
and laser to enhance the striking of
the laser.
Test Procedure
This is a description of the test for
an 81.36 MHz RFPA capable of 600
W of average power and over 1250 W
of peak power in the super-pulse
mode of operation. Please refer to the
block diagram in Figure A1. The
block diagram consists of the components listed below.
Figure A1 · RFPA VSWR testing block diagram.
1. The RFPA under test.
2. An initial length of coaxial cable
is used to measure the power into the
50 ohm measuring system. A phase
length of 48 degrees is used here.
3. VSWR loads for 1.9:1, 3:1, and
9:1 are alternately connected
between the RFPA output and the 50
ohm measuring system. The loads are
comprised of an inductor in series
with the 50 ohm measuring system,
which consists of the Bird 4391a
Power Analyst, 30 dB attenuator and
any interconnecting cable. The complex series impedance represents the
desired VSWR indicated by the
reflection coefficient magnitude and
phase angle. The reflection coefficient
is the vector sum of the forward and
reflected voltages on the transmission line. At a phase angle of zero
degrees, the forward and reflected
voltages add in phase. At 180 degrees
they subtract out of phase. In
between they are complex impedances both inductive and capacitive.
For the 1.9:1 VSWR, the reflection
coefficient is 0.31 at an angle of +68º;
24
High Frequency Electronics
for the 3:1 VSWR, the reflection coefficient is 0.5 at an angle of +54º and
for the 9:1 VSWR, the reflection coefficient is 0.80 at an angle of +30º.
3. Cables are added to the initial
cable in 15 degree increments up to
90 degrees. The cables have opposite
gender connectors on the ends so they
can be connected together to change
the phase of the VSWR to cover the
full Smith chart range. Six cables are
used: 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90
degrees. These cover the first 90
degrees. The second 90 degrees is covered by adding the 15, 30, 45, 60 and
75 to the first 90 degree cable. When
preparing the cables, they can be
measured using the HP84054A
Vector Voltmeter.
4. A Bird 4391A Power Analyst is
used to measure the peak power into
the 50 ohm measuring system. This is
used in conjunction with a HP435B,
or equivalent power meter, to give an
accurate measure of the power. The
HP435B also has a 20 dB attenua-
tor—the 8482H—in series with it.
The peak reading HP4391 is more
subject to error due to harmonics and
transient spikes than the HP435A
average reading power meter. The
peak power of the HP435A is the
average times the duty cycle of the
modulator. The Bird 4391A is optional and the HP435B can be used alone.
5. A Bird 8329-300 30 dB attenuator, or suitable equivalent, reduces
the power so it falls within the range
of the HP435B power meter as well
as the diode detector.
6. The detected peak power is displayed on the oscilloscope so that an
accurate reading of the duty cycle can
be seen and the pulsed detected
waveform examined for any sign of
instability, particularly with respect
to any tendency for free running
oscillations which can impair the protection circuit’s effectiveness.
7. The HP8405A is useful as an
RF voltmeter with 3% accuracy and
can be used to measure the total loss
UP TO
100 Watt
AMPLIFIERS
!
NOW
5 MHz to18 GHz
LZY-1+
LZY-2+
ZHL-10W-2G
ZHL-16W-43+
ZHL-30W-252+
ZHL-50W-52
ZHL-100W-52
ZHL-100W-GAN+
ZHL-30W-262+
ZHL-5W-2G
ZHL-5W-1
ZHL-20W-13
945
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from
Model
ea. qty. (1-9)
Freq.
(MHz)
Gain
(dB)
fL-fU
Typ.
Pout (dBm) Dynamic Range DC Pwr.
Price
Price
@Comp
NF
IP3
Volt Current $ ea.
X
1dB 3dB
(dB) (dBm)
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(A) Qty. 1-9 suffix
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LZY-1+
20-512
43
LZY-2+
500-1000 46
ZHL-5W-1
5-500
44
ZHL-5W-2G+
800-2000 45
ZHL-10W-2G+
800-2000 43
ZHL-16W-43+ 1800-4000 45
20-1000 50
U ZHL-20W-13
ZHL-30W-252+ 700-2500 50
U ZHL-50W-52
50-500
50
50-500
50
U ZHL-100W-52
+45.7
+45.0
+39.5
+37.0
+40.0
+41.0
+41.0
+44.0
+46.0
+47.0
+47.0
+45.8
+40.5
+38.0
+41.0
+42.0
+43.0
+46.0
+48.0
+48.5
8.6
8.0
4.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
3.5
5.5
6.0
6.5
+54
+54
+49
+44
+50
+47
+50
+52
+55
+57
26
28
25
24
24
28
24
28
24
24
7.3
8.0
3.3
2.0
5.0
4.3
2.8
6.3
9.3
10.5
1995
1995
995
995
1295
1595
1395
2995
1395
1995
1895
1895
970
945
1220
1545
1320
2920
1320
1920
ZVE-3W-183+ 6000-18000
ZVE-3W-83+
2000-8000
U ZHL-100W-GAN+ 20-500
ZHL-30W-262+ 2300-2550
+34.0 +35.0
+33.0 +35.0
+49.0 +50.0
+43.0 +45.0
5.5
5.8
7.0
7.0
+44
+42
+60
+50
15
15
30
28
2.2
1.5
9.5
4.3
1295
1295
2395
1995
1220
1220
2320
1920
NEW
35
36
42
50
U Protected under U.S. Patent 7,348,854
For models without heat sink, add X suffix to model No.
Example: ( LZY-1+ LZY-1X+)
ZHL-16W-43X
ZHL-30W-262X
ZHL-5W-2GX
LZY-1X+
ZHL-20W-13X ZVE-3W-83+
LZY-2X+
ZVE-3W-183+
ZHL-10W-2GX
ZHL-50W-52X
ZHL-100W-52X
ZHL-100W-GAN+
®
®
ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine ILQGVWKHPRGHO\RXQHHG,QVWDQWO\‡For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
U.S. patent 7739260
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS
416 rev U
High Frequency Design
RF POWER AMPLIFIER
Figure A2 · RF power amp—81.36 MHz.
of the 50 ohm measuring system from
the 4391A input to the output of the
8329-300 attenuator plus any interconnecting cables. This factor is used
to correct the power reading. A
detailed procedure for accurately calibrating the power measuring system
is included in a later section,
8. A pulse modulator converts the
pulse from the pulse generator to
that required by the bias voltage for
the FET transistors which is 4.7 V.
Pulsing the gates of the FETS
reduces the gain between pulses and
increases the stability of the RFPA,
particularly into high VSWR loads.
9. The spectrum analyzer can be
used to see if any spurious frequencies occur during the VSWR test, particularly at high VSWRs. Such spurious may not be at the operating frequency of the laser and can result in
ineffective operation with the laser.
10. A data sheet is used to record
26
High Frequency Electronics
the peak power and peak current,
versus the magnitude and phase of
the reflection coefficient. Figure A2 is
a schematic diagram of the amplifier.
Table A1 is a sample data sheet
shown for the 81.36 MHz, 600 W
RFPA.
Calculation of Maximum
Operating VSWR
Using the peak power recorded,
the peak current and the B+ voltage
selected for the test, the peak power
dissipation in each output transistor
is calculated according to the follow-
CW Power Output vs B+ Voltage
B+ (V)
35
32
28
25*
CW Power (W)
621
529
391
299
DC Current (A)
24
22
19
16
Efficiency (%)
74
75
73
73
*Minimum voltage for proper Exciter operation
1. Frequency: 81.36 MHz ±.115% (crystal controlled)
2. Operating VSWR: 2:1 (external protection from excessive dissipation above
2:1 required)
3. Harmonics: 2nd = 20 dBc; 3rd and above >36 dBc
4. Maximum heat-sink temperature: 50ºC
5. Stability: Unconditionally stable into any VSWR and phase angle.
6. Modulation input: TTL
Table A1 · Final RFPA test results.
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Interface conforms to MIL-STD 348
Common configurations in stock
rf@CarlisleIT.com
High Frequency Design
RF POWER AMPLIFIER
Figure A3 · Forward Power vs. θ for VSWRs of 1.9:1, 3:1,
9:1.
ing formula: Peak power dissipation
per transistor, Pd = [(Pin – Po)(0.9)]/N
where N equals the number of output
transistors. The 0.9 factor subtracts
power in the driver transistor from
being included in the output transistors. Pin is the B+ voltage times the
peak input current, Ip. This peak
power dissipation is then plotted versus the reflection coefficient phase
angles as shown in the graph of
Figure A3.
The maximum operating average
VSWR is determined by the maximum allowable junction temperature, Tj, of the output transistors. A
conservative number for Tj maximum is 140 degrees C. The formula
for calculating the junction temperature is: Tj = Tc + Pd(Ro) where Tc is
the expected transistor case temperature. Ro is the thermal resistance of
the transistor and is specified by the
transistor’s manufacturer. Ro for the
BLF177 is 0.8 degrees C per watt; for
the MRF151 it is 0.6 degrees C per
watt; and for the new VRF151E it is
0.45 degrees C per watt. This
equates to a 25 degree C power dissipation rating of 218 W for the
BLF177; 291 W for the MRF151 and
389 W for the VRF151E. The test is
conducted by pulsing the FETs gates
at a reduced duty cycle in order to
prevent excessive dissipation in the
transistors from causing a failure. A
28
High Frequency Electronics
Figure A4 · Power dissipated per transistor vs. θ for
VSWRs of 1.9:1, 3:1, 9:1.
50% duty cycle is used for the 1.9:1
VSWR. For the 3:1 VSWR, the duty
cycle is reduced to 33.33%. For the
9:1 VSWR, the duty cycle is reduced
to 16.7%. A 200 µs pulse width is
used in all testing to prevent the
junctions from overheating during
the length of the pulse. The purpose
of the test is to choose the reflection
coefficient’s phase angle where the
maximum dissipation occurs and to
give an estimate of the dissipation.
The maximum dissipation occurs at
a phase angle of +90 degrees for all
three VSWRs. Notice how the three
VSWR curves line up at approximately the same phase angle. This
means, not only does the best initial
striking occur here, but that during
the laser striking transition time of
about 10 µsec, maximum power is
delivered until a good match is
achieved.
While it is difficult to actually
measure the junction temperature
when determining the maximum
operating VSWR, experience has
shown that when the low duty cycle
peak power decreases by about 25%,
due to the junction temperature
increasing as the duty cycle is
increased, this appears to be the
point of maximum allowable dissipation. Therefore, the test consists of
first operating at a duty cycle of 10%
and then gradually increasing the
duty cycle while observing the drop
in peak power. When the peak power
decreases by about 25%, this is the
point of maximum allowable junction
temperature. If this occurs for the
1.9:1 VSWR for CW, then this is the
correct rating. If it occurs for a duty
cycle less than CW, then this indicates that the 1.9:1 VSWR rating is
too high and the unit should be rated
for a lower operating VSWR.
Because this test is run at the
very worst phase angle and the 140
degrees C junction temperature maximum is conservative, judgment is
necessary to actually determine an
effective and practical VSWR activation set-point. If it is set too low, like
at 1.2:1, the system may be too critical and unnecessary activation of the
protection may occur. Therefore the
set-point activation may have to be
increased for practical operation.
This is particularly true for burn-in
stations where the VSWR tends to
vary significantly and burn-in cycles
may be interrupted unnecessarily.
However, the test does give information useful in determining the operating VSWR of the RFPA.
The curve of Power Dissipation
versus Phase Angle (Figure A4)
shows the maximum peak power dissipation for the three transistors.
This can be calculated by setting the
maximum junction temperature to
AMPLIFIERS
Gain
Frequency
Gain
Flatness
(GHz)
(dB, Min.) (±dB, Max.)
Model Number
JSW4-18002600-20-5A
JSW4-26004000-28-5A
JSW4-18004000-35-5A
JSW4-33005000-45-5A
JSW5-40006000-55-0A
18-26
26-40
18-40
33-50
40-60
34
25
21
21
18
Noise
Figure
(dB, Max.)
In/Out
VSWR
(Max.)
Output Power
at 1dB Comp.
(dBm, Typ.)
2.0
2.8
3.5
4.5
5.5
2.0:1/2.0:1
2.2:1/2.0:1
2.5:1/2.5:1
2.5:1/2.5:1
2.75:1/2.75:1
5
5
5
5
0
1.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
Higher output power options available.
MIXER/CONVERTER PRODUCTS
Frequency (GHz)
Model Number
RF
LO
IF
Conversion
Gain/Loss
(dB, Typ.)
Noise
Figure
(dB, Typ.)
Image
Rejection
(dB, Typ.)
LO-RF
Isolation
(dB, Typ.)
42
42
11
11
-7.5
-10
-9
-10
2.5
3.5
9.5
9.5
8
10.5
9.5
10.5
25
25
25
25
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
45
45
25
25
25
20
25
20
LNB-1826-30
18-26
Internal
2-10
LNB-2640-40
26-40
Internal
2-16
IR1826N17*
18-26
18-26
DC-0.5
IR2640N17*
26-40
26-40
DC-0.5
SBW3337LG2 33-37
33-37
DC-4
TB0440LW1
4-40
4-42
.5-20
DB0440LW1
4-40
4-40
DC-2
SBE0440LW1
4-40
2-20
DC-1.5
* For IF frequency options, please contact MITEQ.
MULTIPLIERS
Model Number
Input
Output
Input
Level
(dBm, Min.)
MAX2M260400
MAX2M200380
MAX2M300500
MAX4M400480
MAX3M300300
MAX2M360500
MAX2M200400
TD0040LA2
13-20
10-19
15-25
10-12
10
18-25
10-20
2-20
26-40
20-38
30-50
40-48
30
36-50
20-40
4-40
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
Frequency (GHz)
Output
Fundamental
Feed Through Level
Power
(dBm, Min.)
(dBc, Min.)
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
-3
18
18
18
18
60
18
18
30
DC current
@+15VDC
(mA, Nom.)
160
200
160
250
160
160
160
N/A
Higher output power options available.
MITEQ also offers custom designs to meet your specific requirements.
For additional information or technical support, please
contact our Sales Department at (631) 439-9220
or e-mail components@miteq.com
100
100 Davids
Davids Drive
Drive •• Hauppauge,
Hauppauge, NY
NY 11788
11788
TEL.:
TEL.: (631)
(631) 436-7400
436-7400 •• FAX:
FAX: (631)
(631) 436-7430
436-7430
www.miteq.com
Get info at www.HFeLink.com
High Frequency Design
RF POWER AMPLIFIER
140 degrees C and the expected maximum case temperature to 50 degrees
C. The maximum dissipation is then
Pd max = [140 – 50] / Ro and equals
200 watts for the VRE151E, 150
watts for the MRF151 and 112.5
watts for the BLF177. These are the
low duty cycle peak dissipation readings. The maximum CW dissipation
needs to be determined using the
method discussed above.
Other Reasons for the VSWR Test
1. The drain voltage excursions in
a high-efficiency amplifier can
increase substantially when operated
into a high VSWR. Passing the VSWR
test insures that this won’t occur and
2-18 GHz Bandwidth
Switching Speed 500 nSec
Digital or Analog Models
Digitally, Voltage &
Current Controlled
Phase Invariant
Digital Switched Pad
SP1T to SP128T
DC - 26.5 GHz
Reflective
Absorptive
Integrate passive, active
and control devices
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cause breakdown of the drains for
conditions typical of striking the
laser. Typically a 50% increase in
peak drain voltage, over the value
into a matched 50 ohm load, occurs
during the VSWR 9:1 test. At a B+
voltage of 32 V, the 81.36 RFPA
shown had a peak drain voltage of
80 Vpk into 50 ohms. Into the 9:1
VSWR it increased to 120 Vpk for the
worst case phase angle.
2. As stated previously, it is important that the RFPA is free from any
unstable operation during the VSWR
test. Observing the detected voltage
on the oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer can be useful to insure this.
3. The plot of forward power versus the reflection coefficient phase
angle shows the phase angle of maximum forward power. This can be used
to match the laser’s unlit reflection
phase angle back to the RFPA by
using a 50 ohms cable of the correct
phase length. The phase angle for
maximum striking power for the
example shown is +90 degrees. If the
unlit phase angle for a correctly
matched and operating laser is 0
degrees, then a cable length of 135
degrees is required. Remember that
Smith chart degrees are twice the
actual cable length degrees.
4. It needs to be recognized that
phasing the RFPA and laser for maximum striking power, also results in
maximum dissipation should the
laser fail to strike. It is best to always
strike the laser in the pulsed mode
where the dissipation is low until
striking is assured. Trying to strike a
laser in the CW mode can lead to failures and suitable protection should
be used when the set-point is exceeded. Brounley Engineering recommends a protection scheme that, once
the VSWR set point is exceeded, the
unit is put into an automatic pulsed
mode whereby the pulse width and
duty cycle are limited to 200 µs and
10% respectively, resulting in a safe
operating condition. Normal operation is returned once the VSWR drops
below the set-point.
50 Ohm System Calibration Using
the Vector Voltmeter
The HP8405A Vector Voltmeter is
capable of being used as a wide-range
RF voltmeter with an accuracy of 3%
of full scale (FS). For calibration, follow these steps:
1. Connect the A and B probes to a
BNC 3-way T adapter including the
HP8640B signal generator set to
0.77 V output. Record any difference
between A and B as an error to be
corrected later. Correction will be B/A
if A is larger and A/B if B is larger.
2. Using a BNC 3-way T adapter,
connect probe A to one port of the
connector, the HP8640B Signal
Generator to another and the input
to the Bird 4391 to the third. Set the
HP8640B to 0.7 V on the HP8405A
1000 mV scale.
3. At the 50 ohm measuring system output where the power is to be
measured by the HP435B—8482H
attenuator combination, connect a 50
ohm termination connected to probe
B of the HP8405A. Reduce the attenuator of the HP8405A to the 30 mV
scale. This is 30 dB below the 1000
mv scale. Read the voltage on the B
probe. The attenuation is then:
[Bv/0.7]·C where C is the correction
factor in 1. Example: for B/A =
0.73 / 0.7 = 1.04; C = 0.96 since B is
larger than A. If Bv = 22 mV, then the
attenuation = [22/700]0.96 = .0316 =
30 dB. The HP435A—8482H combination power reading is to be multiplied by 1000.
watt at the operating frequency into
the 8482H—HP435B combination.
The 1 watt output is then connected
to the input of the Bird 4391A Power
Analyst. The 8482H—HP435B combination is then connected to the 50
ohm measuring system and the range
of the HP435B reduced to read the
output power. The attenuation is
then the output power divided by the
input power. For example, with the
1 W input, the output of the 50 ohm
measuring system at Brounley
Engineering is 30.6 dB below the 1 W
input. Therefore, the power reading
on the HP435B during the test
should be multiplied by 1,148. The
calibration using the HP435B and
the HP8405B should agree within
0.5 dB or less.
Accurate and Reliable Signal Power Reduction
Leaded Chip & Flange Mount
Features:
Materials:
• Attenuation:
1 dB through 30 dB
• Aluminum Nitride
Substrate
• Operating Frequency:
DC to 3 GHz
• Resistive Elements:
Tantalum Nitride
• Power Handling:
150 Watts
• Terminations: 100% Ag
• Alumina Covers
• Return Loss:
30 dB min.
Environmental:
• Operating Temperature
Range: -55°C to +150°C
• RoHS compliant
• Attenuation Stability:
0.0001 dB per
dB/ dB/°C max
• Reliability per
Mil-PRF-55342
• 100% Thin Film process
• Impedance: 50 ohms
50 Ohm Measuring System Calibration Using the Power Meter
and Attenuator Combination
The HP435B Power Meter and
8482H 20 dB attenuator combination
are connected to the output of the
Bird 8329-300 30 dB attenuator
including any connecting cable. In
order to accurately use the dynamic
range of the HP435B, a one-watt stable source is necessary. This consists
of the HP8640B Signal Generator
driving a calibration amplifier. The
output of the amplifier is set to one
Register to receive five
free Attenuator samples!
Visit: http://www.atceramics.com/attenuators/3
A M E R I C A N
ATC North America
631-622-4700
sales@atceramics.com
T E C H N I C A L
ATC Europe
+46 8 6800410
sales@atceramics-europe.com
C E R A M I C S
ATC Asia
+86-755-2396-8759
sales@atceramics-asia.com
w w w . a t c e r a m i c s . c o m
Get info at www.HFeLink.com
High Frequency Products
FEATURED PRODUCTS
Resistive Products
resistors in maximum working
voltage. Additionally, the product is
available with lead-free terminations to meet EU RoHS requirements.
KOA Speer Electronics, Inc.
www.koaspeer.com
Wide Band Temperature
Variable Attenuator
EMC Technology introduces a new
wideband surface mount temperature variable attenuator optimized
for performance from DC to 20
GHz. Using EMCs patented
Thermopad® technology, the WTVA
offers the best performance to date
for high frequency applications
including optimal temperature
coefficients of attenuation (TCA) at
frequencies from 12.4 GHz up to 20
GHz. The WTVA wide band temperature variable attenuator is
available in a RoHS compliant solder finish with dB values from 2 to
6 dB and negative coefficients
slopes from 0.003 to 0.006.
EMC Technology
www.emc-rflabs.com
Precision Flat Chip Resistor
KOA Speer Electronics, Inc. introduces a new smaller sized, precision surface mount resistor with
1% tolerance designed to meet the
continuing demand for miniature
components for portable devices.
KOA Speer’s new thick film 01005RK73H1F resistor has a power rating of 0.33 watts, a resistance
range of 10 ohms to 1Mohm, at
±1% tolerance and a TCR of ±250
to ±300ppm/°C. The surface mount
resistor is manufactured per KOA
Speer’s high performance RK73H
standards, and provides superior
resistance over standard chip
32
High Frequency Electronics
Thick Film Chip Resistors
Vishay
Intertechnology,
Inc.
released a new series of long side
termination thick film chip resistors with high power ratings to
1.0 W and high temperature cycle
withstand ability in 0612 and 1218
case sizes. Qualified to AEC-Q200
Rev. C, the RCL0612 e3 and
RCL1218 e3 feature wide terminals that enable high power dissipation. The RCL e3 series features
tolerances of 1% and 5%, TCR of
±100 ppm/K and ±200 ppm/K, and
a resistance range from 1 Ω to 2.2
MΩ. The resistors offer a protective
overglaze and pure tin solder contacts on a Ni barrier layer for compatibility with lead-free and leadcontaining soldering processes.
The devices are compliant to RoHS
directive 2002/95/EC and halogenfree according to the IEC 61249-221 definition.
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.
www.vishay.com
Low PIM Terminations
Florida RF Labs introduces a new
line of high power terminations
with low passive intermodulation
(PIM) distortion levels. Due to
higher demand in frequency spectrum usage, higher transmitter
power levels and more sensitive
receivers in modern telecommunication systems, PIM distortion has
become a potential problem for
design engineers globally. These
new products are the only terminations available in the market that
are guaranteed to have low PIM
levels: it is part of the standard
specifications and all products are
100% tested to guarantee the best
performance. All products are
available RoHS and REACH compliant.
Florida RF Labs
www.emc-rflabs.com
Test Instruments
Single-Sweep Solution for
mm-Wave Measurements
Agilent
Technologies
Inc.
announced the 67 GHz PNA-X
Series vector network analyzer
(VNA). The new N5247A 67 GHz
PNA-X allows engineers, working
up to 67 GHz, to benefit from
Agilent’s single-connection, multiple-measurement, PNA-X platform.
The N5247A PNA-X delivers +10
dBm output power; 110 dB system
dynamic range; and a 0.1 dB receiver compression point of +11 dBm
specified at 67 GHz. A key feature
of the N5247A PNA-X is its ability
to be expanded from a 10 MHz to a
2- or 4-port 110 GHz single-sweep
mm-wave solution.
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
www.agilent.com
WLAN Test Set
Anritsu Company announces that
its MT8860C WLAN Test Set is
now validated as part of the overall
test system for Wi-Fi CWG
(Converged
Wireless
Group)
Certification Testing. The decision
taken by the Wi-Fi Alliance means
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF
QUALITY, PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY
IN PRECISION COAXIAL CONNECTORS
BETWEEN SERIES
ADAPTERS
EDGE LAUNCH
CONNECTORS
BULKHEAD & PANEL
ADAPTERS
CABLE CONNECTORS
IN SERIES ADAPTERS
CUSTOM DESIGNS
ADAPTERS · CABLE CONNECTORS · RECEPTACLES · CUSTOM DESIGNS
Including These Connector Series
1.85mm
2.4mm
DC-65 GHz
DC-50 GHz
2.92mm
3.5mm
DC-40 GHz
DC-34 GHz
7mm
SSMA
DC-18 GHz
DC-40 GHz
ISO 9001:2008
SGMC Microwave — The name to count on for Quality, Performance
and Reliability! Please contact us today by Phone, Fax or Email.
Manufacturer of Precision Coaxial Connectors
4343 Fortune Place, Suite A, West Melbourne, FL 32904
Phone: 321-409-0509 Fax: 321-409-0510
sales@sgmcmicrowave.com
www.sgmcmicrowave.com
Get info at www.HFeLink.com
High Frequency Products
FEATURED PRODUCTS
that the MT8860C can be used by
any top-tier independent laboratory that has been authorized by the
CTIA and Wi-Fi Alliance to perform
RF performance evaluation of WiFi Mobile Converged Devices. The
testing, which is mandatory for any
Wi-Fi mobile converged device for
the North American market, provides network operators and handset vendors with a consistent
method of evaluating and comparing the RF performance of devices
that incorporate both Wi-Fi and
cellular technologies.
Anritsu Company
www.us.anritsu.com
cover the 325 GHz to 500 GHz
range. The T&M specialist is providing a turnkey solution that
includes the integration of the converters in applications. The R&S
ZVA-Z500 is ideal for research and
development of components in the
millimeter-wave range (Y band) as
well as for antenna measurements
and microwave imaging. The new
converters are especially designed
to meet the needs of national civil
and military research institutions,
universities and metrology institutes. The R&S ZVA-Z500 can be
used with a WR02 waveguide connector to analyze components such
as amplifiers, mixers and filters.
Rohde & Schwarz
www.rohde-schwarz.com
Signal-to-Noise Generators
Noisecom, a Wireless Telecom
Group company, has launched its
new CNG-EbNo series of precision
signal-to-noise generators. These
analyzers are designed for Carrierto-Noise (C/N), Carrier-to-Noise
density (C/No), Signal-to-Noise
(S/N), Carrier-to-Interferer (C/I)
and Bit Energy-to-Noise density
(Eb/No) analysis. The instruments
are used for satellite communications, cable TV, telecommunications, and many other critical
applications that demand accuracy
and repeatability in the analysis of
data transmission systems.
Noisecom
www.nosisecom.com
CW Power Meter
Boonton, a Wireless Telecom Group
Company, introduces its new 4240
Power Meter Series. The 4240
series power meters are the successors of the well known Boonton
4230 series. The new 4240 is fully
backwards compatible and can be
paired with all available Boonton
CW diode and Thermocouple sensors. The 4240 series is offered as
one channel (4241) or two channel
(4242) instrument. Both meters
come with an integrated calibrator
that provides an ultra-stable, 50MHz reference signal, and deliver
a calibration power range from
–60 dBm to +20 dBm. A built-in
calibrator allows sensor calibrations right before the measurement providing highest measurement accuracy. Power measurements are displayed with five-digit
resolution or bar graph.
Boonton
www.boonton.com
Frequency Converters
Rohde & Schwarz has announced
the availability of its new R&S
ZVA-Z500 frequency converters
that enable network analyzers to
34
High Frequency Electronics
Family of Signal Generators
Aeroflex introduces its S-Series RF
signal generator family. The SSeries offers simplicity, portability,
modularity, and RF performance at
an attractive price. The range of
instruments has been designed
from the ground up to meet the
expectations of today’s engineers
for instant answers at the touch of
a screen. Buttons, rotary controls,
and deeply nested software menus
have all been removed. The first in
the series is the Aeroflex SGA analog RF signal generators. They are
compact and lightweight with low
phase noise, accuracy and fast settling time at an attractive price.
The Aeroflex SGA is currently
available in two models: the SGA
3, which has an operating frequency range of 100 kHz – 3 GHz, and
the SGA 6 covering 100 kHz – 6
GHz.
Aeroflex, Inc.
www.aeroflex.com
Frequency Counter/Timers
Agilent Technologies Inc. introduced the Agilent 53200 RF and
universal frequency counter/timer
series, the first frequency counters
with LXI Class C compliance. The
53200 series, featuring industryleading performance and usability,
is built with standard computing
I/O for ease of connectivity and
data collection. The combination of
high-speed measurement and
built-in analysis provides new
functionality previously unavailable in basic frequency counter/
timers. The Agilent 53200 RF and
universal frequency counter/timer
series offers base bandwidth of 350
MHz with options to extend up to
15 GHz. Measurement reading
speed has increased by more than
two orders of magnitude from the
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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS
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FEATURED PRODUCTS
previous generation. The 53200
offers resolution performance up to
12 digits/second continuous-count
gap free frequency resolution and
20 picosecond single-shot time
interval resolution.
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
www.agilent.com
PXI RF VNA
National Instruments introduces
the NI PXIe-5630 two-port T/R vector network analyzer (VNA). The
new VNA delivers advanced performance specifications including a
frequency range of 10 MHz to 6
GHz, a wide dynamic range of
greater than 100 dB and sweep
speeds of less than 400 microseconds/point over 3,201 points. A full
feature set including automatic
precision calibration, full vector
analysis, and reference plane
extensions makes the NI PXIe5630 an ideal vector network analysis solution for your validation
and production operations.
National Instruments
www.ni.com
EMC Susceptibility and
Immunity Test Software
AR has redesigned its EMC testing
software, adding new features and
options, and greater ability to customize. The new model, SW1007,
has an updated user interface that
includes a new tab system that
organizes all the features for quick,
easy access; and makes selecting
the pre-defined test standard
much easier. Users also have the
ability to create and easily edit
parameters to create custom tests.
The report-generating feature has
been enhanced to offer more control and customization including
detailed graphs and data tables.
The SW1007 has the ability to control more equipment; it has additional set-up features; and new
IEC calibration options. Each module in the new SW1007 software is
based on a different type of EMC
testing, with pre-defined standards
built-in; yet it is designed to easily
create custom test standards.
AR Worldwide
www.arww-rfmicro.com
Low Cost Attenuators with
Ethernet, RS-232 Control
The 50BA- series from JFW
Industries is an all-new line of
variable attenuator systems. These
plug-and-play modules come complete with Ethernet / RS-232 interfaces, as well as manual control via
Momentary
Lever
Actuator
Switches with 7-segment digital
display. Designed to be easy to use,
compact, and affordable, 50BA
models are available with one or
two channels of attenuation with
0-63 dB or 0-95 dB in 1 dB steps,
and operate from 0.2-6 GHz.
Custom designs are also available.
JFW Industries
www.jfwindustries.com
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mm-Wave Products
dynamic range, millimeterwave
logarithmic detector capable of
operation over a wide frequency
range spanning 1 to 23 GHz. The
HMC948LP3E is ideal for broadband test and measurement, pointto-point microwave radio, VSAT,
receiver signal strength indication
and wideband power monitoring
applications.
Complementing
Hittite’s previously-released power
detector products, the new model
provides a nominal logarithmic
slope of +14.2 mV/dB and an intercept of –111 dBm at 23 GHz.
Logarithmic error over temperature is excellent at only ±1.5 dB at
23 GHz, specified over the entire
–40 °C to +85 °C operating temperature range.
Hittite Microwave Corporations
www.hittite.com
Low Noise Millimeter-Wave
Broadband Mixer Subsystem
MITEQ’s
new
Model
SYS0216N01R-LNB millimeterwave dual-channel block converter
covers two bands over 18 to 40
GHz. One channel converts 18 to
26 GHz down to an 8 to 16 GHz
output, and the second converts 26
to 40 GHz down to a 2 to 16 GHz
output. The converter is ideal for
broadband
millimeter-wave
receivers such as for EW/ECM/
ELINT requirements or test equipment frequency extension. The
unit employs LO multipliers to
facilitate the use of lower frequency microwave LOs, and is designed
for military environments.
MITEQ, Inc.
www.miteq.com
Motion Detector Module
Ducommun technologies introduces its new motion detector module, WR-42, K band. This module
features high reliability, high sensitivity, low harmonic emission and
compact size. Additionally, it’s
available at low cost in volume production and meets FCC, PTT, FTZ
and DTI regulations. Applications
include the following: intrusion
alarm, automatic door opener,
speed measurement, contactless
vibration measurement, traffic signal actuator, and automatic illumination system.
Ducommun Technologies
www.ducommun.com
www.aeroflex.com/inmet
54 dB mmWave Log Detector
Hittite Microwave Corporation has
expanded its power detector product line by releasing a new 54 dB
Get info at www.HFeLink.com
TECHNOLOGY REPORT
An Update on Nano-Scale
Technologies for RF and
Microwave Applications
M
any years ago, the advent of the integrated
circuit revolutionized electronics, allowing
much greater complexity, speed and performance in a small size—and at the same time, dramatically lowering costs. Today, new steps in miniaturization promise another leap in capabilities at smaller
size. Nanomaterials, micro-machining, and other
microscopic methods are beginning to reach the market in many fields, including medicine, computing, and
of course, electronics.
In the area of wireless communications, these technologies are being pursued to achieve greater capabilities in handheld platforms. The only way to put more
features into a limited-size package is to make the circuitry smaller. In the digital realm, Moore’s Law has
helped with the processing and memory portion of
wireless devices. Nanoscale technologies are being
readied to help with the basic radio performance that
enables portability.
According to Larry Morrell, Executive VP of Sales
& Marketing at Cavendish Kinetics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switched-capacitor devices
for antenna tuning are scheduled for release in 2011.
Morrell notes that demand for this capability—which
is also being addressed by tunable technologies and
other switching devices—is due to a re-discovery of the
important of core radio performance. The high data
rates of 3G, 4G and beyond require maximum signalto-noise ratio communication. Solutions include
improved base station performance (e.g., MIMO, smart
antennas) and microcell/picocell deployments. These
infrastructure improvements are costly, so new attention is being given to the handset radio.
The key performance limitation in handheld
devices is the antenna. Early cell phones had extendable monopoles that had relatively high efficiency, but
in the quest for smaller size, embedded antennas
became standard. These antennas are not only less
efficient, they are susceptible to detuning by the proximity of the user’s hands (famously demonstrated by
the first generation iPhone). Antenna tunability
allows optimization of impedance matching to combat
such degradation. Tunability also has the potential to
38
High Frequency Electronics
enhance antenna sharing by the multiple services now
supported in a handset—multi-band wireless, GPS,
Bluetooth, WiFi, broadcast DTV and others.
Morrell, who is also Chairman of the Tunable
Components & Architectures group of the industry
organization IWPC (www.iwpc.org), offered some
insight into the challenges of fabricating MEMS
devices at costs low enough for consumer products.
The primary issue is the required hermetic seal to protect the active structures from contamination. Most
developmental work involved gluing two die face-toface, then sealing the assembly in plastic. This method
has been supplanted by either a silicon etching process
developed at Bosch, or a process of built-up metallization, passivated to achieve the hermetic seal. Both
methods are compatible with traditional silicon wafer
fabrication, which should be able to achieve cost goals.
Another promising area of nanoscale technology
involves carbon structures—nanotubes and graphene
sheets. Carbon nanotubes have extremely high thermal conductivity, and laboratory devices have been
created that use this characteristic to enhance heat
removal from transistors and integrated circuits.
Arrays of nanotubes expand the heat transfer capacity without degradation, since there is minimal coupling between adjacent nanotubes.
Graphene is the sheet version of single-atom-thickness carbon. This material also has the nanotubes’
characteristic of being able to adopt either conductor
or semiconductor properties. Extremely small transistors operating in the THz range are possible with
graphene, and quantum dot logic switches have been
demonstrated, as well. Demand for communications
bandwidth is driving research at ever-higher frequencies, and graphene a a promising technology for practical devices.
A final area to note in the nanoscale realm is onchip optics, which may be the enabling technology for
replacement of data buses with a higher-speed alternative. The dimensions of today's smallest-featured
fabrication technologies could rightly be considered
part of nanotechnology, but the search for an optimal
physical structure for on-chip laser diodes is clearly
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With an insertion loss of only 0.23 dB typical, these hi-rel,
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signals from +12 dBm to +30 dBm input. The power
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The surface mount RLM series is housed in a miniature
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ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine ILQGVWKHPRGHO\RXQHHG,QVWDQWO\‡For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
U.S. patent 7739260
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS
480 rev org
TECHNOLOGY REPORT
fits the definition. To allow optical communication
with the smallest die area and lowest power consumption, research in this area involves materials at the
atomic level.
wire or optical fiber to other devices, or as part of a
wireless product’s circuitry, nanotechnology will play
an essential part in the development of new communications options.
Summary
Nanotechnology News Items
Smaller, faster, more capable, and cheaper are the
goals for almost all useful electronic devices. To
achieve those goals, nanoscale technologies represent
the future. Whether internal to devices, connected by
Nanoscale Energy Harvesting
In the laboratory of Zhong Lin Wang at the Georgia
Institute of Technology (www.gatech.edu), the blinking
number on a small LCD signals the success of a five-year effort to power conventional electronic devices with nanoscale
generators that harvest mechanical energy from the environment using an array
of tiny nanowires. In this case, the
mechanical energy comes from compressing a nanogenerator between two fingers,
but it could also come from a heartbeat,
the pounding of a hiker’s shoe on a trail,
the rustling of a shirt, or the vibration of
a heavy machine. While these nanogenerators will never produce large amounts of
electricity for conventional purposes, they
could be used to power nanoscale and
microscale devices—and even to recharge
pacemakers or consumer electronic
devices.
Wang’s nanogenerators rely on the
piezoelectric effect seen in crystalline
materials such as zinc oxide, in which an
electric charge potential is created when
structures made from the material are
flexed or compressed. By capturing and
combining the charges from millions of
Koaxis can custom build your
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bly. In the latest paper, Wang and his
group reported on much simpler fabrication techniques. First, they grew arrays of
a new type of nanowire that has a conical
shape. These wires were cut from their
growth substrate and placed into an alcohol solution. The solution containing the
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nanowires was then dripped onto a thin metal electrode
and a sheet of flexible polymer film. As the alcohol dries,
another layer is created. Multiple nanowire/polymer layers were built up into a kind of composite, using a process
that Wang believes could be scaled up to industrial production.
Nanoindentation Instrumentation
Agilent Technologies Inc. (www.agilent.com) has
announced an innovative nanoindentation technique
available exclusively on the Agilent Nano
Indenter G200 instrumentation platform. The new technique gives
researchers the ability to make substrate-independent measurements on
thin film materials quickly, easily and
confidently by means of nanoindentation.
It is ideal for evaluating the elastic modulus of hard samples on soft substrates,
or of soft samples on hard substrates.
Substrate influence is a common problem
when using nanoindentation to evaluate
the elastic modulus of thin film materials. The technique is able to extract the
film modulus from the measured substrate-affected modulus, assuming that
the film thickness and substrate modulus are known.
as NiMH batteries, but charge and discharge in minutes
or even seconds. The new device has a specific energy density of 85.6 Wh/kg at room temperature and 136 Wh/kg at
80 °C. The problem with single-layer Graphene sheets,
according to the team, is that they tend to re-stack
together. They are trying to overcome this problem by
developing a strategy that prevents the graphene sheets
from sticking to each other face-to-face. This can be
achieved if curved graphene sheets are used instead of
flat ones.
Carbon Nanotube THz Polarizer
In a 2009 paper, “Carbon Nanotube
Terahertz Polarizer,” researchers from
Rice University (www. rice.edu) and
Osaka University reported on studies
that show strong anisotropic behavior of
carbon nanotubes on a film substrate.
With lengths that resonate in the THz
frequency range, the highly aligned
structure was verified by measuring the
transmission of THz energy through the
film. When the signal polarization was
aligned with the nanotube structure,
absorbance was very high. Near-zero
absorbance was observed when the signal and materials were oriented at right
angles. The research verified the strong
alignment of carbon nanotubes, which
has many applications in addition to the
polarizer described in the paper.
Graphene-based Supercapacitor
Researchers at Nanotek Instruments
(www.nanotekinstruments.com) have
developed a new graphene-based supercapacitor that can store as much energy
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High Frequency Design
RESISTIVE DIVIDERS
Generalized Resistive
Power Divider Design
By Greg Adams
T
he resistive twoway power splitter,
which divides an
RF input signal equally
between its two output
ports, is well documented.
This basic divider uses
the topology of Figure 1, with all three resistors having a value of Z0 /3 [1].
The unequal divider of Figure 2 splits the
input power unequally between its two output
ports. Design equations have been published
for this splitter, where ports 1, 2 and 3 are all
matched to the same impedance Z0 [2].
A power splitter with the same topology as
Figure 2 can be designed so that port 3 is
matched to some impedance other than Z0.
There are two reasons to design the resistor
network for a different impedance at port 3.
First, it may be convenient in applications
where, for instance, both 50 ohm and 75 ohm
outputs are desired. Second, when the resistor
network is designed for a port 3 impedance
higher than Z0, there will be less attenuation
at port 3, resulting in unequal power at the
output ports as well as different impedances.
For instance, if the splitter is designed for
3 dB loss at port 2, with all ports matched to
50 ohms, the attenuation at port 3 will be
15 dB. If we raise the port 3 impedance to 85
ohms, the attenuation at port 3 will only be
8.5 dB. If extreme bandwidth isn’t needed, a
reactive network can be used to transform the
port 3 impedance back to 50 ohms if desired.
Using the circuit topology of Figure 2,
resistor values may be chosen so that port 3 is
matched to any impedance up to some maximum value. When the maximum allowable
output impedance is chosen, the value of resis-
This article presents a
design method to achieve
unequal power division at
the output ports of a twoway resistive power divider
42
High Frequency Electronics
Figure 1 · Resistive power splitter.
Figure 2 · Unequal resistive power splitter.
tor Ru becomes infinite, so that the network
degenerates to the topology of Figure 1.
Design equations will be presented for an
unequal power splitter where the port 3
impedance Z1 takes on any chosen value
between zero and the maximum allowable
value Zmax.
Design Procedure
Step 1:
Choose a value of attenuation, no greater
than 6 dB, for output 1, and design the Tee
POWER DIVIDERS/
COMBINERS
2-way through
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SMA, BNC, TNC
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from 0.4 to 18.0 GHz.
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Aviation
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Radar
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High Frequency Design
RESISTIVE DIVIDERS
attenuator of Figure 3 for that attenuation value, where
Z0 is the characteristic impedance.
dB21 is the attenuation.
α is the voltage gain. (0.5 < α <1)
Given the value of S21(dB), and normalizing Z0 to
unity, we can solve for the resistor values Rs and Rp.
Z0 = 1
⎛ S (dB) ⎞
α = A ⋅ Log ⎜ 21
⎝ 20 ⎟⎠
(1)
⎛1− α ⎞
A=⎜
⎟
⎝1 + α ⎠
(2)
U=
1
1
1
−
E−T D
(12)
⎛ 1 − A2 ⎞
E=⎜
⎟
⎝ 2⋅ A ⎠
(3)
Rs = A ⋅ Zo
(4)
Rs = Zo ⋅ A
(13)
R p = E ⋅ Zo
(5)
Rt = Zo ⋅ T
(14)
Ru = Zo ⋅ U
(15)
Step 2:
At this point, we need to choose Z0, the impedance at
output port 2. Any value may be chosen up to a maximum,
Zmax. We’ll compute Zmax later.
Step 3:
Now, for Rp, we’ll substitute the resistance of Rt, plus
the parallel combination of Ru with the Port 3 load
impedance Z1. We require that the resistance of this network, from the top of Rt to ground, be equal to Rp. We also
require that when ports 1 and 2 are terminated in Z0, the
resistance seen looking into port 3 be equal to Z1. These
two conditions are represented by two equations, which
can now be solved for the two variables Rt and Ru. The following procedure will give the values of Rt and Ru.
A = Rs / Zo
(6)
D = Z1 / Zo
(7)
E = R p / Zo
(8)
F = E − ( A + 1) / 2
(9)
E ⋅ ( D − A − 1)
D⋅ A + D
G=
+
4
2
T=
−F + F − 4 ⋅ G
2
High Frequency Electronics
At this point, we have chosen values Rs, Rt and Ru,
which satisfy the conditions for a desired attenuation
value from Port 1 to Port 2, and for all ports to be matched
to the desired impedances Z0 and Z1.
It remains to solve for Zmax, the maximum allowable
value of Z1, and to find out what attenuation we are left
with from Port 1 to Port 3.
Step 4:
It remains to find the maximum allowable value of Z1.
Recall that D = Z1/Z0, so we’ll be solving for the maximum
value of D. From Equation 11, we see that the expression
under the radical
F2 – 4 · G
must be greater than or equal to zero, if Rt and Ru are to
have real values.
Z1 will have its maximum allowable value (Zmax) and
the attenuation from Port 1 to Port 3 will have its minimum possible value when
F2 − 4 ⋅ G = 0
(16)
(10)
2
44
Figure 3 · Tee attenuator circuit, designed according
to equations 1-5.
(11)
Since the variables F and G are functions of A, D and
E alone, we can solve Equation 16 for the value of D,
knowing only A and E, which were determined in step 1.
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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS
459 rev F
High Frequency Design
RESISTIVE DIVIDERS
S21(dB)
S31(dB)
(Z1 = Z0)
S31(dB)
(Z1 = Zmax)
Z0
Zmax
1
–24.7758
–12.646487
50
229.887
2
–18.6824
–9.9209966
50
121.5529
3
–15.0135
–8.3775801
50
85.60054
4
–12.2482
–7.3958399
50
67.74285
5
–9.80391
–6.6125321
50
57.12214
6
–6.45451
–6.0339142
50
50.11901
Table 1 · Comparing S31 loss for Z1 = Z0 vs. Z1 = Zmax.
Figure 4 · Power splitter with an additional matching
circuit on port 3. This can be used when a limited bandwidth is acceptable at port 3.
Dmax = Zmax / Zo =
E2 + E ⋅ A + E +
( A + 1)
Step 5:
Finally, we solve for dB31, the attenuation from Port 1
to Port 3.
H=
2
4
A +1+ 2⋅ E
J=
(17)
1
1
1
+
E A +1
(18)
1
1 1
+
C D
(19)
ß=
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High Frequency Electronics
H
( H + A) ⋅
J
J +T
⎛ β2 ⋅ Z1 ⎞
S31 dB = 10 ⋅ log ⎜
⎝ Z1 ⎟⎠
(20)
(21)
A couple of examples will illustrate the results that can be
obtained:
Example 1: Unequal power splitter
with 1 dB loss between ports 1 and 2,
and all ports matched to 50 ohms:
Z0 = 50 ohms
Z1 = 50 ohms
S21 = –1 dB
S31 = –24.78 dB
Rs = 2.87 ohms
Rt = 406.8 ohms
Ru = 56.52 ohms
Example 2: Unequal splitter with
1 dB loss between ports 1 and 2,
Z0 = 50 ohms and Z1 = 75 ohms.
Notice that the loss at port 3
(–S31) is 2 dB lower than that of
Example 1.
Z0 = 50 ohms
Z1 = 75 ohms
S21 = –1 dB
S31 = –22.72 dB
Rs = 2.87 ohms
Rt = 392 ohms
Ru = 91.37 ohms
Example 3: Unequal splitter with
1 dB loss between ports 1 and 2, and
let Z1 have the maximum allowable
value, to minimize the loss at port 3.
Notice that the loss at port 3 now
has its lowest possible value at
12.56 dB.
Z0 = 50 ohms
Z1 = 229.8 ohms
S21 = –1 dB
S31 = –12.64 dB
Rs = 2.87 ohms
Rt = 203 ohms
Ru = Open Circuit
As illustrated in Figure 4, a simple L/C matching circuit can be
added to the splitter of Example 3, to
transform the 229.8 ohm impedance
down to 50 ohms at port 3. This
results in a splitter with equal
impedance outputs, but with much
less loss at port 3 than the splitter in
example 1. The trade off is that this
circuit only works over a limited
bandwidth. To transform 229.8 ohms
to 50 ohms, the inductor would have
a reactance of 95 ohms and the
capacitor would have a reactance of
121 ohms at the operating frequency.
Table 1 compares the port 3 loss of
the resistive network with all three
ports matched to 50 ohms, versus a
similar network with port 3 matched
to the maximum allowable value of
Z1. It shows that when the S21 loss is
small, the S31 loss can be reduced
dramatically by increasing Z1. When
the S21 loss is close to 6 dB, little
improvement in S31 can be achieved.
Note: A convenient “calculator”
program can be found online at
www.flambda.com, to design power
dividers according to the procedure
above.
References:
1. D. Pozar, Microwave Engineering, John Wiley & Sons 1998, page
361.
2. D. Adams, “Designing Resistive
Unequal Power Dividers,” High
Frequency Electronics, March 2007.
Author Information
Greg Adams is an RF design engineer at a global security company.
He has designed RF hardware for
meteorological instruments, satcom,
telemetry, radar and fiber communication systems over the past 30
years. He can be reached by e-mail at
gregory.f.adams@gmail.com.
High Frequency Electronics Online Archives
All past technical articles, informational columns and editorials are
available for download in PDF format at this magazine’s web site.
Articles are copyighted, and may be
used only for the personal use of the
user. Any reprint, such as incorporation into a paper or presentation,
may only be done with the permission of the publisher.
www.highfrequencyelectronics.com
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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS
477 Rev. B
High Frequency Design
CONNECTORS
Inside the Microwave
Connector: Materials
and Construction
By Gary Breed
Editorial Director
A
t first glance, the
construction
of
RF/microwave
connectors seems quite
straightforward. Physical
dimensions are dictated
largely by the desired
combination of RF characteristics—characteristic impedance, power
handling (current capacity and voltage breakdown), and compatibility with typical cables.
The choice of body metal, plating, and dielectric material will depend on environmental
requirements—water, corrosion, temperature,
air pressure (altitude), mating-unmating
cycles, shock and vibration. Of course, construction must be compatible with interface
This month’s tutorial is an
overview of RF/microwave
connector specifications for
materials and dimensional
manufacturing tolerances,
intended to familiarize
engineers with important
non-electrical parameters
standards for the mating methods: threaded,
bayonet, friction fit, etc.
For non-critical, general-purpose use, the
specifications might stop at this point, but
there are many additional requirements and
refinements to basic specs that must be considered for specific applications.
Example: MIL-STD-348B Type N Connector
The most comprehensive set of mechanical
specifications for RF/microwave connectors is
MIL-STD-348B [1]. I’ve chosen the common
“series N” connector to illustrate the requirements called out in this important document.
Refer to the outline drawings in Figure 1
and the list of dimensions in Table 1. These
show the physical dimensions and mechanical
tolerances for this connector. Note that the
Figure 1 · Outline drawings for the series N connector interface from MIL-STD-358B [1];
female (left) and male (right).
50
High Frequency Electronics
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High Frequency Design
CONNECTORS
interface between the connectors is
defined, not the body of the connector
behind the mating section, which can
vary considerably to accommodate
various types of cables and mounting
methods. The connectors may also be
configured with straight or angled
bodies, and as adapters between
series N and other connector types.
Connector Materials
MIL standards for RF/microwave
connectors (MIL-PRF-39012, MILDTL-3655D, and others) include the
following requirements for materials:
· Connector bodies are mainly brass,
with some types specified as beryllium copper.
· Brass bodied connectors must be
silver plated over a copper underplate.
· Beryllium copper bodied connectors
must be gold plated to a minimum
of 50 microinches (1.27 µm) over a
copper flash plating.
· Standard connectors must be made
with materials classified as nonmagnetic.
· Nickel plating is not to to be used
on connector bodies, due to passive
intermodulation (PIM) potential.
· Dissimilar metals are not allowed
to be in contact with each other.
· Center contact springs must be
made from beryllium copper.
· Critical contacts—male pins and
socket contacts—must be gold plated to a minimum of 50 microinches
(1.27 µm) over a nickel underplating of 50 microinches (1.27 µm).
· Non-critical portions of the mating
surfaces must be plated as needed
to meet performance specs, but may
not be silver plated.
· Insulation in standard connectors
is specified as FEP fluorocarbon or
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
PTFE parts may be molded from
resins, and either type may be used
for extruded/molded parts.
· For connectors with a sealed interface, the gasket material is typically silicone rubber.
52
High Frequency Electronics
Table 1 · Guide to dimensions and manufacturing tolerances of series N
connector interfaces of Figure 1; female (left) and male (right).
Notes: The above list includes standard connectors only. Special applications may require other materials,
such as stainless steel for connector
bodies (not electrical mating surfaces), neoprene gasketing, higherperformance dielectric materials, and
different plating materials and/or
thicknesses.
Connector Testing
The most extensive part of all
MIL specifications is testing to verify
compliance with the performance
specifications. Although this tutorial
concerns the construction of connectors, readers are advised to review
the specified test methods. They provide valuable insight into the reasons
for the various specifications, and
provide a basis for testing of non-military connectors as well.
Commercial Connectors
Many high performance commercial microwave applications use connectors with the same specifications
as MIL types. However, connectors
for general-purpose applications use
a wide range of materials to achieve
lower cost and more more efficient
high-volume manufacturing.
Among other materials found in
lower-cost connectors are metal
alloys suitable for casting, including
zinc-based metals. Machined connec-
tors mainly use brass, but plating
selections vary widely.
Dielectric materials in low-cost
commercial connectors may include
polyethylene and polystyrene, possibly glass-filled for high voltage
breakdown performance.
For almost all non-military applications designated as “microwave”
(as opposed to “RF” or “general purpose”) a connector based on MIL
specifications is the best choice.
These connectors will provide consistent electrical performance and
mechanical reliability. Using a common specification also assures uniform performance among products
from different vendors.
Summary
This tutorial is a brief overview of
the dimensional and materials specifications for microwave connectors.
RF/microwave engineers will be
familiar with electrical specifications
such as VSWR, power handling and
voltage breakdown. This article also
provides a look at additional requirements for manufacturing tolerances
and selection of materials for connector bodies and mating contacts.
Reference
1. MIL-STD-348B, Dept. of
Defense Interface Standard, Feb.
2009 draft.
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IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS
482 Rev. Orig.
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EN 3475-503. The cables, engineered for electrical impedance of
50 and 75 ohms, also exceed the
electrical requirements of MIL-C17G. The special cable design of
Gore’s new RG coaxial cables facilitates easier routing and improved
abrasion resistance for the cables.
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
www.gore.com
tion loss is 3.0 dB from 1 to 20 GHz
and 3.6 dB from 20 to 26.5 GHz.
This coupler can be also be manufactured to meet military specifications. This new coupler is available
from stock to 30 days, ARO.
Krytar, Inc.
www.krytar.com
RG Coaxial Cable
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., has
introduced a new, lighter-weight
RG coaxial cable for aircraft communication and navigation systems, providing significant weight
savings without compromising performance. When compared to standard RG coaxial cables, these new
cables reduce operating costs
because they are as much as 20%
lighter with a 15% smaller diameter. This smaller and lighter profile
coaxial cable still meets the strin-
54
High Frequency Electronics
Miniature Diodes
Hybrid Microwave Coupler
Krytar, Inc. announces a new 180
degree hybrid coupler that delivers
3 dB of coupling over the broadband
frequency range of 1.0 to 26.5
Typical specifications include
amplitude imbalance: ±1.0 dB from
1-20 GHz and ±1.5 dB from 20 to
26.5 GHz; phase imbalance is ±16
degrees; isolation is >15 dB; maximum VSWR: 1.8 from 1 to 20 GHz
and 1.95 from 20 to 26.5 GHz; inser-
Skyworks Solutions, Inc. has introduced four miniature 0402 diodes
for high volume commercial and
industrial original equipment
manufacturers, original device
manufacturers and contract manufacturers—all of which are offered
in a low profile, plastic surface
mount technology (SMT) package.
SMP1320-040LF is a PIN diode for
handset, WLAN, CATV Satcom,
land mobile radios, infrastructure,
IN STOCK
p
proven solutions, from DC to 15 GHz, are standing by, ready
to ship. High-pass or low-pass, band-pass or band-stop,
in coaxial, surface-mount, or plug-in packages. Across the
board, our filters achieve low insertion loss and low VSWR
in the passband and high attenuation in the rejection band.
Just go to minicircuits.com for more information. If you need
a specific performance and want to search our entire model
database, including engineering models, click on Yoni2, our
exclusive search engine.
p
, q
y,
,
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p
you have. If a model cannot be found, we understand the
sense of urgency. So contact us, and our engineers will find
a quick, cost-effective, custom solution and deliver simulation
results within a few days.
®
The Design Engineers Search Engine…
finds the model you need, Instantly.
U.S. patent 7739260
Mini-Circuits…we’re redefining what VALUE is all about!
®
ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661‡For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
484 Rev. Orig.
High Frequency Products
NEW PRODUCTS
T/R and high-isolation applications
requiring
fast
switching.
SMP1330-040LF is a limiter diode
for CATV Satcom, land mobile
radios, infrastructure and test
measurement applications requiring fast, sensitive receiver protection. SMP1352-040LF is a PIN
diode for handset, WLAN, CATV
Satcom, land mobile radios, infrastructure, T/R and high-isolation
switching
applications.
And
SMS7630-040LF is a Schottky
diode for handset, WLAN, CATV
Satcom, land mobile radios, infrastructure and military applications
requiring sensitive detection and
sampling circuits up to 12 gigahertz (GHz).
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
www.skyworksinc.com
New Family of Integrated Configurable Components
RF Micro Devices, Inc. announced a
new family of integrated configurable
components for multiple markets.
The highly integrated components,
comprised of the RFFC207x and
RFFC507x product families, perform
multiple common RF functions in a
reduced footprint while delivering the flexibility necessary to develop
radio systems that operate over a wide dynamic range and across a broad
range of frequencies and channel bandwidths. The RFFC207x and
RFFC507x product families integrate RFMD’s world-class fractional-N
PLL/VCO combination with RF mixers to provide radio designers an elegant radio partitioning option with very high performance, superior integration and no compromise in flexibility. The RFFC207x and RFFC507x
represent the second generation of RFMD’s innovative RF205x family of
integrated configurable components, which enables radio designers across
industries to shrink circuit board area, reduce risk and shorten product
development time—all of which lower the total cost of radio implementation. The RFFC207x and RFFC507x expand upon the capabilities of the
RF205x family by enhancing performance and extending frequency range
to serve even more industries and applications. General purpose in nature,
RFMD’s newest family of integrated configurable components is applicable to fixed and mobile infrastructure, radio repeaters, super-heterodyne
radios, diversity receivers, frequency band shifters, CATV, softwaredefined radios, point-to-point radios, satcom, VHF/UHF radios, military,
industrial and other applications.
RF Micro Devices, Inc.
www.rfmd.com
designs. These LNAs deliver 15 dB
of gain, support the 75 to 230 MHz
(MAX2665) and 470 to 860 MHz
(MAX2664) frequency ranges, and
offer a low 1.1 dB noise figure for
improved receive sensitivity over
discrete and CMOS solutions.
Prices start at $0.76 (1000-up,
FOB USA).
Maxim Integrated Products
www.maxim-ic.com
RF Coaxial Cable Assemblies
Crystek has ruggedized its LL142
low-loss RF cable assemblies by
incorporating a spiraled stainless
steel casing, along with extra fortification provided by heavy-duty
adhesive strain relief with a
Neoprene jacket. This added measure of protection eliminates the
failures commonly caused by cable
flexion and compression. At 18
GHz, the new armored LL142
assemblies feature attenuation of
0.36 dB/ft. and VSWR characteristics of <1.3. These cables offer
shielding effectiveness of greater
than –110 dB with an operating
temperature range of –55 to +85ºC
(extended range of –55 to +125ºC
available through special order).
The cables feature rugged stainless-steel solder-clamp construction and a minimum bend radius of
1.5 in. with minimal spring-back.
Crystek Corporation
www.crystek.com
56
High Frequency Electronics
UHF/VHF LNAs
Maxim Integrated Products introduces the MAX2664/MAX2665
low-noise
amplifiers
(LNAs)
designed specifically for UHF and
VHF mobile TV applications. These
devices offer a fully integrated
LNA solution in a 0.86 × 0.86 mm,
0.4 mm-pitch wafer-level package
(WLP) with only four pins. Only
requiring one external component
(an input-match inductor) to complete the board-level design, the
MAX2664/MAX2665
minimize
solution footprint for today’s continually
shrinking
handheld
New Active Multipliers
Hittite Microwave Corporation
announces the release of three new
GaAs pHEMT based active multipliers that are ideal for automotive
radar, microwave radio, medical,
military, SatCom and Sensor applications from 6 to 31 GHz. The
HMC917LP3E is a ×4 active frequency multiplier that provides an
RF Coaxial
Connectors
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and all points in between!!!
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Call us today and put our experience to work for you !!!
Phone: (888) 591-4455 or (772) 286-4455 Fax: (772) 286-4496
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AS 9120
ISO 9001:2000
CERTIFIED
High Frequency Products
NEW PRODUCTS
output frequency range of 6 to 10
GHz, while the HMC916LP3E is a
x3 active frequency multiplier with
an output frequency range of 8 to
16 GHz. When driven by +5 dBm
signals, these compact multiplier
MMICs deliver +2 dBm of output
power, and exhibit additive SSB
(single sideband) phase noise as
low as –152 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset from the carrier. The
HMC942LP4E is a high power x2
active frequency multiplier that
provides an output frequency
range of 25 to 31 GHz. When driven by a +4 dBm signal, this powerful multiplier delivers output
power as high as +21 dBm, and
maintains an outstanding –55 dBc
of fundamental signal isolation at
the output port.
Hittite Microwave Corporation
www.hittite.com
Synthesized Source
GaN Power Amplifier
TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. has
released a new gallium nitride
(GaN) power amplifier with high
power and efficiency for defense
and commercial communications.
The TGA2572 delivers 20 W for
Ku-band (14-16 GHz) defense and
commercial communications systems. The new device is fabricated
using TriQuint’s
productionreleased GaN on SiC process; it
typically offers 30% PAE and
24 dBm of small signal gain.
Offered in die and packaged forms,
TGA2572 samples will be available
in early 2011.
TriQuint Semiconductor, inc.
www.triquint.com
Telemakus LLC introduces a 9.310.2 GHz synthesized source with
USB interface. The source has a
+15 dBm output with a –95 dBc/Hz
phase noise at 100 kHz offset. The
RF connector is SMA female and
the DC/control connector is USB
type A allowing direct connection
to a PC or via a USB extender
cable. The device also has 512 MB
of user accessible flash memory
containing all the installation files,
data sheet and test data. The windows based user interface allows
direct frequency setting with
1 kHz resolution, ON/OFF control
and frequency sweep set up. The
unit is compatible with common
ATE software using the API
library files from the flash memory.
Applications include amplifier or
antenna testing and when combined with the TED10200-45 RF
sensor, simple scalar measurements can be performed at a small
fraction of the cost of conventional
test systems.
Telemakus, LLC
RFMW, LTD.
www.rfmw.com/Telemakus
OCXOs and OCVCXOs
Connor-Winfield’s high stability
DOC Series of ovenized oscillators
are exceptionally precise frequency
standards, excellent for use in cellular base stations, test equipment,
Synchronous Ethernet and VSAT
applications. These true surface
mount OCXOs and OCVCXOs provide temperature stabilities in the
range of ±20 ppb to ±100 ppb, over
commercial, extended commercial
or industrial temperature ranges.
The DOC series is available with
LVCMOS output along with optional electronic frequency tuning.
Product features: include 3.3 Vdc
operation; small size (9.1 × 14.1
mm) SMT package. Frequency stabilities available: ±20 ppb, ±50 ppb,
±100 ppb. Temperature ranges
available: 0° to 70°C, –20° to 70°C,
–40° to 85°C. LVCMOS output,
RoHS compliant/lead free, and low
phase noise. Price: $26 in quantity.
The Connor-Winfield Corporation
www.conwin.com
58
High Frequency Electronics
Very Small OCXO
Coaxial Cables
The 141 Series Hand-Flex Coaxial
Cables by Mini-Circuits are ideal
for interconnection of coaxial components or sub-systems. The construction includes a silver-plated
copper-clad steel center conductor
which maintains the shape after
bending. The outer shield is copper
braid, tin soaked, which minimizes
signal leakage and at the same
time flexible for easy bend.
Dielectric is low loss PTFE.
Connectors have passivated stainless-steel coupling nut over a gold
plated connector body.
Mini-Circuits, Inc.
www.minicircuits.com
Rakon’s Mercury, a miniature oven
controlled
crystal
oscillator
(OCXO) provides comparable stability to traditional OCXOs but in
a small 9 × 7 mm SMD package.
Using
Rakon’s
proprietary
Mercury ASIC, the OCXO is capable of short term ageing of less
than ±5 ppb per day, with temperature stability down to ±10 ppb.
The highly integrated oven
ensures short warm up times with
a power consumption of only 350
mW at room temperature. Mercury
can achieve ±20 ppb stability over
–40 to 85°C.
Rakon, Inc.
www.rakon.com
MMIC
AMPLIFIERS
DC to 20 GHz
from
73¢
qty.1000
ERA
PSA
Gali,
GVA, PHA
LEE
AVA, PMA
NFfrom 0.5 dB, IP3 to + 48 dBm, Gain 10 to 30 dB, Pout to + 30 dBm
124
Think of all you stand to gain. With more than 120 catalog models, Mini-Circuits offers one of the industry’s broadest
selection of low-cost MMIC amplifiers. Our ultra-broadband InGaP HBT and PHEMT amplifiers offer low noise figure,
high IP3, and a wide selection of gain to enable optimization in your commercial, industrial or military application.
Our tight process control guarantees consistent performance across multiple production runs, so you can have
confidence in every unit. In fact, cascading multiple amplifiers often produce less than 1dB total gain variation at any
given frequency. These MMIC amplifiers can even meet your most critical size and power consumption requirements
with supply voltages as low as 2.8 V, and current consumption down to 20 mA, and packages as small as SOT-363.
Visit our website to select the amplifier that meets your specific needs. Each model includes pricing, full electrical,
mechanical, and environmental specifications, and a full set of characterization data including S-Parameters. So why
wait, place your order today and have units in your hands as early as tomorrow.
Mini-Circuits...we’re redefining what VALUE is all about!
®
®
ISO 9001 ISO 14001 AS 9100 CERTIFIED
P.O. Box 350166, Brooklyn, New York 11235-0003 (718) 934-4500 Fax (718) 332-4661
The Design Engineers Search Engine ILQGVWKHPRGHO\RXQHHG,QVWDQWO\‡For detailed performance specs & shopping online see
U.S. patent 7739260
IF/RF MICROWAVE COMPONENTS
476 Rev.B
High Frequency Products
NEW PRODUCTS
MIMO Antennas
Mobile Mark now offers directional
and omni-directional MIMO antennas
(Multiple-Input-MultipleOutput) configured for up to three
connector connections. These site
antennas contain three separate
antenna elements within the antenna housing. Each antenna element
covers identical WiFi spectrum: 2.42.5 and 4.9-6.0 GHz and are
designed for use with 802.11n WiFi
networks. The Directional Panel
MIMO Antennas (PND8-2400/5500)
provide 8 dBi gain in a compact
radome measuring 12.5” tall × 3”
wide × 1.25” deep. Three SMA connector ports exit from the back of
antenna. The Omni-directional
MIMO antennas (DOD5-2400/5500)
provide 5 dBi gain in a radome measuring less than 30” tall × 1” in
diameter. The three cables exiting
the base of the antenna are staggered at 9”, 12” and 15” in length, for
easy handling during installation.
Mobile Mark, Inc.
www.mobilemark.com
connector allows high mechanical
and electrical stability along with
high shielding specifications and
are specifically developed for sensor applications that require low
noise. Common applications are for
velocity sensors, accelerometers,
force sensors, acoustic sensors,
piezoelectric, small microphones,
RF and Wifi transceivers. CST
Cable can produce these and other
custom quality assemblies including SMA, SMB , SMC, BNC and
Type N (with reverse polarity
option) in small and large quantities with quick turn around times.
CST Cable
www.cstcable.com
Broadband Diode Switches
M/A-COM Technology Solutions
Inc. introduced a family of
Heterolithic Microwave Integrated
Circuit (HMIC) broadband diode
switches that use RoHS compliant
Surmount™ packages. These
rugged, monolithic switches operate up to 26 GHz, provide low
insertion loss and high isolation,
and deliver up to +38 dBm CW
power handling. The Surmount
package technology provides a surface mount chipscale configuration
that is optimized for broadband
performance with minimal associated parasitics, which are usually
related to hybrid MMIC designs
incorporating beam lead and PIN
diodes that require chip and wire
assembly. These broadband switches are ideally suited for military
and test equipment applications.
M/A-COM Technology Solutions, Inc.
www.macomtech.com
RF Parametric Testing
Cable Assembly
The 10-32 Male RG 174 cable
assembly from CST Cable has a
frequency range of 0-18 GHZ with
a 50 ohm impedance. The 10-32
60
High Frequency Electronics
cards to accurately, cost-efficiently,
and quickly measure the RF parametric performance of their products according to 3GPP standards.
Integrating the new software with
the
unique
Parallelphone®
Measurement (PPM) function of
the MT8820C creates a singleinstrument solution that reduces
the cost of test and improves timeto-market for DC-HSDPA-capable
UEs and data cards. The MT8820C
supports both call processing and
parametric tests recommended by
the 3GPP Release 8 standard,
when the software is installed. The
new software expands the WCDMA measurement capability of
the MT8820C to allow for complete
RF parametric test capability from
Rel. 99 to Rel.8.
Anritsu Company
www.us.anritsu.com
Anritsu Company introduces software for its MT8820C Radio
Communications Analyzer that
allows developers and manufacturers of Dual-Carrier HSDPA (DCHSDPA) mobile devices and data
Handheld Cable and
Antenna Analyzer
Rohde & Schwarz launches the
R&S ZVH, a portable cable and
antenna
analyzer
especially
designed to facilitate the installation of antenna stations. In the
field, all acceptance tests are performed quickly and easily with this
analyzer. Convenient wizards help
users effortlessly measure antenna
cables, filters and amplifiers.
Documentation is made easy with
simple tools for generating test
reports. The new R&S ZVH handheld analyzer from Rohde &
Schwarz was designed especially to
meet the demands of higher transmission rates. Two frequency
ranges, from 300 kHz to 3.6 GHz or
8 GHz, are provided to help network operators, infrastructure
manufacturers and their service
providers install and maintain
mobile radio antennas with a minimum of effort and time. The new
R&S ZVH4 and R&S ZVH8 cable
and antenna analyzers are now
available.
Rohde & Schwarz
www.rohde-schwarz.com
size 8 BMA contacts, as well as
twinax and triaxial contacts.
Typical applications for the HDQX
connectors include data networks,
in-flight entertainment systems,
video control centers, and naval and
military vehicle communications.
Radiall USA, Inc.
www.radiall.com
14 dB power gain in a 5001000 MHz broadband application
circuit with less than 80°C rise in
junction
temperature.
The
NPT1010 is available in a ceramic
air cavity package in bolt-down and
pill (solder) versions. It is lead-free
and RoHS compliant, is production
ready, and is available from stock to
10 weeks lead time through
Nitronex’s standard sales channels.
Nitronex
www.nitronex.com
Power Transistor
Connector Solution for HighSpeed Data Transmission
Radiall USA, Inc. expands its connector product offering with the
new HDQX series for high-speed
Ethernet and RF data transmission. The HDQX connector combines a compact size with the
ruggedness needed for high reliability and signal integrity in harsh
aerospace and military environments. Offering twelve size 8 cavities in a high-density rectangular
shell, the space-saving HDQX
accepts ARINC 600 Quadrax and
Manual
Probe
Station
Very Low Cost
High Function
6” or 8” Chuck
A full featured, modestly priced, manually operated probe station
developed for engineers and scientists.
Measure Microwave, RF and DC parameters of Semiconductor Devices,
Packages and Assemblies with NIST traceability .
• Benchtop Size(<3ft2) • Vacuum chuck • Slide out X-Y-Ø stage•
•X-Y-Z probe positioners •Top Plate Z-lift •Vacuum Accessory Manifold•
•6.5X-112.5X Stereo Zoom Microscope • Adjustable Halogen Illuminator •
•Vacuum Accessories • Compatible with 40GHz+ probes•
• Accessories for Thermal Chucks and Probe Cards•
•Compatible with Magnetic Mount Positioners•
•Test wafers, microstrip packages and surface mount components•
J micro Technology
Nitronex has developed a new generation of power transistor platform technology to meet the growing demand for wideband, high
power and robust RF power amplifiers. The new generation platform
is specifically designed to meet the
stringent performance requirements of military communications,
jammers and radars. The NPT1010
is the second product designed on
this new platform. With a thermal
resistance of 1.4°C/W, the NPT1010 has the lowest thermal resistance of all GaN products at this
power level in the marketplace. The
device achieves over 60 W, more
than 55% drain efficiency and over
AdTech Ceramics offers custom
microwave packages and hermetic
feedthroughs for high reliability
applications including microwave
spectrometry, high power and high
frequency applications up to
30 GHz using multilayer co-fire
technology. Design assistance is
available. Capabilities include
electromagnetic and thermal modeling and simulation for microwave
packages in the X through K band
frequency ranges.
AdTech Ceramics
www.adtechceramics.com
ProbePoint™ CPW-μStrip
Adapter Substrates
Adapt
er S
ubst
rates
Personal
Probe
Station
Probe Tip
FET
Very Low Cost
High Function
•Precision CPW to μStrip Adapter Substrates•
•Companion Calibration Substrates and Standards•
•Standard & custom Carriers•
•Accurate Electrical Data to Frequencies >50 GHz•
• 5,10,& 15 mil thickness•
•Compatible with 40GHz+ probes•
•Standard and Custom Calibration Standards•
J microTechnology
J microTechnology
3744 NW Bluegrass Pl
Portland, OR 97229
(503) 614-9509
(503) 531-9325 [FAX]
www.jmicrotechnology.com
3744 NW Bluegrass Pl
Portland, OR 97229
(503) 614-9509
(503) 531-9325 [FAX]
www.jmicrotechnology.com
A Precision Probe Station at a Utility Price
Custom Microwave Packages
J micro Technology
Test Tooling for the Untestable
A compact full featured, modestly priced, manually operated probe
station developed for engineers and scientists.
Measure Microwave, RF and DC parameters of Semiconductor Devices,
Packages and Assemblies with NIST traceability .
• Benchtop Size(<1ft2) • Vacuum chuck • X-Y-Ø stage•
•X-Y-Z probe positioners •Top Plate Z-lift •Vacuum Accessory Manifold•
•6.5X-112.5X Stereo Zoom Microscope • Adjustable Halogen Illuminator •
•Vacuum Accessories • Compatible with 40GHz+ probes•
• Accessories for Thermal Chucks and Probe Cards•
•Compatible with Magnetic Mount Positioners•
•Test wafers, microstrip packages and surface mount components•
J microTechnology
J micro Technology
3744 NW Bluegrass Pl
Portland, OR 97229
(503) 614-9509
(503) 531-9325 [FAX]
www.jmicrotechnology.com
A Probe Station On Every Bench
Get info at www.HFeLink.com
December 2010
61
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
...featuring advertisers in High Frequency Electronics
Dual Matched MMIC Amplifier
Mini-Circuits introduces PHA-11+, a 50Ω,
0.05 to 3 GHz, dual matched wideband
amplifier fabricated using advanced EPHEMT technology, offering high dynamic
range (High IP3 and Low NF) for use in 50
and 75 ohm applications. Typical gain
match of 0.2 dB and phase match of 1.6
deg. enables it to be used in push-pull
amplifiers. Exceptionally high IP2 has
been demonstrated in wideband 50 and 75
ohm amplifiers evaluation boards.
Combining this with low noise figure to
enable it for use in exceptionally high
dynamic range amplifiers. Covers Cable
TV band and communication bands such as
cellular, cable TV, PCS, WiMAX, etc.
www.minicircuits.com
16-Bit, 125 Msps ADCs
X-Band PA
Linear Technology Corporation introduces
three families of low power 16-bit, 25 to
125 Msps ADCs that dissipate approximately half the power of competing 16-bit
solutions. The LTC2165 and LTC2185 families are single- and two-channel simultaneous sampling parallel ADCs, respectively, offering a choice of full-rate CMOS, or
double data rate (DDR) CMOS/LVDS digital outputs with programmable digital output timing, programmable LVDS output
current and optional LVDS output termination.
www.linear.com
A series of compact X-Band amplifiers are
introduced by MITEQ, Inc., covering 30 to
34 dBm. The Model AMF-6B-08501070-8033P-ISO delivers over 33 dBm of power
over the band 8.5 to 10.7 GHz, with over 30
dB gain and ±0.75 dB flatness. P1dB is over
34 dBm above 10 GHz. Noise figure is less
than 8 dB, port VSWR is less than 1.5:1,
and it draws about 1.4A from a single +12
to +15V DC supply. Output isolator is
optional. Typical output IP3 is over 41
dBm. The housing has a footprint of only 3"
by 1.9" and 0.9" high with SMA connectors.
www.miteq.com
New White Paper
AWR Corporation has issued a new MultiRate Harmonic Balance (MRHB™) white
paper. Traditional harmonic balance analysis is, more often than not, limited in its
ability to solve large circuits with many
different signal sources due to the long
computation times and large amounts of
computer memory required. To make harmonic balance analysis viable when analyzing such circuits, AWR has pioneered a
multi-rate harmonic balance (MRHB™)
technology within its APLAC® family of
harmonic balance and time-domain simulators. This white paper traces the use of
harmonic balance in solving microwave
problems, describes MRHB technology, and
provides examples of its effectiveness when
compared with traditional harmonic balance simulators. The white paper is available now online.
www.awrcorp.com
Updated CD-ROM
Times Microwave Systems has just
released the latest edition of its popular
CD-ROM, which includes several new and
updated brochures and catalogs including
the newest edition of the LMR® Wireless
Products Catalog, which now includes the
innovative new Times-Protect™ line of RF
surge and lightning protection products as
well as new SilverLine test cable products.
The Times Microwave Systems CD-ROM
features an easy-to-use menu for navigation within each catalog.
www.timesmicrowave.com
Frequency Multiplier
Mini-Circuits introduces a new 50Ω frequency multiplier, output 5400 to 9000
MHz. Operating temperature is –40°C to
85°C. Features include broadband; high
rejection F2, –45 dBc typ.; F4, –50 dBc typ.;
low cost; and aqueous washable.
Applications include synthesizers, local
oscillators, and satellite up and down converters.
www.minicircuits.com
Power Transistor Model Library
Phase-Locked Oscillator
System Simulation Update
A new version of the LINC2 VSA (Visual
System Architect) system simulation software has recently been released by ACS.
Version 1.10 adds a new mixer model to the
VSA’s Components menu for enhanced
modeling of mixer spur generation. Also
included in this version of the VSA is a new
Accumulate Spectrum mode in the
Spectrum Analysis display that captures
and holds the output spectrum from multiple simulation runs.
www.appliedmicrowave.com
Phase Matrix is pleased to introduce the
PLS-4900-Q10E, a high-performance, low
noise, 4.9 GHz phase-locked oscillator
(PLO). The design of this PLO’s primary
source consists of a low-noise, bipolar-silicon-transistor oscillator. In addition, a
buffer amplifier in the output path provides the desired power output and load
isolation. Power output is 17 dBm (typical)
into a 50-ohm load. Phase noise at 10 kHz
and 100 kHz offsets is –110 dBc/Hz and
–130 dBc/Hz respectively. Phase Matrix’s
PLOs are available in frequencies up to 50
GHz and up to 1 watt of power output.
www.phasematrix.com
AWR Corporation announced the availability of NXP Semiconductor’s sixth- and seventh-generation laterally diffused metal
oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) power transistor library for AWR’s Microwave Office®
design software. The NXP LDMOS power
transistor library is ideal for use by designers of high-power power amplifiers (PAs)
found within base station broadcast and
microwave applications due to its power
efficiency and linearity. The NXP LDMOS
power transistor model library for use within AWR’s Microwave Office software release
2010 is available now and free of charge to
current customers and evaluators. The
library can be downloaded from NXP’s website: http://www.nxp.com/models/
www.awrcorp.com
ADVERTISER INDEX
Company ...........................................................................Page
ACS...........................................................................................46
Aeroflex / Inmet .......................................................................37
Akon .........................................................................................47
Anatech Electronics.................................................................36
American Technical Ceramics (ATC) .....................................31
AWR..........................................................................................21
Besser Associates.....................................................................16
Carlisle .....................................................................................27
Coilcraft....................................................................................11
C. W. Swift & Associates.................................................Cover 2
Emerson Network Power ..........................................................4
GT Microwave..........................................................................30
IW Microwave ..........................................................................51
J microTechnology ...................................................................61
Koaxis.......................................................................................40
Linear Technology ...................................................................13
MECA .......................................................................................43
Micro Lambda Wireless...........................................................19
Microwave Components ..........................................................17
Microwave Components ..........................................................57
Mini-Circuits ..........................................................................2-3
Mini-Circuits............................................................................25
Mini-Circuits............................................................................35
Mini-Circuits............................................................................39
Mini-Circuits............................................................................45
Mini-Circuits ......................................................................48-49
Mini-Circuits............................................................................53
Mini-Circuits............................................................................55
Mini-Circuits............................................................................59
MITEQ .......................................................................................1
MITEQ .....................................................................................29
MITEQ.............................................................................Cover 4
Molex ...............................................................................Cover 3
Phase Matrix ...........................................................................41
Renaissance Electronics Corp / HXI. ........................................9
Samtec......................................................................................15
SGMC Microwave ....................................................................33
Teledyne Cougar ........................................................................7
Times Microwave Systems......................................................23
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December 2010
63
DESIGN NOTES
Notes on Shannon’s Theorem
Given a discrete memoryless channel (meaning that
each signal symbol is perturbed by noise independently
of the noise effects on all other symbols) with capacity C
bits per second, and an information source with rate R
bits per second where R < C, there exists a code such that
the output of the source can be transmitted over the
channel with arbitrarily small probability of error.
—The definition of Shannon’s theorem, as described in [1].
I
n developing his theorem, Claude Shannon effectively separated the transmitted signal from the
information being carried. Note that it says nothing
about bandwidth or filtering of the signal, or the complexity of the code. And although it says you can establish near-errorless communications, it says nothing
about the net data rate (throughput) of that communications after coding is applied.
As described in [2], “What Shannon says here is
that in a noise channel, errorless communication (not
errorless transmission!) can occur as long as two conditions are met: first, that the information rate R is
below a certain value C; and second, that a sufficiently capable code is being used.”
The type of idealized assumption made by Shannon
to create a mathematical basis for his theorem is common, but there are always practical factors for achieving system performance that approaches the ideal
limit. This was addressed later, in the well-known
Shannon-Hartley equation:
⎛
P ⎞
C = B log 2 ⎜ 1 + S ⎟
PN ⎠
⎝
bps
(1)
where C is the theoretical channel capacity in bits per
second, B is the idealized channel bandwidth in Hz, PS
is the total signal power (in watts) and PN is the total
noise power (in watts) within bandwidth B. The ratio
PS/PN is also called the signal-to-noise radio, or SNR.
The above equation applies real-world factors to
Shannon’s theorem. We now have C defined as a relationship between bandwidth and SNR. But this modification of the C from the ideal does not change the
theorem in any way; it only defines the reduction in C
in a practical implementation.
Eq. (1) is often modified by moving B (bandwidth)
to the left-hand side, where C/B has the dimensions of
bps/Hz. Figure 1 shows the rearranged Eq. (1) plotted
on a log-log scale. Below 0 dB SNR, the plot is linear;
above 0 dB SNR, the plot flattens but continues to
64
High Frequency Electronics
Figure 1 · Plot of capacity density versus SNR.
increase with increasing SNR.
What this plot shows us is that below 0 dB SNR,
where noise is the dominant factor, the capacity of a
data channel is reduced in proportion to the SNR
(log/log scale). “Below the noise” communications has
been used in many applications over the past 30-40
years, confirming Shannon’s theorem that such communications is possible, but at a reduced net data rate.
These systems now use digital coding, but early systems used equivalent analog methods such as long
integration times and ultra narrowband filtering.
In the region at least 6 dB above 0 dB SNR, noise
is no longer the limiting factor. In this region, achieving the maximum channel capacity depends on the
design of the signal—modulation type and coding.
High SNR means that there is little ambiguity in a signal’s relative amplitude and phase. Modulation types
such as 8 PSK and various levels of QAM contain more
bits per symbol, resulting in higher net data rates.
Before Shannon, only the part of Fig. 1 below 0 dB
SNR was understood. In those early days of radio (and
wireline) communications, all effort for improvement
was directed toward achieving a better SNR—higher
power transmitters, lower noise figure receivers, higher gain antennas, interference reduction, etc.
Shannon’s theorem introduced the power of coding,
giving engineers a new tool to use for designing
improved communication systems. His groundbreaking work has had a dramatic, and lasting impact.
References
1. R. E. Zimmer, W. H. Tranter, Principles of Modern
Communication Systems, Modulation and Noise,
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1976, p. 422.
1. Earl McCune, Practical Digital Wireless Signals,
Cambridge University Press, 2010, Ch. 2, sec. 2.7, and
Ch. 3.
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