A-GPS Big at CTIA

GPS is being commonly added to smart phones for location based information and services. However, GPS in these phones is not always that accurate and can have slow response times. Assisted GPS (A-GPS) will solve these problems with help from the cell towers to complement the internal GPS information being gathered by the phone. It is a hot topic at CTIA and companies are releasing test solutions to meet the needs of deploying them.


Agilent Technologies Inc. introduced GS-9000 A-GPS Design Verification Test systems designed around the 8960 wireless communications test set's new A-GPS assistance data messaging test capabilities. The capabilities support A-GPS validation, Total Isotropic Sensitivity testing and A-GPS pre-conformance testing for mobile devices. With this introduction, Agilent's 8960 test set offers the industry's best price/performance one-box tester for use in A-GPS base station emulation applications across the entire R&D lifecycle.


Spirent Communications, a mobile device, application, and wireless network testing company, has partnered with ETS-Lindgen, a provider of RF chambers and antenna measurement solutions, to integrate Spirent's UMTS Location Test System (ULTS) with ETS-Lindgren's EMQuest Antenna Measurement Software. This will enable the ability to test product in compliance with the upcoming 3.0 release of the CTIA's Test Plan for Mobile Station Over the Air Performance, which will become mandatory on all CTIA authorized test labs.

CTIA Central Hall

So each year I like to give out my own best booth award to the glamorous handset companies that go all out for CTIA. I think it usually comes down to LG and Samsung. Last year I liked the LG booth the best and although it was great this year, Samsung gets the award for the intriguing display pictured here. It is made up of individual cell phone images which constantly change.

The central hall was very busy in the afternoon and I enjoy going to the Asian country pavilions which each have several microwave component companies. They typically make some very good isolators, diplexers, duplexers and integrated assemblies. One that stood out was Admotech which makes components and was featuring their integrated front end WiMAX assembly.

I will be spending more time in this hall later since it is so large.

RF/Microwave Pavilion Opens at CTIA

The RF and Microwave Pavilion opened at CTIA today and the reception was strong. The Pavilion is located in the South hall toward the front on the main isle so traffic was good.

I visited all of the booths today in the pavilion and will have a complete wrap up in a few days after I return. But the most interesting product so far is the Peregrine UltraCMOS products. They are making products that are solving many of the high power, high linearity and fast switching times needed for multi-throw switches, digital attenuators and tunable circuits. Included is a photo of one of their patterned Si on Sapphire wafers. See the previous entry describing their release of new digital step attenuators and they have more products coming.

Another very interesting meeting I had was with Spirent who I was not very familiar with until today. They make testing solutions for real world testing of more types of wireless systems and announced that ETS-Lindgren now supports Spirent's UMTS Location Test System. This will allow wireless device manufacturers to quickly and easily add Spirent's A-GPS instrumentation to ETS-Lindgren's over the air wireless test solutions.

The Testing Solutions Pavilion is right beside the RF and microwave Pavilion so I was able to visit Anritsu and others there. Anritsu has some new USB power meters available that I will also describe in the wrap up after the show. The central hall has all of the large booths and country pavilions. I will have follow up on details about my visits to central hall next.

CTIA Kicks Off

I got in last night and Vegas seems as busy as ever - there are several trade shows in town besides CTIA which by itself is very large. I will be going over to the exhibition soon as it opens at 11 but the news is already pouring in. It looks like femtocells are hot while high capacity microwave backhaul and LTE continue to get a lot of attention.

Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation released three new UltraCMOS(TM) Digital Step Attenuators (DSAs) in the expansion of its popular 50 Ohm DSA line. Building on their high-performance predecessors, along with flexible serial and parallel interface logic these new HaRP(TM)- enhanced devices also offer highly flexible attenuation options by covering a 31.5dB attenuation range in 0.5 dB or 1.0 dB steps. They have really expanded their portfolio from basic switches a while back.

Agilent Technologies introduced its Signaling Analyzer Real Time (SART) for Femto. This first-to-market technology extends the test industry's most complete, end-to-end wireless analysis and troubleshooting solution to femtocells, which access wireless networks via consumer broadband connections. The platform supports both standards-based and proprietary femtocell implementations.

ETS-Lindgren announced an integrated solution that lets wireless device manufacturers test their products for compliance with the CTIA – The Wireless Association®’s new requirement for over the air performance testing of Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) enabled mobile devices. With the upcoming release of the Version 3.0 of the CTIA’s Test Plan for Mobile Station Over the Air Performance, this requirement will become mandatory for certification testing at all CTIA authorized test laboratories (CATLs).

Rogers Corporation is featuring a variety of its high-performance materials and is participating for the first time as part of the RF Zone. Visitors can discuss their design challenges with Rogers' applications engineers, and learn more about Rogers' state-of-the-art circuit-board materials.

Cobham sells M/A-COM Technology Solutions

It must have been very difficult in this market but Cobham pulled it off and sold the commercial components portion of M/A-COM, M/A-COM Technology Solutions (MTS), to John Ocampo for $30 million in cash, $30 million in senior loan notes secured on the MTS assets and $30 million dependent on future revenue in the period 2010 to 2012. John is a very experienced RF/microwave person in the industry having been on the board at Sirenza and started Vari-L many years ago. MTS is exhibiting in the RF/microwave Pavilion at CTIA.

At the time of the acquisition of M/A-COM on May 13, 2008, Cobham said it planned to divest the commercial business segment MTS, as it was not core to the Group's strategy (Excluded from the sale are cash and the freehold of the Walker Building in Lowell, Massachusetts valued at $10 million). MTS recorded revenue of some $275 million and operating profit of less than $10 million.

I think this is a good transaction for MTS and its employees to be purchased by an experienced entrepreneur and leader like John Ocampo. This leaves the original M/A-COM in 5 places (see if you can get all of the correct). Tyco Electronics maintains the private radio group, Cobham has the defense products, Micronetics has the RFID products, John Ocampo has the commercial products and Autoliv has the automotive products!

R&S Demos Femtocell Design Verification

At CTIA Wireless 2009, Rohde & Schwarz is demonstrating their LTE frequency division duplexing (FDD) testing capabilities based on the newest femtocell design from mimoOn. The compact test setup features the R&S® SMBV100A vector signal generator and the R&S® FSV signal analyzer to generate and analyze LTE signals that meet the newest specification.

The test setup on display at Rohde & Schwarz booth 6033 verifies that the femtocell reference design from mimoOn correctly operates according to the LTE specification that is about to be finalized. Accurate validation of the generated downlink signal of the mimoOn reference design is carried out with the R&S® FSV signal analyzer and the R&S® FSV-K100 downlink analysis option. The R&S® FSV’s innovative touch screen interface simplifies testing from the reference design to the final application of enhanced Node B (eNB) and Home eNB infrastructure.

Closing out Satellite 2009

Satellite 2009 was dubbed Solutions Start Here and lived up to its billing of offering a glimpse into the future of the satellite-enabled communications market and the solutions new technology will provide. The sessions covered enterprise, military, commercial, broadcast, government, and others. The conference and panel sessions covered many topics like Satellite broadband, WiMAX, IP networking, SatCom, hybrid networks, financial impacts, military applications, HD, Mobile TV, backhaul, etc.

I was impressed with the new RF/microwave technologies on display at the exhibition. Many companies were offering very high power, light weight amplifier and upconverter solutions from TWTs to SSPA. The filtering technology was just as impressive as the airways are getting more and more crowded with signals that need to be blocked out. And we cannot forget the antennas, feeds and motion controls at the end of the communication line that are also critical for optimal performance.

I am heading off to CTIA next week as we will put on the first ever RF/microwave Pavilion at CTIA Wireless 2009 in Las Vegas. Hope to see you there!

Satellite 2009

I attended the exhibition and one of the panel sessions yesterday. The show seems relatively busy which is a good sign these days. There were 2 interesting panel discussions I wanted to attend yesterday. One was on the capacity crunch and debated the different frequency bands as C-band seems to be slowing, Ku-band is growing and Ka-band is on the horizon. I was not able to make this one but made the one on the WiMAX and Satellite broadband debate - are they direct competition or complementary.

The panel was moderated by Claude Rousseau (NSR) and made up of Drew Caplan (SkyTerra), Amiee Chan (Norsat), Gary Hale (Cisco Systems), Laurent Thomasson (EADS) and Greg Wyler (O3b). They had done some polling of the industry and 59% thought WiMAX was a long term solution with only 11% thinking WiMAX was a direct threat to Satellite Broadband (but 69% thought is was an opportunity and threat). WiMAX seems to be a good solution for places that have no infrastructure for wireless backhaul and may not necessarily be a good mobile solution at this point. It seems like WiMAX and Satellite broadband hybrid systems that utilize the best one for each situation might be the answer in the long term.

The exhibition was fairly well attended and we visited many of the RF/microwave companies. We stopped by Cobham, Teledyne, Locus, Diamond, NEC, Actox, Wavecom, Tampa, FilTel, Microphase, K&L and Millitech. I saw some impressive amplifiers and upconverters that are very compact and high power. There are still some good TWT solutions but it seems like SSPAs with proprietary combining solutions are taking a big part of the business. Today we will finish off our visits and I will be doing a show wrap up of the whole event in the next couple of days.

Greenray Industries Debuts New TCXO

Greenray Industries of Mechanicsburg, PA announced a new High Frequency TCXO for Wireless & Mobile Apps last month, the T121 TCXO just in time for Satellite 2009. The device is designed to serve as a super-stable frequency reference in high shock and high vibration environments. The T121 Series TCXO, available from 50 to 100MHz, provides extremely stable sinewave output and temperature stability to ±0.5ppm over -40 to +85°C. The T121 measures 0.68 x 0.68 x 0.200” and features vibration sensitivity of 7 x 10-10/g or better. The T121 Series combines a compact, rugged package, tight stability and high frequency availability to suit high shock/high vibration environments, including mobile and airborne applications. Stop by booth #1607 for more details.

CPI Satcom Showcases 100 watt Ku-band outdoor SSPA

CPI Satcom Division is featuring its 100 watt Ku-band outdoor SSPA at the SATELLITE 2009 Conference and Exhibition. This outdoor SSPA is the latest addition to the company’s extensive range of solid state amplifiers and is being touted by the company for its flexibility and easy maintainance. Frequency bands can be changed among X-, C- and Ku-band very quickly without rewiring and using only minor hand tools. Swapping out fans typically takes less time than it does to simply remove the cover on competing products. The ease of owning a CPI SSPA is enhanced by the company’s fifteen worldwide service centers and 24-hour telephone support.

Reliability is built-in to the CPI outdoor SSPA. In addition to the soft-fail RF feature found in most SSPAs, the CPI SSPA also provides redundant power supply modules and a microprocessor-controlled fault reporting system.

CPI’s satellite communications products are on display in booth 301 at the SATELLITE 2009 Conference and Exhibition.

At Satellite 09 Aeroflex Unveils Latest Payload Tester

At Satellite 2009 in Washington DC, Aeroflex announced the commercial availability of their Synthetic Multifunction Adaptable Reconfigurable Test Environment (SMART^E™) 5200 Series. This new hybrid synthetic Satellite Payload Test Environment includes hardware, software, test practices and support provides standard and customizable test programs tailored to the specific problems of testing (standard and customizable) high performance payloads, which consist of multiple channels, each with up to hundreds of connections between the test system and payload under test.

“The SMART^E 5200 replaces the STI1000C Satellite Payload Test System currently installed and in operation at customer sites worldwide,” according to Dr. Francesco Lupinetti, vice president and general manager, Aeroflex High Speed Test Solutions.

SMART^E 5200 is a highly integrated and reliable COTS-based solution. The core modules utilized in the SMART^E 5200 have been shipping in other SMART^E applications for approximately two years. Like the software and user interface, the core modules are production-grade and operationally proven in the field. When combined with proven accessories such as the Remote Calibration Unit (RCU), which allows TVAC testing of payloads with as many as 384 ports at an extended frequency of 40 GHz.

Aeroflex has more than ten years of experience in fielding synthetic test systems specifically configured for testing satellite payloads. Customers utilize the same systems for all stages of payload integration and test, including panel testing, reference performance testing of the full payload, testing in a thermal vacuum chamber and antenna-range testing in anechoic chambers.

Different satellite payloads may have many similarities, no two payloads are exactly alike and no two manufacturers have exactly the same test strategies and methodologies. When designing the SMART^E 5200, Aeroflex’s objective was to create a test environment solution with core capabilities that addresses the common aspects of satellite payload test and still remain flexible enough so that it can be easily customized to match the unique requirements of any given payload and associated customer. Each of the Satellite Payload Test Systems from Aeroflex share common core elements, but are customized with unique test aspects for each customer implementation.

The latest SMART^E Test Environments implement the core RF/microwave functions to be more modular in terms of the frequency ranges and power characteristics for the various applications. Satellite payloads operate at different frequencies and power levels depending upon the system application/mission to which they are applied. Frequency and power are two of the most basic cost drivers for microwave equipment, so the most cost-efficient solution is a test system that optimally and dynamically matches the range of frequency and power characteristics of the modules to be tested.

Together with full diagnostic capabilities, calibration and NIST traceable standards, Aeroflex supplies a standard library of common tests with each Satellite Payload Test Environment, including: Payload Control, Multi Carrier, Gain Transfer/ALC, Noise Power Ratio, Noise Figure, Frequency Conversion, Amplitude Linearity, Group Delay/Phase vs. Frequency, Passive Intermodulation, and many more.

Satellite 2009 in DC

I am heading out to the Satellite 2009 show in Washington DC tomorrow morning to meet with the RF/microwave companies there. I hope to recruit some good material for our August Satellite and mmWave issue and perhaps our October Gov't and Military issue. It should be an interesting trip before heading out next week to Vegas for CTIA.

If anyone else is attending and wants to meet for coffee (or a drink), drop me a line.

Super Broadband Devices

There seems to be a trend these days in designing very broadband devices that will operate over many communications bands so a single device can be used in many applications. Triquint recently developed their PowerBand family of amplifiers that feature high power (10-50 W) and good efficiency (typically 45-50%) over a wide band from 500 MHz to 3 GHz with a single device. They state that 2 to 4 Powerband devices can replace a typical line up of 6 to 12 devices. The have plans to extend the range of these devices to 6 GHz and improve the power levels by leveraging LDMOS and GaN technology (I believe the current devices are GaAs based).


Yesterday Analog Devices released a 14 bit RF digital to analog converter (DAC) that uses direct digital synthesis to convert signals from DC to 3.6 GHz. One device can handle up to 72 QAM channels with sample rates up to 2500 MPSP which is very impressive performance. It will enable wireless communications designers to use a single transmit-DAC architecture for multiple communications standards while eliminating an off-chip mixer and low-pass filter.


These 2 devices can pretty much make up a complete transmit chain that operates at about any frequency currently used for communications systems (maybe they can partner up). What other very broadband devices have you seen recently developed?

Treating Tumors with Microwave Ablation

More news from the "microwaves in applied science" front. A new minimally-invasive option for treating liver tumors, called microwave ablation, is now available at UC San Diego Medical Center and Moores UCSD Cancer Center, the only hospitals in the region to offer this technology to patients. “Microwave ablation causes the tumor to be quickly and precisely removed. If necessary, multiple tumors can be treated at the same time,” said Marquis Hart, MD, transplant surgeon at UC San Diego Medical Center. “This method appears to be more efficient than other ablation techniques which translates to better tumor destruction and less time for the patient under general anesthesia.”

To perform the procedure, Hart accesses the tumor through the skin, or through a small laparoscopic port or open incision. With ultrasound guidance or a computed tomography (CT) scan, the tumor is located and then pierced with a thin antenna which emits microwaves. This energy spins the water molecules in the tumor producing friction which causes heat. Temperatures above 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) cause cellular death, usually within 10 minutes.

In addition to liver disease, microwave ablation has promising potential in the treatment of lung, kidney, and bone cancer. Studies using microwave or radio frequency ablation for the treatment of cancer has been in the works for several years. Apparently the studies were sucessful and the technology is going mainstream.

The Nano Radio

This is not totally new news but a recent article in Scientific American has called some attention to it as researchers have built the world's tiniest radio out of a carbon nanotube. The tiny nanotube is placed between two electrodes and combines the roles of the major electrical components in a radio, including the tuner and amplifier. It can tune in to a radio signal and play the audio through an external speaker.

The nanotube radio works differently than a conventional radio that has an antenna, tuner, amplifier, and demodulator. A single carbon nanotube can tune in to a radio signal, amplify it, and demodulate it to get the audio encoded on the carrier radio wave. The nanotube starts vibrating in tune with a radio signal if the signal is at the same frequency as the nanotube’s natural resonance frequency. This can be controlled by the electric field that is placed on the nanotube so it can be tuned to the proper frequency. The first song played was appropriately Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys.

At the AMTA conference last year I saw some research on using nanotubes as antennas for miniature radios but the initial work showed they were not able to make them work very well at RF frequencies.

See and here the nanotube radio on Technology Review here.

ADS 2009 Targets HF/HS Co-Design

Agilent has just recently announced the release of ADS 2009, targeting the high-frequency & high speed front end co-design (IC/Package/Board) challenges discussed in February's MWJ lead story - "The Dawn of Nano-scale Technology". The complexity of these designs require tight integration between the the front-end (simulation & verification) and back-end (Cadence or Mentor Graphics)tools. For example, 4G LTE phones must also have Bluetooth, Wifi and MIMO capabilities which means multi-antennas operating over multi-frequency bands while remaining backward compatible with 3G and 2G modes. In turn, high frequency and high speed components will need to fit into smaller volumes and closer proximity with greater undesired interactions. With smart phones be among the few markets in commercial electronics expected to grow in 2009, the pressure to acheive design success is great. Since costs & delays must be kept low, multiple available technologies are being integrated onto the PCB instead of designing all onto an IC.


One of the key components in ADS 2009 to address IC/Package/Board co-design is the new interoperability with Cadence and Mentor backend design platforms, allowing engineers and designers to import:

• Cadence Allegro PCB, Advanced Package Designer (APD) and SIP physical
design data for co-designing with active components
• Design Rule Check (DRC) results from Cadence Assura, Mentor Calibre or
Triquint MailDRC for viewing and correcting within ADS cost-effective
layout environment.

Agilent has also extended ADS 2009 model support to include X-parameters, a form of "black-box" component representation based on non-linear measurements (using the Agilent PNA, non-linear network analyzer). Measured x-parameters can now be used directly in ADS simulation to accurately represent off-the-shelf components.New support for 3D electromagnetic parameterized components representing metal shields,
antenna radomes, absorbers, packages, interconnects, finite dielectric
substrates and wire bonds has also been added.

To read more check out the following presentaion from Agilent EEsof:

Download Now

World’s Smallest Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Solution

I came across this recently launched product from World Mobile Congress as CSR has worked with Murata and released the CSR9000 which they claim is the world’s smallest Bluetooth and Wi-Fi solution and supports a long list of connectivity technologies: Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11abgn) and FM receive and transmit.

This is achieved by a combination of CSR’s ‘Smart Integration’ approach to silicon design as well as being as Wafer Level Chip Scale Packaging (WLCSP) technology. WLCSP achieves the smallest PCB footprint and is the packaging technology of choice for high volume, small form factor devices such as mobile handsets.

This is another example of our Feb. theme as we trend towards nano-scale SoP technology and the industry drives down size and cost. This product supports Bluetooth low energy which seems to be opening up new applications such as embedding Bluetooth in shoes, watches, etc. What applications do you envision for this new version of Bluetooth?

Fifth Annual Device Packaging Conference

The Fifth Annual Device Packaging Conference (DPC2009) will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 9-12, 2009. It is an international event organized by the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society (IMAPS). The conference provides a focused forum on the latest technological developments in 6 topic areas related to microelectronic packaging: 3D Packaging; Flip Chip; Wafer Level Packaging; MEMS; BioMedical Devices; and Power LED Devices. While the majority of technical sessions seem to be focused on fabrication, reliability and thermal issues (i.e. Impact of Underfill Design on Package Reliability), advanced packaging technology certainly impacts multi-chip manufacturers. A couple of talks from the technical sessions caught my eye, including:

Tunable Millimeter-Wave Device Based on Waveguide-Packaged MEMS

Compact Square Patch Antenna for Mobile Application

In the poster sessions, look for:

RF and Thermal Analysis of Packaged TGA4046 Q Band Amplifier

Design of Tunable Filter Structures using Multilayer Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics (LTCC)

A Unique Process for Hermetic Wafer Level Packaging


The full conference and exhibition information is at:

http://www.imaps.org/devicepackaging

RF SoP Co-design

This month's lead story in Microwave Journal looks at the state of System on Package technology as package device features move to the nano-scale. With such high density, the co-design of RF System on Package (SoP) is an evolving concern among multi-chip module manufacturers and the EDA companies that support this complex technology. Our editors posed a number of related questions to AWR, Agilent and Mentor Graphics on co-design, simulation and design flows for multi-chip modules and advanced packaging. The following MWJ exclusives take a look at this evolution.

Mentor Graphics:EDA/RF SoP Co-Design>


Agilent:EDA/RF SoP Co-Design>


AWR:EDA/RF SoP Co-Design>

RFMD, Skyworks and TriQuint Continue to Control GaAs Market

Growing up in the GaAs market in the 80's, I like to follow how the market is doing. In its latest GaAs report, Strategy Analytics states that RFMD, Skyworks and TriQuint lead the overall GaAs device market which grew 9% year-on-year in 2008, with early estimates showing that RFMD, Skyworks and TriQuint further consolidated their leadership of the GaAs device industry, accounting for up to 59% of total GaAs industry revenues. Merchant demand for GaAs devices continues to be centered upon MMIC-based products targeted at the wireless sector and this drove GaAs device industry revenues up to $3.9 billion in 2008.

Asif Anwar at Strategy Analytics noted that 2008 was a very good year, but growth in the GaAs industry hit a wall in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 2009 will see industry revenues decline by five to six percent. However, he believes 2009 also presents an opportunity for the market leaders to squeeze out their competition, provided they can successfully leverage existing relationships while continuing to tap into adjacent markets and emerging opportunities.

Other conclusions include:

While TriQuint and Skyworks closed the gap, RFMD maintained its standing as the world’s largest supplier of GaAs-based RF components

Collectively the top ten GaAs device manufacturers—including Avago Technologies, M/A-COM and Mitsubishi Electric—accounted for up to 82% of the overall market.