Plus, Germany completes its 2 GHz and 3.6 GHz mobile spectrum auction; Spain sees Europe's first 5G banking; Apple aims to take a bite out of Intel, and more, all in this edition of The Week in 5G.  

When choosing an amplifier, how much input power is required to achieve full rated output power? This article is part two of AR’s series “Specifying RF/Microwave Power Amplifiers for EMC Testing,” and details the requirements for an amplifier’s input and output values.

Wolfspeed offers the C3M0016120K silicon carbide power MOFSET with the industry’s lowest Rds_(on) SiC at 1200 V in a discrete package. With a simpler two-level topology made possible by improved switching performance, designers are able to reduce the count of components within their system.

Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation offers the Model 6040 universal pulse generator with electrical or optical output options with adjustable rates up to 100 MHz. The system delivers superior performance characteristics such as timing accuracies of 0.01 percent for frequency and 0.2 percent for delay and width.

JFW offers the model 50PSA-101-XX programmable phase shifter assembly with Ethernet control and a range of 0 to 358.6° by 1.4° steps. The center frequency is user selectable from 1.5 to 3.0 GHz. It has a 2RU high 19-inch rack-mount enclosure and is available with up to eight individually controlled phase shifters.

KRYTAR offers the Model 1100110010 Directional Coupler operating in the 10 to 110 GHz frequency range and delivering exceptionally flat nominal coupling of 10 dB across the full bandwidth. Ideal for wireless designs and many test and measurement applications for emerging millimeter-wave and 5G markets, the coupler can be manufactured to meet military specifications.

Empower RF Systems offers the SKU 2214 solid state, broadband high-power amplifier designed to produce a minimum output of 8 kW peak pulsed power. The 2900 to 3500 MHz pulsed amplifier features multiple high-power GaN devices that provide wide frequency response, high gain, high peak power capability, and low distortions.

Micro Lambda Wireless offers the new MLBS series of bench test synthesizers operating in the 2 to 20 GHz frequency range for use in production test sets, laboratory tests, and test equipment racks where generation of microwave signals is essential.

Wrapping up the show here at IMS 2019, Mike Lee of dB Control addresses some of the challenges that engineers face when looking for millimeter-wave high-power amplifiers. These challenges can include acquiring higher frequencies, higher broadband capabilities, smaller sizes, and more.

Tim Brauner of Knowles Precision Devices (DLI) introduces their Ka-band frequency filters and other custom designs to help solve these filtering challenges.

Mike Bitting of HUBER+SUHNER demonstrates their end-to-end RF over Fiber connectivity solution on the floor of the show. This solution stands out in its combination of optics with RF components, making a customized solution for a variety of applications including satellite ground station applications, RF test lab applications, or any application where long, obtrusive cables would be better suited to optical transitions.

Corry Micronics is focusing on offering their custom capabilities to customers’ RF components and systems. As an example of this, Todd Peterman highlights the industry’s first true broadband (2 to 18 GHz) high-power switch with high speeds up to 150 nanoseconds and a small form factor for increased design flexibility.

For the newest generation of small cells that require high-efficiency PAs, Qorvo’s Jeff Gengler and Suma Kapilavai introduce the QPA9908 and QPA9903 for band 3 and 8 applications, and demonstrate the complete band 3 solution.

Jeff Barney at the Remcom booth here at IMS 2019 introduces their new metric for antenna phased array analysis in the XFdtd software. This example displays a special diversity application using a smartphone, but this metric is also useful for dual polarized antennas, 2D MIMO systems, subsystem arrays, and more.

George Solomon from CPI, Beverly Microwave Division presents several tips and considerations for the selection of optimum power combiners in solid state power amplifiers. Some of these considerations include low loss efficient power combining, graceful power degradation, and different design approaches.

Rich Pieciak introduces the new R&S® ZNA network analyzer solution from Rohde & Schwarz. This analyzer is ideally suited for development and production applications that require high accuracy, such as developing and producing components and modules for A&D and satellite applications.

Bob Muro of Pentek, Inc. talked to us about the importance of software defined radio in 5G networks.

Skyworks supports multiple facets of infrastructure, including 5G, macro stations, massive MIMO, small cells, and more. Here at our first day at IMS, Tim Kirstein and Thomas Valencia from Skyworks introduces their new SKY12245 high-power switch specifically designed for 5G macro station applications.

C.J. Reddy from Altair discusses valuable EM simulation tools for the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) market. Altair offers a broad range of solutions to support ADAS, including design, modeling, and visualization software; physics simulation software; data intelligence software; Internet of Things software; and high-performance cloud computing.

The role of small cells is increasing with each new network and is driven by the need for faster data speeds and capacity. This article presents the latest insights on small cell market trends, RF front-end challenges, and practical solutions to meet user and manufacturer needs.

Mini-Systems, Inc. offers microelectronic package solutions in sizes and configurations for virtually any application. We deliver high-quality products at a competitive price and on time. Our 20+ years of packaging experience allows us to understand your requirements quickly and accurately.

A multiport VNA significantly reduces test time to deliver highly accurate measurements on multiport devices. The flexible modular configuration, fast measurement times, and high performance make VNAs the right tool for multiport testing. 

Lange couplers feature a specific orientation of directional couplers and are used as passive power combiners and RF/microwave splitters. The best-performing designs employ minimized line distance and spacing, along with very tight tolerance control to maximize their advantage.

When budgets are tight, engineers and test techs are often urged to buy only what is needed. This paper discusses the features and flexibility to look for in a self-programmable signal generator to meet the desired outcomes with the total budget you have for your bench.

The IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society’s 2020 IMS Microwave Week will be held June 21 - 26, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. IMS Microwave Week consists of three related conferences offering technical sessions, interactive forums, plenary and panel sessions, workshops, short courses, industrial exhibits, application seminars, historical exhibits, and a wide variety of other technical and social activities including a guest program.

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