May - June 08
The new Ingenium EMC Testing Center comprises a whole suite of ETS-Lindgren chambers. See story below
Cornell Sets Microresonator Frequency Record
Cornell University demonstrates a device that generates a 4.5GHz signal, the highest ever achieved in silicon, with a quality factor (Q) close to 10,000. Q measures how sharply tuned an oscillator is and how much energy is stored in the resonator, which decreases with increasing frequency.
"You can trade off quality factor for frequency, so you want to maximize their product [frequency multiplied by Q]," say Sunil Bhave, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Dana Weinstein, graduate student. If both are high, designers have more leeway.
The device consists of a silicon bar set into vibration by a process called "dielectric transduction." An alternating voltage is applied to an electrode separated from the bar by a dielectric, or insulator.
The result is a silicon bar 8.5 microns long, 40 microns wide and 2.5 microns thick, divided by two dielectric layers of silicon nitride just 15 nanometers thick. The 4.5GHz signal is the ninth harmonic of the resonator's fundamental vibration along its length. The method could produce resonators with frequencies exceeding 10GHz.
Ingenium Testing Teams with ETS-Lindgren
ETS-Lindgren of Cedar Park, Texas, completed a multi-million dollar contract for Ingenium Testing, the nation's newest and most comprehensive test facility in North America. ETS-Lindgren designed and installed a state-of-the-art FACT#&8482; 10-meter chamber, a SpaceSaver#&8482; 26H chamber, multiple MIL-STD chambers, a high intensity radiated fields (HIRF) chamber, and a SMART#&8482; 80 reverberation chamber. Together, the chambers occupy some 30,000 square feet of the modern 85,000 square-foot "EMC Test Center for Excellence" located in Rockford, Illinois.
Mike Caruso, GM of Ingenium Testing, says,"When the facility was first formed, a critical component to ensure success was to provide top-notch customer service in state-of-the-art test chambers. We partnered with ETS-Lindgren exclusively on the entire set of chambers, full complement of antennas and TILE!#&8482; software as we were confident they were the best supplier to address our wide range of test needs"
RFI Global Expands Partnership with Sporton
RFI Global Services Ltd. of the U.K. has extended its collaboration with Sporton International Inc of Taiwan to form the RFI-Sporton Mobile Communication Business Unit in both countries, providing world-class GSM certification services in the region.
The extension follows three successful years of collaboration in bringing together RFI's global recognition and experience in GSM certification and Sporton's local knowledge and extensive testing capability, including 2G and 3G mobile performance testing. As a result of the new agreement, Sporton will acquire RFI Korea, including the facilities, equipment and the operation of the lab.
Stephen Kirk, CEO of RFI, said, "Following three years of close cooperation I feel that the collaboration between RFI and Sporton to provide GSM and UMTS Certification services will provide Taiwanese and Korean companies with a powerful solution for Global Wireless Market entry."
AR Appoints Osthaus as Microwave Specialist
Osthaus
AR has expanded its staff of microwave design specialists with the addition of Bud Osthaus, who brings 30 years of microelectronics experience to the company. Osthaus began his career as a designer with Microcom Corp. and later worked in process engineering for a variety of technology companies. Prior to joining AR, he was with Merrimac Industries, where he established a full-service microelectronic prototype facility.
In AR's quest to create state of the art, highly reliable RF and millimeter wave microelectronic products, Osthaus will be developing assembly processes and equipment. His experience in military and high-volume commercial electronics manufacturing will play a key role in keeping AR at the forefront of technology in a global market.
EMS's GM of LXE Inc. Jim Childress Retires
Childress
EMS Technologies, Inc. reports that James S. (Jim) Childress (pictured), president and general manager of LXE Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of EMS Technologies, is retiring. Paul Domorski, EMS's president and CEO, says that the company has begun a search for Childress's replacement, and that William H. (Bill) Roeder, senior vice president and deputy general manager, is acting as the division's general manager in the interim.
Domorski said, "Jim played a key role in developing LXE into a recognized leader in the auto-identification data capture (AIDC) market using wireless rugged mobile computing systems and solutions."
Childress led LXE to seven consecutive years of record revenues and strong growth, and recognition by MobileVillage six straight years for best customer service among mobile hardware vendors.
"It has been my distinct honor to lead a great group of professionals in LXE over the past seven years, and to have played a part in their success," said Childress
7 layers Japan Opens in Yokohama
7 layers opened its new test and service center, 7 layers Japan, in Yokohama in March. With this move the center, a 7 layers agency since 2004, is a full member of the 7 layers group.
7 layers Japan can now provide all test and market access services necessary for the Japanese telecommunications market, plus all other test services important for Japanese manufacturers when entering the global market.
The 7 layers laboratories in Japan will be fully equipped with modern test equipment for cellular technologies. Important radio and EMC test capabilities also became part of the 7 layers rapid response network. In case manufacturers need additional test services that are not provided in Japan, the group can take care of these. Clients will be provided with a final test report from a fully accredited 7 layers laboratory.
Keithley Partners with Chinese Research Lab
Keithley Instruments, Inc., a leader in solutions for emerging measurement needs, reports a partnership with the Institute of Mobile Communications (IMC) of Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, China. The entities will work together on joint research projects to expand existing applications as well as research emerging wireless applications and technologies.
Keithley, a provider of advanced, next-generation RF test equipment, will aid in the research of multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO), an emerging wireless communication technology that responds to the growing demand for more data in mobile communication devices.
"Wireless communication products continue to be major drivers in the global electronics market," said Mark Hoersten, Keithley vice president, business management. "As a result, researchers working on developing the next generation of wireless communication products need leading-edge test instrumentation."
In-flight Cell Phone Use Allowed on EU Airspace
The European Commission will allow the use of cell phones during flights throughout the European Union airspace, according to Agence France Presse.
EC spokesman Martin Selmayr, however, stressed that the in-flight service was not yet generally available and pass-engers should still heed the advice of flight attendants to switch off phones during flights. Selmayr added that that the 27 EU member states have six months to comply with the new rules.
For safety concerns, Selmayr said cellphone use will only be allowed when the planes are at least 3,000 feet in the air and that flight captains have the authority to switch off the on-board service if they deem necessary.
Despite the EC's optimism on the in-flight mobile phone service, German airline companies Lufthansa and Air Berlin expressed reservations. The AFP reported that both airlines said some clients they had questioned did not want to be disturbed by neighbors' in-flight phone calls. Neither carrier plans to run tests on the service.
Laird Antenna Makes EDN's Hot 100 List
Laird Technologies, a leader of critical components and systems for advanced electronics and wireless products, says its Activv Antenna was recognized by EDN magazine as one of the Hot 100 Products of 2007. The Activv Antenna is a second-generation internal antenna. Earlier this year the first generation of the device, Laird's RadioAnt Antenna, won the Product of the Year Award for 2007 from Electronic Products magazine.
"As the first FM antenna to be incorporated directly into a device, the RadioAnt is a very important product," said product manager Stefan Lofgren. "The Activv antenna is equally important because it is a leading-edge miniature internal antenna circuit offering improved sensitivity of 5dB and delivering significant improvement in total electronic system performance."
EDN's Annual Hot 100 Products list is comprised of the products and technologies that EDN's editors believe to be the hottest in the industry.
Agilent's Test Solution Selected by USI
Agilent Technologies Inc. reports that Universal Scientific Industrial Co. Ltd. (USI) will use Agilent's WiMAX#&8482; manufacturing networking test set for its Mobile WiMAX test needs. The company chose Agilent because of its ability to deliver fast measurement time for USI's Mobile WiMAX module test plan requirements. USI is a leader in the design and manufacturing services industry that focuses on product development and capability enhancement.
"We chose Agilent equipment because it delivers greater accuracy, repeatability and the faster test speeds required for our Mobile WiMAX test needs," said Albert Liu, USI vice president and general manager of its wireless product business unit.
Testing high volumes of Mobile WiMAX devices requires a standard-compliant 802.16e-2005 physical layer test tool. Agilent's N8300A one-box parametric WiMAX test set addresses these challenges.
RadioMobile Receives $500,000 in New Orders
RF Industries Ltd.'s RadioMobile division has received new orders from Dial-a-Cab for software and hardware valued at approximately $500,000 and scheduled for delivery over the next 10 months.
"This contract is part of our long-term relationship with Dial-a-Cab to upgrade their 15 year-old installation, which handles dispatch and location management for 3,000 cabs, to a 21st Century state-of-the-art wireless data system," said Jim Moore, RadioMobile's general manager.
More wireless contracts include the receipt by RF Neulink of a $120,000 follow-on order to support the U.S. Marine Corps' IGRS program, which provides real-time personnel tracking, positioning and battlefield status.
RFI's Bioconnect Division announced $280,000 in new orders. "This customer gave us a $247,000 contract last month for a complex 24-lead medical connector," said George Marks, Bioconnect's general manager.
ST and NXP Form Wireless Joint Venture
NXP and STMicroelectronics have agreed to combine key wireless operations to form a joint venture company. The new company will have the scale to better meet customer needs in 2G, 2.5G, 3G, multimedia, connectivity and all future wireless technologies. It will be a top-three industry player with the scale and expertise to pursue the R&D investments necessary to establish itself as a leading player in the wireless and mobile-multimedia market.
The new company will be incorporated in the Netherlands and headquartered in Switzerland with approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. Not owning any wafer fabs, the joint venture is designed with low capital intensity, while having access to secure leading-edge manufacturing capacity from both parent companies and foundries. It will operate its own assembly and test facilities in Calamba, Philippines and Muar, Malaysia. NXP's Calamba site as a whole will be transferred to the JV, as will part of ST's back-end operations in Muar.
Cypress EMI Reduction Timing Solutions Website
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. has a new website focused on optimized solutions for reducing Electro-Magnetic Interference. The EMI Reduction Timing Solutions website presents information on Cypress's portfolio of spread spectrum timing solutions, and how they can be used to address EMI.
The website provides an intuitive navigation scheme with five categories: technology, solutions, products, support, and news & events. Users are only a single click away from accessing timing product information, direct links to the Cypress store, samples requests, software downloads, online training, and local sales contacts. The website offers user interface features such as dynamic drop-down menus that provide a consistent and efficient navigation experience. It also provides flash animations that graphically demonstrate the value of spread spectrum timing solutions.
Visit the website at www.cypress.com/go/EMI.
RF Components Market in Decline
A new report from the Strategy Analytics RF and Wireless Component Strategies service identifies a slow decline in the profitability of RF component suppliers over the past two years, which will in all probability continue through 2008 The report, Lower Profits Ahead for RF as Global Economy Stutters, examines the collective financial performance of approximately 49 suppliers of radio components for wireless applications, and attributes the slow decline in profits to maturing wireless markets, increasing component complexity and more rapid commoditization at the low end.
"It is difficult to predict the precise effect of global economic conditions on component suppliers," admits Christopher Taylor, director of the Strategy Analytics RF and Wireless Components market research service.
"However, the recent trend toward lower profits in the RF sector is clear, and tighter credit in the global financial markets coupled with lower spending by U.S. consumers, will do nothing to counter the trend."
EMI Filters Provide Mounting Options
Schurter's series 5130 Eco 20A IEC inlet with EMI filter is designed for IT, medical and industrial appliances.
The 5130 combines an IEC C20 inlet with a line filter in a range of mounting styles. The positive electrical contact of the broad metal flange to the chassis ensures optimal filtering and shielding.
The units are available with current ratings of 16 or 20A, depending on attenuation requirements. Medical filters are also available with low leakage currents of less than 5uA as well as types with X1 and Y1 capacitors for enhanced withstand voltage.
Mounting options include a front or rear version for traditional screw and nut mounting or rivet mounting. A version designed for rear mounting features pre-formed threaded holes for M3 screws, which eliminates the handling of nuts and reduces labor costs. These benefits can also be achieved with the snap-in mounting style.
For more information, visit www.schurter.com.
Kobe Develops Electromagnetic Shielding Steel
Nikkei Weekly reports that Kobe Steel Ltd. has developed steel sheet that reduces penetration of electromagnetic wave energy from one-fourth to one-ninth that of conventional products.
When used in a computer chassis, the steel sheet can be expected to prevent nearby electronic devices from malfunctioning by reducing interference from the computers. It is made by coating plated steel sheet with a 10-micron-thick membrane. Metallic additives in this membrane absorb electromagnetic waves and disperse their energy by converting it into heat.
The company plans to begin sales of the new product this summer, with the price likely to be double to triple that of conventional galvanized steel sheet.
