More than forty military and civilian users of Northrop Grumman's Combat Electromagnetic Environment Simulator attended the (CEESIM) conference in the U.K. this June. (See story below.)

Northrop Holds Third CEESIM Users' Conference

Northrop Grumman Corp. held its third annual conference for users of its Combat Electromagnetic Environment Simulator (CEESIM) systems for the testing and evaluation of airborne, naval and land electronic warfare systems. The conference has been established as a forum for constructive dialogue with user groups aimed at keeping them updated about system developments and identifying potential opportunities for improving system performance and customer service.

More than 40 military and civilian personnel from the U.K., German and Italian user community were in attendance. A team of specialists in all aspects of CEESIM engineering and support from Northrop Grumman Amherst Systems also joined the conference which was held in Peterborough, U.K. in June.

The Northrop Grumman CEESIM system is an industry-leading, advanced technology simulator, which generates complex dynamic electromagnetic environments to simulate true-to-war conditions. This enables military specialists to test and evaluate the performance of advanced electronic warfare systems such as radar warning , electronic countermeasures and signal intelligence systems.

Teledyne Wins $18.8M DARPA Contract

Teledyne Technologies Inc. of Thousand Oaks, California says that its subsidiary, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, LLC, has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA) Microsystems Technology Office to develop terahertz electronics devices and integrated circuits. Under the program, TS&I will pursue revolutionary advances in transistor technology, circuit design and circuit packaging to demonstrate receiver and transmitter blocks operating at frequencies greater than 1.0THz. The initial Phase 1 contract is valued at $8.3 million over a 24-month period. If all contract phases proceed, the total contract value will be $18.8 million for work performed through 2014.

Circuits will be designed and fabricated using TS&I's high performance Indium Phosphide heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology. Transistor bandwidths will be extended to THz frequencies by scaling transistor dimensions to less than 100nm and implementing innovative fabrication processes. A silicon-micromachining process will be developed for forming batch-manufactured waveguide blocks for circuit integration.

Emrise Corp. Promotes Jefferies and Donovan

Jefferies

Emrise Corp. of Eatontown, New Jersey, a multi-national manufacturer of defense and aerospace electronic devices and communications equipment, has promoted veteran operating executive Graham Jefferies to president and COO and veteran financial executive John Donovan to senior vice president and CFO. Both men will continue to report directly to Carmine Oliva who remains chairman and CEO, but turns over his title and role of President to Jefferies.

Jefferies, 52, most recently served as executive V.P. and COO. He had a leadership role in the acquisition and integration of Advanced Control Components, Inc. (ACC), and he led the development and implementation of the operating unit realignment and cost reduction program put into use in the second fiscal quarter of 2009. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Leicester University in England.

Donovan

Donovan, 43, has been vice president of finance and administration, secretary and treasurer of Emrise since May 2007. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master of accountancy degree in audit, with an emphasis in ERP information systems, from Brigham Young University. He is also a certified public accountant.

RI Research Awarded Superconductor Contract

RI Research Instruments , a majority-owned subsidiary of Bruker Advanced Supercon, Inc., has won an approximately $6 million contract from the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia. The purpose is to produce 86 superconducting accelerating cavities.

The Jefferson Lab contract covers all 86 superconducting cavities for the 12GeV (12 billion electron volt) upgrade of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), for which $65 million of ARRA funding was recently allocated.

These superconducting cavities represent the core components of the accelerating modules that will be assembled at Jefferson Lab. The use of superconducting high purity Niobium enables the design of resonant radio-frequency accelerator cavities with extremely high quality factors (Q), operating at very high electromagnetic fields at high or 100% duty cycles. Such electromagnetic fields at high duty cycles would immediately melt normal-conducting copper cavities. Delivery is scheduled for 2010 and 2011.

Laird Recognized as GM Supplier of the Year

Laird Technologies, Inc., a global leader in the design and supply of customized performance-critical components and systems for advanced electronics and wireless products, was named General Motors 2008 Supplier of the Year for the fourth consecutive year. The company received the award for its significant contributions to GM's global product and performance achievements at the 17th Annual Best of the Best ceremonies in June at GM's Heritage Center in Warren, Michigan.

The GM Supplier of the Year award began as a global program in 1992. Winners are selected by a global team of executives from purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing, and logistics, who base their decisions on supplier performance in the areas of quality, service, technology, and price. This year, General Motors honored 99 suppliers for their outstanding performance in 2008.

Micronetics Receives RFID Forklift Sensor Order

Micronetics, Inc. of Hudson, New Hampshire has received an order in excess of $750k for initial beta testing with a major retailer for its forklift- mounted radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna sensor system. The forklift sensor system has recently completed a successful pre-production test phase, and will begin beta testing with deployments over the next several months.

Micronetics' RFID forklift antenna system is being integrated on one of the most widely used forklifts in the industry. This system interfaces with the retailer's warehouse management system in order to streamline material movement and increase throughput.

Kevin Beals, president of Micronetics, Inc. said, "We anticipate a successful transition to full production within six to nine months after beta testing. In support of this effort, we will be providing dedicated software and hardware resources during these trials."

In March 2009, Micronetics acquired the pedestal- and forklift-mounted radio frequency identification RFID product line of M/A-COM RFID, Inc, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Cobham plc.

Richardson Adds Test Product Line from Gore

Richardson Electronics, Ltd. will now sell W L Gore & Associates's high-performance line of Test & Measurement Microwave/RF Cable Assemblies. To support customer needs for such high-precision test cable assemblies, Richardson can supply GORE PHASEFLEX Microwave/RF Test Assemblies, GORE VNA Microwave/RF Test Assemblies, and GORE Mini-CP RF Coaxial Assemblies, as well as other products from Gore's Microwave/RF Cable Test Assemblies product line.

"These high-end products allow us to enhance our position with our clients that need premium-performance test cables," says Kevin Connor, V.P. of Interconnect Devices for Richardson's RF, wireless and power division.

Keithley Expands ISO 17025 Accreditation

The Metrology Services organization at Keithley Instruments has expanded the scope of its ISO 17025 accreditation with the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). Keithley's accredited calibrations now include customer-site calibrations that offer broader ranges of DC voltages from 0 to 200V and DC currents from 0 to 1A. This extended capacity will allow Keithley to offer accredited calibrations of its Model 4200-SCS Semiconductor Characterization System, capable of measuring and sourcing currents with femtoamp resolution.

Keithley's metrology laboratory has been an A2LA-accredited calibration facility since 2006, graded in accordance with the International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories. This accreditation assures Keithley customers that their instruments are being calibrated to the highest industry standards, so they can continue to deliver consistent, quality measurements.

TTI Adds Murata in South Africa

TTI, Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas has been awarded an extension to its European franchise distribution agreement with Murata to include coverage of South Africa. Murata is one of the world's leading manufacturers of passive components, and TTI, Inc., holds a broad inventory of the company's products including capacitors, Hi-Caps, sensors, piezo-electric sound components, EMI and noise suppression devices, filters, chip inductors and delay lines, thermistors, potentiometers, resonators and modules.

Ros Kruger, general manager of U.K., Ireland and South Africa, said, "We have worked to develop specific Murata programs wherever we hold the franchise, establishing shared objectives and initiatives with targets by product, application and customers. The result is we've been successful, achieving high sales growth levels."

Adds Hermann Vogel, Murata's European distribution manager, " The company's performance, commitment and contribution to Murata's business has exceeded targets in many different criteria and we are sure that this performance will be repeated in South Africa."

MEMS Devices Grow, Equipment Drops

MEMS devices are selling better than other chips, but the equipment to make them isn't doing much better than the rest of the industry. This is according to a report published by The Information Network titled, The Global MEMS Device, Equipment, and Materials Markets: Forecasts and Strategies for Vendors and Foundries.

Accelerometers, digital mirror displays, gyroscopes, micro fluidic devices, microphones, and pressure sensors are the more popular kinds of MEMS devices. Because there are so many different kinds of MEMS, they have fared better than the overall semiconductor industry. MEMS market grew 1.2% in 2008 and is forecast to grow 1.7% in 2009. The semiconductor industry dropped 2.8% in 2008 and will drop a whopping 21.6% in 2009.

"Fortunately, the MEMS equipment market started to rebound in Q2, while we don't see an uptick in the semiconductor equipment market until mid-Q3," noted Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network.

T-Mobile Selects Rohde & Schwarz

Mobile communications operator T-Mobile International has chosen the Rohde & Schwarz group as the exclusive supplier of its standard drive test systems. The contract includes the delivery of R&S® ROMES software and associated mobile radio scanners to five European countries. T-Mobile International will use the drive test systems from Rohde & Schwarz to test the transmission quality of channels in its mobile radio networks. This will enable the network operator to ensure interference-free mobile communications coverage.

The drive test systems' performance and cost effectiveness made T-Mobile International decide in favor of Rohde & Schwarz. The company's T&M solution is the fastest on the market and can simultaneously analyze the quality of both GSM and UMTS radio channels. This is a key advantage for T-Mobile International because the drive test systems can handle all of the standards for its networks.

AR Modular RF Awarded GSA Contract

AR Modular RF of Bothell, Washington has been awarded a five-year General Services Administration contract to supply booster amplifiers for use with tactical military radios. The GSA schedule contract, which represents AR's continued momentum as a recognized supplier to the federal government, will make it easier for government agencies to purchase certain AR equipment.

Under GSA contract GS-07F-0371U, AR will be providing a variety of its rugged, waterproof, dependable, compact, battle-tested booster amplifiers along with accessories such as power cables and shock-mount kits.

AR Modular RF is the leading supplier of booster amplifiers for tactical military radios, with a full line that covers the broadest frequency and wave forms. Each amplifier incorporates RF sensing circuits to switch from receive to transmit.

Anritsu First to Comply with NRSC Recommendations

Anritsu Co. of Morgan Hills, California, the market leader in handheld wireless test solutions, is the first company to submit self-certification documents to the National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC) for compliance with that group's recommendations for measuring HD radio signals. Anritsu's Spectrum Master™ , BTS Master™ and VNA Master™ series, and Economy Microwave Spectrum Analyzers comply with the NRSC-5 in-band/on-channel (IBOC) Digital Radio Broadcasting Standard. This specifies IBOC systems for both the AM and FM bands, including detailed specification of the parameters that must be met by the RF signal broadcast by an IBOC facility.

Nine instruments in the four product families were submitted for certification including the MS272xB Spectrum Master series, the BTS series and the VNA Series, which has the most advanced ultra-portable VNAs on the market.

TÜV Global Photovoltaic Testing Network Grows

TÜV Rheinland® of Newton, Connecticut is increasing its domination of the photovoltaic market by opening a new test laboratory in Cologne, Germany.

The new location offers state-of-the-art technology for inspecting photovoltaic modules and solar thermal collectors and systems. It includes six climate chambers and five sun simulators, as well as two stations for mechanical load testing. The 1,800 square-meter facility is three times larger than the previous Cologne test site, which could no longer meet the requirements of the rapidly growing solar energy market. The company also operates two external facilities — one in Cologne and another in Italy — for testing modules under real-weather conditions.

Since 1995, TÜV Rheinland has continuously expanded its laboratory capacity and resources to address the needs of the ever-growing production of photovoltaic systems.

U.S. Sinks $0.5B into EM Aircraft-Throwers

The Pentagon has awarded a half-billion-dollar contract for building a radical new electromagnetic catapult, intended to launch U.S. Navy jets off future aircraft carriers.

Ordinary fixed-wing jets or turboprops need to use a catapult launch to take off from a carrier, as there isn't room on the deck for them to accelerate up to flying speed. The steam catapult, invented in Britain, has been the standard solution ever since jets came in after WWII.

The Electro Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) is intended to replace traditional steam catapults in all future U.S. carriers.

In July, General Atomics of San Diego was awarded an unfinalized $573 million ceiling-priced contract to build the first one for the next planned U.S. fleet carrier, CVN 78, or USS Gerald R. Ford.

The American Ford and her successors will be nuclear powered and could use steam cats, but EMALS offers massive weight and maintenance savings. It also will be kinder to the airframes of jets it throws into the sky, saving on wear and tear.

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