Trending RF & Microwave News Stories of the Week (1 - 5 April, 2019)

In Wake of Apple’s AirPower Failure, NuCurrent Launches Multi-Device Wireless Charging Solution

NuCurrent, a developer of ultra-efficient antennas for wireless power transfer has launched the NuEva Development Platform for tightly-coupled, multi-device wireless charging systems. The platform leverages the company’s patented magnetics technologies, advanced design tools, system software and engineering expertise to provide a solution for companies who want multi-device charging on a single pad.

The platform uses a tightly-coupled wireless charging approach, offering advantages to the Qi-based solutions available in the market today. This design delivers up to 25 Watts of power to multiple devices with varying receiver sizes, while providing a significant improvement in user experience due to the enhanced freedom of placement on the charging surface. Because of these advantages, certain aspects of this NuEva platform are currently being considered for adoption by the Wireless Power Consortium, which oversees the Qi standard. Click here to read more.

Real-Time Computer Controlled Spectrum Analyzers Operate up to 27 GHz

ThinkRF has introduced two new Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers, the ThinkRF R5550 and ThinkRF R5750 that operate at frequencies up to 27 GHz. Designed to be sleek, lightweight, and silent, the new analyzers offer improved spectral performance, lower power consumption, and better portability at a more cost-effective price.

The ThinkRF R5550 and R5750 analyzers are built for outdoor, mobile, and distributed deployment scenarios, including regulatory and intelligence monitoring, telecom deployment optimization, and RF application development. Users can deploy units in a variety of network architectures, analyze signals in real-time or later, and easily integrate with leading software applications to conduct demodulation or deeper analysis of signals up to 27 GHz.

The R5750 analyzer includes an embedded GPS for time and location data and comes with an optional IP66 rating for increased durability and ruggedness in difficult environments. The R5750 is built for mobile wireless situational awareness applications such as drive testing, coverage mapping, propagation analysis, direction finding & transmitter localization and vehicle-based spectrum monitoring. With built-in GPS capabilities, the R5750 analyzer enables engineers in the field to conduct an in-depth analysis of complex waveforms while knowing the location and time of each measurement.

Benefits of ThinkRF R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer

• Monitor in more locations with greater versatility provided by a compact form factor and the ability to network for in-place or remote monitoring applications
• Detect complex waveforms with better performance and up to 27 GHz frequency range and 100 MHz instantaneous bandwidth for today’s monitoring applications
• Analyze new technology, like 5G, with additional capabilities through easily upgradable, software-based technologies
 Click here to read more.

Bluetooth Low Energy Market to Triple by 2023, Reaching 1.6 Billion Device Shipments

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has witnessed tremendous growth since its introduction in 2010 because continued technical enhancements have ensured that the technology can take advantage of opportunities across an ever-increasing number of verticals and use cases.

BLE’s ubiquitous support in mobile devices, combined with its ability to support mesh networking, beacon functionality, and most recently, centimeter-level location accuracy with the introduction of Bluetooth 5.1 and radio direction finding (RDF), is enabling BLE to be increasingly leveraged within smart consumer devices, larger scale home and commercial building automation environments, and RTLS deployments with more stringent accuracy requirements. Click here to read more.

10 Watt GaN Power Amplifier MMIC for K-Band Satellite Communications

Arralis, a company that builds technology and products for satellite communication, has launched its new Leonis series GaN-SiC High Power Amplifier (HPA) optimized for satellite downlink communication systems. The HPA operates in the K-band from 17.5 to 20 GHz and delivers a saturated power in excess of 10 Watts with typical power added efficiency of 25% and large signal gain of 20 dB in a compact die size of 3.6 x 2.9 mm. The part is matched to 50 ohms with integrated DC blocking capacitors on RF ports and incorporates an output power detector to assist with system integration. Nominal drain bias is 25V.

The HPA is fabricated on ITAR free, space qualified UMS 0.25um GH25-10 GaN-SiC process. GaN devices have higher efficiencies, power density, and thermal conductivity compared to equivalent GaAs parts, and can operate at higher temperatures without loss of reliability. Optimum performance has been achieved at K-band through a combination of UMS device models, NI AWR EDA software and the design expertise of the Arralis MMIC team. Click here to read more.

Researchers Use Direct Antenna Modulation to Improve Signal Quality

Engineering researchers have demonstrated that a longstanding theoretical method called Direct Antenna Modulation (DAM) has real-world utility for boosting the quality of radio signals when transmitting at high data rates. The finding has applications in fields such as military communications.

Signal quality can always be improved by using a larger antenna, but that’s simply not practical for many wavelengths. For example, antennas operating in the high frequency range i.e from 3 to 30 MHz – would be 5 meters long or longer. DAM (Direct Antenna Modulation) can improve signal quality dramatically when using much smaller antennas. The researchers have demonstrated the concept using antennas one-third the size of a conventional antenna for a given wavelength. Click here to read more.

Modelithics Introduces New RF Component Models for Cadence Design Solutions

Modelithics has introduced a new RF component model library for Cadence Spectre RF Option and Virtuoso RF Solution. The library was developed through collaboration with Cadence Design Systems to make Modelithics Microwave Global Models available to designers using Cadence solutions.

The new Modelithics Library Version 19.1 brings an extensive collection of precision measurement-based, scalable RF and microwave simulation models to designers. The Library for Cadence contains over 300 models for commercially-available capacitor, inductor and resistor series from over 25 popular vendors. In total, the library represents over 17,000 individual components. Click here to read more.

New Radar Technology Provides High-Resolution with Little-to-No Bandwidth

Originally developed for military applications, radar technologies today are used in various other domains ranging from, automotive and weather forecasting to mapping geological terrain and air traffic management. Until now, scientists believed that radar accuracy and resolution are related to the range of frequencies or radio bandwidth used by the devices. But a new study at Tel Aviv University finds that an approach inspired by optical coherence tomography (OCT) requires little to no bandwidth to accurately create a high-resolution map of a radar's surrounding environment.

According to Prof. Pavel Ginzburg of TAU's School of Electrical Engineering, one of the principal authors of the study, they have demonstrated a different type of ranging system that possesses superior range resolution and is almost completely free of bandwidth limitations. The new technology has numerous applications, especially with respect to the automotive industry. According to Pavel, the existing facilities support their new approach, which means that it can be launched almost immediately. The new research was led and conducted jointly by Prof. Ginzburg, Vitali Kozlov, Rony Komissarov and Dmitry Filonov, all of TAU's School of Electrical Engineering. It was published in Nature Communications. Click here to read more.

Samsung Starts Mass Production of its 5G Multi-Mode Chipsets for Mobile Devices

Samsung Electronics announced that they have started mass production of their 5G communication solutions for the latest premium mobile devices. The 5G multi-mode chipsets include the previously-introduced Exynos Modem 5100 as well as a new single-chip radio frequency transceiver, the Exynos RF 5500 and a supply modulator solution - the Exynos SM 5800. All these chipsets support the 5G New Radio (5GNR) sub-6 GHz spectrum and legacy radio access technologies that provide mobile device manufacturers with optimum network communication solutions for the 5G era.

The Exynos Modem 5100 is Samsung’s first 5G modem solution that had completed preparations for commercialization in August, 2018, with a successful over-the-air (OTA) 5G-NR data call test. The modem supports virtually all networks from 5G’s sub-6 GHz and mmWave spectrums to 2G GSM/CDMA, 3G WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, HSPA and 4G LTE networks in a single chip. For reliable and power-efficient performance, the modem is paired with RF and supply modulator solutions, Exynos RF 5500 and Exynos SM 5800 respectively. Click here to read more.

New Chinese Radar Chip Vendors Emerge to Support the ADAS & Autonomous Driving Market

Leading market analysis expert, ResearchandMarket.com, has released its latest market report on the automotive radar industry, titled, "ADAS and Autonomous Driving Industry Chain Report, 2018-2019 - Automotive Radar".

According to the report, China's passenger car radar market gathered pace from 2017, with shipments approaching 2.32 million units in the year, an annualized increase of 104.6%. The growth trend continued in the first half of 2018 but slowed markedly in the second half due to a decline in automobile sales, leading to a much lower full-year growth in shipments. In 2018, the shipments of passenger car radars reached 3.58 million units in China, up by 54% versus 2017. Click here to read more.

Ultra-short-range mm-Wave Automotive Radar Chipset Provides 360° View

At the International Wireless Industry Consortium (IWPC) seminar, MediaTek has introduced its new automotive chip, the Autus R10 ultra-short range millimeter wave radar platform. With significantly higher performance than ultrasonic sensors on the market, the Autus R10 chip integrates an antenna to support radar systems deployed by automobile manufacturers to accurately detect obstacles or vehicles with a 360-degree view around a car. The Autus R10 chip can be used for multiple applications including blind spot detection (BSD), parking assist system (PAS) and automatic parking assistance (APA) to improve driving safety.

The IWPC community facilitates technical discussions for industry participants to share key insights about the wireless industry and wireless technology. Over the past 20 years, IWPC has grown to more than 160 member companies worldwide, including many leading companies in the wireless industry. This year’s IWPC seminar gathered the top wireless experts from around the globe, along with leading automobile manufacturers, to discuss radar technology. As a leader in highly integrated millimeter wave radar solutions, MediaTek was invited to participate in the conference and speak at the event to discuss technical insights and solutions. Click here to read more.

Citadel Defense Launches Anti-Drone Solution to Prevent Future Drone Attacks

Citadel Defense, a counter-drone (C-UAS) technology company specializing in development and deployment of drone mitigation solutions for military, homeland security and commercial applications, has announced the official launch of their counter drone solution, the Titan.

Designed and developed alongside U.S. warfighters and security experts, the Titan provides the user real-time information, identifying and classifying an approaching unmanned aerial vehicle or swarm, and selectively applying precise countermeasures to induce the UAV to land or return to its home base.  Citadel Defense uses machine learning, artificial intelligence, and software-defined hardware technology to rapidly address new threats to make sure that the effectiveness of protecting people and assets is always ahead of the ever-evolving threat. Click here to read more.

Dual Channel RF Agile Transceiver from 70 MHz to 6 GHz

The VPX571 transceiver module is available with RF routed to the front panel or to the rear via a VITA 67.2 connector. The AD9364 operates from 70 MHz to 6.0 GHz range, covering most licensed and unlicensed bands with a channel bandwidth from less than 200 kHz to 56 MHz. The module is compatible with Analog Devices RadioVerse design tools to simplify radio development across a wide range of applications.

This transceiver has 8 TX/RX SERDES, Dual GbE, 8 LVDS (could be configured as single-ended), CPU RS-232 and management RS-232 to the P1 connector. The FPGA interfaces to a single DDR4 memory channel (64-bit wide), allowing large data sets to be stored during processing as well as for queuing data to a host. VPX571 is based on Xilinx UltraScale+ XCZU15EG MPSoC FPGA, which has 3528 DSP Slices and 746k logic cells. The XCZU15EG includes a quad-core ARM application processor, dual-core ARM real-time processor, and Mali graphics processing unit, as well as over 26 Mb of block RAM and 31 Mb of UltraRAM. The module available in 3U VPX form factor, also has onboard 64 GB of Flash, 128 MB of Boot Flash and an SD Card as an option. Click here to read more.