Trending RF & Microwave News Stories of the Week (27 April - 1 May, 2020)

IMS Going Virtual in 2020 Due to COVID-19

IMS 2020, the flagship conference and exhibition which was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, CA from 21-26 June, 2020 will now take place virtually in August 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The 2020 organizers have made this decision after careful consultation and review with government authorities, partners, and venues.

The virtual event will continue with the theme of ‘Connectivity Matters,’ built on five pillars that link the world: 5G & 6G networks, aerospace and defense programs, autonomous vehicles, the digital economy, and ensuring the connection of under-represented communities. Click here to read more.

Anokiwave and Ball Aerospace to Develop Flat-Panel Phased Array Antennas

Anokiwave and Ball Aerospace are working together to develop and enable the next generation of SATCOM terminal solutions. As part of this collaboration Anokiwave’s advanced, low-cost silicon 2nd generation SATCOM K/Ka-band ICs power the Ball Aerospace fully electronically steerable K/Ka-band antennas that feature no moving parts, providing long-term reliability with low-cost manufacturing.

Ball Aerospace brings an innovative approach to flat panel electronically steered antennas with flexible, cost-efficient subarrays that can be tiled together to form an antenna that is customized to meet the end user’s needs. This approach allows the flexibility to optimize a terminal to the mission needs of the customer without the cost of antenna re-design. Anokiwave provides Silicon SATCOM beamforming ICs that improve performance, reduce cost, simplify thermal management, and provide a host of unique digital functionality to simplify overall system design. Compared to multiple other companies that are just beginning to promise their early-stage ICs, Anokiwave ICs are fully released and are shipping in volume. Click here to read more.

Accelerating Innovation in RF Applications with Smaller & Lighter RF Filters

Benchmark Lark Technology, a leading expert in RF and high-performance circuit design and fabrication, has introduced new filter product lines that are designed to give RF engineers new options to address size, weight, and power (SWaP) temperature tolerance and integration into designs through the ability to effectively stack, embed and surface mount components.

Benchmark Lark Technology combined its 30 years of experience in the RF components space with advanced circuit manufacturing technology to develop a new line of customizable bandpass, bandpass, highpass, and lowpass filters using LCP material for frequencies up to 40 GHz. Essentially, these are traditional stripline filter designs made using a proprietary circuit fab process with LCP. Click here to read more.

Microchip Introduces Phase Noise Analyzer for Precision Oscillator Characterization

Provider of smart, connected, and secure embedded control solutions, Microchip Technology has introduced a phase noise test instrument. The new 53100A Phase Noise Analyzer helps research and manufacturing engineers make precise and accurate measurements of frequency signals, including those generated by atomic clocks and other high-performance frequency reference modules and subsystems. 

The 53100A Phase Noise Analyzer is designed for engineers and scientists who rely on precise and accurate measurement of frequency signals generated for 5G networks, data centers, commercial and military aircraft systems, space vehicles, communication satellites and metrology applications. Capable of measuring radio frequency (RF) signals up to 200 MHz, the new test instrument rapidly acquires frequency signals and characterizes the phase noise, jitter, Allan deviation (ADEV) and time deviation (TDEV) quickly and precisely. All attributes of a frequency reference can be completely characterized with a single instrument within minutes. Click here to read more.

Saelig Introduces Aaronia Drone Detection System with Real-Time Monitoring up to 20 GHz

North American antennas, connectors, and test equipment distributor, Saelig has introduced the AARTOS Drone Detection System, made by Aaronia, an RF spectrum equipment expert. The Drone Detection System can sense airborne drone activity with a virtually unlimited detection range.

The AARTOS DDS monitors the entire frequency spectrum from 100 MHz to 20 GHz over 100 times per second with 360° dome coverage to track airborne activity. The system can be customized depending on the application and situation. It can also be configured as a portable, mobile or a fixed station with an unlimited number of sensors to form a network covering large areas. There are no inherent limitations in terms of altitude and elevation. All systems can be linked to a single monitoring center with remote-control for each individual setup. Click here to read more.

NI Announces Free Editions of LabVIEW Software for Non-Commercial Users

Test & Measurement solutions leader, National Instruments, has released the LabVIEW Community Edition and LabVIEW NXG Community Edition for use on personal projects.

Free for most non-commercial uses, the LabVIEW Community editions offer the same features as the professional version of the popular systems engineering software. They include an updated version of the LINX toolkit to help engineering hobbyists interface and/or deploy LabVIEW applications to popular maker computing targets like Arduino, Raspberry Pi and BeagleBoards. Click here to read more.

CommAgility Launches New Software to Simplify Development of 5G Small Cells

CommAgility, a Wireless Telecom Group company, has announced the general availability of its PHYRefChain-5G software which supports the development of 5G base station technology. Designed for 5G product developers working on SATCOM, wireless test, military communications, and private network designs, this new software enables fast development and deployment of specialized 5G solutions for customized and unique applications. 

The software is a 3GPP-compliant solution, which reduces the complexity, risk, and cost of 5G product development by helping ensure new products meet global standards and are compatible with specific industry requirements. This release follows the general availability of the 5G protocol stack (SmallCellSTACK-5G), in October 2019. Click here to read more.

UL Offering Remote Testing to Qualify Bluetooth Devices Due to Covid 19 Travel Restrictions

Due to the travel restrictions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bluetooth Qualification Testing has become a challenge. Traditionally, qualification of Bluetooth devices had to be done physically at an accredited lab. However, UL, a leading global safety science company is doing remote audit testing for Bluetooth devices.

The Bluetooth SIG will accept remote audit testing and results submitted by an accredited Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility (BQTF), with authorized scope, on behalf of customers that have access to the validated test equipment to use in their facilities for the test cases. UL's global network of BQTF locations now offers this remote evaluation of test data, including UL's Fremont, California, laboratory, the only BQTF in North America to offer remote auditing for this scope.  Click here to read more.

MIT Researchers Develop Congestion-Control Scheme to Reduce Delays in Wireless Networks

In a new breakthrough, researchers at the MIT, have developed a congestion-control scheme for wireless networks that could help reduce lag times and increase video streaming quality, as well as, video chatting experience, mobile gaming and other web-based services.

To keep web services running smoothly, congestion-control schemes infer information about a network’s bandwidth capacity and congestion based on feedback from the network routers, which is encoded in data packets. That information determines how fast data packets are sent through the network. Click here to read more.

Aviat Networks Announces Solutions to Protect Microwave Links from Wi-Fi 6E Interference

Aviat Networks, an expert in wireless transport solutions, has announced new Frequency Assurance Software (FAS) and integrated spectrum analyzer functionality to help customers protect their mission-critical microwave links from interference in the 6 GHz band. With Wi-Fi 6E now approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), microwave licensees will have little or no protection from interference to their critical communications. Click here to read more.

FCC Proposes $9 Billion 5G Fund for Rural America

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a program to allocate up to $9 Billion from the Universal Service Fund for next-generation Wireless Broadband Connectivity in Rural America. 5G represents the next leap in mobile wireless technology, bringing significantly increased speeds, reduced latency, and better security than 4G LTE networks, and enabling cutting-edge applications and technologies benefitting consumers, businesses, precision agriculture, education, and healthcare. 

The 5G Fund would help ensure that rural Americans enjoy the same benefits from the digital economy as their urban counterparts - more than 200 million of whom already have access to major providers’ 5G networks—and would include a special focus on deployments that support precision agriculture. Click here to read more.

Reno Sub-Systems Introduces Integrated Solid-State RF Match and Generator Systems

Reno Sub-Systems (Reno), a developer of high-performance radio frequency (RF) matching networks for leading-edge nanoscale semiconductor manufacturing, has introduced its first all solid-state generator and RF matching system. The new system is the first-ever combined EVC match and RF generator unit designed specifically as an integrated system, leveraging Reno’s patented Velocity RF Match and Precis Generator technologies. This combination allows for direct communications between the systems to optimize the performance of both. The system was developed to support a repeat customer of Reno’s Velocity RF Matching Networks.

The company has developed new and disruptive technologies for the semiconductor and advanced microelectronic industries. Leveraging its patented technologies, Reno has demonstrated the highest performance radio frequency matching networks for leading-edge nanoscale manufacturing processes. Reno has generated strong customer demand based on on-tool performance data, which has allowed the company to transition from technology and product development to high volume adoption within two years. Click here to read more.