Trending RF & Microwave News Stories this Week(1 - 4 Jan, 2019)

Qorvo FEM Enabling Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything Trials for Leading Automakers

Qorvo is playing a key role in global field trials of cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) applications through a powerful front-end module (FEM) - QPF1002Q. This module is a key part of the Qualcomm 9150 chipset C-V2X reference design. The superior linear output power and thermal management of the Qorvo FEM are essential to supporting the direct, real-time wireless safety communication system between vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, and infrastructure. C-V2X technology is a natural evolution toward the low latency and high bandwidth benefits of 5G for automotive applications. Click here to read more.

NEC Demonstrates Real-Time Digital OAM Multiplexing Transmission in the 80 GHz-Band

NEC Corporation (NEC) has successfully demonstrated real-time digital wireless Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) mode multiplexing transmission over 40 meters in the 80 GHz-band. This technology can help solve the ever-increasing demand for high-capacity wireless connections for 5G networks. NEC aims to use this technology for its iPASOLINK series of ultra-compact microwave and mmWave communication products, which are capable of extremely reliable, high-capacity mobile backhaul solutions for 5G networks. Click here to read more

Berkeley Engineers Build Wireless ‘pacemaker for the brain’ to Treat Neurological Disorders

Engineers at UC Berkeley have developed a new neurostimulator, that can listen to and stimulate electric currents in the brain at the same time, potentially delivering fine-tuned treatments to patients with diseases like epilepsy and Parkinson’s. The device, named the WAND, works like a “pacemaker for the brain,” monitoring the brain’s electrical activity and delivering electrical stimulation if it detects something amiss.

These devices can be extremely effective at preventing debilitating tremors or seizures in patients with a variety of neurological conditions. But the electrical signatures that precede a seizure or tremor can be extremely subtle, and the frequency and strength of electrical stimulation required to prevent them are equally touchy. It can take years of small adjustments by doctors before the devices provide optimal treatment. Click here to read more.

Researchers Embedded RFID Tags in Clothes to Track Body Movements & Shape Changes

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new way to track body movements and detect shape changes using arrays of RFID tags built in clothes. The RFID-embedded clothing thus could be used to control avatars in video games — much like in the movie "Ready Player One." Or it could tell you when you should sit up straight — much like your mother.

RFID tags are nothing new, which is part of their appeal for these applications, said Haojian Jin, a Ph.D. student in CMU's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII). They are cheap, battery-free and washable. What's new is the method that Jin and his colleagues devised for tracking the tags, and thus monitoring movements and shapes. RFID tags reflect certain radio frequencies. It would be possible — but not practical — to use multiple antennas to track this backscatter and triangulate the locations of the tags. Rather, the CMU researchers showed they could use a single, mobile antenna to monitor an array of tags without any prior calibration. Click here to read more.

Sivers IMA WiGig Chipset for 5G Fixed Access Now Ready for Volume Production

Sivers IMA’s JESD47JE (“Stress-Test-Driven Qualification of Integrated Circuits”) qualified, WiGig chipset (TRX BF01), is now ready for volume production. The JESD47JE qualification tests consist of various stress-related tests, including simulated use over a long period of time (more than 10 years in normal use), resistance to cold, heat, voltage, humidity and electrostatic discharge, etc.

It is a very important milestone to have completed this qualification. With this qualification Sivers’ can safely sell the products in large volumes. They are now entering a phase, where the TRX BF01 is already sold to for example CCS, which is now building unlicensed 5G systems around England in multiple locations. Click here to read more.

Researchers Find New Low Cost Method to Produce Graphene Printed Electronics

Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a low cost method for producing graphene printed electronics that speeds up and reduces the cost of conductive graphene ink.

Printed electronics offer a breakthrough in the penetration of information technology into everyday life. The development of printed conductive inks for electronic applications has grown rapidly, widening applications in transistors, sensors, antennas RFID tags and wearable electronics. Current conductive inks traditionally use metal nano-particles for their high electrical conductivity. However, these materials can be expensive or easily oxidised, making them far from ideal for low cost IoT applications. Click here to read more.

Mini-Circuits & Virginia Diodes to Introduce Waveguide Bandpass Filters

Mini-Circuits has partnered with Virginia Diodes to introduce a new line of waveguide bandpass filters for millimeter wave applications. The initial offering includes 7 bandpass filter models with passbands spanning 27 to 86 GHz. The filters will incorporate standard WR-12 through WR-28 waveguide interfaces and provide very low insertion loss (1 dB typ.) with high stopband attenuation (40 dB typ.). These new models add waveguide capability to Mini-Circuits’ broad portfolio of filter technologies and continue the expansion of their offering into the millimeter wave bands to support customers developing next-generation wireless products. Click here to read more.

Ultra-miniature, Thin-Film Transmission Line Capacitors for High-Performance Microwave & RF Applications

AVX Corporation has introduced a new line of ultra-miniature, thin-film transmission line capacitors for DC blocking in high-frequency links operating in the UHF range (300 MHz – 3GHz). The new capacitors have a novel metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure, copper traces for optimal circuit conductivity, a transmission line wire-bond pad, and a gold-metalized backside ground, and can be supplied on a variety of low-loss substrates, including quartz, alumina, glass, and silicon.

The new transmission line capacitors are also available in a wide range of capacitance values: 0.350pF with a ±20% tolerance and each is made using a high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS) to proactively address any electromagnetic challenges and provide the highest possible RF performance and reliability. Click here to read more.

Next-generation Mobile Communications to Boost the Demand for Multi-Mode Chipsets

With the unveiling of latest range of advanced multi-mode chipsets by prominent makers, the global multi-mode chipset market is set to see a major boost in the coming years. Market research company, Transparency Market Research (TMR) finds that several companies are aiming to bring substantial improvements in their current offerings, in order to gain a competitive edge over their peers. To this end, they are also entering into partnerships for launching advanced multi-mode chipset solutions with lower footprints aimed toward meeting the needs of high-speed networks in applications. Click here to read more.

AirFuel Alliance Busts the False Myths About Wireless Power

The AirFuel Alliance, the authority on next-generation wireless power technology and standards, has announced that it is now addressing and challenging the misinformation and largely false news and facts related to wireless power. While first-generation technology has provided an introduction to wireless power, it has some major limitations. Second-generation technologies like resonant and RF address those limitations and deliver a better end-user experience, without added cost or complexity. Click here to read more.

Kratos Receives Space and SATCOM Applications Contracts worth $65 Million

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has received space and satellite communications contract awards and options on existing contracts totaling approximately $65 million. The awards include Kratos’ products and services across technology application domains that are critical to defending space operations and assuring global satellite communication for the United States and its allies, as well as certain other operations that are essential to national security.

Under the contracts, Kratos will provide solutions for satellite command & control, signal monitoring, end-to-end service assurance, cloud-enabled architectures and other applications. Kratos products support more than 85 percent of United States space missions, and are used by more than 75 percent of global satellite operators. The defense giant owns and operates the largest global, commercial network of space-focused Radio Frequency (RF) sensors employed to help customers identify, locate and mitigate interference challenges. Click here to read more.