Trending RF & Microwave News Stories this Week(30 July-3 August, 2018)

Pentek Introduces Compact and Rugged RF Spectrum Recording Solution

Pentek has introduced a new high-performance small form factor (SFF) recorder product line for extreme operating environments. The Talon RTX 25xx Series are SWaP (size, weight and power) optimized, rugged sealed ½ ATR recorders that are available with multiple input options and can hold up to 30.7 TB of removable SSD storage. These SFF recorders provide real-time streaming data rates of up to 4 GB/s for ultra-wide bandwidth RF or high-speed recording.

While real-time recording of a GHz or more of RF bandwidth is commonly available in 19" rack-mountable systems, shrinking this capability into a form factor suitable for UAVs, aircraft pods or other confined spaces has proven challenging for the industry. The Pentek engineering team used years of valuable customer feedback to design a product suitable for almost any environment, while maintaining the real-time recording performance of much larger and far less rugged systems. Click here to read more.

World's First 28 GHz Glass-Mounted Antenna for 5G Connected Vehicles

NTT DOCOMO, AGC and Ericsson have teamed up to demonstrate 5G transmissions using unique glass-mounted antennas on vehicles traveling at high speeds. The partners recently achieved a record-setting 8 Gbps data transmission using 5G technology in a vehicle traveling at approx. 100 km/h. The glass-mounted antenna on the vehicle (also referred to as on-glass antennas) used for the demo experiment are 5G antennas supporting the 28 GHz band developed by Japanese glass manufacturer, AGC Inc. The on-glass antennas are not easily seen from the exterior and can be installed without having a negative impact on the vehicle design. Click here to read more.

Bluetooth 5.0 Audio SoC Brings High Resolution Wireless Audio to the Mass Market

As sound and wireless technology has been advancing, consumers are demanding higher quality audio experiences from the latest Bluetooth audio devices. However, Bluetooth audio designs are often limited by the bit depth and frequency rate of existing codecs, which are the communication and compression technology used to send audio over the air.

Catering to this demand, Microchip Technology, has now introduced a fully-certified, Bluetooth 5-compliant System-on-Chip (SoC), the IS2064GM-0L3, with Sony’s LDAC audio codec technology. The SoC allows manufacturers to develop a new generation of audio devices with an advanced codec, extending high-resolution audio beyond audiophiles and into mass market Bluetooth wireless products. Click here to read more.

Qualcomm Terminates NXP Acquisition Deal

Last week, Qualcomm has announced the termination of its long awaited acquisition deal with NXP Semiconductors. In accordance with the terms of the purchase agreement, Qualcomm River Holdings, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, paid a termination fee of $2 billion to NXP and has terminated its previously announced cash tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of NXP.

The termination of the deal, which would have been the biggest semiconductor acquisition globally, has been largely attributed to the failure of both the companies in getting a secured Chinese regulatory approval, and becoming a victim of the on-going China-US trade spat. The decision is now likely to aggravate tensions between Washington and Beijing even further. China accounts for nearly two-thirds of Qualcomm’s revenue and thus getting an approval from the Chinese body was a requirement for the chip giant. Click here to read more.

Television White Space Technology to Provide Long-Range Wireless Connectivity Up To 8 km

The Ammbr Foundation has released details on a long-range wireless technology that will make the Ammbr mesh router capable of picking up signals from up to eight kilometers (5 miles). The key in this technology is tapping into unused frequencies known as television white space (TVWS). The Ammbr foundation intends to help connect the 4.1 billion people who don't have Internet connections, through the implementation of innovative technology that allows improved connections in rural areas and over longer distances. Click here to read more.

Pi Enables you to Charge Multiple Devices from a Single Wireless Charger

Imagine charging multiple battery powered devices kept on a table, at the same time using a single power source. This is what a new startup from the MIT Sloan School of Management’s New Enterprises, is trying to make a reality.

Pi was first introduced to us in September 2017. It is unique in the power space because they are working on multi-device, orientation agnostic, wireless power. The solution can charge multiple devices from the same power source — up to four at a time — without requiring precise positioning on a pad, but still being compatible with existing, safe standards. The charging technology can sense a device’s low battery and adjust its magnetic field based on where the device is positioned, rather than requiring the user to place the device on a specific pad or station. The startup’s first product applies this to phones and small consumer devices in the United States, but will be soon be available for a variety of applications around the world over the next five years. Click here to read more.

Researchers Discover “Severe” Bluetooth Communication Breach

Researchers in Computer Science Department of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the Hiroshi Fujiwara Cyber Security Research Center at the Technion have successfully discovered a 'severe' breach in bluetooth communication technology. This was done as part of Lior Neumann’s master’s thesis, supervised by Prof. Eli Biham, head of the Hiroshi Fujiwara Cyber Security Research Center.

Bluetooth technology, developed in the 1990s, quickly became a popular platform. Unlike Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is not based on a network connecting several devices to one another but rather on the individual pairing of two devices (e.g. a headset and a telephone). This method allows convenient use and configuration and makes securing communication between devices easier. Click here to read more.

TTI Inc to Acquire RFMW for an Undisclosed Amount

TTI Inc, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, is set to acquire RFMW Ltd, a California based specialty distributor.

Upon completion of the acquisition, RFMW will continue to operate under the RFMW brand name, reporting through the TTI Semiconductor Group (TSG). Joel Levine will continue to serve as President of RFMW, and will report to TSG President, Michael Knight. Consummation of the transaction is subject to entering into a definitive agreement regarding the transaction and to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to closing to be specified in such definitive agreement. The transaction is expected to close October 1, 2018. Click here to read more.

The Reality of 5G and What to Expect from It

5th-Generation (5G) Wireless Systems are set to bring a revolutionary change to the current world, much like the way, 3G and 4G LTE did few years back. While a number of regions are still waiting to link to the 4G network, the top telecom companies have started to develop the next generation of mobile communication. Click here to read more.

T-Mobile and Nokia Signs $3.5 Billion 5G Network Agreement

T-Mobile and Nokia have announced a landmark $3.5 billion agreement to accelerate the deployment of a nationwide 5G network. Nokia will provide T-Mobile with its complete end-to-end 5G technology, software and services portfolio, assisting the carrier in its efforts to bring a 5G network to market for customers in the critical first years of the 5G cycle.

As part of the agreement, Nokia will help build T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network with 600 MHz and 28 GHz millimeter wave 5G capabilities compliant with 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) standards.

5G promises to enable faster speeds, massive connectivity, decade-long battery life for sensors and super-responsive and reliable networks for customers. This will unleash on-demand virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences, driverless vehicles, medical monitoring, advanced industrial automation services, and so much more – all requiring ubiquitous low latency connectivity. Click here to read more.

Skyworks Unveils 5G Antenna Tuning Solutions for Next-Gen Mobile Devices

Skyworks has released a new antenna tuning solution as part of its Sky5 product portfolio for 5G Applications.

The​ SKY5-9256-701LF is a wideband 16-state antenna aperture tuner that is extremely compact and has been designed to deliver improved efficiency and enhanced bandwidth coverage from 600 MHz to 6 GHz. This makes it ideal for LTE Advanced Pro and the emerging 5G standards. Click here to read more.

Tektronix Introduces 13 GHz and 18 GHz USB Spectrum Analyzers

Tektronix has introduced two new battery powered USB-based spectrum analyzers that operate up to 18 GHz. The RSA513A and RSA518A can be used to analyzer the frequency spectrum up to 13 GHz and 18 GHz respectively. Along with their higher frequency support, these instruments provide the ability to stream I & Q data for customers to perform analysis consistent with software-defined radio functionality.

Delivering performance and functionality equal to laboratory instruments, the RSA500 spectrum analyzer's small form factor and rugged packaging enable their use for a far wider range of applications. Use cases range from spectrum management applications such as Ku-band radar and 5G LTE base station testing to military applications such as like RADHAZ and EMCON monitoring. Click here to view more.