Microwave Nov-Dec 2013

8/12/2019 Microwave Nov-Dec 2013

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europeanbusiness press

Modern VNA Test Solutions

Improve On-Wafer

Measurement Efficiency

www.mwee.com

The European journal for the microwaveand wireless design engineer

engineering europeengineering europe

November/December 2013

MEMS, Nanotechnology

Microwave Materials


2/28

Missing a Pulse Can Be Deadly.

Real-Time Power Processing for gap-free analysis

100 MSa/sec SUSTAINED sample rate is worlds fastest

10 GSa/sec effective rate for superb waveform delity


3/28www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe January 2013 3


4/284 Microwave Engineering Europe November-December 2013 www.microwave-eetimes.com

Contents

10/11MEMS, Nanotechnology:MEMS timingdevice crackscellphone market

Micowave Materials:Prototype THzcharacterizationsystem

14/16Automationthe key totesting veryhigh volumesof advanced smartphones

Next Generation DesignFlows for Signal Process-ing and Communications

engineering europeengineering europe

6News

Excessive security will killthe Internet of Things

Weightlessdetailsroadmapfor IoTdevices

5Comment

4G is now, but 5G alreadystarts to take shape

12Cover Feature: ModernVNA test solutions improveon-wafer measurementeciency

20Products

67 GHz Signaland spectrumanalyzer

Modular USBscope range

Editor In Chief

Jean-Pierre JoostingTel. +44-7800 548-133email: [email protected]

Advertising Production

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Circulation & Finance

Luc DesimpelTel +32 (0) 2 740 0055email: [email protected]

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Accounting

Ricardo Pinto FerreiraTel +32 (0)2 740 0051email: [email protected]

Publisher

Andre RousselotTel +32 (0)2 740 0053email: [email protected]

European Business Press SA

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5/28www.microwave-eetimes.com Microwave Engineering Europe November-December 2013 5

News Comment

4G is now, but 5G already starts to take shape

Mobile network technology is evolving ata rapid clip. 4G technology in the form ofLTE is currently rolling out and has a lotof innovation still waiting in the wings. Itwould seem that 4G still has many yearsleft to drive the mobile market forward.

However, some are already planning5G. To this end, last year METIS (Mobileand wireless communications Enablersfor the Twenty-twenty (2020) InformationSociety) was launched.

Co-funded by the European Commis-sion, METIS is a consortium of 28 keywireless industry players and the rst

international and large-scale researchactivity on 5G. Its main objective is to laythe foundation for 5G, the next genera-tion mobile and wireless communicationssystem. 5G will address the huge surgepredicted in mobile data consumption andthe wide range of wireless devices. In awireless communications world describedas the Internet of Things, data willbecome available anywhere, anytime toanyone and anything.

5G has got a lot of global interest andone might question why 4G might not

suce? Part of the answer lies in the rapidgrowth in smartphone use. METIS claimthat smartphone subscriptions will growfrom 1.2 billion in 2012 to 4.5 billion by2018. The second reason, 4G might notcope in ve years from now is that the data

usage per smartphone continues to growrapidly. Future users will also rely more ontheir smartphones, not only for the emerg-ing infotainment use case, but also for awide range of use cases such as monitor-

ing and control of smart homes, securityand health care, amongst others.

In 2013 the EU announced researchgrants worth up to 50 million to develop5G technology.

As test companies are usually at theforefront of any emerging technology, 5Gas dened by the METIS project has one

such company currently involved, Anite,which has just announced that it hasbeen appointed to lead the radio channelmodelling Task Group within the METISproject.

Anite has participated in dening

ve 5G scenarios that reect the future

challenges of wireless communicationsstandards. The ve scenarios, recently

made public, shape the denition of

propagation conditions and form the basisof channel modelling development. METIShas derived a challenging set of require-ments from these scenarios, includingone thousand times more mobile data perarea compared to todays average trac.

The radio channel modelling Task Group isexpected to publish its rst results in April

of 2014.

The success of 5G radio technology de-velopment requires the ecient utilisation

of the radio channel. Since the early 1990s,Anites experienced radio channel teamhas pioneered research and developmentof radio channel models, now incorpo-rated into its market-leading Propsim radiochannel emulator product range.

Currently METIS denes 5G through a

challenging set of requirements, which canbe summarized as:

Ten to one hundred times higher typical

user data rate where in a dense urbanenvironment the typical user data ratewill range from one to ten Gbps,

One thousand times more mobile

data per area (per user) where thevolume per area (per user) will be over100 Gbps/km2,

Ten to one hundred times more con-nected devices,

Ten times longer battery life for low-

power massive machine communica-tions where machines such as sensorsor pagers will have a battery life of adecade,

Support of ultra-fast application re-sponse times where the end-to-endlatency will be less than 5 ms with highreliability, and

to do all this under a similar cost and

energy dissipation per area as in todayscellular systems.

By Jean-Pierre JoostingEditor: Microwave Engineering Europe

Design and production service for obsolescent RFand microwave partsLink Microtek has introduced a designand production service aimed at provid-ing replacements for RF or microwavecomponents that have become obsoletebut are still critical to present operations.

The company is able to recreate partswith the same form, t and function as

an existing product, working either from

specications, drawings and photographsor directly from, for example, a damagedpart if the original design information hasbeen lost. In these instances, accuratemeasurements of the external and internal

features of a product are entered intothe CST Microwave Studio modellingprogram, which enables Link to derivespecications such as operating frequen-cy and return loss, as well as working outthe best way to fabricate the part.

For example, some RF and microwavecomponents now in the eld were origi-

nally produced by casting, but recreatingthem in this way would be uneconomicalfor only one or two units, so the generalapproach is to machine them from solidaluminium, followed by dip-brazing.

Once the parts have been made, they

are then fully tested at up to 40 GHzin Links own test and environmentallaboratories, if necessary using speciallydesigned and manufactured test xtures.

For high-power products, an in-housefacility allows testing at up to 200W CWover the frequency range 7-16 GHz. Each

product is supplied with full mechanicaldrawings, electrical layouts, test speci-cations and test results.

www..linkmicrotekeng.com



News

Weightless details roadmap for

IoT devices and basestations

The Weightless SIG has announced theroadmap for the roll-out of Weightlesscompatible hardware from SIG founderand Promoter Group Member Neul.

Tape out of its Iceni silicon returningfrom the foundry is scheduled for nextmonth, November 2013, with volumeproduction to follow in Q2 2014.

Initial Weightless modules measuring35 mm x 45 mm and costing around $12

will ship in 2014 with a roadmap incor-porating $7 modules in 2015 and 24 mmx 20 mm modules costing $4 or less in2016. Weightless development kits arescheduled for launch to early accesscustomers in Q2 2014.

The companys base station, NeulNET2510 will sample in the rst quarter of

2014 with pre-commercial availabilityin Q2 2014. BTS hardware lease costswill be tens of dollars per month. Thecompany will deploy Weightless net-works in at least the UK and USA in thesecond quarter of next year with furthernetworks elsewhere to follow.

The 630 page Weightless Speci-cation is available now for immediatedownload to SIG Members at weight-less.org/roadmap.

www.weightless.org

Small cell backhaul

equipment market to

reach $5B in 2018

ABI Research expects the market forsmall cell backhaul equipment to grow toover $5 billion in 2018, up from a forecast$487 million for 2013 representing a 48%compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Sub 6 GHz technology will captureover 47% of small cell backhaul equip-ment revenue, or $2.4 billion with 31%of last mile links in 2018, while millimeterwave technology becomes the fastestgrowing technology over the forecastperiod, growing at 113% CAGR to reacha value of $668 million. Traditional micro-wave equipment remains a top technol-ogy for small cell backhaul applicationswith 34% share of revenue or almost $1.8billion and 25% share of links in 2018.

Thanks to its NLOS properties, sub

6 GHz backhaul becomes the most pop-ular backhaul technology for small cellsby 2018, says Nick Marshall, principalanalyst at ABI Research. ABI Researchbelieves that the millimeter wave bandsfrom 60 GHz to 80 GHz will also prove

compelling for small cell backhaul inmany situations.

www.abiresearch.com

Google grabs gesture

startup

Google has acquired Bot Square, devel-oper of the Flutter gesture recognitionapplication that works using a computerswebcam. The price paid for the 2010startup was not disclosed but it wasreportedly close to $40 million.

The Flutter app uses the webcam pres-ent on PC and Mac notebook computersto recognize hand gestures that can beused to control certain functions withinsuch applications as iTunes, Spotify, Netf-lix, Youtube. The gestures can be used toplay, pause or skip videos and songs andare said to work best at between one andsix feet from the camera.

It is not clear whether Flutter intends

to keep on developing features for itsstand-alone application or wants tointegrate Flutter gesture recognition as astandard part of the Chrome platform.

www.utterapp.com

LED lightbulbs access Internetwith energy saving LiFi

Chinese scientists have claimed that Wi-

connectivity from a LED lightbulb (LiFi)is now a step closer. Li- promises to

be a cheaper and more energy-ecient

technology than existing wireless radiosystems. The general availability of LEDbulbs and the omnipresence of light-ing infrastructure oers major energy

eciency benets. Although millions of

WiFi base stations have been installedworldwide to boost signals most of theenergy is consumed by their cooling sys-tems. The energy utilization rate of WiFiis as low as ve percent. Compared with

base stations, the number of lightbulbsthat can be used is practically limitlessand more energy ecient.

The Chinese scientists claim that aLED lightbulb with embedded micro-chips can produce data rates as fast

as 150 megabits per second, which isspeedier than the average broadbandconnection in China.

Chi Nan, an information technologyprofessor with Shanghais Fudan Univer-sity said that experiments have shown

that four computers under a one-wattLED lightbulb may be able to connect tothe Internet under the principle that lightcan be used as a carrier instead of tradi-tional radio frequencies, as in WiFi.

Chi Nan, who leads a LiFi researchteam including scientists from the Shang-

hai Institute of Technical Physics of theChinese Academy of Sciences, plans todisplay ten sample LiFi kits at the ChinaInternational Industry Fair that opens onNovember 5, 2013 in Shanghai.

The University of Edinburghs ProfHarald Haas in the UK originally coinedthe term LiFi which is a type of visible lightcommunication (VLC) technology thatdelivers a networked, mobile, high-speedcommunication solution in a similar wayto WiFi. In 2011 Prof Haas demonstratedhow an LED bulb equipped with signal

processing technology could stream ahigh-denition video to a computer.

Earlier this year, the FraunhoferHeinrich Hertz Institute expounded thatdata rates of up to 1Gbit/s per LED lightfrequency were possible in the laboratory.



News

IBM develops two-factor security

for mobile transactionsIBM scientists have developed a mobileauthentication security technology basedon the near-eld communication (NFC)

radio standard. The technology providesan extra layer of security when using anNFC-enabled device and a contactlesssmartcard to conduct mobile transac-tions, including online banking and digitalsignatures when accessing a corporateIntranet or private cloud.

According to a recent report by ABIResearch, the number of NFC devices inuse will exceed 500 million in 2014. Thisstatistic and the fact that 1 billion mobilephone users will use their devices forbanking purposes by 2017 make for anincreasingly opportune target for hackers.

To address these challenges, IBM sci-entists in Zurich, also known for inventingan operating system used to power andsecure hundreds of millions of smart-cards, have developed an additionallayer, a so-called two-factor authentica-tion, for securing mobile transactions.

Today many consumers use two-fac-tor authentication from a computer, forexample, when they are asked for both

a password and a verication code sent

by short message service (SMS). IBMscientists are applying the same conceptusing a personal identication number

(PIN) and a contactless smartcard. Thecontactless smartcard could be a bank-issued ATM card or an employer-issuedidentity badge.

The IBM technology is based on end-to-end encryption between the smart-card and the server using the NationalInstitute of Standards & Technology(NIST) AES (Advanced Encryption Stan-dard) scheme. Current technologies onthe market require users to carry an ad-ditional device, such as a random pass-word generator, which is less convenientand in some instances less secure.

The technology, which is availabletoday for any NFC-enabled Android 4.0device, is based on IBM Worklight, amobile application platform that is part ofthe IBM MobileFirst portfolio. Future up-dates will include additional NFC-enabled

devices based on market trends.

www.ibm.com/mobilerst

Wireless smart meter

deployments to double

in market revenue

An increase in smart meter deploymentswill see the global market for wirelesscommunication modules approximatelydouble in value over the coming years,jumping from $532m in 2012 to $1.3billion in 2020, at a compound annualgrowth rate (CAGR) of 12%, accordingto a report from research and consultingrm GlobalData.

The companys latest report statesthat North America, currently thedominant player in the global wirelesscommunication modules market forsmart meters, will be a key driver behindthe leap, with its own market revenueexpected to climb steadily from $379m in2012 to $433.7m in 2020.

Europe will also continue to accountfor a considerable share of the globalmarket, thanks to a signicant number

of pilot-scale projects getting under-way across the region. For example,the uptake of wireless communicationmodules in the UK, Denmark and Ireland

in particular looks promising, accordingto GlobalData.

www.globaldata.com

Bluetooth SIG and

A4WP to shape wireless

charging standard

The Bluetooth SIG and Alliance forWireless Power (A4WP) have agreedto cooperate in working towards a newconsumer electronics device category:the smart wireless charging station, thatwill provide A4WP users with speedyand robust Bluetooth Smart-basedpower management.

As a rst step, the Bluetooth SIG has

issued a Universally Unique Identier

(UUID) to the A4WP for adoption in itsbaseline system specication (BSS). The

A4WP BSS utilises the Bluetooth Smartradio standard to carry the session man-

agement and power control between anA4WP charging station and an A4WP-certied device, e.g. smartphone.

www.a4wp.orgwww.bluetooth.com

AVM selects Lantiq for VDSL,

Wi-Fi 802.11ac gateway

Lantiq has announced that the Berlin-based communications specialist AVMhas selected a Lantiq high integrationsystems-on-chip (SoC) to power itslatest generation agship VDSL2/2+

gateway FRITZ!Box 7490.The Lantiq VDSL SoC enables highest

data rates up to 150 Mbps and reliablebroadband access performance, featur-ing VDSL2/2+ / ADSL2/2+ capability andintegrated support of ITU-T standardVectoring. The FRITZ!Box 7490 alsoachieves outstanding gigabit routingperformance with minimum CPU load,

due to the unique Lantiq smart accelera-tion engine.

Lantiq ITU-T standard compliantVDSL Vectoring enables carriers to deliv-er up to 150 Mbits access speeds, whilePhysical Layer Retransmission achieves

the highest possible Quality of Service(QoS) for media content. The Lantiq VRXVDSL SoC ooads data handling of the

802.11ac Wi-Fi subsystem and featuresand hardware acceleration for Gbitspeed home networking with minimumload on the main CPU.

www.lantiq.com



News

Report warns excessive security

will kill the Internet of ThingsExcessive security will kill the emergingInternet of Things warns the author of anew report.

Theres a certain amount of panicaround the Internet of Things, that youneed maximum security or not do it atall, said Prof. Jon Howes, TechnologyDirector at Cambridge-based BeechamResearch and author of a new reporton machine to machine (M2M) security.The problem with M2M is the busi-ness model is always tight so as we puttighter and tighter security in place itwill kill the business model and make ituneconomic.

The key is the end-to-end architec-ture, he says. This is even more impor-tant with the recent launch of low cost

microcontrollers such as Silicon Labs49 Zero Gecko that include an AESencryption engine to support securityapplications.

In recent surveys, Beecham Re-search has identied end-to-end solu-

tion security as the leading concern forsolution providers and for adopters ofnew M2M solutions. Having analyzedthe reality of security for M2M solutions,we have discovered emerging new

principles and ways to make securityboth sucient and economically viable.

There is a profusion of new elementsof security and new business modelsthat will enable new markets, saidHowes. Engaged with correctly, thiscan at long last change security into avalue producing capability instead of aresented cost.

This is not about just big players orvertical integration, he says. Its notnecessarily big companies but peoplethat know how to implement the end to

end solution in the right environment,he said. Smart meters in the UK need adierent architecture from smart meters

in Germany, for example.

www.beechamresearch.com

First mass deploymentof VDSL system level

vectoringLantiq and KEYMILE have announcedvolume shipments of system level vector-ing equipped VDSL linecards to a majortelecommunications carrier.

A majority of these VDSL linecardsis already deployed in the eld, and

vectoring based broadband servicesare expected to be oered to consum-ers by the end of 2013. The joint Lantiq/KEYMILE 192 channel vectoring oering

is the worlds rst eld deployed system

level vectoring implemented in a mature,cost and power ecient System-on-Chip

(SoC) - ASSP approach.System level VDSL vectoring is criti-

cally important for service providers toeciently extend the broadband perfor-mance of the copper network in a verycost eective manner.

Dan Artusi, CEO of Lantiq: Lantiq has

a large footprint in VDSL for central oce

and CPE and is rapidly gaining marketshare. VDSL, including vectoring andbonded lines, is worldwide becoming thekey technology for superfast internet.

www.lantiq.com/vectoring

LTE to be deployedworldwide by 2018LTE is out of the experimental stage andis being deployed worldwide. Opera-tors in all markets are in the process ofimplementing LTE, but the emergence ofthe APAC and LATAM regions is set tochallenge European and North Americanoperators early lead. These trends areanalysed in Analysys Masons forthcom-ing report on the outlook for LTE.

The rst LTE deployments occurred

in Finland and Sweden, and the worldslargest LTE network is in the USA, butemerging APAC and LATAM have thehighest number of planned LTE networks,according to Analysys Masons Wirelessnetworks tracker.

Strong support for LTE in APAC andLATAM will start to oset the early inu-ence that European and North Americanoperators have had on the device andnetwork vendors. We expect a more-

balanced global LTE market to emergeby 2018, in which markets such as Brazil,India and Russia will each account for5% of LTE connections worldwide.

www.analysysmason.com

Toyota develops its own

automated driving technology

On the way to automated driving, Toyota

takes a shortcut: it combines two existingtechnologies developed to reduce stressfrom the driver: a cooperative-adaptivecruise control and a lane assist with ac-tive steering.

In contrast to existing Adaptive CruiseControl (ACC) systems, Toyotas coop-erative-adaptive system communicateswith the vehicle in front to keep a safedistance. Towards this end, it estab-

lishes a data communications channelin the 700 MHz band and exchangesacceleration and deceleration data withthe vehicles in front and behind itself.This information edge translates intofaster and smoother control action of thecruise control. Since not every vehicleis equipped with a transponder for thispurpose, the Toyota system still relies onits own radar sensors.

The lane control unit uses cameraimages along with radar measurementand a sensor fusion algorithm to identifythe correct lane and to keep the vehiclein the centre of the lane at any speed, asToyota claims. Correcting variables aresteer angle, thrust and braking power.

Toyotas Automated Highway Driv-ing Assist (AHDA) was introduced at theIntelligent Transport Systems (ITS) WorldCongress. The company also is continu-ing to conduct research on autonomousdriving in all situations, including in cities.


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MEMS, Nanotechnology

Micro-electromechanical system(MEMS) chipmaker Sand 9 Inc., ofCambridge, Massachusetts, claims tohave nally cracked the multibillion unit

mobile phone and Internet of Thingsmarket with a piezo-electric design thatprovides the performance lacking in tra-ditional MEMS timing chips. More thanve years in the making, Sand 9 has

nally announced its rst piezo-electric

timing chips, for which it already hasmobile phone customers lined up.

We started from the mobile marketand its requirements, and worked ourway backwards to nd out that our

MEMS chips needed to be piezoelec-tric, said senior director of marketingTodd Borkowski.

The key to its success in cracking themobile phone market, Sand 9 claims,is its piezo-electric materials that giveits MEMS timing chips better electro-mechanical coupling than conventional

electro-static capacitive designs, result-ing in ultra-stable higher-frequencyoperation in a tiny size and with low-power requirements.

The piezoelectric MEMS technologywe invented has 100 times better elec-tromechanical coupling than electro-static, said Borkowski. Basically itgets us the performance we need in asmall size and at power-consumptionlevels on par with quartz.

From its founding in 2007 as a Bos-ton University spino by co-founders

Pritiraj Mohanty (inventor of its MEMS

technology) and Matt Crowley (vicepresident of business development)Sand 9s aim has been to produce tim-ing chips that oered a better price/

performance ratio than quartz in thecore markets for cellular phones andthe high-speed communications chipsinside Internet of Things devices.

These are the very rst MEMS timing

devices in the world capable of accu-rately clocking what people refer to asthe Internet of Things devices as well ashigh-speed transceivers and conductiv-

ity ICs, said Borkowski.Sand 9 has led more than 80 pat-

ents with 35 granted so far cov-ering not only its MEMS technologyitself, but also the circuits, systems, andprocess innovations that make its piezo-

electric timing chipsunique. In particular,Sand 9s piezo-elec-tric resonator usesan interdigitateddesign that creates astanding wave at thedesired frequency.The resonator itselfis constructed froma silicon lm with

two layers of silicondioxide, one aboveand one below,topped by the alumi-num nitride piezo-electric material.Since higher temper-atures aect silicon

and silicon dioxidein an oppositemanner soften-ing silicon but stiening silicon dioxide

the MEMS resonator achieves 200parts-per-million frequency stability withno external compensation.

Sand 9 is targeting the wirelessapplications market being served byhigh-end quartz temperature compen-sated crystals (TCXO), especially those

used by a mobile phones cellular trans-ceivers, power management ICs, GPS,WiFi, FM, Bluetooth, and accessoriesusing the low-power version calledBluetooth Smart.

Its rst two timing chips will be the

TM061 MEMS resonator (MR) and

TM361 temperature-sensing MEMSresonator (TSMR). Both devices use asub-millimeter package size (0.76- x0.84- x 0.5-mm) which Sand 9 claimsis 50 percent smaller than the small-est quartz crystal in the industry and10-times more resistant to shock.

The 48-MHz TM061, which targetsBluetooth Smart applications, is aresonator with a dummy cap instead ofan ASIC, making it the ultra-low-costsolution. The 76.8-MHz TM361 alsouses a dummy cap, but includes within

the material stack a temperature sensor(thermistor) and heater for sophisti-cated compensation and calibration ofthe resonator. Integrating the thermis-tor into the MEMS resonator gives it10 times better thermal coupling than

quartz, which must use an external

thermistor. The heater allows the TM361to be quickly calibrated by the originalequipment manufacturer (OEM). For the

future, Sand 9 plans a follow-on devicewhich integrates the phase-locked-loop(PLL) needed for a complete piezo-electric MEMS oscil lator.

Our future road map includes a

temperature-sensing MEMS oscillator(TSMO), which integrates the oscilla-tor circuitry into the silicon cap, saidBorkowski.

Sand 9s chips will be manufacturedin two foundries GlobalFoundries for

the MEMS portion and IBM for the appli-cation-specic integrated circuit (ASIC)

after which the two chips will usewafer-scale bonding, so that the ASICcarrying the electronics serves doubleduty by also capping the MEMS chip toprevent environmental contamination.

The big surprise is that, unlike quartz,Sand 9s MEMS resonators and oscilla-tors can be over-molded into the samepackage as the device for which theyare providing timing signals. In fact,Sand 9s business model is to sell only

die in wafer-level chip-scale packagesthat can be ipped and over-molded

into the customers package, thusreclaiming the board-space dedicatedto multiple bulky quartz crystals today.

MEMS timing device cracks cellphone market

By R. Colin Johnson, EE Times

Sand 9s interdigitated piezo-electric resonator (center) is

the rst MEMS timing solution for cellular phones, due to its

electro-mechanical coupling that is 100 times better than

traditional MEMS. (Source: Sand 9)



In response to positive feedback heard atthe recent IRMMW-THz conference, LakeShore Cryotronics has announced thatit is moving forward with implementingsoftware features that will further enhancethe usability of its prototype terahertz(THz) materials characterization platform.

The features, demonstrated duringthe International Conference on Infrared,Millimeter and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz) in Mainz, Germany, incorporate THzacquisition and software control of thecryogenic and magnetic platform.

Going into this project, one of ourobjectives was to develop software thatwas easy to use. We knew this would bekey to how well the system is adoptedby the materials development community particularly everyday researchers whodo not consider themselves terahertz ex-perts, said Scott Yano, Lake Shore Prod-uct Marketing Manager. With this latestenhancement, were one step closer toaccomplishing that goal and being able

to oer a truly turnkey solution.The software enables users to see

raw scans as they are being acquired bythe system. This way, theyre providedreal-time visualization of the scans as

well as averaged data, Yano explained.The software processes raw scans intothe normalized THz transmission spectra,from which electronic material propertiescan be derived.

Lake Shore is currently testing thefunctionality enabling researchers toautomate measurements at variable cryo-genic temperatures and magnetic elds.

The system will be capable of steppingthrough temperature points automaticallywithout user intervention.

At the IRMMW-THz conference, LakeShore saw interest from scientists speci-cally interested in using the THz systemfor research into novel semiconductors,organic materials, and other electronicand magnetic materials with resonancesin the THz regime. The prototype LakeShore system provides for high-frequen-cy measurements to above 1 THz, totemperatures as low as 5 K, and mag-netic elds to 9 T.

By having a fully integrated hardware/

software platform for THz materials char-acterization, researchers will no longerhave to manually assemble a systemin their lab and then build their ownsoftware to manage its operation. The

Lake Shore system bundles the manage-ment software with continuous-wave THzspectroscopy and photomixers speci-cally developed for cryogenic operation.

Lake Shore intends to formallyintroduce the system for sale in early2014. Several key research facilities inthe U.S. are already using alpha units of

the system to gain valuable insight intomolecular solids, thin lms and other

semiconductor devices.

www.lakeshore.com

Lake Shore enhances software capabilities of

prototype turnkey THz characterization system

Halogen-free, ultra-low loss materials for high-

speed digital, RF and microwave applications

Isola Group, a leader in copper-cladlaminates and dielectric prepregmaterials used to fabricate advancedmultilayer printed circuit boards hasannounced TerraGreen, the companyslatest halogen-free, ultra-low loss, RF/microwave/high-speed material. Ter-raGreen is engineered for such high-performance applications as poweramplier boards for 4G LTE base sta-tions, internet infrastructure and cloudcomputing.

TerraGreen has a full oering of

cores and prepreg utilizing spread-glassfabric. The dielectric constant (rangingfrom 3.00 to 3.45) and dissipation factor(ranging from 0.0030 to 0.0035) remainstable over a wide range of frequenciesand temperatures. Core thicknesses

from 0.002 to 0.018, 0.020, 0.030and 0.060 are available.

TerraGreen is a lead-free assemblymaterial and is easy to process. Thishigh-performance material utilizes ashort-lamination cycle; the product is

easy to drill, does not require plasmadesmear, and the prepreg shelf life issimilar to FR-4 materials. TerraGreenis suitable for high-layer count, high-speed digital, backplanes and is com-patible with Isolas FR-4 materials forhybrid designs

Tarun Amla, Executive Vice-presidentand Chief Technology Ocer at Isola,

stated, Electronics manufacturers havelong-expressed the need for halogen-free, ultra-low loss, lead-free assemblymaterial for high-speed digital and RF/

microwave markets. Isolas investmentsin R&D have successfully resolved thisissue with our proprietary TerraGreenresin system.

www.isola-group.com

Micowave Materials



On-Wafer Measurement

Semiconductor manufacturing test engi-neers face increased challenges related tobroadband millimeter wave (mm-wave) on-wafer testing. Developing accurate modelsoften requires measuring frequenciesthat range from near DC up to 100+ GHz.Achieving accurate, stable measurementsover extended time periods is a challengefor foundries and fab-less semiconductorcompanies that require extensive testingof on-wafer devices.

These measurements are typicallyperformed using a vector network ana-lyzer (VNA). In order to ensure accuratemeasurements, VNA re-calibration hasoften been required as frequently asevery hour. Recent advances in VNAs,however, enable longer time periodsbetween calibration to improve through-put, as well as broader frequencycoverage to develop accurate models for

high-speed designs.Semiconductor manufacturers char-

acterize and test transistors, such asthose used for power ampliers, as well

as more complicated integrated systems.Figure 1 shows their typical stages ofdevelopment: device characterization,evaluation, and production test stage.

Characterization

During the initial device characteriza-tion stage, a primary data collectionset is required for rst wafers to help

determine the specications for the

future product. Characterization engi-neers measure full s-parameter data onmultiple devices across a broad fre-quency range for a variety of bias condi-tions, power levels and, in some cases,temperatures. These measurements areoften more manual in nature and requirethe probes to be physically movedaround the wafer.

It is important that any variation fromdevice to device across the wafer beaccurately determined and not causedby test equipment drift. Hence, there is

a need to ensure that the VNA system iscorrectly calibrated at intervals frequentenough to ensure consistent measure-ments.

The manual nature of measurementduring this phase impacts the calibra-

tion, as well as the need to spend time onprobe contact issues, such as oxidation.In some cases, the calibration standardsare included on the wafer to make iteasier; however the necessary space onthe wafer often means a separate calibra-tion substrate is required. This adds evenmore time. In this situation, it is possible

to have to perform a 20-minute calibrationevery hour, meaning calibration consumesone third of the test engineers time duringthe device characterization stage!

Evaluation

The evaluation stage uses all of thedevice characterization data to assessthe performance of the devices anddetermine the product specications.

While measurement and calibration timesare not major factors during this stage,condence in the device characterization

data plays a critical role. Accurate mea-

surements allow for smaller measure-ment uncertainties, so tradeos between

tighter specications and manufacturing

yields can be made with condence.

Production

High-volume automated test equipmentis used in the production test stage andreduced data sets are collected to verifythe devices are meeting their set speci-cations. It is not uncommon for devicesto be tested in a matter of seconds. Cali-bration is part of the automated process,

as well. During automated productiontesting, calibration time is reduced, butmay still be required every hour. Withdevices being measured every few sec-onds, time lost to calibration can be evenmore critical!

VNA advances

For years, broadband VNA systemsused large test heads, built from a com-bination of waveguide and coaxial com-ponents. While oering a practical way

to reach frequencies up to 110 GHz,they had a tendency to be less stableand have reduced performance. Today,

modern solutions are available usingintegrated MMIC technologies thatresult in more stable measurements andbetter performance. The compact natureof the test heads allow them to be moreeasily mounted on to the probe sta-tion and, in some cases, directly to theprobe itself (Figure 2).

In addition to the improved testheads, new designs within todaysbroadband VNAs make them more accu-rate and provide more stable results, asshown in Figure 3.

Among the new capabilities are: Single sweep broadband frequencies

ranging from 70 kHz to 110 GHz; Dynamic range of 109 dB at 110 GHz;

Positive raw directivity resulting in

enhanced measurement stability andreduced calibration frequency;

Real-time power level control for more

accurate linear gain and 1 dB compres-sion measurements;

Compact, lightweight mm-wave mod-ules for easy, precise, and economicalpositioning on the wafer probe station.

The better measurement stability andaccuracy delivered by this new genera-tion of broadband VNAs allow semicon-ductor test engineers to perform lessfrequent calibrations and improve devicemeasurement eciency. Rather than

Modern VNA Test Solutions Improve On-Wafer

Measurement EfficiencyBy Bob Buxton, Anritsu Company

Figure 1: Typical stages of development: device characterization, evaluation, and

production test stage.



the 20-minute calibration required eachhour, advanced broadband mm-waveVNAs now need only be calibrated oncea session or even once a day. During thecharacterization phase of the device,this represents an increase in measure-ment test time of over 37% in a singlefour-hour session.

For the production test stage, devicesare often being measured around the

clock. Automated test stations and waferhandling equipment optimize the timerequired for evaluating each device.While many aspects are accelerated, thelesser stability of older generation mm-wave test heads can still require hourlycalibrations. While this time was kept toa minimum, calibration still representsa valuable segment of the day thatproducts are not being tested. Using a

modern mm-wave VNA, calibrating onceeach day represents an increase of 8%product test time.

Table 1 highlights this improvementand includes an example that shows howa test station with a 3-second DUT testtime could evaluate an extra 700 devicesper day! For a device with a longer testtime, perhaps 10 seconds/device, thenumber of additional parts due to thereduced calibration frequency would be210, however in that situation they would

probably be more complex and, hence,more expensive devices.

Conclusion

Modern VNA test solutions enablesemiconductor test engineers to achieveaccurate, stable measurements overextended time periods. The improvementin measurement eciency allows these

solutions to better characterize devicesin the development phase, more con-dently set product specications, and

test more products during production.

Figure 2: Compact test heads can be more easily mounted on

to the probe station and, in some cases, directly to the probe

itself.

Figure 3: Improved test heads and new designs within todays

broadband VNAs make them more accurate and provide

stable results.

Table 1: Using a modern mm-wave VNA, calibrating once each day represents anincrease of 8% product test time.

On-Wafer Measurement

Bluetooth Smart and Wi-Fi to dominate mobile bodynetwork device marketProprietary wireless protocols are quicklylosing their dominance in the healthcaremarket to more standards-based wire-less technologies such as Wi-Fi, Blue-tooth, and IEEE 802.15.4. Over the next

5 years, Bluetooth Smart (formerly Blue-

tooth Low Energy) will lead in shipmentsand Wi-Fi will lead in revenues in thehealthcare device IC market expected toexceed $100 million by 2018.

Smartphones and tablets are theprimary reason for Bluetooth Smart

adoption in MBAN devices. Given theirgrowing penetration among consumersand Bluetooth Smart Ready enable-ment, they are the conduit for MBANwireless sensor data back to cloud-based healthcare services, says senior

analyst, Adarsh Krishnan.The recent IEEE 802.15.6 and IEEE

802.15.4 enabled devices that can oper-ate in the dedicated wireless spectrum(2360-2400 MHz) allocated for MBANuse are expected to witness less trac-

tion with adoption initially limited toprofessional on-site healthcare facilities.

ZigBee and other 802.15.4 basedprotocols are expected to outperform802.15.6 standard growing at CAGR of72% over the next 5 years. Inhibiting

adoption of the newer 802.15.6 pro-tocol is the lack of wireless spectrumharmonization across dierent world

regions.

www.abiresearch.com



Automated Smartphone Test

As wireless technology continues toevolve, the rise of the smartphonecontinues to gather pace along with thechallenges of cost-eectively produc-ing many millions of these devices. One

critical component in the manufactur-ing chain is ensuring that test times forsmartphones remain reasonable.

A leader in automated test systems,JOT Automation is driving the trend

of automated test in many areas, notleast the smartphone market. Testing asmartphone implies taking into consider-ation a multitude of functions, a list thatis increasing with each generation. JOT

Automation claim to oer systems that

are capable of bringing complete test-ing of a smartphone down to just overa minute in many cases. To illustratethe necessity of keeping test times asshort as possible without compromis-

ing coverage, consider that Apple andSamsung each churn out tens of millionsof smartphones each quarter.

Board level and functional test

Board level testing is usually done ona panel comprising four PCBs (fourphones). JOT provides test boxes that

accommodate these panels. These testboxes have test xtures that are able to

accommodate 3rd part test instrumentsfrom leading companies such as Rhode& Schwarz, National Instruments, andLitepoint. The test boxes are contained

in a rack system.Automated handling is then added to

the rack system. A key feature of suchautomated systems is their modularity,enabling customers to mix and matchboxes, racks and handlers. A furtherbenet is that these modular systems

are scalable.Some of the checks performed by

an automated system needed to fullytest a smartphone include checking thescreen has all the required pixels, mak-ing sure all the buttons work as required

via a nger-robot, testing the phonetransmits voice via an articial ear and

mouth, and testing the camera by takingpictures to ensure the camera works andzooms to specication. Automated test

systems also need to check all inter-

faces, includingHDMI, audio plug,USB and so on.Radios need to beveried that they

work as requiredat the right fre-quencies.

Though notan exhaustivelist of the testsrequired theabove list givesone an idea of thequantitative andqualitative testsrequired to verifya smartphone. Forexample, testingthe camera withan automated

system removesvariable humanperceptions ofpicture qual-ity, ensuring the same result for everysmartphone under test. It is also muchfaster.

Future technology developments

Customers require a partner that can meettheir requirements in the years to come.One such example in the case of smart-phones is in emerging radio technologies.RF complexity poses problems on the

test side and most of this is carried by theinstrument suppliers. On the automated

test side, JOT specialises in making the

environment as isolated from interferenceas possible to be able to test all frequen-cies and radios. However, the better theisolation the higher the cost. This implies atrade-o between reasonable cost for the

RF test box and performance.Since the JOTs automated systems

are modular and scalar such trade-os

can be catered for, depending on theend-user requirements. Modularity, also

enables the test system to be upgradedas needed as technology advances.

Why automated test?

Smartphones are complex and conse-quently require signicantly longer test

times. Further, the volume of smartphonesmanufactured each year is enormous andincreasing. According to market researchrm Juniper Research, the number of

smartphone shipments exceeded aquarterly record of 250 million in Q3 2013,representing a year-on-year growth ofalmost 49% from Q3 2012, and quarter-on-quarter growth of 10%.

With such volumes, reliability and

quality are key issues for manufacturerswhen it comes to maintaining customerloyalty and avoiding expensive recalls.In addition, as test times rise withincreasing smartphone complexity andfunctionality, along with higher smart-phone volumes, higher labour costscome into play as more technicians arerequired to test devices. These are thekey factors driving the trend towardsautomated testing.

Automated testing removes humanerror and enables better reporting. It

also removes subjectivity, for example,compare a human operator verifying thequality of a smartphone camera versusan automated, standardised process.

Higher volumes, increasing complex-ity and rising labour costs, along with

Automation the key to testing very high volumes

of advanced smartphonesBy Jean-Pierre Joosting

The JOT G3 and M10 are key to making automated testing of

smartphones a reality.



the ability to reduce error and eliminatesubjectivity make a compelling businesscase for automated test.

G3 nal functional testingProviding nal functional testing of

smart phones, the JOT G3 enables

fully automatic tests on handsets in arepeatable and reliable environment,which helps to maximise capacity andquality with low labour costs.

The G3 has a smaller footprint andoers an all-in-one feature enabling

all DUT interface testing including RF,screen, touch screen, buttons, audio,and plug-in connections. Another keyfeature is the ability to combine dier-ent tests on the same platform.

It has an easy and fast productchange over, together with a simple andin-expensive product specic adap-tor. With a self-diagnostic which veri-es machine functionality to speed up

problem solving and additional featuresand instruments available to add to theproduct, the JOT G3 oers the best

choice for lean environment.

M10 functional test system

The JOT M10 functional test system has

been developed to address the need tospeed up the development cycles andto overcome the capacity challenges inmanufacturing of smart devices such assmart phones and tablet PCs or basi-cally any electronics product with highproduction quality requirements.

The JOT M10 is a scalable and

modular system for board and PCB-level functional testing, ashing and

RF-tuning of smart devices. One of

its key benets is that the very sametest solution can be taken from R&D toproduction to secure ecient and swift

production ramp up. The other key ben-et is the modular system architecture,

which enables the M10 to easily adapt

to production volume variations duringa products life cycle, and also betweenthe production lines and factories.

The JOT M10 functional test system

consists of M10 test boxes, M10 testrack, and M10 test handler.

The M10 test boxes come with inte-grated test electronics and are avail-able both as RF and non-RF variants,supporting both module and panel-leveltesting.

In a production environment, M10test boxes can be accommodated toM10 test rack together with third-partytest instruments. The M10 test rack withtest boxes can be served manually orautomatically with the M10 test handler.Further several M10s can be cascadedin a row. For maximum capacity, testphases can be split exibly, both inside

the rack and between the racks.

Research and development

JOT Automation has been involved in

mobile phone testing almost from thebeginning. The company benets from

its extensive in-house expertise and thehigh-level of condence key customers

have in it. Automated test is an emerg-ing industry in electronics led by JOT

Automation. To this end the company

has over 100 R&D engineers working onbasic platform development, customisingtest systems for customers and on futuretechnical challenges in automated test.

Every major company has theirunique way of both developing and man-ufacturing mobile phones. This meansthat production test strategies aresomewhat dierent as well. To address

these issues, JOT Automation provides

customized solutions for each customer.To achieve this, the company always tryto have R&D engineers working closelywith customers.

When customers decide to roll aproduct or invest in new equipment,these are often characterised by scale(massive), short time cycles, and aglobal footprint. JOT R&D work with the

customer to address these issues. Thecompany not only delivers automatedtest systems but is also able to developsuch systems, deploy them and ensuremaintenance all on a global basis.

JOT Automation

Since its inception in 1988 by Veikko

Lesonen, the company has grown to bea global leader in its eld. Due to the

rapid development in mobile telecom-munications during the 80s, VeikkoLesonen founded JOT Automation

using his knowledge and experience, to

develop automated testing devices andsupplying equipment to leading mobilephone manufacturers, among others.

The company grew through the years

and reinforced its presence in the fastgrowing Asian economies of China.In 2003 the company was bought byElektrobit then in 2007 by the GermanRohwedder. In 2011, Jot Automa-tion was bought back by the companyfounder. Today it is part of Head InvestGroup, a Finnish industrial companyowned by Veikko Lesonen and his fam-ily. Today, the company operates in 13countries, on four continents

Veikko Lesonen, said: This is a 25year success story for a Finnish com-pany. JOT Automation is very successful

in its eld and highly regarded by users

in many industries. The company hascontinued to develop innovative auto-mated solutions for a variety of dierent

industries. JOT Automation is celebrat-ing its 25th aniversary this year.

Customer value

Based on its recent analysis of theproduction automation testing market,Frost & Sullivan has recognised JOT

Automation with the 2013 Global Frost& Sullivan Award for Customer Value

Leadership. Frequent product introduc-tions and enhancements, along with thecompanys strategic decision to extendits business markets, have enabled itto develop close relationships with itscustomers.

Based on machine vision, roboticsand sensor technologies, JOT Automa-tions products are best suited to delivereconomies of scale to its customers,observed Shapiro. The company isalso focusing research capabilities inthe areas of miniaturization and need fordesktop solutions.

Conclusion

Speeding up the development cyclesand overcoming capacity challengesrequires modularity and re-congurabil-ity. It is simple not possible to designmanufacturing solutions from thescratch for new products. The answerto such problems are platforms thatcan easily be adopted to a new productvariant or even a totally new product.

Automated test systems such asthe M10 and G3 are scalable, modular

systems that address these needs froma test perspective.

Automated Smartphone Test

JOT has invested alot to make better test

machines such as theM10 board level testsystem and the G3

functional test systemfor the ready phone,

Lauri Antila, Vice Presi-dent of Marketing andBusiness Development

JOT Automation.



System Design

Design-ow discontinuities are becom-ing increasingly disruptive and expensivein the development of complex signalprocessing and communications tech-nologies. The drive to reduce the length ofdesign and verication cycles is magnify-ing the impact of these discontinuities.This paper describes a few use casesinalgorithm design, system architecture, andhardware designthat illustrate signicant

recent advances in modeling, simulation,and code generation tools and methods.

Algorithm design for streaming

systems

Many engineers begin the developmentof signal processing and communi-cations algorithms in MATLAB usingoating-point arithmetic. These algorithm

developers can take advantage of thepowerful signal acquisition and analysis

capabilities of MATLAB as well as built-inalgorithm libraries of several toolboxes.In some organizations, however, thesealgorithms are then rewritten in C code torene them for implementation, conver-sion to xed-point or integer arithmetic,

or to integrate them with other designelements. This rewriting step is oneexample of a potentially costly and dis-ruptive discontinuity in the design ow.

Several hundred new componentsfor signal processing, communications,image and video processing are avail-able for use with MATLAB as libraries

of System objects. System objects areready-for-use packaged implementationsof algorithms in MATLAB designedfor designing real-time systems. Theyimplicitly handle streaming, indexing,buering, and state management which

makes the code much simpler to write,debug, and maintain.

As an example, Figure 1 shows ablock diagram representation of a basiccommunication system with transmitter,channel, and receiver components. Tomodel and simulate such a system, some

engineers write many thousand lines of Ccode, and then look for ways to integratethe design with test equipment or ana-lyze simulation results.

In contrast to the several thousandlines of C code that are typically written

to implement thiscommunication sys-tem, the MATLABcode shown in Fig-ure 2 uses several

available Systemobjects from DSPSystem Toolbox andCommunicationsSystem Toolbox.For example, tomodel the transmit-ter, an engineer caninstantiate and callthe Reed-SolomonEncoder, Convolutional Encoder, BlockInterleaver, Rectangular QAM Modula-tor, and Orthogonal Space-Time Block

Coder System objects from Communica-

tions System Toolbox in sequence, asshown in Figure 2. The code structureenables engineers to easily compare itwith the original specication or block

diagram. Algorithm designers can rap-idly combine this code with their existingMATLAB code and test the algorithmswith live streaming data acquired frommeasurement instruments.

Combining MATLAB and C/C++

Algorithms coded using System objectsfacilitate code reuse in the system

design process. Floating or xed-point MATLAB code can be includeddirectly in a Simulink model as partof the system architecture, modeling,and design process. Engineers canalso use MATLAB Coder to generate C

code automatically from MATLAB codeincluding System objects, and then usethat C code for simulation or integrationwith other C/C++ design elements, afterproper verication.

As shown in Figure 3, several impor-tant use-cases are enabled by theintegration of MATLAB with C/C++ inengineering workows. For example,

engineers can directly invoke MATLABfrom a C program to take advantage ofMATLABs signal processing libraries orvisualization capabilities. Existing C/C++designs can be directly used in MATLABas external libraries. MATLAB Compilercan be used to deploy MATLAB algo-rithms or alternately MATLAB Coder

can be used to automatically generate Ccode from MATLAB.

RF and digital system architecture

Static link budget calculations area common rst step in RF designs

Next Generation Design Flows for Signal Process-

ing and Communications SystemsBy Graham Reith, Industry Manager, MathWorks

Figure 1: Block diagram view of the physical layer of a typical communication

system.

Figure 2: A portion of MATLAB code showing the use of Sys-

tem objects from DSP System Toolbox and Communications

System Toolbox.



based on specications for LTE, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, or

other technologies. These calculations provide a good start-ing point, but they do not account for input signal modulation,image eects, interferers and other real-world phenomena. To

eectively model and simulate the eects of RF impairments

on communication systems, system architects currently jugglemultiple disconnected tools that support either digital or analog/RF designs, but not both.

SimRF is integrated with Simulink and provides a CircuitEnvelope engine for the simulation of multi-frequency dynam-ics in RF transceivers. The SimRF component library includesbehavioral models of nonlinear ampliers, three port mixers,

S-parameter blocks and other basic blocks for designing

architectures with arbitrary topology and for simulating RF frontends at the system level. SimRF lets you simulate RF ampli-ers to estimate gain, noise, even- and odd-order intermodula-tion distortion. The simulation of mixers enables you to predictimage rejection, reciprocal mixing, local oscillator phase osets,

and DC conversion. You can also simulate frequency-depen-

System Design

Figure 3: Combining MATLAB with C/C++ provides a powerful

and exible algorithm and system design platform for signal

processing applications.

Figure 4: ISM band low IF receiver with digital and RF sub-

systems in one unied model (above) and detail of the Hartley

receiver RF subsystem modeled in SimRF (below).



dent mismatches between linear andnonlinear components in the time andfrequency domains.

SimRF and Simulink together provide

a common environment for model-ing and simulating RF and basebandsubsystems in a unied design. Used in

combination, these tools enable systemarchitects to perform realistic simula-tions early in the development processand make informed trade-o decisions

in designs that include digital and ana-log/RF components.

Figure 4 shows the overall systemmodel of an ISM band low IF receiverthat includes both the digital signalprocessing components and the RFreceiver subsystem. The details of theRF subsystem that implements a Hart-ley IF receiver are also shown. Unliketraditional modeling methods that usecascades of two-port elements andsingle-frequency approximations, theuse of three-port elements simplies the

receiver model. The model also utilizescircuit envelope simulation technologyand supports multi-frequency modelingto estimate the impact of a blocker andan image signal on a nonlinear receiver.

System architects can also explorethe feasibility and relative merits of alter-

nate approaches for image rejection suchas super heterodyne or direct conversionarchitectures in the unied environment.

In addition to simulating the eects of

RF impairments, system architects canuse the same system models used fordesign to perform the verication tasks in

simulation that would normally be doneon the lab bench.

Hardware design

After the algorithm design and systemarchitecture are completed, the nextstep in many development cycles isFPGA implementation and verication of

the digital portionssometimes en routeto nal deployment as ASICs. Among

the primary sources of ineciency in

FPGA prototyping and implementationare the time-consuming design itera-tions that are required to nd the proper

balance of power consumption, perfor-mance, and area.

Figure 6 shows a symmetric FIR lter

implemented in xed-point arithme-tic. To realize such a lter in hardware,

engineers must carefully balance the

throughput and latency, and moni-tor the amount of hardware resourcesused. Critical path highlighting is anew capability that provides actionableinformation on potential bottlenecks inthe system. Using the post-synthesis

information generatedby the synthesis tool,HDL Coder annotatesthe critical path tim-ing in the Simulinkmodel. Engineers canutilize this informationtogether with pipe-lining techniques topartition their designs,reduce the critical pathlatencies, and infer theuse of dedicated DSP

resources available onmany FPGAs. Figure 7shows the same lter

design, with the criticalpaths automaticallyhighlighted, along withestimated latency foreach path segment.

As mentioned above, pipelining isone of the key techniques that engineersutilize to address critical path latencies.One of the well-known challenges with

pipelining is that parallel paths may haveunmatched latencies, which can lead to

unexpected or unwanted system behav-ior. Distributed pipelininga techniqueemployed often to address this prob-lemcan now be automated. By choos-ing this option, engineers can automati-cally retime the model and balance thelatencies introduced by pipeline registersacross relevant parallel paths.

In the past, these types of designiterations and trade-o evaluations

have required a signicant amount of

time and eort. Recent enhancements

include a Workow Advisor console that

enables engineers to go through designiterations much more quickly and in anintuitive manner. This is especially help-ful to those that are not experts in HDLprogramming, but need to take advan-tage of FPGA processing. In addition

to using critical path highlighting anddistributed pipelining, engineers canalso examine an automatically generatedresource utilization report to monitor thetype and number of critical hardwarecomponents being used and determinethe best architectural choice for a given

situation by quickly iterating throughseveral viable design options.

Accelerating design across teams

Todays engineering managers face thechallenge of coordinating geographi-cally dispersed teams that are workingon dierent parts of an overall system

using dierent disconnected tools. In

many cases, system-level designs arebest done in graphical environments,while some lower level details are bestexpressed as text in MATLAB or C. This

paper presented some key recent devel-opments that improve eciencies across

various stages of the design ow.

For algorithm design, System objectsare a key new development in modelingand simulating signal processing and

Figure 5: Input (left) and output (right) power spectral density plots showing the

results of low IF image rejection.

Figure 6: A symmetric xed-point FIR lter modeled in

Simulink.

System Design



communicationssystems. Severalhundred ready-to-use signal process-

ing and commu-nications Systemobjects are nowavailable in MAT-LAB. Further, Sys-tem objects supportxed-point arith-metic, and they canbe integrated withSimulink or used forautomatic genera-tion of C code.

SimRF-featuringcircuit envelopesimulation technol-ogy- is an importantnew tool for moreecient system

architecture ows.

It enables engineers to model RF andbaseband system components in a uni-ed environment and perform true multi-

frequency simulations.

To improve the design iteration cycletimes for hardware design, there are sev-eral recent developments in HDL Coder,including workow advisor, critical path

highlighting, distributed pipelining, backannotation, and resource utilizationreports, which provide critical actionableinformation on system performance anda streamlined workow framework and

for hardware developers.Whether the teams are small or large,

geographically distributed or located inthe same oce, engineering organiza-tions can apply some of these technolo-gies to remove discontinuities in theirworkow, and by so doing, streamline

and accelerate the development of com-plex signal processing and communica-tions systems.

Figure 7: Symmetric xed-point FIR lter showing critical

paths and estimated latencies.

System Design

Peregrine introduces UltraCMOS 10 technology tosolve challenges of RF front-end IntegrationPeregrine Semiconductor hasannounced the UltraCMOS 10 platform,

the latest advancement in companysUltraCMOS technology.

UltraCMOS 10 RF SOI delivers both

exibility and unparalleled performance

for addressing the ever-increasingchallenges of RF front-end design. Itoers the performance of UltraCMOS

technology with the economies of SOI,

and it delivers a more than 50-percentperformance improvement over compa-rable solutions.

The versatile 130 nm UltraCMOS

10 technology delivers the supportneeded for the latest generation ofLTE-Advanced smartphones and, forthe rst time, will allow the company to

deliver cost-competitive products for3G smartphones.

Peregrine is enhancing a long-termrelationship and leveraging a new onefor the UltraCMOS 10 introduction

Soitecs breakthrough semiconductormaterials coupled with tier-one fabGLOBALFOUNDARIES custom fabri-cation ow.

Smartphone manufacturers face anumber of tough design challenges,including balancing performancerequirements with cost and maintainingconsumers signal quality and data-ratespeeds despite the increasing number

of frequency bands and volumeof data. Mobile Experts Prin-cipal Analyst of Radio Accessand RF Semiconductors JoeMadden oers his perspective

on the challenges and growthcurve of the smartphone marketby stating, The iPhone 5S hasmore than double the frequencybands than the iPhone 5, andthis is just one example of howdramatically the requirementsfor smartphone componentsare increasing. LTE units are

expected to grow from 150million in 2012 to 1.2 billion in2018 (42 percent CAGR). PeregrinesUltraCMOS 10 technology will outpace

these increasing performance needsso consumers will continue to seeimproved connectivity.

The UltraCMOS 10 130 nm gen-eration delivers the industrys bestRON COFF performance and enables

improved performance and scaling.The RON COFF gure of merit is a ratio

of how much loss occurs when a radio

signal goes through a switch in its ONstate (RON, or on-resistance) and how

much the radio signal leaks throughthe capacitor in its OFF state (COFF,

or o capacitance). The RON COFF

performance metric for UltraCMOS 10

technology is 113 fs. This is a ve-fold

improvement over the rst generation

released by Peregrine 10 years ago.It represents Peregrines expertise inusing best-in-class engineering meth-odologies and materials to lower inser-tion loss without sacricing isolation

performance. In addition to improvedRON COFF performance, UltraCMOS

10 platform leverages Peregrinespatented design technology, which

delivers linearity of more than 75 dBmat 900 MHz and equates to higher datarates and improved co-existence forconsumers.

www.psemi.com



Signal and spectrum

analyzercharacterizes wideband and pulsed

signals continuously up to 67 GHz

A high-end signal and spectrum ana-lyzer, the FSW67 from Rohde & Schwarzfeatures a frequency range up to 67 GHz,plus an integrated preamplier up to

67 GHz as well as an analysis bandwidthas high as 320 MHz.

The analyzer helps developers per-form complex measurement tasks inthe microwave range for aerospace &defense applications and wireless com-munications.

The FSW67 claims to be the onlyinstrument on the market to cover thefrequency range from 2 Hz to 67 GHz ina single sweep. It simplies test setups

and does away with external harmonicmixers requiring no complex cabling.Image frequencies and other spuriousemissions caused by harmonic mixingare suppressed.

Thanks to its analysis bandwidth of upto 320 MHz, the FSW67 also measureswideband, hopping and chirp signals.Until now, this required complicated testsetups consisting of a digital oscilloscopeand a downconverter, for example.

Users can now easily perform spec-trum measurements and modulationmeasurements in the 60 GHz band. This

makes the FSW67 ideal for the develop-ment, testing, verication and produc-tion of transmitters and components forradar applications, satellite and militarycommunications systems. The analyzeralso provides valuable assistance whenperforming development tasks relatingto fast wireless communications based,for example, on WiGig (IEEE 802.11ad) orWirelessHD.

The FSW67s integrated preamplier

up to 67 GHz makes it very sensitive evenin this high frequency range. The small-

est of spurious signals will be detected,and noise gures of components will be

measured with high precision. Featur-ing a phase noise of -111 dBc (Hz) at10 kHz oset from the carrier at 67 GHz,

the analyzer oers a high dynamic range

even for measurements close to the car-rier. This keeps inherent instrument errorsespecially low during signal analysis. TheFSW67 also provides high reproducibility

of results.The integrated multistandard radio

analyzer (MSRA) measures spectrum andmodulation parameters of signals withdierent modulations simultaneously, and

also correlates these signals in time. Withthe MSRA function, users can eciently

analyze how and why dierent signals

aect each other.

www.rohde-schwarz.com

Modular USB scoperange expandswith 20-GHz electrical, 9.5-GHz

optical sampling units

Pico Technology, designers of USB modu-lar scopes that use PCs or laptops for dis-play and control functions, has expandedits range with the PicoScope 9300 SeriesTDR/TDT sampling oscilloscopes, for usewith repetitive signals.

The 9300s can perform time-domainreectometry and transmission mismatch

and network analysis on high-frequencycables, PCBs, backplanes and intercon-nections. Their built-in dierential fast

edge generators have a rise time of 65 psat up to 6 V (PicoScope 9311) or 40 ps atover 250 mV (PicoScope 9312, via plug-inpulse heads), providing a typical distance-to-fault resolution down to 10 mm.

The PicoScope 9300 Series are theonly compact, full-featured PC-basedsampling oscilloscopes on the market,claims Alan Tong, Managing Director, PicoTechnology. Their specications and fea-tures are a match for traditional full-sizedbench top instruments but at a fraction ofthe cost.

The scopes also have LAN and USBinterfaces, and advanced large-screendisplay features such as colour anddensity proling, multiple trace windows,

histograms, multiple measurementsand statistics. With a sampling rate of 1

Msample/s, they can build waveformsand persistence displays faster than othersampling oscilloscopes.

The small footprint of the PicoScope

9300 scopes allows them to be positionedclose to the device or port under test, onthe bench or in the eld, without pull-out

sampling modules or lossy extensioncables. Specication highlights include:

17.5 ps input rise time, dual 16-bit, 60 dBdynamic range ADCs, 5 ps/div dual time-base, 14 GHz trigger bandwidth, built-inclock recovery up to 11.3 Gb/s, and timeinterval resolution of 64 fs. Typical inputnoise is 1.5 mV RMS at full bandwidth,with trigger jitter of 1.8 ps RMS and recov-ered clock jitter of 1 ps RMS.

The companys PicoSample softwarehas been updated, extending the rangeof controls with intuitive graphics, click-and-drag operations and measurementlabels to simplify and speed up opera-tion. The exible layout displays only the

controls and menus you need, leaving themaximum possible space for your data.A suite of measurement and analysisfunctions contains 61 math operations,138 automatic measurements and 167standard comms masks from 1.54 Mb/sto 12.5 Gb/s. PicoSample 3 is compat-ible with all 32-bit and 64-bit versions of

Microsoft Windows from Windows XP toWindows 8.

www.picotech.com

Handheld analyserpulse measurements simplify

radar eld testing

Agilent Technologies has introduced apulse measurement option for its FieldFoxhandheld analyzers that is designed tofurther simplify radar eld testing. With the

new pulse-measurement option, FieldFoxanalyzers allow users to carry a singleinstrument into the eld to verify and mea-sure radar pulse characteristics, S-param-eters, spectrum analysis and transmitterpower. Moreover, all measurements madewith FieldFox are consistent with those ofbenchtop analyzers.

The FieldFox pulse measurementoption eciently characterizes radar

signal quality by leveraging Agilent U202xpeak-power sensors (available in 18- and40-GHz models). Working together, the

pulse measurement mode and U202xenable maintenance crews to check radarsignal quality without having to carry aheavy benchtop instrument into the eld.

www.agilent.com

Products


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Low loss 4x2 hybrid

diplexerfor low PIM head end DAS

applications

Microlab, a Wireless Telecom Group com-pany, is adding a new hybrid diplexer to itspopular hybrid combiner product line. TheCM-20 is an integrated 4x2 hybrid multi-band combiner with a unique design thatcombines two low band signals within 698to 960 MHz with two high band signalswithin 1710 to 2170 MHz. This congura-tion allows combining of multiple carrierfrequencies onto a common antenna.Perfect for combining LTE-700-MHz,SMR-800-MHz, or Cellular-850-MHz withPCS-1900-MHz, and AWS-2100-MHz.This product is packaged in a compactdesign with either N-type or 7-16 DINfemale connector interface.

Capable of handling power levels up

to 50 W per input, this assembly inducesvery little passive intermodulation (PIM)distortion, says Karl Hricko, ProductManager. This is a versatile combiner/diplexer assembly combining multiple highand low band frequencies. The CM-20 canbe utilized as a multi-band neutral hostpoint of interface building block in DAStrays and DAS interface panels.

Multiple CM-20 assemblies canbe custom congured into 19 rack

mountable trays to suit your installa-tion requirements. Microlabs CM-20 ismanufactured in the USA. They are 100%

tested to meet a guaranteed PIM level of-153 dBc or lower.

www.microlab.fxr.com

Online thermal analysis

toolestimates accurate MMIC pack-

age bottom temperature

Custom MMIC has launched a free, easy-

to-use, web-based thermal analysis toolwhich tackles the problem of estimat-ing the rise in temperature between theambient surrounding and the bottom ofa packaged MMIC when attached to aprinted circuit board (PCB).

Until now, engineers generallyassumed these two temperatures werethe same, with the PCB acting as aperfect heat sink. The only other option, a

detailed analysis of the problem, requiredsophisticated thermal simulation soft-ware that was often expensive and timeconsuming.

However, Custom MMICs new onlinecalculator provides an easy and fast wayof estimating the rise in temperaturewithout the need for a full 3D thermalsimulation environment. With this tool,engineers can now develop a reasonableestimate of temperature at the bottom ofa package based upon the constructionof the PCB.

Users simply select the package type,the power dissipation inside the package,the PCB board material, the via construc-tion, and the base plate temperature(typically 85 C). The calculator thendetermines the temperature rise throughthe PCB to the bottom of the package,under the following assumptions: thePCB is plated with 1 ounce copper (1.4mils thick), the package is attached to thePCB with solder (2 mils thick), and thebase plate is an ideal heat sink.

www.CustomMMIC.com

Location-aware IoT

prototyping kitwirelessly connected

The companies, u-blox and ARM havejointly released a exible and easy-to-

use prototyping kit for designing wire-lessly connected, location-aware internetdevices: the ARM mbed-enabled u-bloxC027 Internet-of-Things (IoT) starter kit.

The C027 delivers out-of-the-boxwireless internet connectivity based on acompact u-blox 2G, 3G or CDMA cellularmodem plus global positioning module.

Together with the ARM Cortex-M3 32-bitprocessor and access to all the resourcesof the ARM mbed project, the kit enablesdevelopers to quickly move prototypesof intelligent ARM-based technology intoproduction-ready designs.

The C027 kit measures only 54 x98 mm, it contains a u-blox SARA GSMor LISA UMTS/CDMA cellular modem,a MAX GPS/GNSS positioning module,

and an ARM 32-bit Cortex-M3 micro-controller with 512k of Flash Memoryand 64kB RAM, user programmable viaUSB. CAN bus and Ethernet interfacesare provided. The board also providesdirect connector with 22 GPIOs to access

components via I2C, SPI, UART, and I2Sdigital audio.

The hardware is supported by theopen-source ARM mbed developmentplatform (http://mbed.org) which providesfree software libraries, hardware designsand online tools for professional andrapid prototyping of ARM-based designs.

www.u-blox.com

Power amplierscover select bands from 20 to

100 GHz

The HMPA and HHPA series of mediumand high power ampliers covers select

bands from 20 to 100 GHz. A wide varietyof gain and bandwidth combinations areavailable to provide the designer with asolution for most applications.

Custom designs are available and inmany cases NRE is not required. MMICtechnology is exclusively employed forhigh reliability and repeatability. Eachpower amplier contains a voltage regu-lator and bias sequencer allowing theuse of a single bias voltage to power theamplier, saving the user the complica-tion of providing this circuitry.

The ampliers can be used in radar

or communications systems transmit-ters and also as gain blocks in LO chains

and test equipment. Low noise amplier

stages can be combined with the power

amplier stages for high gain/high P1dBperformance. The power ampliers can

also be packaged with other functions forcustom congurations.

www.hxi.com

Products



Products

Myriad RF connector

boardfor multiple FPGA platforms

A multi-carrier FPGA connector board foreld programmable RF transceiver sys-tems has been launched to signicantly

cut the cost of RF product development.The ESO-001 board is a joint develop-ment between eld programmable RF

chip developer Lime Microsystems,distributor Azio Electronics and FPGAsystem designers E-Elements. It will besold via the Azio website sales portal.

The twin-standard mezzanine boardsupports both DE0-Nano and FMC FPGAinterfaces, enabling it to link the major-ity of eld programmable RF boards

including Limes development platform,Myriad RF with both Xylinx and AlteraFPGA developer kits. The launch enables

wireless networks of almost any size andcomplexity to be easily created on anymobile standard or frequency.

The board also integrates USBfunctionality enabling you to connect itstraight to a PC or Raspberry Pi, enablingthe PC itself to act as the baseband.

www.limemicro.comwww.azio-tw.comwww.e-elements.com/tw

WPC 1.1 wireless powerreceivertargets portable applications

Integrated Device Technology hasannounced a wireless power receivermeeting the Wireless Power Consortiums

(WPC) 1.1 Qi specication and opti-mized for high-volume portable consumerapplications.

The IDTP9025 is a single-chip wireless

power receiver IC certied to meet therequirements of the WPC 1.1 specica-tion, oering improved foreign object

detection (FOD) compared to earlier

versions of the standard. The highly-integrated device includes an onboardsynchronous full-bridge rectier and low-

resistance low-dropout (LDO) regulator,

enabling customers to achieve excellentpower transfer eciency with minimal

external component count and boardspace. The high-eciency, cost-eective

design is ideal for use in high-volumeportable devices where battery life andphysical size are a primary concern, suchas in smartphones, tablets, and relatedaccessories.

For added control, IDTP9025 iscapable of passing communication andpower transfer information to a localmicrocontroller, as well as fault and safetymonitors, through the integrated I2C port.This allows the customer to build customcontrol algorithms and user interfaces toenhance the user experience.

www.wirelesspowerbyidt.com

Long range wireless

transceiver platformladdresses IoT communications

Semtech has introduced theSX1276/77/78 end-node wirelessnetwork components, which integratethe companys new LoRa (long range)technology.

The SX127x platform incorporatesLoRa (long range) spread spectrum tech-

nology in addition to the traditional GFSKmodulation. Spread spectrum technologyhas been used in other applications for anumber of years but has not been avail-able until today as a low-cost solutionsuitable for sensor networks.

Using the LoRa technology, theSX127x family achieves a range of morethan 15 km in a suburban environmentand 2 km to 5 km in a dense urban

environment while operating under US,EU, Chinese and Japanese regulatorylimits. Most deployed systems for meter-ing, security or industrial automation arelimited in range to 1-2 km in a subur-ban environment. The additional rangeprovided by LoRa eliminates the need forrepeaters in these applications, signi-cantly simplifying the system design andlowering the total cost of deployment.

The SX1276 covers all the major sub-GHz frequency bands while the SX1277is a cost-optimized version targeted atapplications that utilize data rates from5 kbps to 40 kbps such as securitysystems. The SX1278 is optimized for therapidly growing smart meter market inChina using the 470-510 MHz band.

All devices deliver over 100 dBof blocking immunity to out-of-bandinterfering signals, which is a 15 dBadvantage over competing devices.Additionally, the SX127x family has a25 dB improvement over FSK devices forrejecting in-band interfering signals.

www.semtech.com

Software-dened dual

transceiver chipltunable over 70 MHz to 6 GHz

The AD9361 RF agile transceiver fromAnalog Devices provides up to threetimes the noise performance of alterna-tive solutions and signicantly reduces

BOM cost. It comes with design kit, and

FPGA rapid prototyping environment toreduce design times and risk.

The AD9361 is a monolithic software-dened radio chip that contains two

complete transmit and receive channels,can operate anywhere in the spectrumfrom 70 MHz to 6 GHz, and with chan-nel bandwidths from 200 kHz to 56 MHz.In designing it to enable programmableradio applications that operate over awide range of modulation schemes andnetwork specications such as defence

electronics, instrumentation equipmentand communications infrastructure. TheAD9361 is supported by a wide range

of design resources to expedite time tomarket including a software design kit andFPGA mezzanine card (FMC) to rapidlydevelop software dened radio solutions.

The transceivers integrate an RF frontend with a selection of low-noise-ampli-



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ers, exible mixed-signal baseband

section, frequency synthesisers, two ana-logue-to-digital converters and two directconversi

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