MicroApps Seminars

The high frequency circuit materials used in PCB applications for RF and high speed digital, typically have a nominal Dk value from about 2 to 10.  High Dk material is subjectively defined as having a Dk of 6 or higher.  One benefit of using high Dk circuit materials is the ability to shrink wavelength-based circuit features,  although at millimeter-wave frequencies, this can be problematic.  Several tradeoffs will be considered in this presentation as well as evaluating different circuit structures which can benefit more from high Dk materials. 

A rapid development in 5G/6G communication technologies requires new efficient materials enabling higher miniaturization and packaging degree. Precise characterization of dielectric properties across substrate surface is therefore of crucial importance to ensure all components (e.g. antenna arrays) designed and manufactured on a single substrate are operating with an expected performance. An automated 2D SPDR scanner setup for surface-wise measurements of complex permittivity of dielectric substrates will be presented. 2D maps, obtained with uncertainty 0.5% for dielectric constant and 2% for loss tangent, deliver quantitative and qualitative measures of uniformity of new LTCC and ULTCC dielectric substrates for 5G/6G applications.

This seminar presents a surface scanning technique, which utilizes a 10GHz dielectric resonator head applied for characterizing thin-film solid-state battery (TFSSB) materials. Carbon coatings are deposited on quartz substrates and subjected to low energy ion implantation (LEII). Surface resistance, as seen by microwaves, is used as an indication of the materials’ adequacy to serve as cathodes in solid state batteries.
The proposed seminar is:
- of importance to the microwave community, as it demonstrates new applications of microwave technologies in the rapidly expanding realm of batteries,
- of benefit to the seminar attendees, as it helps understanding the field-matter interactions. 

This MicroApp session focuses on calibrating USRP Software Defined Radio (SDR) devices to accurately provide data in dBm. Attendees will explore critical calibration steps for precise signal measurements, enabling reliable dBm readings using SDR devices. The session covers practical demonstrations and techniques for calibrating SDR radios against standard instruments, providing engineers and technicians with the knowledge and tools necessary for accurate signal power measurements. Participants will gain insights into the practical applications of this calibration process, empowering them to effectively leverage SDR devices for signal analysis and measurement tasks. The session targets professionals in wireless communication, signal processing, and SDR technology, offering valuable insights for accurate signal power measurements using calibrated SDR radios.

This microapps session spotlights the ease of configuration and use of two or more geographically distributed real-time spectrum analyzers operating in a synchronized way to enable time-aligned, multi-channel RF analysis. Attendees will learn how they can take advantage of Tektronix SignalVu software and portable real-time spectrum analyzers to acquire and process RF signals in real-time from multiple receivers distributed across an area, enhancing their analysis, detection, and discernment of subtle signal variations in the spectral environment.

As frequencies get higher, and on wafer pad real estate shrinks, the final probe to pad placement becomes more and more critical. 



At FormFactor we also strive to give the best positioning accuracy possible but every move entails a tolerance.



In this talk we will show approaches that are taken to dynamically adjust the geometry of probe to the pad local to the subdie itself as opposed to a single optical reference at the die. This includes sub-die with variable probe spacing and the calibration process itself.



Results will be discussed as well as any coding necessary.

Beside wideband noise amplifiers or frequency converting devices add phase noise, the so called additive or residual phase noise, to the signal path. This is even worse for power amplifiers. Designer for automotive RADAR applications at 80 GHz require an added phase noise at 100 kHz offset clearly below -130 dBc/Hz to get a good S/N for detection of small moving targets. The interferometric measurement approach in combination with a phase noise test system gives an easy way to characterize the additive/residual phase noise of amplifiers in the microwave range at 80 GHz or even higher frequencies.

The noise figure of a device provides a quantifiable measure of the noise that a DUT adds to a signal as it passes through the DUT. The measurement described here uses the Y factor technique to measure noise figure with a spectrum analyzer in combination with harmonic mixers at around 90 GHz. This technique utilizes a characterized broadband noise source, which is easy to connect and setup with the analyzer. However, with the use of harmonic mixers no preselection is applied in the RF path and the effect of unwanted interference has to be understood and minimized using appropriate filters.

In this seminar, several techniques are presented how to run production tests on printed-circuit board assemblies with spring-loaded test probes and contacts. “Conventional” spring-probes for circuit board test have been on the market for a while, however implementation of such products for tests at RF or Microwave frequencies or for high-speed applications is not straightforward. While there are on-wafer and other architectures are out there that go in the upper GHz and THz range, such solutions are not fit for production-line testing. Strategies are presented that combine “on wafer”-test concepts with “PCBA” test – to use coaxial spring-components for test.

This seminar presents new techniques for characterizing loss properties of copper foils used for the manufacturing of microwave and mmWave circuits. Two types of instruments are discussed: dual-mode Sapphire Dielectric Resonator for 13 GHz / 21GHz; and multi-mode Fabry-Perot Open Resonator for 20-40 GHz frequency band. Both techniques are applied to samples of copper foils per se, without the need for manufacturing test vehicles.  

The attendees will learn about the new techniques, as a way for evaluating the copper loss independently from e.g. substrate losses. They will also understand the underlying physics, which will be illustrated with QuickWaveTM full-wave simulations.

The Vector Channel Analyzer is a virtual instrument available on Astronics Radio Test Set products to characterize dispersive RF channels by measuring complex gain at discrete frequency points over a spectral band.  The VCA can measure transfer functions and related channel characteristics, such as group delay and impulse response, with native compensation for Doppler or other frequency offsets.  Recent developments to VCA capability include wideband spectral coverage and GPS-referenced absolute propagation delay.  These new features enhance measurement coverage in a variety of applications, in particular, Over-the-Air measurements with spatially or geographically disparate endpoints. 

This session explores the sophisticated functionalities of Tektronix DPX density triggers, time-qualified triggers, and frequency mask triggers available in Tektronix’s portable real-time spectrum analyzers. These advanced triggers offer greater confidence in isolating specific signal behaviors and anomalies in dense signal environments. DPX density triggers allow for detailed visualization and analysis of transient events. Time-qualified triggers enhance the accuracy of temporal analysis. Frequency mask triggers alert users to deviations from predefined frequency parameters. Attendees to this presentation will learn how easy it is to take advantage of these advanced triggering mechanisms to produce vital RF insights in the field.

Load pull is a common technique to understand the behavior of RF frontends with varying conditions and matchings in the target application, optimize the DUT or create accurate models. Traditional load pull is using continuous wave signals to look at the device behavior. With increasing signal bandwidths, modulated signals are being used more and more in load pull environments. In this session we will look at use-cases and a new method to run load pull testing with modulated signals.

Test engineers need a methodology to benchmark their linearization efforts. It is better if they have an ideal target reference than if they compare their work with previous art. We will present a benchmark test methodology using the Fujikura 5G FR2 Phased Array Antenna Module testing over-the-air. The ideas covered are application-agnostic, thus applicable to 5G, 6G mmWave, amplifiers, mixers, modules, or complete RF front-ends. They are also suitable for conducted measurements.

In modern design workflows required power and flexibility of EM solvers are growing at high pace. Complex problems, with large number of elements are becoming common in many scenarios.
WIPL-D regularly responds to such challenges by constant acceleration and expansion of the limits of the numerical kernel and advancements in the modeling options. Recently introduced Assembly and Scenario tools are targeting simulation of multi-antenna platforms, where some of the antenna need to be switched on, off or modified, and simulation of antenna systems with changing environment, or where a basic element of the system is replaced with a different design.

Having access to a familiar and complete RF and microwave design environment gives silicon MMIC designers capabilities such as load pull analysis, optimization, tuning, multi-tone and nonlinear noise analysis, and electromagnetic simulation, which all aid in the initial stages of the silicon MMIC design flow. In this Microapp, we will present Tektronix's use of GlobalFoundries Virtuoso process design kit (PDK) enablement for Microwave Office to investigate device characteristics, better understand performance tradeoffs, and create the building blocks of an efficient, high-performance BiCMOS output amplifier. 

This session will explore how users can harness the unparalleled flexibility of AWGs to design and execute complex radar environments with scenarios like overlapping pulses and pulse collisions, which are critical in simulating real-world conditions. We'll demonstrate how these generators allow for precise control over pulse characteristics, enabling fine pulse edge placement and timing adjustments. Attendees will gain insight into leveraging AWGs for creating highly customizable and realistic radar signal environments, paving the way for innovation and future-proofing in radar system design, validation and test.

We present and compare different electromagnetic analysis techniques to compute the radar cross section (RCS) of arbitrary shaped targets described by means of CAD files such as STL. We discuss pros and cons of direct and iterative solvers and highlight practical tradeoffs in terms of speed of the analysis and accuracy of the results. We integrate RCS analysis results into system-level models of monostatic and bistatic radar configurations. Using practical examples, a virtual prototype of the radar is used to simulate target detections while accurately modeling polarization interactions between the antenna arrays, target, and propagation channel. 

First, this talk will provide the latest update on the FR3 spectrum discussions from standard bodies (3GPP, ITU, etc.) around the globe. After that, we will offer industry views on the design considerations of the radio architectures for the frequency (7GHz-24GHz) bands and their implications on the hardware complexity, performance, and cost trade-off. We will share the comparative analysis of different radio architectures for both infrastructure and mobile devices. Studies of design for key building blocks of the RF front end will be discussed. Finally, an outlook of the FR3 development and deployment will be provided.

In today's increasingly crowded RF environment, it is often important to model multiple assets in the same scenario, including satellites, aircraft, ground vehicles, and more.  Engineers need to know when these assets are visible to one another, and when they can communicate with one another.  This last need motivates the calculation of dynamic link budgets across all the relevant asset types.  MATLAB enables a straightforward workflow to perform these calculations and to visualize the results in an intuitive, globe-based view.

This session delves deeply into the application of MATLAB connectivity for the simulation, analysis, and optimization of the Analog Devices CN0566 phase array Phased Array (Phaser) Development Platform. The integrated use of MATLAB with the reference design enables advanced signal processing, visualization, and algorithm development. The primary objective is to underscore the tangible benefits and potential applications of this integration within the specific domains of microwave and radar technologies, offering crucial insights for engineers and developers specializing in these technical areas.

This presentation will give an overview of the regulatory concerns about PFAS (PolyFluoroAlkyl Substances).  The presentation will also discuss the many ways the RF, digital and PCB industries are responding to the regulatory concerns.  Following this overview will be explanation about circuit material types that are considered PFAS and which are not.  Additionally, there will be information given for certain high frequency circuit materials which are very low loss and don’t contain PFAS.

High-fidelity simulations in the ever-widening realm of complete systems analysis requires incorporating vendor-supplied models for accuracy. However, vendors are often hesitant to share the level of detail required for complete simulations, even though detail is necessary to realize end products and systems. Cadence enables the ecosystem and supports model creators by allowing them to encrypt their geometries and protect their IP while sharing them with their customers for simulation. This presentation will demonstrate the use of these models for complete system designs and showcase some of Cadence's Clarity encrypted models that are part of a library developed by Modelithics.

A vector 2D FDTD-Bessel hybrid solver for the design and simulation of axisymmetric structures will be presented. The focus is given to coaxial connectors, horn feeds and large-scale reflector antennas for which computer effort and simulation time is decreased by few orders of magnitude compared to classical 3D problem formulation. QuickWave BOR enables analysis of structures as large as 1600 wavelengths in diameter on a moderate laptop and 6400 wavelengths on a desktop station. Moreover, simulation speed is further enhanced with multicore, GPU and multi-GPU hardware acceleration. In-house implementation takes advantage of professional line GPU cards as well as affordable low-profile gaming GPUs.

The complex modulation schemes and increased bandwidth of some 5G signals requires analysis with Real World signals and not artificial simulation envelops or multi-tone analysis to understand circuit and system performance in the deployed environment. This Micro App will review the use of lab quality signals generated for Rohde Schwartz test equipment as stimulus in simulation for individual circuits and systems. This allows designers to maximize system performance for the final electrical environment the system will be required to operate.

The increased number of satellite launches and shorter satellite development cycles are necessitating microwave component suppliers to offer space-qualified components with shorter turnaround times and reduced cost.  However, these priorities cannot compromise the stringent quality and reliability essential to space products.  Developing space-qualified products to meet the SATCOM industry’s evolving needs entails utilizing proven designs, materials, and manufacturing processes.  This talk will identify key parameters and methods, both environmental and performance, to consider when designing low cost, COTS, space-qualified microwave components.

Millimeter-wave radiometric receivers are often used to determine the temperature or emissivity of an object by measuring its radiated noise power over a wide bandwidth. The non-contact technique offers several advantages over other measurement methods, including fast measurements and high sensitivity to small temperature changes. A limitation is the need to know a priori the object’s emissivity when computing its temperature or its temperature when computing its emissivity. Presented is a method of actively measuring an object’s emissivity by illuminating it with a broad-band noise source, and measuring both its reflectivity and temperature using the radiometric receiver.

Most thermoset circuit materials used in the high frequency PCB industry will have a Dk value of about 3.0 or higher.  The high frequency circuit materials which are used with lower Dk than 3.0 are typically based on PTFE resin systems.  The PTFE based materials have excellent RF properties, however they are typically more expensive and sometimes more difficult for circuit processing than thermoset materials.  This presentation will highlight a unique high frequency thermoset circuit material with a Dk of about 2.5, very low loss and has the ease of circuit fabrication since it is a thermoset material.

A four-channel transmit, four-channel receive 3UVPX microwave tuner, digitizer and processor contained within a single 1-inch pitch chassis has been developed leveraging a multichannel high-speed digitizer integrated circuit (IC) which includes hardened digital signal processing (DSP) features. The system enables wideband digitization of 5GSPS per channel, covering a frequency tuning range between 0.1-18GHz, and is comprised of a Digitizer Base Card and a Microwave Personality Tuner. Digital offload options include on-board memory and optical Ethernet interfaces collocated with a multichannel digitizer IC on the Digitizer Base Card. Front-end networks leveraging new RFIC technology on the Microwave Personality Tuner are described.

Next generation satellite payload applications and electronic surveillance and countermeasure applications demand wide bandwidth capabilities.  Texas Instruments showcases a wide bandwidth, discrete RF sampling transceiver reference design adaptable to industrial applications, low earth orbit (LEO) space applications, and full space-qualified Geo-synchronous (GEO) applications.  The core solution employs a 5.2 GSPS ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) and a 10.4 GSPS DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter).  Interchangeable daughter cards provide clocking and power management with either industrial or space-qualified devices.  This presentation highlights operation with a 5 GHz wide modulated signal operating in the lower part of X-band.

This MicroApp session explores the integration of USRP radios with MATLAB and standard toolboxes such as LTE, 5G, Bluetooth, and SatCom. Attendees will discover how this integration facilitates advanced prototyping, testing, and analysis across diverse wireless communication standards. Practical demonstrations and use cases will illustrate how engineers and researchers can leverage this approach to expedite the development of cutting-edge wireless communication systems. The session targets professionals seeking to gain insights into the practical applications and benefits of this integration, empowering them to address complex challenges and drive innovation in the field of wireless communication.

This session introduces the integration of MATLAB and USRP radios for "war driving," capturing wireless network data and synchronizing it with GPS locations. Attendees will explore the practical application of this technology, covering signal processing, data visualization, and synchronization with GPS coordinates. The session aims to provide an overview of the technical aspects and practical applications, emphasizing the benefits of this integration within the wireless communication domain.

5G and Wi-Fi, using OFDM, provide low-cost access helping to increase digital equity, especially for those marginalized without access to fixed broadband connections. OFDM causes the signal to have a high peak to average power ratio (PAPR). Clipping peaks in power amplifiers (PA) can increase EVM and bit errors. This can be overcome by increasing PA input back-off but with the cost of lower efficiency. Communications system developers seek to balance EVM degradation with efficiency. EVM measurement can be slow and expensive. This presentation describes a practical PAPR/CCDF measurement solution that provides a fast and economical alternative to measuring EVM.

The 5G cycle is still on-going, however investments in 6G R&D from academia, public and private sectors have begun. Test and measurement companies have started developing 6G proof of concepts that will help inform the 6G standardization over the next couple years. Current consensus is that 6G shall include the lower “FR3” band and a sub-THz band (90GHz+). 
ADI has developed a FR3 Signal Chain for Wireless Test to accelerate our T&M customer’s development efforts. The design supports frequency from 6-18GHz utilizing ADI’s differentiated RF portfolio and ADI’s newest data converter, Apollo MxFE, that supports upto 8GHz bandwidths.

Rapid development of 5G/6G technologies rises the need for accurate and highly repeatable characterization of materials within microwave and millimeter wave frequency range. A family of measurement fixtures, including cavity resonators, dielectric resonators, and a Fabry-Perot open resonator, dedicated to the characterization of solid dielectrics and low-loss liquids, including coolants for high-frequency electronics immersion will be presented. Characterization in the 1-130 GHz frequency range, with inaccuracy as low as 0.5% for the dielectric constant and 2% for the loss tangent, will be discussed. Moreover, measurements of the complex permittivity at elevated temperatures will be addressed.

The I/Q Noise Cancellation removes the instrument wideband noise from the I/Q data and corrects the signal, that it only contains external noise contributions, which are not caused by the instrument. No cross correlation and multiple input paths are needed. The correction is applied on the raw I/Q data. Therefore, the corrected signal can be made available to analyzer SW applications and can improve the EVM measurement results of modulated signals. With I/Q Noise Cancellation the most stringent EVM performance requirements can be better addressed like particularly for WiFi 7 (802.11be) and 5G NR OTA test scenarios.

The mmW-OAI testbed combines millimeter-wave (mmWave) and OpenAirInterface (OAI) to create a comprehensive test environment for 5G FR2 networks. TMYTEK offers the mmW-OAI, which includes various components such as mmWave beamformers, frequency converters, and a powerful PC installed with the latest OAI stack.

The software stack comprises several components, including OAI gNB, OAI CN5G, the beamformer UHD driver, an easy-to-use dashboard, and more. This makes the testbed suitable for testing, simulating, and debugging layer-to-layer and end-to-end connections from UE to gNB, as well as to the core network. Additionally, the testbed supports the gNB and UE mmWave array antennas, enabling advanced features such as FR2 beamforming and beam tracking.

The mmW-OAI provides a versatile and customizable test environment that combines the benefits of mmWave technology with the flexibility of the OAI platform. This enables the emulation of gNB and UE, supports mmWave beamforming, facilitates frequency conversion, and provides powerful software tools for network monitoring and analysis. 

This MicroApp session explores the innovative use of AI for classifying waveform types, specifically distinguishing between 5G New Radio (NR) and RADAR signals. Attendees will gain insights into the application of advanced machine learning techniques for accurate classification and differentiation of these complex waveforms. Practical demonstrations and case studies will showcase the capabilities and challenges of AI in waveform classification, providing engineers, researchers, and professionals with a comprehensive understanding of its potential applications and benefits within the context of 5G NR and RADAR signals. The session aims to offer valuable insights and practical demonstrations for individuals interested in advanced applications of AI in waveform classification and wireless communication.

RF engineers need to squeeze the last dB of performance from their transceiver front ends.  For signals like OFDM with a high PAPR, that often means using techniques like digital predistortion (DPD) to compensate for power amplifier (PA) nonlinearities.  Historically, DPD systems have been built using a Volterra series model of the PA.  We show that an AI-based DPD written in MATLAB can reduce the adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) more than the Volterra series-based DPD.  We also describe a hardware implementation workflow, starting with the MATLAB code. 

A 3GHz filter is created and optimized in a headless, automated method in Keysight ADS.  With today's complex systems of EDA environments, foundry PDKs and tech files, and simulators, an open system of python automation is used to automate a design workflow.  It synthesizes & updates a schematic, runs a simulation, plots, and optimizes results for an RF filter.  This automated loop can then be scaled for a wide variety of headless automated engineering tasks, such as verification, statistical studies, and AI/ML training.

This presentation will discuss a highly-efficient and highly-reliable power amplifier using a bare-die direct-mounting technology and an 8-way power combiner. The most important technology to design a high-power Ka-band BUC for a satellite gateway or a satellite ground station is the high-power amplifier. Nisshinbo has been able to realize a 200W high-power amplifier with 2.5 GHz bandwidth from 27.5 to 30 GHz. We will discuss the advanced bare-die direct-mounting technology, excellent 8-way power combiner technology and some of the realized key features and how the resulting product offers benefits to the design engineer and the application.

CMOS technologies support FET devices with Ft and Fmax well beyond 400GHz, which make it possible to design RFICs operating in 5G mmWave and automotive Radar frequency bands.   We'll present the CMOS PA designs with Synopsys Custom Compiler and PrimeSim, along with the iPDKs from GlobalFoundries and TSMC process technology.   Custom Compiler is an OA-based EDA platform that can interoperate with existing schematic and layout designs in other EDA platforms.   PrimeSim supports both HSPICE and Spectre netlist formats for DC, S-parameter and Harmonic Balance simulations.  We'll discuss CMOS PA simulations including load-pull, Pout, PAE, and EVM.

Focus Microwaves’ RAPID-VT provides a flexible load pull test platform that can be used to test the very wideband communication signals supporting the latest 5G FR1 and IEEE 802.11ax standards. 

This new architecture builds on top of capabilities and performance of calibrated measurements provided by the NI  PXI Vector Signal Transceiver.

The NI vector signal transceiver (VST) is generally well  suited to test the nonlinear performance of matched power amplifiers using realistic signals. For communication applications, for example, 3GPP signals can be generated and demodulated resulting in figure of merit of the device under test, like ACPR, EVM and more,

To speed up the design – to – market cycle it is advantageous to evaluate power amplifier architectures, bias and load conditions under realistic conditions in an early stage of the design, even possibly up to the level of the transistor. In this way architectural choices can be made faster and better reducing the amount of iterations while still achieving great system level performance.

In this talk it is explained how the VST can be extended with hardware and software to assess and predict the system level performance even at the level of the power amplifier module emulating the realistic conditions that the component will face  in reality. 

Future applications in wireless communication like in the next generation communication system reach out to sub-THz and THz range with increasing bandwidths to enable much higher data throughput and sensing applications. New semiconductor technologies are researched and already available technologies are optimized for commercialization. Understanding their capabilities for wideband modulation in these frequency bands is one critical aspect. We will have a look at potential technologies and how you can test these with wide bandwidth signals at THz frequencies.

While bidirectional impedance probes have existed in microwave CAD software for some time, they have historically not accounted for the presence of feedback. In the most recent release of Cadence AWR Microwave Office, we have enhanced our impedance probe to be robust in the presence of feedback, enabling designers to run bidirectional analysis on a more complex variety of circuit topologies and to take electromagnetic coupling into account. In addition, the probe can now act as an auxiliary generator. This enables designers to seamlessly run Driving Point Admittance stability analysis in addition to Microwave Office’s previously existing techniques.

Performance requirements for microwave devices are leading to shrinking geometries, complex  structures, and new materials. Additional to increasing power densities, devices are being deployed in mission-critical applications and challenging thermal environments. Traditional design approaches optimize chip, package, PCB, and antenna. Even with high success at each step the overall end-to-end result falls far short of an optimal solution for the completed front-end module. Additionally, to describing advances in thermal imaging to address the thermal analysis challenges faced by device designers at the chip level we describe a holistic Chip-Package-PCB-Antenna vision to enable ultra-fast thermal-imaging based industrial-testing at the module level.

Digital pre-distortion (DPD) is a signal processing technique that compensates for nonlinear distortions in radio-frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs). RF PAs increase the power output in wireless base stations; however, they also introduce nonlinear distortions that may affect the quality of the transmitted signal. TI’s AFE77xxD RF transceiver with integrated DPD and Crest Factor Reduction (CFR) helps minimize these distortions, which leads to enhanced signal quality, increased system performance, and an improved use of the utilized RF spectrum. Furthermore, the AFE77xxD supports upcoming 5G deployment trends, including multi-carrier with support up to macro level output power and green initiatives.

The operating bandwidth of distributed passive microwave components, such as power dividers and couplers, is dependent on the number of transformer sections in the design, and other details. There are tradeoffs to be made in the performance of these distributed passive devices when the bandwidth is increased. The typical performance trades of distributed passive components will be outlined when increasing bandwidth to build multi-octave components.

Computer aided design and optimization of various rotationally symmetrical antennas, i.e. parabolic hat feed and ring focus antennas, circular waveguide horn antennas, can be carried out more efficiently using fast BOR (Body Of Revolution) solvers. The presentation will discuss the limitations of both the traditional 3D Finite Element Method for electrically large structures and the Mode Matching method for specific geometries. We will introduce the BOR FEM method, combining Fourier modes for azimuthal field variation and 2D FEM for transverse variation, thereby offering an ideal balance between speed and accuracy. Its implementation in µWave Wizard yielded faster calculations than 3D-FEM (1-2 orders of magnitude). Examples will be presented.

Impedance and aperture tuners allow RF and antenna engineers to support numerous frequency bands with a single antenna. This is accomplished through software-controlled chips which configure the antenna to operate in multiple bands or modes of operation.

Remcom’s XFdtd is a full-wave electromagnetic simulation tool that contains an integrated schematic editor and circuit solver. The electromagnetic simulation accounts for the full-wave interactions between the antenna, PCB, housing, and matching network layout. The schematic editor allows the multi-state tuners to be incorporated into the full-wave results and supports optimization on system efficiency. This presentation will demonstrate the advantages of using XFdtd for complex matching network design.

A 26-30GHz, USB-controlled, bidirectional, scalable 1x8 beamformer module based on an antenna array of 5mm pitch. The module can be stacked either horizontally or vertically to modularly create phased arrays of 8, 16, 32 or 64 elements horizontally or 8x8 or 16x16 configurations. Both amplitude and phase control have 6-bit resolution and beam calibration is  stored in EEPROM for fast access. The module is capable of achieving +52dBm EIRP when used in an 8x8 TX configuration. The unit can switch seamlessly between TX and RX modes and has high-efficiency internal DC-DC converters.

Phased array enables beam steering function to desired direction. Larger the antenna array, stronger and narrower the beam.



Fujikura’s 5G FR2 PAAM was designed to realize larger antenna array by tiling 8x8 PAAM units. For example, 256 antenna array, composed of 4 PAAMs, can generate narrow beam ( 7 degree). 

To cover all of direction, large number of beams will be required, and its accuracy is also important. 

We will present beam direction accuracy of 256 elements PAAM by using R&S far-field CATR benchtop to realize compact and accurate measurement. Radiation patterns measured fast time sweeps.

Fast and precise beam-steering control is an essential technology to enable high-quality communications today and in the future of mMIMO. The Fujikura 5G FR2 phased array antenna module supports ultra-fast access in 65,536 beam directions by advanced on-chip calculation mode. Beam switching and setup latency times need to be measured over-the-air. We will present techniques how to perform these mmWave measurements either using two PAAMs, or with one PAAM in radiation pattern test setups using the R&S ZNA, in demodulation setups using the R&S FSW, or in dedicated setups using R&S external front-end FE44S using the R&S benchtop CATR.

Wincal 5.0 is an extremely flexible and robust software platform for advanced calibration, analysis, and automation. Its Remoting API enables Python to act as a helper to enhance functionality and its seamlessly integrated with the FormFactor Velox prober control software for productive testing.



In this example we will show how to leverage the 4-port multi-line TRL calibration native to the Keysight PNA in conjunction with Wincal 5.0 and automate calibration both on the wafer and on ISS Substrates.



We will show how to setup the calibration on your own system and provide experimental results and comparison with other calibration algorithms.

New system-on-chip designs with integrated baseband, RF, and analog signal chains have dramatically increased the number of connections required to a single chip. In many of these types of designs, the sheer number of required standard PCB connectors cannot be supported. Borrowing an idea from high-speed digital design, RF system designers can deploy an array connector. In fact, it is possible to use the exact same array connector that was originally designed for high-speed signals for high-frequency ones. The secret is redesigning the breakout region. In this MicroApps talk, Samtec’s Kiana Montes walks you through the research, simulation, development, testing, and ultimate deployment of “Analog over Array” technology.

A compact, wide dynamic range, low noise-figure, 16-32GHz dual-channel frequency-converter module, allowing independent, simultaneous, USB-configurable RF-to-IF and IF-to-RF down/up frequency conversion, suitable for a wide range of applications, including VNA extension. A +30 to -30 dB range of gain/attenuation control of both IF and RF ports is facilitated, as well as extremely high isolation of 90dB. An extremely low phase noise LO and integrated tunable harmonic filters ensure spectral purity with spurs below -55dBc.

The module can be seamlessly integrated into automated test environments such as LabVIEW, MATLAB, Python and C.  A built-in oven ensures long-term stability and accuracy. 

Harmonic Downconverters offer unique advantages over traditional mixers for Tuned Receiver Systems.  
Details will be provided on a 2-18GHz receiver built around a broadband Harmonic Downconverter.
At the core of the Harmonic Downconverter is an LO Subsystem which incorporates a comb generator that produces a broad spectrum of even and odd harmonics.  Each harmonic converts 2 Nyquist zones of RF information to the IF baseband.  This approach greatly simplifies local oscillator design while providing extremely broad RF bandwidth and high linearity in a compact single conversion receiver.

Includes a real-world example of a Tuned Receiver that integrates a Harmonic Downconverter. 

Design Technology Co-Optimization (DTCO) integrated flows reduce development cycle time through a single environment for TCAD, SPICE, and circuit engineers that mitigates errors in the flow of information, and allows for best performance systems via mathematical optimization, or machine learning, with input parameters in device and interconnect design space, as well as layout floorplanning.
GaN HEMTs are leading candidates for high power amplifiers for 5G/6G base stations. However, GaN-based device technologies involve unintentional and intentionally introduced defect levels that present challenges beyond those in other semiconductor device technologies. Therefore, a DTCO flow approach is particularly suited for RF GaN systems.

Silicon-based integrated circuits operating at microwave and millimeter wave frequencies offer lower fabrication cost and high manufacturing scalability compared to devices based on GaAs/GaN semiconductors. In this presentation, we will describe the Cadence integrated Silicon MMIC design flow and how MaXentric Technologies achieved design success with a significantly reduced turnaround time from the initial schematic through tapeout. The flow utilizes a Global Foundries approved Virtuoso PDK used in Microwave Office to design a W-Band Silicon MMIC which was imported into Virtuoso for back-end implementation and final sign-off.

Recently developed wideband RF microwave downconverter products leverage open standards and seamlessly integrate with COTS RF System on a Chip (RFSoC) adaptable radio device products.  The combination of these modules provides the capability to simultaneously monitor the EM spectrum over the full RF operating bandwidth (0.1-18 GHz) of the downconverter.  The converter, packaged in a SOSA aligned 3U VPX form factor, offers lower SWaP-C and complexity than typical architectures used for SIGINT, EW, and Communications missions.  This talk will provide an overview of an innovative downconverter design and discuss the capabilities it offers the system integrator.

Doherty power amplifiers attain high efficiency over a range of output powers.  If you have a nonlinear transistor model, you can run load pull simulations on it and across frequency.  The resulting data can then be used to optimize impedance matching networks for Doherty power amplifiers.  This presentation shows how to do this, using a GaN FET from a Wolfspeed PDK, for a design centered at 3400 MHz.  The technique could be used with other transistors and frequency ranges.

We present a mmWave link using pSemi’s 5G radio front end and showcase a digital twin built in Simulink® for rapid prototyping and testing of different array configurations and linearization algorithms. Multiple pSemi’s compact (2.4 mm2/CH) beamformer ICs (PE188200) are paired with the dual channel frequency converter (PE128300) operating as a scalable dual polarized radio front end. The executable model of the radio expedites product development with its flexibility and scalability enabling various design of experiment (DoE), such as performance over steering angles. We will explore array-aware DPD algorithms that can be directly prototyped and tested using automatic HDL code generation.

Modern applications for frequency synthesis often demand superior phase noise, while also requiring increased frequency resolution and extremely small synthesizer step sizes.  The techniques for achieving frequency precision with small step sizes commonly rely on digital phase-lock devices.  These components, however, can compromise the critically needed phase noise performance.  Narda-MITEQ has developed methods that combine the agility of digital lock circuits with the performance of analog lock techniques.  This talk will discuss several pertinent applications where these important performance parameters are required and how the desired performance is leveraged by the system.

This presentation explores the impact of ultra-low phase noise frequency references on synthesizer performance and the improvements that can be achieved using Quantic Wenzel’s frequency reference modules. We will address the growing demand for high performance synthesizers requiring tuning speed, fast frequency hopping, ultra spectral purity, and small form factors. Additionally, we will explain the fundamentals of phase noise and uncover the advantages of adopting ultra-low phase noise technology.

LNAs and RF Switches are critical to many wireless communication applications. Nisshinbo’s RF Switches and LNAs feature low consumption current while keeping excellent RF performance, due to the uniqueness of our in-house GaAs process. In this presentation we will discuss the key features of Nisshinbo’s in-house GaAs fabrication process and how it contributes to LNA and RF Switch performance, for the benefit of the RF design engineer.