Radar has evolved from a complex, high-end aerospace technology into a relatively simple, low end solution penetrating industrial, automotive and consumer market segments. This rapid evolution has been driven by two main factors: advancements in silicon and packaging technology that has led to miniaturization, and growth of computing power that has enabled the use of […]
Read moreIn this talk, we’ll see how crosstalk, ISI (inter-symbol interference), FEC (forward error correction), and equalization have driven high speed IO away from NRZ (which should be PAM2–2-level pulse amplitude modulation) to the madness of PAM4, PAM5, PAM6, PAM-fried engineers. Along the way, we’ll investigate how simple, righteous design constraints have evolved to arbitrarily complicated […]
Read moreAs we transition from 5G buzz to 5G reality, it is getting unequivocally certain that 5G is not just the next generation wireless connectivity, but it is much more than that. Per ABI research, by 2035, the 5G industry value chain will be worth $3.5 trillion. With its distinguishing characteristics like Enhanced Mobile Broad Band […]
Read moreThere is an art and science to utilizing an electromagnetic modeling tool to analyze and optimize designs and obtain reasonable answers consistently. Session attendees will learn how to “trick” a tool into providing the most accurate insight possible for a design. We’ll talk about setup, ports, boundary conditions and other tricks of the trade that […]
Read moreDoherty power amplifiers are widely used below 6 GHz to improve Power Added Efficiency (PAE) for communications applications. Designing Doherty PAs incurs many challenges, which increase as the frequency of operation moves towards mmWave. LDMOS, which is commonly used below 6GHz, cannot be used, and more integrated approaches need to be utilised to minimise parasitic inductances […]
Read moreThere is growing need to adopt additive technologies for the production of RF/microwave electronics. This trend is motivated by the need for rapid prototyping and the production of RF systems that are flexible, lightweight, conformable and wearable. Printing RF electronics for DoD applications (e.g., radars, communication systems) is challenging since the requisite materials, components and […]
Read morePhased arrays have traditionally been used for military radar systems. While this remains a significant and growing use for phased arrays, new applications have emerged. In fact, phased arrays are being used or planned for use on a wide range of systems such as 5G, satellite communication, and ground stations. As a result, significant investment […]
Read moreA typical PCB high-speed digital design application can have tens to hundreds of decoupling capacitors for a high-speed power domain, in order to achieve a specified target impedance. Design choices for applying the decoupling capacitors include where to place them, how to connect them, what values to use, and how many to use. This presentation […]
Read moreCharacterizing PCB materials for Dk and Df of the dielectric materials, as well as the surface roughness can be challenging. A typical build will often have core and pre-preg materials with Dks that can vary by 10-15%. For low loss materials with Dfs less than 0.005, extraction of Df can be difficult. Further, separating the […]
Read moreThis short talk will look at the requirements of multigigabit signaling as related to the PCB materials available with which to fabricate these PCBs. It will draw on the more than a dozen test PCBs fabricated for the purpose of evaluating these laminates. Included will be some comparisons of laminates currently used to fabricate these […]
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