Understanding the role and implications of impedance in RF transmission lines and antennas is vital to successful system performance. The traditional matching approaches are still in wide use, but new application requirements and advances in components, modeling and simulation, and manufacturing precision have also provided new ways to address the matching problem. Q: What is […]
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VSWR and impedance, Part 5: Making a match
Understanding the role and implications of impedance in RF transmission lines and antennas is vital to successful system performance. The importance of impedance matching, minimizing reflections, and keeping a low VSWR means these topics have been studied extensively, ranging from analytical perspectives through many physical designs and implementations. This section looks at some matching techniques. […]
VSWR and impedance, Part 4: Measurements
Understanding the role and implications of impedance in RF transmission lines and antennas is vital to successful system performance. The previous section looked at the basics of VSWR. This section looks at two approaches to measuring impedance and VSWR. Q: What do engineers and users need to know? A: For some applications, such as connecting […]
VSWR and impedance, Part 3: Implications
Understanding the role and implications of impedance in RF transmission lines and antennas is vital to successful system performance. The previous sections looked at the basics of impedance and VSWR. This section looks at the implications of VSWR measurements. Q: Why should I care about reflected waves due to impedance mismatch and resultant non-unity VSWR? […]
VSWR and impedance, Part 2: Reflected power
Understanding the role and implications of impedance in RF transmission lines and antennas is vital to successful system performance. Part 1 of this article looked at the basics of impedance matching and power transfer. This part looks at the closely related topic of nominal impedance and VSWR. Q: Why all this worry? Aren’t RF systems […]
Single-turn potentiometers, encoders excel at rugged industrial apps
TT Electronics announced the addition of three new product families and three series expansions to its variable resistor portfolio. Portfolio additions include one new encoder series and two new single turn potentiometer families, along with the broadening of three existing potentiometer families. These new products are ideal for rugged industrial applications such as welding equipment […]
Software tool helps designers place antennas in design
Antenova Ltd has created a new software tool to help designers place antennas in a wireless design. The tool displays the optimum position for embedded antennas on the PCB, depending upon the dimensions of the PCB and the specifications of the antennas. It places each individual antenna on the PCB in the best location for […]
Understanding radio frequency communications
Wireless communication has been around since the 18th century when James Clerk Maxwell first proposed that electromagnetic waves can be generated and can travel through free space. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz conducted the experiments in which he demonstrated the generation, transmission, and reception of electromagnetic waves, which became the basis of Radio Frequency communication. Wireless communication […]
Front-haul ICs drive 50 Gbps PAM4 5G wireless optical modules
Semtech Corporation announced sampling of the newest member of its Tri-Edge CDR portfolio, the GN2256. Integrating Semtech’s proven Tri-Edge CDR platform with a differential EML (Externally Modulated Laser) driver, the GN2256 is the industry’s first such IC solution to enable 50Gbps PAM4 Fixed-WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing), Tunable WDM and Silicon Photonics optical modules. As with all […]
HIgh-frequency, high-bandwidth RFICs and MMICs target RF and microwave
CML Microcircuits has announced the SµRF, a new range of high frequency, high bandwidth RFICS and MMICs targeting RF and mmWave applications. As wireless communications move further into the GHz range, the need for high-quality RF building blocks to enable high bandwidth and low latency is growing rapidly. The global demand for faster downloads and […]