What’s new at IMS2012

What’s new at IMS2012

This year’s International Microwave Symposium (IMS2012) is being held in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, from June 17 to 22. It coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S), which will be celebrated in various ways at the symposium. Below are just a few products that will be shown. For additional related news plus more products shown at IMS2012, visit my column at www.eebeat.com/?author=5 during the conference.

Showcased parts

TriQuint Semiconductor (Booth# 1815) will present a pair of best-in-class ultra-low-noise single-ended amplifiers for 3G/4G cellular base station frequencies, the TQP3M9036 (0.4-1.5 GHz) and TQP3M9037 (1.5-2.7 GHz). Although highly integrated and fully matched, the parts deliver a noise figure of less than 0.5 dB while providing 19 dB of gain minimum. Samples are now available.

TriQuint’s TQP3M9036/37 ultra-low noise amplifiers

Hittite Microwave (Booth #1701) will showcase the HMC6000/6001 silicon transceiver chipset, which targets 60-GHz applications such as: metrocell/picocell backhaul, WiGig (IEEE 802.11ad) multi-Gbit/s solutions including wireless cable replacement (HDMI, USB 3.0, DisplayPort), wireless docking stations, video/magazine kiosks and wireless sensors. The HMC6000 transmitter IC can translate analog baseband in-phase and quadrature signals to a selected channel in the 60-GHz band, requiring only an external crystal oscillator.

Hittite’s HMC6000/6001 silicon transceiver chipset

The HMC6000 transmitter IC includes a low-phase-noise frequency synthesizer for tuning across the 57 to 64-GHz band in 500 or 540 MHz steps depending upon the reference input frequency. The HMC6001 receiver IC operates with single-ended input signals from a selected channel in the 60 GHz band and downconverts them to differential analog I and Q baseband signals.

Analog Devices (Booth #1725) will spotlight complete system solutions and demos of new offerings, including RF/IF amplifiers, frequency synthesizers and data converters, including the industry first ADL5324 half-Watt RF driver amplifier with dynamically adjustable bias and extended temperature range for wired and wireless applications. In addition, ADI will demo the ADRF660x series of mixers and ADRF670x series of modulators, which achieve a breakthrough level of integration, enabling LTE and 4G base station manufacturers to realize an unprecedented 60 percent reduction in board space and a significant savings on BOM costs.

At the Agilent booth (#1015) you will see the EXG N5171B,EXG N5172B, MXG N5181B, and MXG N5182B X-Series signal generators which the company claims provide unmatched performance in phase noise, output power, ACPR, EVM, and bandwidth. The MXG delivers phase noise performance of –146 dBc/Hz at 1 GHz and 20-kHz offset, and a spurious performance of –96 dBc at 1 GHz.

Agilent Technologies MXG and EXG signal generators

Both the MXG and EXG feature low EVM, output power up to +27 dBm, and ACPR of up to 73 dBc (W-CDMA test model 1, 64 DPCH).

Anritsu (Booth #807) will be showcasing its MS2830A Signal Analyzer and VectorStar Broadband ME7838A system. With extended frequency range to 43 GHz, the MS2830A can measure Tx characteristics of mobile backhaul signals used in the microwave band, as well as second-order harmonics in digital terrestrial and satellite broadcasting systems up to 36 GHz. The ME7838A has industry-best broadband frequency coverage — starting at 70 kHz and operational from 40 kHz to 125 GHz — as well as best-in-class dynamic range (108 dB at 65 GHz and 107 dB at 110 GHz) and measurement speed (55 ms for 201 points).

The OX-501 mini OCXO from Vectron International (Booth #1300) combines a small footprint with high stability, providing 20 ppb over the full industrial temperature range in a compact industry-standard 9×14-mm package. The OX-501 bridges the gap between AT cut based TCXOs and larger OCXO designs and provides improved phase noise and short-term stability.

Vectron’s OX-501

Teseq (Booth #82) will showcase the PMM 9180 digital EMC/EMI receiver module that provides a frequency range from 6 to 18 GHz. It is ideal for use in commercial test labs and by in-house manufacturers’ labs. It features a high speed optical interface, an operating temperature of –5° to 45°C, a measurement accuracy of +2.0 dB and a maximum input level of 137 dBµV without damage. It is fully compliant with CISPR 16-1-1 and MIL-STAD.

Christina Nickolas IMS2012 (www.ims2012.org) will be held at Palais des congrès de Montréal in Canada during Jun 17-22.