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WiMAX 101 The Evolution of WiMAX
October 14, 2009 9:18 am | Articles | CommentsWith networks built around an infrastructure of base stations and subscriber stations like WiMAX, the size of the infrastructure and the number of deployments is a key consideration. John Schwartz, Digi International It is always interesting whenever a new standard is adopted or starts to gain some ubiquity in the marketplace.
State-of-the-Art IC: Transmitter in Ultrasound Devices
October 14, 2009 9:18 am | Articles | CommentsLower voltage IC technologies now enable ultrasound receiver chips with unprecedented high gain and low noise numbers. By Ismail Oguzman and Arash Loloee, Texas Instruments click to enlarge Figure 1. Typical block-diagram of a complete medical ultrasound system.
Bringing the Real World into the Lab for 4G Wireless Testing
October 2, 2009 8:51 am | Articles | CommentsFailure to test base-station or mobile device receivers under realistic conditions can add significant risk in terms of support costs, churn, and operational costs. By Arashk “Ash” Mahjoubi-Amine, Spirent Communications click to enlarge Figure 1.
Challenges of LTE Basestation and Handset Testing
August 13, 2009 7:18 am | Articles | CommentsWith the pressure on infrastructure equipment vendors to deliver quickly to market, structured, incremental and flexible test programs are essential for the development integration, verification and optimization of LTE infrastructure. By Phil Medd and Nick Carter of Aeroflex Test Solutions click to enlarge Figure 1.
Dual Channel MIMO Measurements for WiMAX™ Wave 2
June 26, 2009 12:31 pm | Articles | CommentsBy Benjamin Zarlingo, Agilent Technologies Inc. In designing, troubleshooting and optimizing WiMAX Wave 2 systems, a variety of dual-channel measurements can provide essential insight into their operation and performance. click to enlarge Table 1.
Radio Channel Emulation Challenges in 3GPP LTE
June 26, 2009 6:55 am | Articles | CommentsSecuring product performance in the field by using laboratory channel emulation can give a competitive edge to companies that use these solutions. By Janne Kolu, Elektrobit Corporation click to enlarge Figure 1. Emulation of a radio channel in the laborotary conditions.
Simultaneous Multimode RRH Design Made Easy
June 26, 2009 6:54 am | Articles | CommentsDiverse modulation formats and sampling rates between various standards make designing common building blocks challenging. Deepak Boppana, Altera Corporation click to enlarge Figure 1. Farrow Filter Structure. Remote radio heads (RRH) technology with support for simultaneous operation of multiple air-interface protocols is an emerging product requirement for operators.
Next-Generation Wireless Sensing is Moving Forward
May 27, 2009 7:31 am | Articles | CommentsWith the integration of MEMS technology in the remote, motion signatures can be digitized for the game control. By Michelle Kelsey, Freescale Semiconductor The evolution of gaming is on its way - Freescale's accelerometer, MCU and radio portfolio enables an ideal chip set for low power with high integration.
It's in the Tag: The Importance of Considering Power Efficiency when Choosing a Real Time Location System
May 27, 2009 7:31 am | Articles | CommentsFor a location system to deliver a return-on-investment, a critical mass of assets must be tagged for tracking. By Steve Jackson, RadarFind Corporation Figure 1. Status switches on RTLS tags. While more organizations are realizing the value of investing in a real time location system, demonstrating the return-on-investment is critical to garner broad support.
Electronic Packaging RF SiPs Demand Early Packaging Focus
April 8, 2009 6:48 am | Articles | CommentsBy considering packaging in the early stages of product development, design teams can determine the best architecture for their particular application. By Ralph Ebbutt, Maxtek Components Corp. click to enlarge Figure 1 - An example of a system-on-chip (SoC) device.
Remote Possibilities
April 8, 2009 6:48 am | Articles | CommentsUsing advanced battery technologies to unlock the dynamic growth potential of remote wireless sensors used in "smart infrastructure" and related applications. By Sol Jacobs, Tadiran Batteries Contrary to all the recent economic news, the February 17, 2009 edition of The Wall Street Journal contained an upbeat article by Michael Totty entitled "Smart Roads.
Femto Mass Market Mobilization
March 16, 2009 7:03 am | Articles | CommentsBy Todd Mersch, Continuous Computing So here we are in the second half of 2008 — why are femtocells not more widely deployed in our homes? When are we finally going to get five bars in the family room? And what’s keeping us from quicker YouTube downloads in our kitchens? click to enlarge Figure 1.
Testing LTE and WiMAX OFDM/MIMO-Based Systems
March 6, 2009 6:55 am | Articles | CommentsThe introduction of new radio technoloiges, like OFDM and MIMO, in LTE and WiMAX systems has created the need for new types of test equipment. George Reed, Azimuth Systems click to enlarge Figure 1. Three methods of testing transmitter and receiver performance: lab-based, direct cable connectivity, over-the-air testing and lab-based, connection through a channel emulator that simulates real world conditions.
Designing Handsets with Modularity
March 6, 2009 6:55 am | Articles | CommentsBy Danny Tseng, Cypress Semiconductor Designing a platform with modularity in mind is one approach that can shorten design time as well as enable easier feature upgrades. click to enlarge Figure 1. Architecture modularization of a mobile handset.
Low Cost FPGA-Based HD/SD SDI Transceivers
February 25, 2009 10:46 am | Articles | CommentsThe recent advent of low-cost FPGAs equipped with high-performance transceivers and DSP blocks will greatly reduce the build and deployment costs of a video broadcast system. By Shakeel Peera, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation click to enlarge Figure 1.
Noise Elimination Power Converter Control Circuit
February 25, 2009 10:46 am | Articles | CommentsGrounding and care in layout is the key to keeping noise out of the control circuit and allowing correct operation. Grounding and care in layout is the key to keeping noise out of the control circuit and allowing correct operation. By John Bottrill, Texas Instruments click to enlarge Figure 1.
GPS Environmental Challenges Drive Common Test Practices
January 30, 2009 9:05 am | Articles | CommentsA receiver's position accuracy is a fundamental challenge of satellite navigation system. As a result, GPS receiver designers must perform a combination of measurements to ensure the device will perform as expected. David A. Hall, National Instruments Geocaching involves discovering various "caches" whose coordinates can be found on the Web and whose contents are located all over the world.
F-RAM Moves to Automotive Infotainment Applications
January 30, 2009 9:05 am | Articles | CommentsProtecting infotainment dynamic data is essential. The unique advantage of F-RAM guarantees higher availability & performance. By Duncan Bennett, Ramtron International The use of non-volatile ferroelectric RAM (F-RAM) in automotive applications began with airbag applications. This type of safety critical application was click to enlarge Figure 1.
The Development of a Standard Hand Phantom for Wireless Performance Testing: Part 2
January 14, 2009 10:32 am | Articles | CommentsThis is part two of a three part series. Read part one By Dr. Michael D. Foegelle, ETS-Lindgren; Kevin Li, Nokia Corp.; Andrew Pavacic, Paul Moller, Motorola, Inc. Defining the Grip An informal survey of advertised handsets on the market revealed that they could generally be separated into two categories by width.
Testing Challenges of SDR's
December 30, 2008 10:24 am | Articles | CommentsA new modeling methodology combines FPGAs and detailed circuit-level modeling in a design-to-test flow. By Greg Jue and David Leiss, Agilent Technologies click to enlarge Figure 1. This high-level design flow begins with the design of key algorithms which can be quickly evaluated in simulation to verify system performance with just a handful of simulation blocks.
Using Next-Generation Non-Stationary Noise Suppression to Enhance Voice Quality
December 30, 2008 6:41 am | Articles | CommentsEmulating the way that the human hearing system characterizes and groups the audio stream into sound sources proves to be an extremely efficient and accurate way to suppress both stationary and non-stationary noise. By Lloyd Watts, Founder and CTO, Audience click to enlarge Figure 1a.
Developing a Standard Hand Phantom for Wireless Testing
November 10, 2008 11:23 am | Articles | CommentsA standardized hand phantom used together with the SAM head phantom for radiated performance testing mirrors real-world use. Dr. Michael D. Foegelle, ETS-Lindgren, Kevin Li, Nokia Corp., Andrew Pavacic and Paul Moller, Motorola, Inc. Figure 1. The resulting kinematic CAD model.
User-Programmable FPGAs Improve Wireless Test Applications
September 22, 2008 12:45 pm | Articles | CommentsAs wireless standards continue to evolve, software-defined ?test systems will continue to evolve with them. By Luke Schreier, National Instruments As the proliferation of wireless standards continues, the idea of using software-defined measurement capability has become a necessity as opposed to a matter of click to enlarge Figure 1.
Testing LTE
September 22, 2008 12:45 pm | Articles | CommentsTesting LTE Design simulation can be useful in addressing LTE design and verification challenges but requires consideration in selecting the appropriate model abstraction for the given phase of the design cycle. By Greg Jue, Agilent Technologies Emerging standards such as 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) present a number of design and verification challenges for system engineers.
Testing MMS Functionality in Mobile Phones
September 8, 2008 6:45 am | Articles | CommentsThorough and accurate Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) testing is critical to the successful deployment of any mobile phone offering a MMS capability. By Scott Grimmett, Agilent Technologies Over the years, the mobile-phone usage model has changed quite dramatically. No longer is it used solely for its voice services.
