Will 3G LTE give mobile devices a new edge?
May 1, 2007
Ashok Bindra, Editorial Director With competitive pressure building from mobile WiMAX and ultramobile broadband, supporters at the Third Generation Partnership Project are looking beyond the current 3G wireless technologies, such as wideband CDMA, which were developed for a mixture of voice and data communications over the same wireless network. ...
Mobile applications continue to spur advances in TV tuners
Apr 1, 2007
Ashok Bindra, Editorial Director As digital technology permeates the mobile TV space, designers are combining advances in CMOS and silicon germanium BiCMOS processes with digital architectures and proprietary algorithms to deliver tuners that support multiple bands of frequencies and handle numerous standards with ultralow power consumption....
Leveraging SiGe bipolar to push silicon RFICs into the millimeter-wave spectrum
Mar 1, 2007
Ashok Bindra, Editorial Director While the silicon CMOS process has made significant progress in terms of integrating RF functions on-chip and delivering complete system-on-a-chip solutions for cellular handset and Bluetooth applications, the frequency covered is limited to the lower echelon of the microwave spectrum....
Benefits of CSS technology in European DBS systems
Mar 1, 2007
By Bill Windsor and Peter Wong This article addresses the system design challenges and performance requirements of European DBS systems using CSS technology....
Meeting mobile WiMAX performance requirements
Feb 1, 2007
By David Patterson and Lars Johnsson This article discusses a new-generation chipset that is designed to meet the performance demands a mobile WiMAX handsets and laptops....
Arrival-time detection reduces PLL jitter
Feb 1, 2007
By Wen Lin Careful attention to delay matching and harnessing the properties of metastability in logic circuits can stabilize the output of a single-ended charge pump, thereby reducing voltage-controlled oscillator phase noise in a phase-locked loop....
Key semiconductor technology trends to watch
Jan 1, 2007
Ashok Bindra, Editorial Director To address the demanding requirements of the emerging wireless, mobile and wire-line applications, semiconductor suppliers continue to refine older technologies while developing new technologies. As a result, new trends will emerge in both discrete device and IC technologies....
Slimmer portable electronics spur integrated power management
Nov 1, 2006
Ashok Bindra, Editorial Director As the wireless and cellular communications explosion is driving advances in semiconductor processes and RFICs, power management is also reaping the benefits of such progress. ...
Mobile application reference design accelerates development
Oct 1, 2006
By Ron Stieger and David Brooke Market requirements for consumer product categories such as smart phones, portable media devices and personal navigators demand increasing battery lives, shrinking product packages, and decreasing price points. Embedded designers need to seek innovative approaches to meet these requirements....
Silicon timing clocks are getting sophisticated
Oct 1, 2006
Ashok Bindra, Editorial Director Whether it is a microprocessor-based control circuitry, RF transceiver for wireless communications, or a linecard for optical networks, clocks are needed as timing circuits to perform functions like synchronization, distribution, control and protection. They are critical components when it comes to overall system performance. Over time, these simple discrete components have become quite sophisticated....
Design and performance of precision miniature TCXOs
Sep 1, 2006
By Steve Fry This article will describe the current state-of-the-art in TCXO temperature-compensation
technology and the associated crystal resonators....
CMOS RF transceiver chip tackles multiband 3.5G radio system
Apr 1, 2006
By Kiran Konanur Board space and cost are among the concerns for manufacturers of next-generation multimedia, thin-profile mobile phones. With the advent of HSDPA networks, wireless carriers are anxious to capitalize on increased data throughput in these devices. Thus, driving the need for higher integration, robust architectures, and receive diversity in RF transceiver design....
Power management alternatives for RF portable devices
Feb 1, 2006
By Pedro Pachuca and Laurent Gauthier Several solutions have been found to reduce power consumption at the silicon
level for RF products, including remote controls and RFID systems. For instance,
implementing power management features is one way to extend battery life.
The data manager and strobe oscillator power management features combined
with the systems control can offer substantial reduction in power consumption.
This article will describe the power management features and their impact
on the RF frame, transmission and reception, power consumption, and its
cost-effective results....
