Wireless InSite 4.0 from Remcom lets you simulate wireless channel conditions and analyze them based on antenna movement. Remcom announced a new version of Wireless InSite 3D Wireless Prediction Software with advanced capabilities including time-based mobility, lunar propagation modeling, and wideband ray-tracing with S-parameter outputs. Release 4.0 expands support for simulating dynamic and complex RF…

A vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) relies on a three-dimensional (3D) structure for light emission. A photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) incorporates a 2D photonic crystal (PhC) layer to manipulate light emission. Those structural differences lead to different performance and application possibilities. An obvious difference between the various types of semiconductor lasers is the beam…

A new integrated thin-film directional coupler is now available in a 2816 (7×4 mm) surface-mount package. This component is compatible with systems operating in the very-high-frequency (VHF) and ultra-high-frequency (UHF) bands. It is designed to support RF and microwave applications that require compact form factors, high reliability, and consistent electrical performance. The device supports operation…

Discontinuous Reception (DRX) is a power-saving mechanism in LTE  networks designed to extend the battery life of user equipment (UE), such as smartphones. This FAQ will begin by explaining the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) role in LTE from the DRX perspective. Then, it will illustrate the complete DRX process with short/long DRX cycles and…

The STA Automation Package automates testing that provides repeatability while minimizing manual intervention. The latest flavors of Wi-Fi bring a significant jump to performance over previous iterations. Testing, however, proves difficult because every Wi-Fi installation is different. Spirent Communications has introduced the Octobox STA Automation Package, which automates Wi-Fi 6/6E and 7 over-the-air (OTA) testing.…

Precoding is a signal processing technique that modifies the phases and amplitudes of wireless signals to combat channel distortion and optimize the quality and reliability of data transmissions. It can support beamforming in multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) and massive MIMO antenna arrays. This article reviews some of the benefits of precoding, looks at how it’s implemented,…

The Si-Fly cable assembly from Samtec lets you mount connectors to a board while going under cooling components. High-speed digital ICs such as microprocessors, GPUs, ASICs, and electrical-to-optical converters need clean signals, and they generate lots of heat. To minimize the PCB traces where signals travel, engineers need to mount cables as close to the…

A conceptually simple passive component is used to combine or split DC and RF signals; however, its implementation has many subtleties. The RF world, operating at hundreds of megahertz and into the gigahertz range, is known for having many unusual components. Some are unique to that higher-frequency world, while others appear at lower frequencies but…

SPARK Microsystems introduces its second-generation ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless transceiver, the SR1120. The SR1120 extends SPARK’s established performance leadership in data delivery while enabling significantly lower power consumption, latency, and better interference robustness compared to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 2.4 GHz radios. SPARK UWB’s data throughput leadership versus Bluetooth has doubled from 20X to 40X higher data rates (40.96…

San Francisco — At last year’s OFC 2024, the next speed of optical connections (1.6T) was all talk with one exception. In a back room, Keysight demonstrated a 1.6T optical link between an arbitrary waveform generator and a bit-error-rate tester. The demonstration was a transmission of raw, unstructured bits. One thing was clear, AI was…