The MS1130 and MS1150 oscillators from Mixed-Signal Devices use digital architecture to produce low-noise, low-jitter clock signals. Mixed Signal Devices (MSD) has introduced two clock generators designed for synchronizing signals in datacenters, telecom networks, and other digital communications systems. The MS1130 (10 MHz to 1 GHz) and MS1150 (20 MHz to 2 GHz) use a…
Butler Matrix drives Wi-Fi and other phased-array antennas
This passive device lets you steer signal beams for over-the-air wireless test systems. Vaunix Technology, a manufacturer of modular RF/wireless test equipment, has introduced the LBM-7250-4 Lab Brick Butler Matrix, a beamforming tool that works with phased-array antennas to steer beams between transmitters and receivers. The Butler Matrix has four passive inputs and four outputs…
6G needs less, 6G needs more
From radios to core networks, a consensus is forming that 6G needs to offer more focused technology than 5G, or is it more technology? Energy, spectrum, and AI top the list of what 6G needs. EE World spoke with four engineers who attended the March 3GPP meeting in Korea. Here’s what they had to say.…
Software simulates RF conditions from the Earth to the Moon
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…
Spirent adds Wi-Fi 6/7 automated tests to Octobox
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.…
Cable assembly brings signal close to high-speed digital devices
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…
OFC 2025: AI, power, and 1.6T
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…
OFC 2025: Interoperability demos
The Ethernet Alliance and Optical Internetworking Forum featured interoperability demonstrations at data rates up to 800 Gbps. San Francisco — With so many companies and products comprising the optical networking ecosystem, interoperability is paramount. All those semiconductors, optical modules, switches, routers, servers, test equipment, and the software that makes them function must first provide their…
DSL router uses parts from old phones
A consortium of companies found a clever way to recycle phone parts, showing how reusing electronics can improve sustainability. Electronic waste is a huge environmental problem of which disposed cell phones are a major contributor. Think about it, all that metal, plastic, and working semiconductors go into landfills. Some materials, such as gold from PCB…
Add Wi-Fi 6 and BLE 6 to IoT devices
The Talaria 6 SoC from Innophase IoT combines an Arm MCU, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth Low Energy 6.0, and RF amps into a single package. IoT devices such as cameras, smoke alarms, environmental monitors, drones and audio devices increasingly need wireless connectivity. Innophase IoT has introduced the Talaria 6 family of SoCs improve on the company’s…