FAQ

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…

This passive beamforming topology is not well known but is widely used — a common situation in the RF world. For many years, radar applications defined much of the world of directional antennas. These antennas were designed with a fixed directivity or rotated in a steady pattern at a known rate, as seen in Figure…

Beamforming uses phased array antennae systems to focus the wireless signal toward a specific receiver or target instead of an omnidirectional broadcast. Combined with massive multiple input / multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology, beamforming is a key enabler of faster data rates and higher device densities supported by 5G networks compared with 4G technology. The…

Integration and test issues with Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN) arise from their multi-vendor architecture. O-RAN consists of separate elements, such as radios, baseband units, and software, that can be sourced from different vendors. O-RAN was developed to promote greater flexibility, competition, and cost-efficiency compared to proprietary RAN alternatives. The elements are complex sub-systems that…

Fiber is required to deliver low latency, which is crucial for a 5G fronthaul between the base station and the core network. Several fiber options can increase installation density and/or flexibility in this fronthaul. Common choices include bend-insensitive fiber (BIF), OM5 fiber, ultra-low-loss (ULL) fiber, and reduced-diameter fiber. Each offers different performance tradeoffs for specific…

A scheduler dynamically allocates resources, including time, frequency, and power, to serve user equipment (UEs) connected to a base station (gNB) on a 5G network. Delivering high-quality service (QoS) to diverse 5G use cases, such as ultra-reliable Low-Latency Communication (uRLLC), Massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC), and Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), is critical. Scheduling is not explicitly…

High-frequency signals, like those used in 5G communications, are reflected by impedance discontinuities. Their shorter wavelengths can change their impedance. When a signal arrives at an impedance transition, part of it is absorbed and transmitted, and part is reflected. The strength of the reflection depends on the magnitude of the impedance mismatch. The phenomenon of…

All options are deployed when dealing with 5G radio thermal issues in base stations and handsets. Depending on the circumstance, thermal challenges are addressed using a combination of passive and active thermal management, packaging and hardware design improvements, and advanced software. This article presents a brief overview of this complex landscape. Due to the increased…

5G and IoT applications can involve high densities of devices operating on similar frequencies. Designers of electronic devices regularly pay close attention to minimizing the generation of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and ensuring electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). Minimizing electromagnetic susceptibility (EMS) can also be important for 5G and IoT devices to protect them from potential cumulative effects…

Microcontrollers and wireless modules combine to add connectivity and theft-prevention features to IoT devices for automotive, industrial, medical, and smart-home use. Many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) integrate theft-prevention tracking capabilities into their IoT devices. This article reviews key trade-offs and considerations for selecting wireless tracking technologies and highlights the crucial role microcontroller units (MCUs) play…