 Compact Antenna Now Available With SMA Connector
Antenna Factor has released the HW series 1/2-wave center-fed dipole antennas and 1/4-wave monopole antennas that are now available with standard SMA connector terminations. HW Series antennas are well suited for applications requiring a compact, low-cost antenna solution. These antennas attach using an FCC-compliant RP-SMA connector or the newly available standard SMA connector. Alternate connectors and custom colors are available for volume OEM orders. The antennas are available in standard center frequencies of 315, 418, 433, 868 and 916 MHz. The 868 and 916 MHz versions are 1/2-wave center-fed dipoles while the 315, 418 and 433MHz are all 1/4 wave monopoles.
HW Series antennas are immediately available at $4.98 in volume quantities.
 Andrew Packs More Backhaul Power in Smaller Microwave Antenna
Wireless operators continue to grapple with how best to enlarge their backhaul networks to accommodate ever-increasing voice and data traffic while reducing capital and operating costs.
The Andrew ValuLine Vision one-meter microwave backhaul antenna with its robust electrical design enables radiation pattern performance and gain levels that are similar to a 1.2 meter antenna and compliant to the highest regulatory standards. This means that:
- Substantial CapEx and OpEx reductions should materialize,
- Many 1.2 m antenna links can now be closed with the new 1 m antenna, and
- High gain is achievable with a smaller size antenna.
The antenna’s smaller size and improved physical design have benefits including lower freight and storage costs, less tower loading, lower tower leasing costs, easier installation, and a lower price.
The Andrew ValuLine Vision one-meter antenna’s innovative mount design gives unencumbered access to the rear of the antenna, making radio equipment and waveguide cable installation easier. The mount allows for gradual adjustments, simplifying antenna alignment even under adverse conditions. Andrew’s design innovations include a lower volume shipping package that also helps reduce freight and storage costs. Andrew’s ValuLine Vision antenna is made to withstand winds up to 250 kilometers per hour and boasts radiation pattern performance that exceeds ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) Class 3 performance.
Andrew’s ValuLine Vision one-meter antenna will be available from the company’s four microwave manufacturing facilities worldwide. Single and dual polarized models are available. The new antenna will support customer radios and couplers, as required.
 SkyCross iMAT Antennas Enable Simultaneous Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Operation in Netbooks
SkyCross, an antenna designer and manufacturer, has expanded personal connectivity by enabling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to operate simultaneously in netbooks. Because 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth operate at 2.4 GHz, interference between the two RF signals previously made using both functions at the same time nearly impossible, particularly when the two antennas were in close proximity inside a device.
Today’s chipsets and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo Mini-Cards are capable of supporting both operations simultaneously, so the antenna has been the industry’s roadblock. Now, iMAT is the industry’s first single-antenna solution that offers greater than 35 dB of isolation between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to enable coexistence even in compact devices such as netbooks. Netbook shipments are expected to double in 2009; going from 16.4 million to nearly 33 million units.[1] Many netbooks shipping today are equipped with Bluetooth, so the coexistence challenge is particularly prominent in this growing segment.
Some designers attempt to solve the problem by separating the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas in hopes that the physical space will provide enough electrical isolation for them to both operate simultaneously. This approach delivers poor performance, particularly in small devices such as netbooks and customers are often disappointed as a result. Other netbook designers avoid the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence challenge altogether by disabling one operation before the other can start. This approach doesn’t allow customers to use a wireless headset while making a Skype call, listen to wireless stereo speakers while streaming audio, or even use a wireless mouse or transfer pictures from one device to another while online. Prior to the iMAT solution, these suboptimal conventional antenna approaches to an important industry-wide challenge put the end-user satisfaction in this market segment at risk, resulting in increased customer support calls, along with netbook and Bluetooth accessory product returns.
Today, SkyCross uniquely solves the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence challenge with its award-winning iMAT technology. iMAT is a design technique enabling a single antenna element with multiple feed points to behave like multiple antennas, each with very high isolation. iMAT has multiple benefits: it can consolidate the number of antennas required in a device, reduce the specific absorption rate (SAR), eliminate RF components and more. In this instance, iMAT enables a single antenna to have one feed dedicated to Wi-Fi and another feed shared with Bluetooth, which uses the chipset providers’ time-sharing and adaptive frequency hopping algorithms. The very high, built-in isolation between the two feeds enables both to operate at the same time in a very small space. In addition, the iMAT single-antenna solution reduces the number of conventional antennas by a factor of three, which reduces antenna space and system cost in netbooks to facilitate supporting 3G features.
“Chip makers are very encouraged by this breakthrough, and manufacturers are already planning to use the SkyCross iMAT solution in their future products,” said Joe Gifford, Vice President of SkyCross. “Our antennas differentiate netbook brands by maximizing their connectivity range and enabling optimal simultaneous functionality at an equivalent price, which pleases consumers. Seamless Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence opens the door for new applications and a user experience that will propel netbook brand loyalty.”
SkyCross successfully demonstrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence with the iMAT single-antenna 35 dB solution using 802.11n Bluetooth Mini-Card modules in several brands of netbooks in an office environment. The iMAT single-antenna solution yielded 50 percent improvement in data throughput, further range, and nearly perfect Bluetooth audio with a MOS (mean opinion score) of five as compared to the conventional three-antenna solution in netbooks.
1 “Mini-Note (Netbook) Shipments to Double Y/Y to More Than 30M Units in 2009, While Notebook Shipments Flatten.” Display Search. July 13, 2009. Accessed November 9, 2009
 New Metal-Based Inks Enable Cost-Efficient Production of Flexible Antennas for RFID Tags
CypoPrint is the name of a new range of metal-based inks from BASF destined for the production of flexible antennas for RFID tags. The non-conductive CypoPrint inks from BASF offer a cost-efficient and more eco-friendly alternative to the current etching technique and represent the first solution for the additive manufacturing of RFID antennas.
The benefits of additive manufacturing compared with aluminum etching are the efficient use of raw materials and the lower environmental impact. The CypoPrint inks replace the expensive, conductive printing pastes previously used in the additive process and substantially reduce the manufacturing costs of RFID antennas. This makes the additive manufacturing process commercially viable for the first time thanks to CypoPrint. The non-conductive CypoPrint inks developed by BASF are applied to polyester films using a standard printing process and then given a conductive metallic coating in an electroplating system for flexible electronics.
“Because the CypoPrint inks are converted and made conductive in the electroplating stage, we refer to them as ‘seeder’ inks. CypoPrint is the ‘seed’ that we apply to the object where we later want to ‘grow’ copper conductor structures,” said Dr. Christoffer Kieburg, project manager in BASF’s metal systems business. “Another customer benefit is the variable layer thickness and conductivity of the antennas, which can be easily adapted to the various memory chips during electroplating.”
In addition to the CypoPrint seeder inks, BASF’s portfolio also includes a primer to achieve even better adhesion of the antenna structures formed on the film.
RFID tags, consisting of a flexible antenna and a chip, are mainly used for ticketing systems, baggage tracking at airports, and logistics. Around 3 billion tags are manufactured globally each year, and demand is continuing to rise.
 CIP Technologies Releases World's First 60 GHz Reflective Electro-Absorption Modulator
CIP Technologies, a company with a long history of photonics innovation, has released a combined modulation and photodetection transducer capable of working at up to 60 GHz.
The new reflective electro-absorption modulator (R-EAM) meets customer needs for a low insertion loss, low drive voltage optical modulator in applications such as remote antennas and radio-over-fiber. The product is particularly significant for those interested in the 28 GHz LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service) band, as well as experimental and research work in bands up to 60 GHz. The combination of modulation and photodetection in a single device means that both up and down links can be duplexed over a single fiber, leading to cost reductions and capacity improvements for network operators.
The device, 60G-R-EAM-1550, has an insertion loss of 3.6 dB and provides digital optical modulation at 50 Gbit/s and RF modulation over its 60 GHz bandwidth. It operates across the 1550 nm C-band with a low chirp parameter, and is intended for use with a laser diode source. The photodetection capability is state of the art, providing 1.0 A/W responsivity and 43 GHz bandwidth.
The standard package with RF connectors is suitable for use with external RF components and drivers; customer-specified variants of the product can be provided on request.
 Luxul Wireless Expands Patented Shock-WAVTM Signal Booster Family
Luxul Wireless, a producer of high-performance wireless signal technologies, has released Shock-WAV Wi-Fi Signal Boosters. Indoor and outdoor rated versions of Shock-WAV Signal Boosters are now available for use in licensed 4.9 GHz Public Safety wireless network installations, as well as in unlicensed 5 GHz WLAN applications. A 2.4 GHz indoor version is also now available for use with switches or wireless access points that implement the 802.3af/at Power-Over-Ethernet (POE) standard. These new additions to the Shock-WAV Signal Booster family are available now through the Luxul Wireless worldwide distribution and reseller network.
“Luxul’s patented Shock-WAV Signal Boosters represent the most advanced and efficient wireless signal enhancement technology on the market,” said Jeffrey Curtis, president of Luxul Wireless. “Our customers have demanded Shock-WAV availability in other wireless bands and applications. We’re pleased to make that happen as part of Luxul's aggressive growth strategy.”
In contrast to traditional analog amplifier technologies, Shock-WAV Signal Boosters implement a patented digital Automatic Gain Control (D-AGC) technology that monitors incoming signal packets and automatically makes adjustments to maintain constant power output levels. This ensures the cleanest signal possible and results in a higher performing wireless network. Shock-WAV Signal Boosters are also bi-directional, delivering 15 dB or more of receive gain. This is an important feature for increasing the range of mobile client devices or remote peripherals such as security cameras that traditionally have weak internal antennas. When combined with Luxul's family of X-WAV Circular Polarized (CP) Antennas, Shock-WAV Signal Boosters deliver an optimal wireless networking experience.
Powerwave Continues to Drive Innovation with New Crossband Combiner/Diplexer Featuring DC Auto-Sense Capabilities
Powerwave Technologies, Inc. has unveiled its new CM1007 Crossband Combiner/Diplexer solution, which provides OEMs and wireless network operators with the ability to support new 3G and 4G wireless protocols while leveraging existing wireless network infrastructure, delivering significant time-to-market and cost efficiencies.
The newest addition to Powerwave’s broad product portfolio of crossband combiners/diplexers has improved efficiency, offering low insertion loss and high RF power handling, along with isolation and intermodulation distortion for optimum signal quality.
This product is well suited for OEMs and network operators looking to combine LTE700/850 MHz systems with AWS/DCS/PCS/UMTS systems and (optional) AISG RET commands onto a common feed line. With a low channel pass band of 698-894 MHz and a high channel pass band of 1710 to 2170 MHz, the low channel product is designed to accommodate LTE700, European Digital Dividend and 850 MHz systems while the high channel offering accommodates AWS/DCS/PCS/UMTS systems.
DC Auto-Sense is offered as an option on the CM1007, which allows one product to be purchased for base installations regardless of DC/AISG feed options from different base transceiver stations deployed at different sites. Sniffer (coupler) port and layer 1 AISG parallel-to-serial internal modem are additional options which solidify Powerwave’s leadership in site solution products.
Combiners and filters are one of the most ubiquitous pieces of wireless infrastructure in existence today. Over the years, Powerwave has had a pioneering role in filter design, and is responsible for several key innovations. All told, the company has fielded millions of products to date, supporting all manner of air interfaces and technologies.
“The migration to 4G networks is driving a move toward reusing existing sites and feed lines to avoid the added cost for leases,” said Khurram P. Sheikh, Powerwave’s chief product and development officer. “Our newest combiner enables OEMs and operators to derive higher power output and improve range and capacity with improved efficiency and reduced power consumption, while leveraging existing infrastructure for reduced environmental and cost impact.”
Limited quantities of beta units are available now, with general availability slated for mid-January 2010.
 Yokowo Compact Spring Pin Connectors (Pogo Pins) Offer Optimum Contact
With its line of spring pin connectors (pogo pins), Yokowo has responded to today’s demand for more compact and reliable portable electronics. These pin connectors (pogo pins) enable designers to reduce the size and weight of their designs, while improving overall performance.
Features contributing to reliable performance include a long working stroke, multiple contact points (with narrow pin-pitched effect), stable contact pressure, improved durability cycles and a simplified mating connector (both one-touch and slide). The connector features gold plating (40µ”) and all of its materials meet lead-free requirements.
When compared to traditional leaf spring connectors, Yokowo spring pin connectors (pogo pins) are more compact and durable. And, various combinations of spring pins allow for greater flexibility of the shape and the size of the holder. Unlike leaf connectors, the mating terminal of Yokowo’s product can be flat, enabling one-touch (slide) connect and disconnect. A slightly inaccurate distance between the PCB and the body does not affect performance.
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