Products
by updating the firmware and installing a
license from a web browser, eliminating
the need for factory upgrades and reducing
downtime to a minimum.
The MT8862A is a WLAN test set that
supports IEEE802.11ac/n/g/b/a. It uses
built-in communications protocols and
performs tests of WLAN device RF TRx
characteristics, including Tx power, modulation
accuracy and Rx sensitivity.
www.anritsu.com
Molded ceramic
packages
meet GaN Mil-Std requirements
up to 18 GHz
StratEdge Corporation offers an offthe
shelf line of molded ceramic packages
that can be configured to meet the
requirements for chips with frequencies up
to 18 GHz, including gallium nitride (GaN)
devices. These molded ceramic packages
come in over 200 standard outlines,
dramatically increasing the packaging
options for GaN devices. StratEdge also
offers complete automated assembly and
test services for these packages, including
gold-tin solder die attach.
GaN devices are traditionally packaged
in the company’s LL family of high-power
laminate copper-moly-copper (CMC)
base packages with a ratio of 1:3:1 CMC.
These packages accommodate frequencies
up to 63 GHz. In the molded ceramic
package, the standard Kovar® base
can be replaced with CMC. For frequencies
of 18 GHz or less, using a molded
ceramic package provides the advantages
of hermeticity, a broad array of outline
packages, and lower cost, while the CMC
provides the heat dissipation needed for
GaN devices to meet requirements for
aerospace applications. For SMT applications,
these packages can be manufactured
with gull-wing formed leads. They
offer flexibility because it’s inexpensive to
change the lead design to match an existing
footprint.
www.stratedge.com
Bluetooth 5 SoC
targets cost sensitive, mass-market
wireless devices
Nordic Semiconductor has announced
that its ‘nRF52810 Bluetooth Low Energy
(Bluetooth LE) System-on-Chip, a memory
optimized addition to the company’s
nRF52 Series high-performance Bluetooth
5-certified SoCs, is now available in
high volume.
The full production volume launch of
the nRF52810 SoC is accompanied by the
introduction of Nordic’s S112 SoftDevice
(Nordic’s latest RF Bluetooth 5 (Bluetooth
LE) protocol software or ‘stack’), and a
new version of Nordic’s nRF5 Software
Development Kit (SDK), a productionready
development tool with full peripheral
driver support for the nRF52810 SoC.
The nRF52810 SoC has the lowest
power consumption in the nRF52 Series
and brings the 2 Mbps higher throughput,
improved coexistence, and increased
broadcast capacity with advertising extensions
benefits of Bluetooth 5 to the most
cost-sensitive, high-volume applications.
The nRF52810 SoC retains the
64 MHz, 32-bit ARM Cortex M4 MCU of
other nRF52 Series SoCs maintaining the
performance demanded when employing
functionality such as LE secure
connections and 2 Mbps data processing.
In addition, the nRF52810 SoC’s
Flash-based software architecture brings
over-the-air (OTA) application upgrades
to products previously excluded by cost
constraints.
The S112 SoftDevice occupies just
100kB, ensuring ample spare memory for
a wide range of mass-market Bluetooth LE
applications and robust support for OTA
application software upgrades.
www.nordicsemi.com
Contactless NFC module
extends secure payment to
wearables
The ST53G System-in-Package from
STMicroelectronics combines a miniaturized
and enhanced NFC radio with
a secure banking chip in a 4- x 4-mm
WFBGA64 package.
The simplicity of this all-in-one module
helps card manufacturers to quickly introduce
functional and attractive wearables
that can range from fashion items to onetime
devices like event wristbands. The
ST53G meets all relevant card-industry
standards, including EMVCo compliance,
ISO/IEC-14443 NFC card emulation, and
MIFARE ticketing specifications.
The ST53G can host ready-to-use
STPay smartcard operating systems and
optional VISA/Mastercard/JCB-certified
banking applications pre-loaded on the
secure microcontroller.
www.st.com
GaAs MMIC mixers
boost dynamic range in radar and
RF communications applications
Custom MMIC has announced three
GaAs MMIC mixers for C-band, X-band,
K-band, and Ka-band applications.
The CMD251C3 fundamental mixer,
CMD252C4 I/Q mixer, and CMD180
fundamental mixer deliver best-in-class
isolation and conversion loss performance
while offering low input power requirements.
These latest MMIC mixers help
increase dynamic range while reducing LO
power and subsequent filtering requirements.
They are ideal for high-performance
commercial, military, aerospace,
and satcom applications.
The CMD251C3 is a general purpose,
fundamental double-balanced MMIC
mixer in a 3- x 3- mm leadless surface
mount package that can be used for
up- and down-converting applications
between 4 and 8.5 GHz (C-band). This
fundamental mixer exhibits high LO to
RF and LO to IF isolation of 36 dB due to
optimized balun structures, and can operate
with an LO drive level as low as +15
dBm. This GaAs mixer also demonstrates
a wide IF bandwidth of DC to 2.2 GHz and
a very low conversion loss of only 7 dB.
The CMD252C4 is a 4 GHz to 8 GHz
(C-band) compact I/Q MMIC mixer in a 4-
x 4-mm leadless surface mount package.
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