Pasternack Blog

Though transmit/receive modules (TRMs) have been used for some time in active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar technology, the benefits of phased array antenna and multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) for 5G applications have brought this technology to the mainstream. Given that phase array antennas for millimeter-wave 5G may employ up to, and possibly beyond, 64 antennas elements ..

Given the stringent timing requirements of 5G network and wireless applications, RF oscillator performance is of increasingly critical importance. Noise and phase noise are among the most significant of these requirements, as these parameters have the greatest impact on communication signal quality and receiver capability. Though noise and phase noise have always been RF oscillator ..

A communications transceiver performs the task of converting digital or analog signals to RF, transmitting those signals, and receiving incoming signals for conversion back to digital or analog signals. Hence, the key components of a communications transceiver are the modulation/demodulation circuitry, transmitter, and receiver. Depending on the architecture of the communications transceivers, direct digital synthesizers ..

Though highly sensitive receivers require low noise amplifiers (LNAs) that are also sensitive to extremely weak signals, this sensitivity can also put the receiver front end LNAs at risk of desensitization, latent performance degradation, or destruction. In the presence of a signal strength at the input of an LNA that exceeds the input signal power ..

Coaxial assemblies are nearly ubiquitous for RF/microwave applications, with the exception of applications that require waveguide or planar transmission lines for efficiently conducting RF signals between components and devices. Hence, coaxial assemblies are found in use cases including within an assembly, bench-top instrument/device, indoor, outdoor, in aircraft, land-mobile vehicles, machinery, robotics, spacecraft, satellites, and more. ..

In many high-frequency applications, SMA RF cables are essential for transmitting reliable signals. Known for their small size and high performance, SMA RF cables are widely used in industries such as telecommunications, aerospace, and defense. With a standard 50-ohm impedance, these cables ensure excellent signal integrity, making them an indispensable solution for various RF applications. ..

Pulsed radar are used in a variety of applications for weather sensing, marine sensing, aerospace navigation, and defense. Critical to pulsed radar performance is the behavior of the radar’s RF front-end hardware. Though pulse radars have advanced significantly in the past several years, with deep digital integration, the RF front-end hardware of these radars is ..

In wide-band microwave systems there is a tendency for the gain to roll-off at higher frequencies, reducing the overall gain-flatness of the system due to the negative gain slope of signal chain components. Active devices, such as amplifiers tend to exhibit a negative gain slope, as well as passive components, such as connectors, adapters, coaxial ..

RF Electromechanical switches are a key active device in many signal chains, including time-domain duplex communications and pulsed radar applications. Such switches can be as simple as a 3-port toggle switch, or single pole double throw, or more complicated as double pull switches or single pole switches with more than 10 poles. A main benefit ..

Both RF limiters and Attenuators reduce the power of an RF signal. However, they do so in different ways that are key to understanding their use. These components are often used to protect sensitive RF components and devices.There are also a wide range of RF limiters and attenuators that also operate various ways that may ..