Pasternack Blog

Though not likely the original intent of the creators of the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) radio frequency bands commonly accepted throughout the world, much of the modern ISM bands usage is now low-power wireless communications. A large portion of Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology is reliant on “unlicensed” but not “unregulated” ISM bands. This is an ..

Dielectric Resonator Antennas (DRAs) are antennas formed from resonant dielectric radiators fed by a conductor carrying an RF signal. In this way, DRAs convert unguided waves transmitted by conductors to guided waves that are then emitted from the dielectric structure. As DRAs transmit through a dielectric there are no conductor losses and the potential for ..

Dielectrics are one of the three main categories of electrical materials, the other two being conductors and semiconductors. Common dielectrics used in electronic systems are ceramics, glasses, gemstones, and polymers. Dielectrics, or insulators, are described as being very poor electrical conductors, and unlike conductors, allow for electrical fields to pass through them. However, the electric fields ..

Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are the backbone of virtually all modern test and measurement equipment. These devices are responsible for converting the real-world RF signals to digital signals that can then be further processed/stored and displayed to the user. There have been significant advances in ADC technology in recent years, with much faster ADCs with higher ..

There are a wide variety of Signal/Spectrum Analyzers on the market that use a wide range of methods and technologies. Most modern spectrum analyzers use Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) to convert the time-domain signals input at the port of the spectrum analyzer to frequency domain data using Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs). Some spectrum analyzers, typically those ..

The terms Impedance Matching Pads, resistive impedance transformers, or minimum loss pads all refer to the same RF components that solve a relatively common problem in some applications that have equipment, components, and devices at different standard impedances. For example, many broadcast, TV, and military communication systems use 75 ohms as a standard characteristic impedance, ..

The main application for High Reliability (Hi-Rel) RF/microwave amplifiers is for military, defense, aerospace, and other critical applications where device reliability is otherwise mission critical. In essence, a Hi-Rel Amplifier is just an amplifier that meets one or more military standards for reliability. In order to ensure device and system reliability, the US military developed ..

For many RF test applications in the higher frequencies, such as millimeter-waves, or for high power use cases, rectangular waveguides are the interconnect solution of choice. In a similar wave to short-open-load-through (SOLT) calibration standards used for vector network analyzer (VNA) calibration with coaxial interconnect, VNA using waveguide interconnect requires waveguide calibration standards. Even with ..

There has been a general trend of radio and sensing applications shifting to higher frequencies, either to avoid interference due to the growing use of RF and microwave spectrum or to take advantage of the growing accessibility of millimeter-wave hardware. This is true for consumer, industrial, military, aerospace, and satellite communications applications alike. Regardless of ..

Though the terms single-input single-output (SISO) and multi-input multi-output (MIMO) originate with controls engineering, SISO and MIMO are now very commonly discussed in reference to RF antennas. In controls engineering, a SISO system has only one input and one output, such as a DUT with only 2-ports that you can measure with a 2-port Vector ..