MegiQ’s RF and microwave development tools are exclusive to Farnell

For the design and verification of wireless communication and IoT devices, MegiQ RF and microwave development tools are now exclusively available from Farnell.

The distributor has added the development tools to its test and measurement portfolio which includes the full MegiQ range of vector network analysers and antenna measurement systems.

MegiQ products are the most affordable professional RF development tools in the market, says Farnell, making them accessible to IoT start-ups and universities which want to fit out a teaching lab with multiple units. The measurement tools and accessories are suitable for most wireless systems and cover microwave frequencies up to 6GHz. MegiQ tools and accessories can be used for research, development, product verification and production testing with applications ranging from education and research to manufacturing, including semiconductor, automotive and telecomms equipment design.

The RF tools are designed by engineers for engineers, and are claimed to provide RF tools provide users with everything needed to design and verify wireless communication and IoT devices in an affordable package. The toolset is especially suited to the implementation of antenna and enables engineers to measure and optimise impedances and measure antenna radiation patterns, which can be a difficult, and often obscure, process, points out Farnell. All software required for use with MegiQ’s tools is included license-free and compatible for installation on any standard computer.

MegiQ’s full range of RF development tools now available from Farnell includes vector network analysers (VNAs), all with PC software to measure, store and produce graphic output. A built-in match circuit calculator and simulator for antenna circuit development is also included.

There is also a balanced calibration kit which is an interface kit for UFL and balanced VNA measurements containing SMA-UFL adapters and adapters ranging from SMA and UFL to balanced pin headers.

Also included are radiation measurement systems to measure the radiated energy from the ‘outside’ of the antenna. This measures the gain and the total radiated power (TRP) or antenna efficiency.

VNAs in the MegiQ range come with the option to add a bespoke VNA sandbox kit, suitable for students and first-time engineers. These include all necessary accessories and a step-by-step tutorial guide for first-time users to quickly learn how to use VNAs.

James McGregor, global head of Test & Tools at Farnell, said: “With the addition of MegiQ, we continue to ensure the engineering community is supported at every level, from beginners and educators looking for competitively priced, easy-to-use tools right through to experienced professionals seeking a simple solution to their RF and microwave test needs.”

http://www.farnell.com

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NEC and Analog Devices team up to design 5G radio unit for Rakuten Mobile

NEC and Analog Devices (ADI) will collaborate on the design of a 5G network massive MIMO antenna radio unit for Rakuten Mobile. The radio unit uses ADI’s fourth generation wideband RF transceiver to achieve high precision massive MIMO. It also has a 5G open vRAN (virtual radio access network) interface corresponding to Rakuten Mobile’s end-to-end, virtualised cloud native mobile network. For efficiency transmission, it uses 3.7GHz frequency massive MIMO and digital beamforming technology. The cloud-native virtual network allows communications providers to offer high speed internet access worldwide, at significantly lower costs, says ADI but without the maintenance, repair and labour costs associated with the physical infrastructure. NEC has already started shipping the 5G network massive MIMO antenna radio unit to Rakuten Mobile.

ADI’s fourth generation wideband RF transceiver integrates quad channel transmitters, receivers and digital pre-distortion (DPD) in a single chip. The radio is software reconfigurable and covers all sub-6GHz 5G frequency bands to simplify radio designs.

Explaining the choice of design partner, Nozomu Watanabe, senior vice president at NEC, commented: “ADI’s RF transceiver is expertly designed to support wireless applications such as massive MIMO and small cell systems, simplifying system design, reducing size and weight, and minimising power consumption”.

He believes virtualisation is seen by many of the world’s leading telecomms providers as the next evolution of communications. “ADI’s RF equipment allows us to provide the connectivity required to build an architecture that supports 5G full-spectrum systems,” he added.

NEC’s 5G equipment utilises highly accurate digital beamforming for efficient high-capacity transmission. The system also features seamless installation, achieved through circuit integration.

“The new wave of 5G-based network connectivity is defined by flexibility,” said Greg Henderson, senior vice president at Analog Devices.

While the ecosystem is “incredibly intricate and complex”, he said that efficiencies in cost, time and capital equipment will progress the industry to the a “truly virtualised network”.

NEC specialises in the integration of IT and network technologies.

Analog Devices is an analogue technology company.

http://www.analog.com

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Temperature compensated RTC has I2C interface

Claimed to offer the world’s best time accuracy across industrial temperature range at low current consumption, the RV-3032-C7 real time clock (RTC) module has been released by Micro Crystal. The compact RTC module has a custom IC and integrated quartz crystal resonator and sets new standards in size, claims the company. It is half the footprint of a uSOP-8 package, with no additional external components required. It is also claimed to offer the best accuracy (±0.26 s/day at -40 to +85 degrees C operating temperature). Low current consumption (160nA timekeeping mode) and power management capabilities are other features.

The RV-3032-C7 is suitable for applications requiring always-on timekeeping functions, as well as compliance to stringent clock accuracy over time, wide temperature range, and long battery life. Typical examples are smart metering and other similar industrial or consumer applications, such as wearables and IoT devices.

Power management features include a wide supply voltage range (1.2 to 5.5V), automatic backup switch, versatile charge pump and programmable trickle charger. The RTC module can be coupled with a small sized, low capacity, rechargeable battery, or a low cost coin cell power unit which will reduce the overall dimensions and the manufacturing cost of the end product while optimising the life of the battery, advises Micro Crystal.

The RV-3032-C7 includes a quartz-based digital temperature controlled crystal oscillator (DTCXO).

“The design team has applied their 40 years’ of frequency control expertise to develop [the module] . . . . Besides all the standard RTC features, it includes multiple extra functions, like data protection through password, and MHz output frequency, now available for the first time in the market in such a tiny device,” said Hans-Rudolf Gottier, CEO of Micro Crystal.

“The RV-3032-C7 RTC will definitely help engineers in developing next generations of smart products,” he continued. “The availability of a programmable high frequency clock output to drive the central MCU, and access to the high-resolution thermometer, used for accurate thermal compensation and allows setting temperature threshold alarms with interrupt function, will support numerous unique and new applications,” he said.

The RV-3032-C7 is hermetically sealed in a compact reflow solderable DFN ceramic package, measuring 3.2 x 1.5 x 0.8mm. It is RoHS/lead-free-compliant and AEC-Q200 qualified.

https://www.microcrystal.com

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MCUs integrate peripherals for sensor-based IoT applications

Sensor-based IoT applications use a combination of analogue functionality and digital control capability to meet cost, size, performance and power parameters for efficiency. In response, Microchip has combined analogue peripherals and multi-voltage operation with inter-peripheral connections in its PIC18-Q41 and AVR DB MCU families. In addition to these attributes for increased system integration and reduced signal acquisition times, they offer the convenience and efficiency of operating in a single design environment, says Microchip.

The introduction bring s easy-to-use analogue capability to cost-effective PIC and AVR MCUs, says Greg Robinson,  so designers can meet the requirements of large-scale IoT systems,” said Greg Robinson, associate vice president of marketing for Microchip’s 8-bit microcontroller business unit. “With a unified, seamless development tool experience, designers can use these MCUs as a single-chip controller, or as an intelligent analogue signal conditioning component in a larger system,” he explained.

The PIC18-Q41 MCU has a configurable operational amplifier and ADC with computation and DACs for signal conditioning in space-constrained sensing and measuring applications such as IoT end nodes and industrial, medical devices, wearables, automotive and lighting systems. It is also well-suited for IoT and large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) at the edge, including predictive maintenance edge nodes in a smart factory, added Microchip. It is offered in compact 14- and 20-pin packages and can be used with Microchip’s 32-bit MCUs and other controllers that require analogue integration.

For mixed-signal IoT systems which often include multiple power domains, the AVR DB MCU integrates true bi-directional level shifters to reduce cost. Typical use examples are automotive, appliances, HVAC and liquid measurement applications. Microchip has added three configurable op amps, a 12-bit differential ADC, 10-bit DAC, three zero cross detectors and Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) enabling the AVR DB MCU to be used wherever analogue signal conditioning and processing functions are required.

The PIC18-Q41 and AVR DB MCU families are supported by Microchip’s MPLAB X integrated development environment (IDE), its MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC) and the MPLAB Mindi Analog Simulator. MCC is a free software plug-in that provides a graphical interface to configure peripherals and functions specific to an application.

The AVR DB is additionally supported by Atmel START, Atmel Studio and third-party tools such as IAR and the GCC C compiler.

The PIC18F16Q41 Curiosity Nano evaluation kit (EV26Q64A) and the AVR DB Curiosity Nano evaluation kit (EV35L43A) are also available with programming and debugging capabilities.

http://www.microchip.com

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