Technical Articles
We periodically publish Technical Articles that highlight the innovative techniques and methodologies behind our product development.
These articles aim to bridge the gap between complex technologies and their practical applications, offering insights into the fundamental ideas without getting into intricate mathematics.
Whether you are an industry professional or an enthusiast, our articles provide valuable knowledge that can enhance your understanding of the technologies driving our cutting-edge solutions.
The Basics of Patch Antennas
This article delves into the basic concepts of patch antennas using a simple rectangular, half-wave long, probe-fed patch in its fundamental mode as an example.
It covers principles of operation, impedance matching, radiation patterns, circular polarization, bandwidth, efficiency, alternative feed types, stacked patches, and higher mode behavior.
With the rapid growth of satellite-based services, transmitting or receiving a precise beam of circularly polarized radiation while minimizing unwanted signals is crucial for effective communication.
The axial-mode quadrifilar helical antenna excels in these demanding applications, offering high performance and robustness both in space and on the ground. Additionally, it can be miniaturized for portable and handheld systems, providing excellent circular polarization and near-hemispherical coverage in UHF and microwave bands.
In some cases, single-element antennas cannot meet the gain or radiation pattern requirements for applications like satellite communications or point-to-point telecommunications.
A solution is to combine multiple single antenna elements into an antenna array.
This article introduces the basic concepts of antenna array theory without delving into the underlying mathematics.
This paper reviews the fundamentals of Electrically Small Antennas, typically defined by having a largest dimension less than one-sixth to one-tenth of a wavelength.
Key design parameters include feedpoint impedance bandwidth, radiation efficiency, and overall antenna “smallness”.
This article provides a qualitative review of Class A, B, AB, and C “limited conduction angle” amplifier modes, highlighting where inefficiencies occur in each.
It presents the advantages and disadvantages of each topology and elaborates on the trade-offs in an intuitive manner through computer simulations.
This article briefly reviews “switching” amplifiers such as Class-D, E, F, and inverse F.
These amplifiers improve efficiency by limiting dissipation in the active device during resistive “turn-on” and “turn-off” times, surpassing the efficiency of classical “linear” amplifier classes.
Computer simulations of basic circuit topologies are used to provide an intuitive understanding of how these amplifiers work.
This article reviews the behavior of Class-AB and Class-C amplifiers and examines how combining these two types produces the Doherty amplifier. This system preserves signal fidelity and boosts efficiency.
Remarkably, combining two inherently non-linear amplifiers results in a linear response, a breakthrough from Doherty’s 1936 invention.
Despite its age, the Doherty amplifier is indispensable in today’s digital wireless technology.
This article offers an overview of the general properties of GPS antennas and compares three common types.
It provides a basic understanding of how GPS antennas function and the performance required for various applications.
This paper reviews the basics of phase-locked oscillators and the mechanics of “Cycle Slipping” in low carrier-to-noise environments.
It explores Allan deviation as a measure of phase error when phase locking is not guaranteed and proposes an improved heterodyne method for measuring Allan deviation.
This method is used to characterize the performance of a deep-space coherent transponder prototype.