-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueLevel Up Your Design Skills
This month, our contributors discuss the PCB design classes available at IPC APEX EXPO 2024. As they explain, these courses cover everything from the basics of design through avoiding over-constraining high-speed boards, and so much more!
Opportunities and Challenges
In this issue, our expert contributors discuss the many opportunities and challenges in the PCB design community, and what can be done to grow the numbers of PCB designers—and design instructors.
Embedded Design Techniques
Our expert contributors provide the knowledge this month that designers need to be aware of to make intelligent, educated decisions about embedded design. Many design and manufacturing hurdles can trip up designers who are new to this technology.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
Making the Most of PCB Materials for 5G Microwave and mmWave Amps
June 13, 2018 | John Coonrod, Rogers CorporationEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Millions of cell phones trying to connect voices and download unimaginable numbers of files worldwide point to the inevitability of fifth generation (5G) wireless communications networks. 5G is coming, and it will require the right circuit materials for many different types of high-frequency circuits, including power amplifiers (PAs). 5G represents the latest and greatest in wireless technology, and it will be challenging to design and fabricate, starting with the circuit board materials, because it will operate across many different frequencies, such as 6 GHz and below, as well as at millimeter-wave frequencies (typically 30 GHz and above). It will also combine network access from terrestrial base stations and orbiting satellites. But by careful consideration of mechanical and electrical requirements, high-frequency circuit materials can be specified that enable the design and development of 5G PAs no matter the frequency.
Ideally, a single circuit material would be a suitable starting point for PAs at all frequencies. However, amplifiers at different frequencies have different design requirements and are best supported by circuit materials with different characteristics best suited to the different frequencies. For example, insertion loss or dissipation factor can be more or less depending on the type of circuit material. Every circuit material will suffer some amount of loss, which typically increases with increasing frequency. The loss performance of a given circuit material may be acceptable within the microwave frequencies to be used in 5G networks but not within the millimeter-wave frequency range, where signal power tends to be less with increasing frequencies. The circuit material that provides the low loss needed for high PA gain and output power at microwave frequencies may not be the best choice of material for a PA at millimeter-wave frequencies.
The design requirements for a key circuit material parameter, dielectric constant (Dk), are much different for microwave frequencies, such as the 6 GHz and below used with 5G systems, than for millimeter-wave frequencies, such as 30 GHz and above, as will be used for short-range backhaul links in 5G wireless networks. Selecting an optimum circuit material for each band of frequencies requires understanding which Dk value best supports each of the two different frequency ranges. Then it is a matter of finding circuit materials that possess those Dk values along with as many as possible of the other circuit material attributes that help make a good, high-performance, high-frequency PA.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the May 2018 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Elevating PCB Design Engineering With IPC Programs
04/24/2024 | Cory Blaylock, IPCIn a monumental stride for the electronics manufacturing industry, IPC has successfully championed the recognition of the PCB Design Engineer as an official occupation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This pivotal achievement not only underscores the critical role of PCB design engineers within the technology landscape, but also marks the beginning of a transformative journey toward nurturing a robust, skilled workforce ready to propel our industry into the future.
IPC Design Competition Champion Crowned at IPC APEX EXPO 2024
04/24/2024 | IPCAt IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in Anaheim, California, five competitors squared off to determine who was the best of the best at PCB design.
Altus Group Helps BitBox Unlock Productivity and Efficiency Gains with New Reflow Oven
04/22/2024 | Altus GroupAltus Group, a leading provider of capital equipment, has recently assisted BitBox, a UK-based electronics design, engineering and manufacturing company in upgrading its operations with the implementation of a new reflow oven from Heller Industries.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Exploring IPC's PCB Design Courses with Kris Moyer
04/18/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOGuest Editor Kelly Dack and IPC instructor Kris Moyer discuss IPC's PCB design training and education offerings. They delve into course topics such as design fundamentals, mil/aero, rigid-flex, RF design, and advanced design concepts. They also highlight material selection for high-speed design, thermal management, and dissipation techniques. The interview wraps up with details about how to access these courses online.
Cadence Unveils Palladium Z3 and Protium X3 Systems
04/18/2024 | Cadence Design SystemsThe Palladium Z3 and Protium X3 systems offer increased capacity, and scale from job sizes of 16 million gates up to 48 billion gates, so the largest SoCs can be tested as a whole rather than just partial models, ensuring proper functionality and performance.