How to Calculate a Virtual Array in MIMO Systems RF and sensing systems that use MIMO functionality have some important design constraints concerning virtual antenna design and placement. In these systems, due to the need for finer resolution and higher transmit/receive gain, the trend has been to pack more antennas into an array for beamforming and the reception of low-level signals. There is a reason for this trend, and it relates to an important concept in antenna array systems. When Read Article Maximum Usage to Improve Supply Chain Resiliency Supply chain resilience increases, and electronic design productivity improves when prioritizing components' maximum usage in thoughtful tactical and strategic perspectives. Read Article Footprint Creation Made Easy Learn how to create footprint with ease using the IPC Compliant Footprint Wizard, built-in to Altium Designer. In this guide, you’ll learn how to quickly create an example SOIC-8 footprint, including automatic generation of an accurate 3D model. Read Article Can You Fix a Warped PCB? Before we get too deep into this article, I’ll give you the simple answer. You probably can’t fix warping in your PCB after it’s already been fabricated. You can prevent an unwarped board from becoming warped during assembly, but only as long as materials were selected properly and the board is put into reflow correctly. We’ll run over some of these points in this article, and I’ll examine some points that might help you recover a warped board Read Article Try These Feature Upgrades in Altium Designer 22.7 September 9, 2022 ONTRACK BI-WEEKLY What’s New in Altium Designer? Collaboration and data management features see new enhancements in Altium Designer 22.7. In this announcement, users have access to new commenting and secure repository connection upgrades: Comments & Tasks for Draftsman - The project commenting features now extend into Draftsman documents. All comments in a Draftsman document will be available through a connected Workspace Read Article Use the Best RF Design Software for High Frequency PCBs What should you look for in your RF design software? Integratoin between schematic and PCB is the top need among RF engineers. Read Article Automated PCB Routing With the Situs Topological Autorouter This page looks at the Situs Topological Autorouter. This part of the PCB Editor uses topological mapping to define the PCB routing path and convert this to a high-quality route. Read Article What Skills Are Needed to be a PCB Layout Designer? To readers who have been working in the PCB industry for most of your career, you have probably seen a very diverse group of professionals with varied skill sets and backgrounds. My own background is odd, having come into the profession from optics and lasers, and then focusing on analog and RF electronics. Other designers might get started as engineers or as technicians, and some designers learn how to create beautiful PCB layouts in university Read Article Dual Rail Voltage Supply Ever worried about using negative voltages? Join Mark Harris building an ultra low noise dual rail power supply in this project series article creating a regulator designed to power the highest performance split rail operational amplifiers. Read Article What is an Eye Diagram? An eye diagram tells you everything you need to know about the behavior of signals in a high-speed channel, as well as the channel’s response to repeated excitation. Read Article Altium Designer Quick-Start Tutorial Part 2 Learn how to design a simple, two-layer PCB in Altium Designer all the way from project creation, schematic capture, PCB design, to generating manufacturing files. A great place to start if you haven’t used Altium Designer or any ECAD tool before. Read Article Beginner PCB Design Mistakes and How To Avoid Them Learn what the most common PCB design mistakes are, how you can avoid them, and what simple techniques you can apply to improve your future PCB designs. Read Article Altium Designer Quick-Start Tutorial Part 1 Learn how to design a simple, two-layer PCB in Altium Designer all the way from project creation, schematic capture, PCB design, to generating manufacturing files. A great place to start if you haven’t used Altium Designer or any ECAD tool before. Read Article How Non-functional Pads Affect Your PCB Design Non-functional pads are sometimes framed as an all-or-nothing debate, and the debates about reliability and effects on signal integrity abound. Should you keep them on your vias, or should you remove them from all vias? Like any design decision there are tradeoffs to balance, and typically one aspect of a design will take precedence over all others. Because there is no generalized rule about the use of non-functional pads, designers should Read Article How to Select the Best Surface Finish for your PCB Dr, Kunal generously gives us all a crash course on surface finishes and understanding different types of materials that could affect signal integrity, reliability and electronic shelf life. Read Article The Newest Feature Upgrades in Altium Designer 22.7 August 26, 2022 ONTRACK BI-WEEKLY New This Month in Altium Designer Altium Designer 22.7 offers new schematic and layout features that help you supercharge your design experience. This newest announcement focuses on three productivity features in variants, the PCB Editor, and the Schematic Editor: Support For Paste Mask in Variants - Need to change paste mask expansion in a PCBA variant? Altium Designer now gives you the control to specify this Read Article What is Hybrid Beamforming? Beamforming is an important broadcast method that involves use of antenna arrays in a wireless system to transmit electromagnetic energy along a specific direction. More wireless systems are expanding their ability to handle multiple users (or targets) with beamforming and MIMO. This is already used in radar, WiFi, and in newer high-bandwidth communication systems (5G). For the systems designer, it is important to understand the layout Read Article Pagination First page « First Previous page ‹‹ Page21 Current page22 Page23 Page24 Page25 Page26 Next page ›› Last page Last » Load More