The laws of physics work against RF engineers, forcing design tradeoffs in mmWave systems. Beam steering, frequency reuse, and greater spectral efficiency can help.
Digital Edition Back Issue
5G radios increase emphasis on compliance testing
Compared to 4G and previous generations, 5G’s mmWave frequencies and tight integration increase the complexity of both performance and regulator compliance testing.
Open RAN functional splits, explained
Open radio access networks offer the option of placing network functions in different places along the signal path. That option, called a functional split, lets network engineers optimize performance and make tradeoffs.
February 2021 Special Edition: Power Electronics Handbook
Battery breakthrough fatigue For some cheap thrills, try Googling the words “battery breakthrough.” You’ll be presented with page after page of articles breathlessly chronicling one research result after another in energy storage. But you might wonder why, with so many earth-shattering developments, electric vehicles can’t travel 1,000 miles before needing a recharge. The reason: It…
February 2021 Special Edition: Power Electronics Handbook
Battery breakthrough fatigue For some cheap thrills, try Googling the words “battery breakthrough.” You’ll be presented with page after page of articles breathlessly chronicling one research result after another in energy storage. But you might wonder why, with so many earth-shattering developments, electric vehicles can’t travel 1,000 miles before needing a recharge. The reason: It…
October 2020 Special Edition: Power & Energy Efficiency Handbook
Why lithium batteries won’t fill up landfills Consumers with an inclination toward sustainability have been bummed out over recent revelations that most of the plastics they have carefully separated, washed, and placed in recycling bins typically end up in the local dump. So it may come as good news that dead lithium batteries are increasingly…
October 2020 Special Edition: Power & Energy Efficiency Handbook
Why lithium batteries won’t fill up landfills Consumers with an inclination toward sustainability have been bummed out over recent revelations that most of the plastics they have carefully separated, washed, and placed in recycling bins typically end up in the local dump. So it may come as good news that dead lithium batteries are increasingly…
August 2020 Special Edition: Autonomous & Connected Vehicles
Latest connected car feature: Germicidal lights A year ago, had you brought up the idea of adding germicidal lights to a connected car, you probably would have gotten back facial expressions suggesting you’ d lost your mind. Today, the same idea would be more likely to engender a lot of head nodding. Who knew a…
August 2020 Special Edition: Autonomous & Connected Vehicles
Latest connected car feature: Germicidal lights A year ago, had you brought up the idea of adding germicidal lights to a connected car, you probably would have gotten back facial expressions suggesting you’ d lost your mind. Today, the same idea would be more likely to engender a lot of head nodding. Who knew a…
June 2020 Special Edition: Test & Measurement Handbook
Will your good samaritanism in the pandemic buy you a lawsuit? IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS voluntarily spending your time on technology to help abate the COVID 19 pandemic, consider the experience of the vacuum cleaner company Dyson in the UK. Company founder James Dyson estimates his firm spent about $25 million and…
