www.epdtonthenet.

net February 2019

Wireless
technologies
develop
to meet
data demand

Software for MedTech device design 6

Design & verification solutions for 5G 9

Also inside
• STEM Matters: the Year of Engineering
• ElectroTestExpo show preview
• Cleaning medical electronics 101: a primer
 Contents www.epdtonthenet.net | February 2019

4 Editorial comment: New beginnings…

Editor, Mark Gradwell discusses some new beginnings
here at EPDT...

9 Design & verification solutions

for a 5G future
Test & measurement specialists, Keysight review design
and verification software solutions for 5G. 6
16 Improving patient quality of life Balancing innovation & risk: the role of software
with new piezo valves in MedTech device design
Industrial control & automation experts, Festo explore the
Application development software specialists, Perforce consider the role of
role of piezoelectric technology in medical applications.
software in MedTech device design for functional safety, risk management
and regulatory compliance.
18 Cleaning medical electronics 101:
a primer
Electronics cleaning experts, MicroCare explain how best Case study Events
to clean medical electronics safely and effectively.

28 News & Products

30 STEM Matters: The Year

of Engineering 22 26
Our regular STEM column reviews the impact of the
Year of Engineering... . Delivering wireless ElectroTestExpo 2019
services from the sky Show preview for ElectroTestExpo,
31 Buyers’ Guide In this case study, the University of an industry event for PCB hardware
York develop a testbed, using National design and production test engineers.
Instruments tools, for verification of
novel wireless services from the sky
using aerial base stations.

www.epdtonthenet.net February 2019 Cover Story

Wireless
technologies
develop
12 RF converters enable efficient multiband
to meet
demand
radios for next-gen wireless base stations
for data
Semiconductor manufacturer, Analog Devices explores how
RF converter improvements have helped wireless base
Software for MedTech device design 6

Design & verification solutions for 5G 9

stations evolve to cope with exponential growth in demand

for data throughput.
Also inside
• The Year of Engineering
• ElectroTestExpo show preview
• Cleaning medical electronics 101: a primer

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Editorial Comment

New beginnings...

A
lthough this is already EPDT’s February issue, as I sit down to write
this, it’s still early in January – and as we enter 2019 (as you may already
have read in our newsletter or on the website), there are new beginnings
too here at EPDT. But, fear not – we remain dedicated to finding and delivering
the best electronics design, manufacturing and test stories for you!

Mark Gradwell, Editor

As 2019 begins, I’m excited to share with you some changes here at
EPDT. I want to thank former EPDT Assistant Editor, Sam Holland, who
has decided to move on from EPDT to take up another opportunity. I
joined EPDT as Consultant Editor in May 2017, a few weeks after Sam
joined and former Editor, Alistair Winning, left the publication – and Sam
has been an important part of developments at EPDT over the last 20
months, so we thank him and wish him well in his future endeavours.
Going forward, I’m delighted to assume full editorial responsibility across
all EPDT content and platforms – the print & digital magazine, website,
newsletters, social channels and live events. The mission I set out for
EPDT in my first editorial column in the magazine still applies: to shine a
light on the collective achievements of the electronics industry – helping
inform, educate and engage our readers, providing you with timely,
relevant and interesting content to help you develop your skills,
knowledge and careers.
EPDT will retain its focus on high quality, engaging technical feature
content, covering not only the broadest range of technologies and
industries, but also the entire electronic product development and
manufacturing cycle, from design, through production, to test – plus
the supply chain (via dedicated twice-yearly Distribution & Outsourcing
supplements). Each issue includes editorial comment on topical industry
issues and a STEM column, focusing on society’s collective efforts to
inspire the next generation of engineers & scientists – as well as a healthy
mix of technical features, case studies, tutorials, event previews,
interviews, Q&As and viewpoints.
smart, safe and secure’ – with connectivity, intelligence and security
threading through applications and technology from artificial intelligence,
home & building automation, wearables & medical electronics, to
autonomous vehicles. We can’t wait to explore these topics and others
together with you in EPDT during 2019!
This month’s issue:
This month’s issue contains features on Wireless technologies and
Medical applications. Our cover reflects this month’s Wireless
stories, as we explore how RF converters have helped wireless
base stations evolve to cope with exponential growth in demand
for data throughput (p12). We also review design and verification
solutions for 5G (p9). And we feature a case study on delivering
wireless services from the sky using aerial base stations (p22).
In Medical, we consider the role of software in MedTech device
design for functional safety, risk management and regulatory
compliance (p6); we explore the role of piezoelectric technology
(p16); and we feature a tutorial on cleaning PCBs (p18). We also
preview ElectroTestExpo (p26), an industry event for hardware
design and production test engineers. And finally, my regular STEM
column reviews the Year of Engineering (p30).
As always, I hope you enjoy the issue – and we want to hear from you
too, whether you have feedback on stories we’ve run in print or online, or
contributions/ideas for topics you’d like to see us cover in the future – so
please feel free to get in touch at mark.gradwell@imlgroup.co.uk...

Online and in our weekly email newsletter, EPDT will cover a mix of product
Mark Gradwell
and industry news, technology stories and features; and we’re now more
Editor
actively engaging our social channels, using Twitter (@EPDTnews) and
LinkedIn, to ensure our reach is broader than ever before.
Here at EPDT, we remain dedicated to finding and
As IoT & Industry 4.0 continue to be hot topics, we’ve also introduced delivering the best electronics design, manufacturing
a new, dedicated supplement to directly address them. And this was
and test stories for you!
reflected too in electronica 2018’s theme of ‘Connecting everything –

EDITOR DESIGN EPDT - ISSN 0263-1474

Mark Gradwell Graham Rich Design
Copyright in the contents of Electronic Product Design & Test, its websites and newsletters is
mark.gradwell@imlgroup.co.uk www.grahamrichdesign.co.uk the property of the publisher. The publisher and the sponsors of this magazine are not
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER HEAD OFFICE responsible for the results of any actions or omissions taken on the basis of information in this
Richard Woodruff IML Group, Blair House, publication. In particular, no liability can be accepted in result of any claim based on or in
richard.woodruff@imlgroup.co.uk 184/186 High Street, relation to material provided for inclusion. Electronic Product Design & Test is a controlled
circulation journal, published monthly. Completed print or online registration forms will be
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1BQ
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Feature Medical

Balancing innovation &

risk: software in MedTech
device design
One of the biggest challenges in medical product design and development is remaining innovative and
competitive against a backdrop of functional safety, risk management and regulatory compliance. As Nico
Krüger, Technical Sales & Professional Services Manager (ALM) at application development
software specialists, Perforce Software explains, a 2018 Perforce survey confirms that many
organisations are struggling to balance these sometimes competing needs. Fewer than half of the 200+ medical
device professionals who responded to the survey were confident they could pass an FDA audit. Additionally,
risk analysis, objective evidence, traceability, design history files and audit trails were the top challenges cited
by individuals involved in reporting to the FDA, or other compliance requirements (such as IEC 62304, ISO
14971, ISO 13485 or the European Medical Device Directives).

M
edical device
developers also
have concerns
around securing software
code, which has become
an increasing focus given
dependence on embedded
software and the growth of
the IoT. Vulnerabilities that
creep in during software
development can cause
products to malfunction or
pose security risks in the
future. Unfortunately, security
is often not native to software
development processes.
Clearly, organisations need to overcome Automating code control
Instead, development these hurdles. Many are attempting it: an For instance, coding standards — already
teams (often siloed) focus increasing volume of firms are now embrac- widespread in automotive design — can
on creating great code, ing the necessary techniques, cultural prevent, detect and eliminate errors that
practices and tools. They are demonstrating could otherwise compromise software
while letting other teams that agility and innovation can exist within a security. They are especially used in C and
worry about security. safety-conscious, compliant environment. C++, the preferred languages for embedded
development. These languages are preferred
because they are flexible and high-perfor-
mance, but that functionality can come at
MedTech device developers face the challenge of remaining innovative and the cost of increased risk.
competitive against a backdrop of functional safety, risk management and
regulatory compliance. Obviously, no one wants to slow down
developers. As a result, coding standards are

6 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net


often managed by static code analysis tools,
which automatically and continually inspect
code. Any issues, such as deviation from
a coding standard or a bug that would
otherwise be hard to fix, get flagged quickly.
The theory is that finding and dealing with
problems earlier is less expensive – and has
reduced impact compared to later stages.
Static code analysis also supports compli-
ance processes, encourages more consist-
ent code quality across teams and reduces
the load on testing that traditionally takes
place at a later stage.
Ongoing code inspection chimes well with
the trend towards continuous testing, and
also ‘shift left’, whereby more testing tasks
are carried out by developers, rather than
only by test managers and quality assurance
engineers. By automating the process,
organisations overcome the limitation of
developers not being test experts and
minimise unnecessary workload.
This more transparent environment, with
continuous processes, is also representative
of how software development teams are
working more closely with other parts within
an organisation. For example, a huge trend
in recent years has been DevOps, which is
more collaboration between software
development and operations teams. DevOps
often coexists with Agile development.
By incorporating more frequent customer
feedback, Agile can bring the product closer
to customer’s needs. At the same time, it
breaks development down into smaller,
iterative value streams. The end goal is to
get the right product to market, and with less
risk. While Agile development is arguably still
in its infancy in risk-averse markets such as
medical devices, Perforce’s survey found that
49 percent of medical device professionals
said they were using either ‘pure’ Agile, or a
hybrid version (for instance, Waterfall and
Agile together). Hybrid Agile can provide
flexibility and room for innovation.
Traceability & compliance
Demonstrating compliance was traditionally
a manual process – and for many organisa-
tions, still is: over 60 percent of those
surveyed reported using Microsoft Word to
manage requirements and test cases, with
over 50 percent using Microsoft Excel to
manage and track issues. This comes at
a price: 33 percent of respondents said
documenting and reviewing work was their
most time-consuming task.
However, many are overcoming this with a
hybrid version, such as integrating applica-
tion lifecycle management (ALM) tools with
Microsoft Office. ALM tools ensure traceabil-
ity between requirements, testing and code,
to be sure that every requirement is tested
and fulfilled. Using an ALM tool to generate
your office document delivers the best of
both worlds: the requirements, tests and
issue-tracking that development teams
need, as well as compliant documentation.
Importantly, traceability needs to happen at
every stage of each digital asset’s life, from
ideation through to delivery, maintenance and
archiving – so organisations can later prove
compliance, while continuously delivering.
Not surprisingly, traceability is very important
across medical device development, with 85
percent using it for more than just compli-
ance, for instance to manage change or risk,
to support impact analysis or decision-mak-
ing. One popular way that this is manifested
is through a traceability matrix. Usually in the
form of a table, this tracks the relationship
between different documents, requirements
and testing. As the need for agility and
traceability rise in regulated and safety-critical
industries, we can expect a rising need for
requirements management methods and
tools that can sustain both.
Another technique is to link requirements and
changes to code stored in a ‘single source of
truth’. Typically based on a version control
Software tools, techniques and best practices can help mitigate security risks by
making problems more visible and traceable.
epdtonthenet.net
Medical Feature
system (VCS), the benefit is that contributors
have a window into what everyone else is
doing and can see the impact of any actions,
while allowing individuals to carry on working
in their usual ways. The best VCS tools
support disparate contributors across
different types of file types (not just code),
locations, tools and processes.
Securing code
By making problems more visible and
traceable, all these tools and techniques help
to mitigate security risk. However, it is also
good practice to lock down who has access
to digital assets in the software development
process. Fine-grained access control, where
users are only given access to what they
need to do their jobs well, reduces the risk of
code becoming inadvertently or deliberately
vulnerable (for instance, stolen or sold).
Need-to-know access can be controlled via
IP address, user and group, code repository,
branch directory or at individual file level,
local or across multiple sites. This is one
example of how better security, risk and
compliance management can be built in
to the software development process,
which can still be agile and fast.
While there is no easy overnight fix, medical
device firms have tools available to be
innovative and competitive, without
compromising safety, compliance or quality.
February
February 2019
2019 7
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 Wireless Feature

Design & verification

solutions for a 5G future
As 5G momentum grows, and standards solidify, expectations continue to increase around the world. While the 3GPP releases
updated 5G specifications, designers must still address issues to overcome 5G mmWave technical challenges such as large path
loss, wide bandwidth and limited instrument accessibility. Coexistence challenges and unavoidable levels of intermodulation
(IMD) power both arise when anchoring new 5G service to existing 4G core networks. And more challenges lie on the horizon as
device manufacturers implement mmWave components into mobile devices. As technical challenges continue to arise, Kaelly
Farnham, PathWave Marketing Manager at Keysight Technologies explains how system-level simulation and circuit
design are necessary to successfully pass 3GPP tests, such as the over-the-air-test (OTA) for 5G.

Accounting for differences

F
between 5G NR & 4G LT
undamentally, sub-6 GHz 5G
and 4G RFFE requirements
look the same. However, there
are several differences between
5G NR and LTE that the RF designer
needs to consider. The first of these
differences is increased bandwidth.
5G NR has a maximum channel
bandwidth of up to 100 MHz, and
wide spectrum allocated in new
bands. The n77 NR band, for example,
has a 900 MHz wide frequency range, Finally, 5G brings more challenges related to frequency bands, tests that validate various
multi-band and multi-RAT (Radio Access carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios, as well as
from 3.3 GHz to 4.2 GHz, that is too Technology) implementations. 4G was already calculating IMDs and harmonics with different
wide to be supported by a single complex, with more than 100 band combina- combinations of aggressor bands and victim

component. Thus, designers need
to test and verify more components
than previous LTE designs required.
Waveform is the next big difference. The uplink
carrier for 5G NR uses both CP-OFDM and
DFT-S-OFDM waveforms. There is also a PAPR
(peak-to-average power ratio) difference on the
uplink signal, when compared to LTE. The use
of new waveforms to overcome restrictions and
problems with the current 4G waveform (OFDM)
requires changes to the existing architecture.
The new architecture needs to support the new
5G waveforms and the legacy 4G waveforms.
There are also challenges related to how those
types of waveforms will coexist. These complex
interactions and coexistence scenarios need
exploration in simulation before the rollout of 5G
designs.
tions. 5G brings a dramatic increase in this num-
ber, due to multiple bands, multiple frequency
ranges and new channel-bonding schemes.
Intermodulation issues are more significant, due
to 5G’s multi-band requirements, and will be
extremely difficult to troubleshoot, even for
experienced designers. Solving intermodulation
challenges requires designers to run simulations
and tests to address IMD issues, such as
interference in cell communication, that would
reduce receiver sensitivity, or even completely
obstruct communication.
With the switch to 5G, it will take considerable
time to create thousands of required test cases.
Those include tests to verify support for more
There are significant differences between 5G NR and LTE that RF designers must
consider – including increased bandwidth, new waveforms and multi-band issues.
bands. Experienced 4G component develop-
ment engineers are confident that their product
will meet system level performance metrics when
integrated into the target system. However, in 5G
DC cases, many RF engineers will need to do
more research and simulation to achieve the
required performance at the system level.
mmWave components for
mobile devices
Figure 1 shows how the architecture for the
mmWave front-end drastically differs from that
of sub-6 GHz, due to substantial antenna and
beamforming gain. mmWave’s high frequency
causes a large conducted path loss at the

epdtonthenet.net February
February 2019
2019 9
Feature Software

front-end, and therefore, very low tolerances

for the trace length between antenna element
and active circuitry. The increase in frequency
also comes with a reduction in wavelength. It
allows the antenna array to be made small
enough to integrate into the same package
that contains the active transceiver circuits
operating at mmWave.

RF engineers will design mmWave component

circuits and characterise their models to
capture the fluctuation of the individual device.
They can then verify the component level
design for system level performance evaluation,
as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2a displays the
schematic and graph of a mmWave phase
shifter circuit design using a TriQuint pHEMT
process. The graph shows the circuit simulation creates better performance for root cause mmWave mobile devices makes it exceptionally
result of the phase and amplitude variation. It analysis. Figure 3 shows an OTA analysis difficult for design and verification engineers to
displays unwrapped phases in red traces with example such as this. develop commercial 5G devices.
frequency sweeps from 20 GHz to 30 GHz.
From component level characterisation to The building blocks used in the simulation Packages integrate more devices that require
system level beam quality analysis, engineers provide great flexibility when modelling various different types of design and simulation tools.
can extract s-parameter data from the circuit components in an OTA system, and they are Modern EDA tools are needed from component
design and put them into the system level compliant with the 3GPP standard for reference level implementation, all the way through to
simulator. Looking at the beam quality analysis baseband modem IP. These building blocks can system level performance verification.
in Figure 2b, the 3D beam plot using the be used for RF behavioural models with
s-parameters shows an increased side-lobe non-linear characteristics, antenna patterns, 5G’s complexity continues to increase, and
level, compared to the ideal beam. The beam beam controllers inside the chamber and even solutions like Keysight’s circuit simulator (ADS)
shape also differs, with less sharp nulls in virtual instruments. and communication system simulator
side-lobes with the modulated signal because (SystemVue) provide component level
the phase can vary across the wideband signal. Conclusion characterisation and system level evaluation in
The abundance of new frequency band one solution environment. Finding effective solu-
Once the circuit and system level design are configurations in sub-6GHz, combined with LTE tions like these continues to be one of the
complete, the designer can proceed with and 5G NR dual connectivity and the greatest challenges for wireless technology
verification and testing of the prototype hardware. complexity of non-instrument-accessible experts in the 5G journey.
This remains one of the most challenging tasks for
all 5G mmWave device developers. The limitation
of physical access to test points on mobile
devices has necessitated the radiated measure-
ment, or over-the-air (OTA) test.

Problem solving using over-

the-air simulation
3GPP defined an over-the-air (OTA) test
standard for 4G and aggressively worked to
establish a radiated performance specification
for 5G. An OTA test system helps engineers
perform antenna measurements, RF paramet-
ric, function and protocol testing. A complex
integration of software and hardware controls
this system. When problems occur, running
simulations of an OTA environment helps in
modeling the individual building blocks and

Modern EDA tools are needed from

component level implementation,
all the way through to system level
performance verification.

10 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

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Feature Wireless

RF converters enable efficient multiband radios

for next-generation wireless base stations
To support rising wireless data demand, modern base station radios are being designed to support multiple
E-UTRA bands, as well as carrier aggregation techniques. These multiband radios employ next-generation,
GSPS RF ADCs and DACs that allow frequency-agile, direct RF signal synthesis and sampling techniques. To deal
with the sparse nature of the RF wireless spectrum, sophisticated DSP is used to efficiently process the data bits
to RF and back again. In this article, John Oates, Wireless System Engineer at Analog Devices,
describes an example direct RF transmitter for multiband application, considering DSP configurations and
power versus bandwidth trade-offs.

Introduction: 10 years,

I
10x bands, 100x data rates
t’s been 10 years since
the smartphone revolution
began, after Apple released
the original iPhone in 2007. 10
years and two generations of
wireless standards later – and
much has changed. Perhaps
not as glamourous as the
headline-grabbing consumer
smartphones, known as
user equipment (UE), but the
infrastructure base station Figure 1. Carrier aggregation of noncontiguous spectrum highlights the sparse spectrum
(eNodeB) of the radio access problem: in red is shown licensed spectrum bands; in green is shown the interband spacing
network (RAN) has also gone
through its own transformation Base station transmitter
variants. LTE-advanced increased the
to enable the data deluge of requirements of multiband radios by adding
evolution to direct RF
our now ever-connected world. carrier aggregation into the mix, whereby To facilitate the increased data consumption of

Cellular bands have increased

noncontiguous frequency spectrum inside the 4G LTE networks, the wide area base station
same band, or more importantly, in different has undergone an evolution in radio architec-
10x, while data converter sample bands, could be aggregated in the baseband ture. Superheterodyne, narrow-band, IF-sam-
rates have increased 100x. So, modem as a single stream. pling radios with mixers and single-channel data

where does this leave us? However, the RF spectrum remains sparse.
converters have been replaced with I/Q-based
architectures that double the bandwidth, such
Figure 1 shows several carrier-aggregated band as complex-IF (CIF) and zero-IF (ZIF). ZIF and

Multiband radio and efficient combinations highlighting the sparse spectrum

problem. In green is interband spacing and in
CIF transceivers require analogue I/Q modula-
tors/demodulators with dual- and quad-channel
use of spectrum red is the band of interest. Information theory data converters. However, these wider
From 2G GSM to 4G LTE, the number of dictates the system should not waste power bandwidth CIF/ZIF transceivers also suffer from
cellular frequency bands has exploded 10x – converting the undesired frequency spectrum. LO leakage and quadrature error images that
from just four to over 40. With LTE networks Therefore, multiband radios with an efficient must be corrected.
arriving on the scene, base station suppliers means of converting sparse spectrum between
have found themselves multiplying radio analogue and digital domains are needed. Fortunately, data converter sampling rates have
also increased 30× to 100× in the last 10 years,
from 100 MSPS in 2007 to 10 GSPS+ in 2017.
In the 10 years since Apple released the original iPhone and the smartphone
This increase in sampling rate has ushered in
revolution began, two generations of wireless standards have seen the number GSPS RF converters with very wide band-
of cellular bands increase 10x, while data converter sample rates have widths, enabling frequency-agile software-
increased 100x to enable the data deluge of our now ever-connected world. defined radio (SDR) to finally become a reality.

12 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

 Wireless Feature

Perhaps the holy grail of sub-6 GHz radio BTS

architecture has long been direct RF sampling
and synthesis. Direct RF architectures eliminate
the need for analogue frequency translation
devices, such as mixers, and I/Q modulators
and demodulators, which themselves are the
source of many unwanted spurious signals.
Instead, the data converter directly interfaces
with RF frequencies, and any mixing can be
done digitally by integrated digital up-/
downconverters (DUCs/DDCs).

Figure 3. A direct RF transmitter: RF DACS such as the AD9172 include

Figure 2. Wireless radio architecture sophisticated DSP blocks with parallel, digital upconverting channelisers to enable
has evolved to accommodate efficient multiband transmission
increasing bandwidth requirements,
and, in turn, become more frequency- radios. Figure 3 shows an
agile through SDR techniques example direct RF
transmitter with an
Multiband efficiency gain comes in the form of AD9172, 16-bit, 12 GSPS
sophisticated DSP, included in ADI’s RF convert- RF DAC that supports
ers, that allow digital channelisation of only the tri-band channelisation
desired spectrum bands, while simultaneously with three parallel DUCs,
giving access to the full RF bandwidth. Using allowing flexible placement
parallel DUCs or DDCs, which combine of subcarriers across 1200
interpolating/decimating up-/down-samplers, MHz bandwidth. Following
half-band filters and numerically controlled the RF DAC, the ADL5335
oscillators (NCOs), the band(s) of interest can be Tx VGA provides 12 dB of
digitally constructed/deconstructed before gain and 31.5 dB of
conversion between analogue and digital attenuation range up to 4
domains. GHz. The output of this
DRF transmitter can then
The parallel digital up-/downconverter drive a power amplifier of
architecture allows you to channelise multiple choice depending on the
bands of desired spectrum (shown in red in output power require-
Figure 1), and not waste valuable cycles ments of the eNodeB.
converting unused interband spectrum
(shown in green in Figure 1). Efficient Consider the Band 3 and
multiband channelisation has the effect of low- Band 7 scenario shown in
ering the required sample rates of the data Figure 4. Two different
Figure 4. Dual band scenario: Band 3 (1805 MHz to 1880
converters, as well as the number of serial approaches can be
MHz) and Band 7 (2620 MHz to 2690 MHz
lanes required for transport across the employed to convert the
JESD204B data bus. Reducing system data stream to RF directly.
sample rates reduces the cost, power and The first approach (a wideband approach) also other unwanted nonlinear emissions
thermal management requirements on the would synthesise the bands without channeli- between the desired bands.
baseband processor, saving CAPEX and sation, requiring a data rate of 1228.8 MHz.
OPEX of the total base station system. It 80% of this bandwidth yields a DPD (digital The second approach is to synthesise
remains true that implementing channelisation predistortion) synthesised bandwidth of 983.04 channelised versions of these bands. Since
DSP in a highly optimised CMOS ASIC MHz, sufficient to transmit both bands and each band is only 60 MHz and 70 MHz,
process is far more power efficient than their 740 MHz of interband spacing. The respectively, and since operators will only have
implementation in generalised FPGA fabric – advantage of this approach is for DPD systems, licences for a subset of this bandwidth, it is not
even if the FPGA is in smaller geometries. which allows for predistortion not only of the necessary to transmit everything, incurring high
intraband IMDs of each individual carrier, but data rates consequently. Instead, let us utilise a

Direct RF transmitter with

DPD receiver: an example To facilitate the increased data consumption of 4G LTE networks, the wide
The RF DAC has succeeded in replacing the IF area base station has undergone an evolution in radio architecture.
DAC in these next-generation multiband BTS

epdtonthenet.net February
February 2019
2019 13
Feature Wireless

shared converter clocks, correlated phase

noise cancellation and overall simplification of
the system. One such simplification is the
ability of the AD9172 RF DAC, with its
integrated PLL, to generate up to a 12 GHz
clock from a low frequency reference signal,
removing the need to route high frequency
clocks around the radio board. Additionally,
the RF DAC can output a phase coherent,
divided down version of its clock for the
feedback ADC. Such system features truly
enhance the BTS DPD system, by creating an
optimised multiband transmitter chipset.

Figure 5. Band 3 and Band 7 LTE transmission through direct RF transmitter
using the AD9172 RF DAC
more appropriate, lower data rate of 153.6
MHz, 80% of which results in a DPD bandwidth
of 122.88 MHz. If an operator owns licences for
20 MHz in each band, there is still enough DPD
bandwidth for 5th-order correction of intraband
IMDs for each band, respectively. This mode
can save up to 250 mW of power in the DAC
from the wideband approach above, and even
more power/thermal savings in the baseband
processor, as well as reducing serial lane count,
allowing for smaller, lower cost FPGA/ASIC
implementations.
Observation receivers for DPD have also
evolved to DRF (direct RF) architectures. The
AD9208 14-bit, 3 GSPS RF ADC also
supports multiband channelisation through
parallel DDCs. The combination of RF DAC
and RF ADCs in the transmitter DPD
subsystem has many benefits, including
Summary
Ten years after the smartphone revolution, the
cellular business is all about data throughput.
Single band radios can no longer keep up with
the capacity requirements of consumers. To
increase data throughput, more spectrum
bandwidth must be made accessible through
carrier aggregation of multiple bands. RF data
converters can access the entire sub-6 GHz
cellular spectrum, being quickly reconfigured for
various band combinations, making software-
defined radio a reality. These frequency-agile,
direct RF architectures reduce cost, size, weight
and power. This fact has made the RF DAC
transmitter and RF ADC DPD receiver the
winning architecture of choice for sub-6 GHz,
multiband base stations.

Figure 6. A direct RF observation receiver used for digital predistortion. Wideband RF ADCs, such as the AD9208, can
efficiently digitise multiple bands across 5 GHz bandwidth

10 years after the smartphone revolution, cellular networks are all about data throughput. To increase data
throughput, carrier aggregation is used to make more spectrum bandwidth available, while software-defined radio
techniques enable frequency-agile, direct RF architectures.

14 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

 Calibration

Have confidence in
your measurement
Whether you need calibration for existing or new test and measurement
instruments, it’s important you can trust your equipment.

Our expert UKAS-accredited laboratory offers a fast turnaround calibration service for brand
new equipment and a re-calibration service to fine-tune your existing tools.

Find out more

uk.rs-online.com/services
Feature Medical

Improving patient quality of

life with new piezo valves
Pneumatic valves are found in a myriad of medical applications, from the precise control of fluid flow for dialysis,
to pneumatically-operated surgical tools, or the regulation of gas flow and pressures in medical mattresses for
nursing beds. Here, Paul Kendall, Industry Sector Manager – Lifetech at industrial control and
automation experts, Festo, explores the latest developments in piezo valve technology and how their
application in medical devices can improve quality of life for patients.

O
ne important piece of
equipment that needs
accurate flow control is
portable oxygen systems. There is
a trend for these mobile devices
to be ever smaller, driven by a
demand for lighter and more
energy-saving systems that are
easier to carry: improving the
patient’s quality of life. Piezo
technology is offering a new
way to design valves, enabling
the miniaturisation of technical
components that control and
regulate the gas flows. Improving patients’ quality of life

Piezo technology relies on specific ceramics
which exhibit piezoelectric characteristics,
meaning that when this material is mechanically
deformed, a voltage accumulates in it. This
effect also occurs in reverse: applying a voltage
to the ceramic will cause deformation. If a
voltage is applied to a piezo bender, it will lift off
a valve seat. The movement is proportional: the
higher the voltage, the more the actuator bends
and the more gas can flow through the valve.
In order to regain its original shape, the material
must be actively discharged. Energy is only
needed to change the shape of the piezo
bender, or in other words, to change the charge
on the bender itself. No energy is needed for
piezo ceramics to maintain mechanical
deformation. Even after a loss of power, the
Piezoelectric technology is offering a new way to design valves for medical
devices, enabling the miniaturisation of technical components that control and
regulate gas flows.
valve will remain in its current position.
Since piezo ceramics have a small capacitance
(20 nF to 40 nF), the amount of energy required
to change the shape of the bender is very small:
the power consumption is exceptionally low, at
only one milliwatt. This is a major advantage
compared with solenoid valves, which require
several watts of continuously supplied energy to
maintain an open state. This higher energy level
also causes the solenoid valve to heat up in the
process. Its low energy consumption makes
piezo technology ideal for battery-operated
devices, and for applications where valves
cannot be allowed to heat the gas.
However, piezo valves cannot be used as a
drop-in replacement for solenoid valves. Piezo
valves operate with higher voltages – up to 310
V, compared to the 5, 12 or 24 V commonly
used by solenoid valves. A simple set of piezo
driver electronics is therefore required to
generate the necessary 250 to 310 V from the 5,
12 or 24 V power supply, as well as to charge
and discharge the piezo bender. Though 310 V
may seem high, the corresponding current is
very small (max. 5 mA). The piezo electronics
can be designed to be electrically safe, so that
the voltage instantly drops to well below 50 V if
the contacts are touched.
A further advantage to piezo valves is that they
are non-magnetic and therefore don’t interfere
with any other medical equipment – this can be
critical in preserving the integrity of medical
systems. These valves can also be used to
control 100% oxygen gas, since their contact
materials are tested and approved for oxygen
compatibility.
Industrial control and automation firm, Festo is

16 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

 Medical Feature

Image 1: Applying voltage to the piezo bender, it will bend

and lift off a valve seat Image 2: 2/2-way proportional valve with piezo technology

There are many advantages to piezo

technology for valve control.
• Proportional behaviour
• No heat generation
• Extremely low power requirements
and consumption
• Suitable for battery-operated devices
• Very compact and lightweight
• Long service life as the design is
wear-resistant
• Intrinsic safety
• Compatible with oxygen

Table 1: Advantages of pneumatic valves

incorporating piezo valve technology

embracing piezo technology and has recently

introduced its new VEMD proportional flow
control valve, which provides extremely high
control dynamics and is a cost-effective solution
compared with traditional technologies.
Furthermore, it is extremely quiet, energy-
efficient and requires only minimal space.
The valve supplies inert gases and oxygen with
flow rates from 0 to 20 ln/min, and is easy to
control: the gas flow at the output of the valve
can be adjusted simply and controlled in a linear
mode by entering a setpoint between 0 and 10
V. An integrated control circuit with thermal
sensor makes the VEMD precise and dynamic.
It responds up to 35 times faster than
comparable products to a setpoint change,
and is instantly ready for operation.
Piezo valves are providing efficient regulation
and control of medical gases in a number of
areas: for example, flow control with compact
valves for ventilation, anaesthesia devices and
oxygen therapy, pneumatic integration solutions
for surgical devices, and closed-loop control of
fluids in dental service units. Now, the combina-
tion of small dimensions, low power consump-
tion and low costs makes the VEMD valve an
ideal choice for many applications in medical
devices such as portable oxygen devices.
Image 4: Festo’s VEMD proportional control valve requires only minimal space and
power consumption
Piezoelectric technology in electronics
The piezoelectric effect, discovered in 1880 to maintain an existing mechanical
by French physicists, Jacques and Pierre deformation; even after a loss of power, the
Curie, is the electric charge that accumulates material will maintain its current position.
in certain solid materials (such as crystals or
certain ceramics) in response to applied Many electronic devices today use
mechanical stress or pressure. The effect piezoelectricity, often in the form of sensors
also occurs in reverse: applying a voltage to or actuators that utilise piezo technology.
these materials will cause them to deform. For instance, the speakers and microphones
Piezo ceramics act like a small capacitor, in in your smartphone probably employ piezo
that the applied voltage actually charges the technology (turning sound energy into
ceramic material, which in turn causes it to electrical signals for your phone to interpret,
bend. In order to regain its original shape, or vice versa), as well it providing fine
the material must be actively discharged. No movements of optical lenses for the
energy is needed in order for piezo ceramics auto-focus in your smartphone cameras.
The combination of small dimensions, low power consumption and low costs make
piezo valves an ideal choice for many applications in modern MedTech devices.

epdtonthenet.net February
February 2019
2019 17
Feature Medical

Cleaning medical
electronics 101
As technology advances at pace, entire categories of solutions that didn’t previously exist are being created, transforming
the way we communicate, do business and thrive as communities. Medical electronics is one such example, as MedTech
revolutionises healthcare as we know it, with implications related to improved quality of care and efficiency, lower costs,
improved experiences and treatment processes, and more. Technology in the medical field has and continues to impact
our lives and wellbeing. However, as Jay Tourigny, senior vice president at electronics cleaning experts,
MicroCare explains, with new solutions come new challenges: for MedTech equipment, one important consideration
for manufacturers is how best to clean medical electronics safely and effectively.

For medical equipment, an important consideration is how to best clean medical electronics safely and effectively

C
leaning electronics is no trivial task to begin with, shipping a brand-new pacemaker, manufactur-

because of the risk involved and the sensitive nature ers need to ensure that any particulate, such
as adhesives, coatings, finger residue or other
of the components, materials and engineering that material, is completely removed. Anything left
need to be carefully constructed and maintained in order on the product that isn’t meant to be there will
to function properly and keep the user safe. But for negatively affect application of coatings or

medical electronics, the stakes are even higher.

sterilisation. With the wide variety of possible
contaminants, and increasingly miniature
components of various geometries, cleaning
Cleaning standards cleaning has for the next steps in the has and will continue to become more
Among the many reasons why proper cleaning manufacturing process (for instance, complex.
of medical electronics is so important, two sterilisation); and 2) device performance.
particular reasons are: 1) the implications Take pacemakers, for example. Before Beyond removing harmful substances, cleaning
is vital for the utility and functionality of medical
electronic devices. The computing power and
Medical electronics face strict regulation guidelines when it comes to design, functionality of modern medical devices is
manufacturing, certification, and, of course, maintenance and cleaning. directly proportional to the processing power of
the printed circuit boards (PCBs) within them.

18 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

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Feature Medical

Manufacturers need to ensure that any particulate such as adhesives, coatings, finger residue or other material, is completely
removed from pacemakers

Failing solder joints cause a large percentage
of PCB failures, so cleaning is key to their
success. More sophisticated cleaning enables
engineers to specify stronger, more active
fluxes, which results in better solder joints.
Problems with ‘cold joints’, insufficient
wetting, bridging, and shorts can also be
avoided. Better cleaning directly translates
to more effective PCBs, which means better
medical electronics.
Medical electronics also face strict regulation
guidelines when it comes to design,
manufacturing, certification, and, of course,
maintenance and cleaning. Where consumer
electronics can be manufactured for ‘good
enough’ functionality, medical electronics have
no such room for error. Quality, predictability
and safety are all priority concerns for the
sake of patients and medical staff, and the
hospital and product manufacturers who are
liable. ISO 10993, issued by the International
Organization for Standardization, evaluates
devices within a risk management framework
Manufacturers need cleaning solutions that not only that stand up to
regulations, but also satisfy other considerations, including environmental
impact, cost, efficiency and clean room compatibility.
to ensure they are safe, assessing bioburden,
pyrogens and sterility to ensure that no
harmful material remains on the tools
we depend on to provide care.
Under these guidelines, manufacturers
are responsible for undergoing thorough
validation before introducing any change in
their manufacturing process, including new
cleaning methods. Validated processes
must prove to be consistently effective and
repeatable – indefinitely – until the manufac-
turer chooses to undergo validation again.
This rigorous process is costly in time,
resources and energy, and few manufacturers
willingly change course once an existing
process is validated. Validation stresses the
importance for companies to get it right the
first time – not only in regard to the most
effective cleaning process, but also the one
that will be the most scalable, cost-efficient
and adaptable long-term, especially as new
product designs and solutions are introduced
into the market.
Today’s options
Manufacturers have choices when it comes
to cleaning solutions – not only that stand
up to regulations, but also that meet a
number of other considerations such as
environmental impact, cost, efficiency,
maintenance, clean room compatibility and
more. As research has been conducted
and equipment solutions have evolved,
manufacturers have changed their
preference for various cleaning agents
over the years. It’s important that decision
makers understand what the options are
today and how they can be best prepared
for the future.
Historically, vapour degreasing was the
default cleaning process for most industries
when complex electronic equipment was
introduced. However, concerns increased
about the cleaning solvents’ environmental
impact, and, in the 1990s, aqueous cleaning
was introduced and favoured as a ‘greener’
option. Aqueous cleaning was also
accepted for its cheaper cost per volume
of liquid, and, at the time it was introduced,
it worked well with the PCBs of that era.
Until recently, aqueous cleaning methods
have been the primary option and choice
used by many manufacturers in the industry.

20 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

 Medical Feature

However, innovative new cleaning solvents
have come a long way from the chemistry of
decades past, and with new environmentally-
friendly properties, many manufacturers are
revisiting and favouring the benefits that
vapour degreasing with solvents can provide.
For young engineers who may have never
seen a vapour degreaser in their career, and
are unfamiliar with the thermodynamics
involved, the process can seem magical,
especially in contrast to the large, wet and
noisy aqueous cleaning systems they are
familiar with.
and crevices, and quickly weep out rather than
staying trapped. This becomes critical for
several reasons. After cleaning, many products
go into a coating stage. If any liquid remains
on a piece of equipment, conformal coatings
won’t adhere as they should. Additionally, any
trapped liquid poses threats of bacteria and
pyrogen growth that are disastrous in a sterile
environment or healthcare application. The
combination of weight that will clear away
particulate, with the low viscosity and surface
tension getting them in and out of miniature
spaces quickly, makes solvents an ideal agent
for any medical equipment or electronic
If efficacy alone wasn’t enough, the solvent
liquid is indefinitely reusable when it regener-
ates itself in the heated vapour degreaser.
The thermodynamics of the heated machine
generates vapour that rinses, condenses back
to liquid against refrigerated coils and overflows
back into the boil sump, creating a self-recy-
cling system. Properly handled, solvents never
wear out or need to be replaced.
The bottom line benefit
In an industry where the smallest margin of
error could mean a critical outcome, and
validation of processes, equipment and

Vapour degreasing:
how it works
Vapour degreasers (which are used for much
more than cleaning greases, despite their
generic name) are a closed-loop system that
require two components: a specially-designed
cleaning machine, and specific low-temp
boiling nonflammable solvent as the cleaning
agent. They range in size, and inside, you will
find two chambers: the boil sump and the rinse
sump – each descriptive of their purpose. In
the boil sump, the solvent is heated and the
parts are immersed and cleaned in the fluid.
Once cleaned, the parts are mechanically
transferred to the rinse sump for final cleaning
in a pure, uncontaminated fluid. The parts
come out clean, dry, spot-free and immediately
ready for the next step in the process.
cleaning. Cleaning fluid can be tailored for the
application, so that even delicate, intricate
parts are cleaned with consistent results.
While environmental regulations are still in
place, the concerns around solvents are no
longer what they once were. In fact, modern
solvents are greatly minimising environmental
issues; properly designed and maintained
vapour degreasers are extremely environmen-
tally progressive. These modern, nonflamma-
ble solvent cleaning methods are making a
major impact on short- and long-term reliability
and performance of medical electronic
equipment and devices, while lowering
costs at the same time.
suppliers have long-term implications for
manufacturer operations, choosing the right
cleaning solution is more important than most
would think. As medical electronics continue
to advance the way that we provide care,
more manufacturers will be investing in
the most dependable cleaning solutions to
guarantee their effectiveness. Armed with
more effective cleaning agents, manufacturers’
hands aren’t tied by cleaning limitations, and
they can be more empowered in their product
design and innovation to focus on utility and
functionality. Advances in solvent technology
in combination with vapour degreasing will
continue to prove themselves reliable and of
increasing value.

This smooth operation has a number of

advantages. For starters, vapour degreasers
have a significantly smaller footprint than
other options. In a clean room, space is money.
To meet regulations of a validated process,
clean rooms are strictly controlled spaces that
regulate temperature, air quality and other
safety measurements. The larger the square
footage of these spaces, the more expensive
they are to maintain. Additionally, solvents boil
at lower temperatures than water, so it takes
less electricity to get things in motion. Vapour
degreasers are known to be simpler to operate,
requiring less training than more complex
systems and fewer human resources to
manage. Much of the cleaning activity in a
vapour degreaser is automatically initiated – re-
quiring only the touch of a button – in contrast
to other cleaning methods that require more
manual involvement or monitoring.
New solvents are making vapour degreasing a popular choice for medical electronics
The solvent advantage cleaning processes
As it relates to performance, solvents are 20
to 40 percent heavier than water, which can
aid in dislodging particulate more easily from In an industry where the smallest margin of error could mean a critical outcome, and
components. Conversely, they have lower validation of processes, equipment and suppliers have long-term implications for
surface tension and lower viscosity than water,
manufacturer operations, choosing the right cleaning solution is vital.
so they can more easily clean in small cracks

epdtonthenet.net February 2019 21

Case study Wireless

Delivering wireless services

from the sky with USRP &
LabVIEW Communications
Researchers at the University of York needed to implement a cost-effective, low-altitude aerial testbed that can
verify novel wireless communications applications between airborne nodes and ground terminals, while meeting
tight constraints for payload weight, volume and power consumption. The team, led by Professor David Grace,
Head of the University of York’s Communication Technologies Research Group, along with
Research Associate, Dr Yi Chu, combined the rapid prototyping capabilities of National Instruments’ LabVIEW
Communications System Design Suite with the processing power of its USRP RIO to directly drive tailored antenna
elements in a highly flexible wireless testbed. The testbed is carried onboard a tethered aerial platform, Helikite, that
can be deployed for hours, at up to 400 meters altitude, which allowed the team to trial multiple applications

Stratobus High Altitude Platform [image credit: Thales Alenia Space - Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)]

T
oday, many people regard
access to broadband
multimedia wireless services
as an essential utility. At the
beginning of 2017, 98% of the UK
population had mobile coverage,
driven by regulatory requirements
that operators cover at least
Remote areas of Scotland, British National
Parks and areas of outstanding natural
beauty (AONBs) are underserved, with poor
quality or no internet access and, in many
cases, no mobile coverage. This occurs for
two main reasons: the cost of delivery, and
restrictions, such as planning. The UK
government has committed £440M to
provide broadband to 600,000 rural homes
(approximately £750 per home). Extending
Meanwhile, the lack of suitable wireless
infrastructure creates a technological divide.
Smart cities are increasingly receiving
funding, with creative ideas given for the
Internet of Things (IoT), monitoring and
control. In rural areas with limited coverage,
smart villages and farms are still a long way
off, along with applications such as soil
mapping, fertiliser and pest control, fleet
management, and precision livestock

95% of the population. However,

800 MHz wireless coverage to 99% of rural farming, including sheep tracking, smart
areas was anticipated to cost £270M in feeding and milking of cows.
only 70% of the UK landmass is 2012. Clearly, our present approaches
covered, as Figure 1 illustrates. are costly. High-altitude platforms (HAPs) can solve the
civil planning and cost issues of serving such
areas, by filling coverage gaps and working
Aerial high-altitude platforms (HAPs) offer a potential solution to the civil
alongside existing and future terrestrial
planning and cost issues of providing broadband and mobile coverage to infrastructures in the cities. HAPs are
remote areas, by filling coverage gaps and working alongside existing and unmanned aircraft, airships or balloons,
future terrestrial infrastructures in cities. situated in the stratosphere (at an altitude

22 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

 Wireless Case study

of 17 to 22 km), to provide applications over

regional areas of coverage. They are poised
to become a reality within the next few
years, given several well-funded activities
and advancements in the key enabling
technologies of materials, battery and
energy capture.

Tackling the challenges

Building wireless base stations on HAPs,
compared with terrestrial deployments,
presents many new challenges, including:
• Maintaining long-term operations in the
Figure 1. Mobile coverage across the Northern United Kingdom and North York
stratosphere without constant power
Moors National Park
• Ensuring aerial terminals coexist with
terrestrial networks, without causing
interference
• Utilising the limited wireless backhaul
bandwidth between aerial access points
and ground core networks
• Planning the cell coverage of the aerial
base stations

The Communication Technologies Research

Group at the University of York has been
conducting research to tackle such
challenges since 1999 through theoretical
and practical work. In 2016, the university
launched its Centre for High Altitude
Platform Applications (CHAPA), to capitalise
on this new generation of delivery platforms. Figure 2. Helikite, trailer and payload
It is important to have a readily accessible
test facility for early prototyping and trials.
CHAPA started conducting wireless
experiments using a USRP-based solution
that is attached to a 21m3 Helikite – a
tethered helium balloon that can carry a
10kg payload at up to 400 meters altitude.
The team used USRP (Universal Software
Radio Peripheral) devices to drive its
bespoke antenna elements for its various
trials, programmed with LabVIEW Commu-
nications Systems Design Suite.

This floating testbed can be used to

efficiently prove novel designs. The designs
can then be extended to deliver proof-of-
concept payloads that can be deployed and
tested on HAPs themselves, which currently
have restricted availability and significantly
higher running costs.
Prior to the announcement of LabVIEW
Communications, the team used the open
source software package, GNURadio, with
USRP for several months. It started with
zero experience with either software.
However, the graphical user interface of
LabVIEW Communications, comprehensive
tutorials on ni.com, and NI technical support
channels, provided a faster learning curve
to implement applications. Using LabVIEW
Figure 3. Helikite operating at 400m altitude
Communications, the team could also coding, to the USRP’s built-in FPGA, the
program the onboard FPGA without prior team increased the determinism, signal
experience of VHDL or Verilog, helping it integrity and reliability of the system, while
easily implement advanced baseband signal freeing up the host processor for data
processing on the FPGA. By offloading logging and simpler processing tasks,
intensive processing tasks, such as fast such as visualising power spectrum and
Fourier transform (FFT) and modulation/ constellation diagrams.
The University of York’s Communication Technologies Research Group has been
conducting research to tackle HAP challenges since 1999 through theoretical and
practical work, and in 2016, launched its Centre for High Altitude Platform
Applications (CHAPA), to capitalise on this new generation of delivery platforms.

epdtonthenet.net February
February 2019
2019 23
Case study Wireless
Figure 4. Aerial-terrestrial propagation measurement
Operating USRP
from above
The main software defined radio (SDR) kits
used were the NI USRP-2943R and the
Ettus Research USRP-N210. Both kits are
connected to the ground-based host PCs
via Ethernet (the USRP-2943R needs an
SFP-Ethernet adapter). To ensure the USRP
devices operated correctly while airborne,
the team had to account for the weight of
the payload, power consumption and the
connectivity to the host processor. It
measured the voltage/current of each USRP
device while running applications in the lab,
Figure 6. This LabVIEW Communications GUI displays the superimposed constellation
at the relay node
Using a tethered, floating testbed, the team were able to conduct a wide variety
of experiments and application trials, including aerial-terrestrial propagation
measurement, improving spectral efficiency by physical layer network coding,
and avoiding interference by beamforming.
24 February 2019
Figure 5. TWR channel
epdtonthenet.net
and equipped each with an appropriate
battery while on the Helikite. To reduce
weight and ensure the Helikite could fly
safely, the team removed the outer cases
of some USRP devices.
To ensure fast, secure connectivity between
airborne USRP devices and the host PCs
running LabVIEW Communications on the
ground, the team used fibre Ethernet. It
developed a second winch (separate from
the tether winch) to store the fibre, tensioning
the fibre loosely on the tether, using a
clutch and preventing the fragile fibre from
stretching. The fibre Ethernet can achieve 1
Gb/s throughput, which can support multiple
USRP devices operating at full duplex.
With the testbed in place, a wide variety of
experiments and application trials could be
operated. Here are three examples:
1. Measuring elevation angle
dependent attenuation
It’s important to know the quality of radio
coverage before deploying a base station.
In contrast to the well-established terrestrial
propagation models, aerial-terrestrial
propagation still requires further exploration.
The team carried out a field trial to measure
the signal propagation between aerial and
terrestrial terminals.
The Helikite carried a USRP-N210 as the
receiver while, on the ground, a trolley carried
a USRP-2943R acting as a mobile transmitter
(a transmitter-based experiment on the
ground causes less potential interference to
other users on the same band). The team
measured several propagation scenarios,
at different elevation angles and distances,
including line-of-sight (LOS), non-LOS (NLOS)
shadowed by buildings, partial LOS through
trees, and rich reflection NLOS in residential
areas. Further field trials are planned to
collect more data to generate appropriate
propagation models for each scenario.
2. Improving spectral
efficiency by physical
layer network coding
Given the nature of HAPs (unlike the Helikite
test platform), cabled connections to the
terrestrial core network are unfeasible.
So, the technologies that improve the
efficiency of the limited wireless spectrum
are particularly beneficial to aerial-terrestrial
communications. The team’s EPSRC-funded
NetCoM project has investigated improving
backhaul/access link spectral efficiency by

Figure 7. Four-element phased array on the Helikite
using physical layer network coding (PNC).
PNC exploits the additive nature of the RF
wave to compress the received signals
from multiple users into coded data and
uses appropriate side information to ensure
desired data is recoverable at the destina-
tions. The team tested a simple two-way-
relay (TWR) channel using three USRP
devices and the Helikite testbed.
The TWR channel simulates the scenario
where two users exchange data through a
relay, because the direct link between them
does not exist. In the field trial, we have two
USRP devices on the ground (as users),
transmitting different pilot data simultane-
ously on the same carrier frequency to a
USRP (as relay) on the Helikite. We calculate
the bit-error-rate (BER) performance directly
from the PNC-encoded superimposed signal.
The results show that the aerial experiments
have achieved similar BER performance as
the indoor experiments (LOS existed in both
scenarios), which indicate the possibility of
applying PNC technology on aerial platforms.
3. Avoiding interference
by beamforming
Delivering services using shared HAP/
terrestrial spectrum will require highly
dynamic HAP coverage, along with the ability
to specifically protect areas from HAP-gener-
ated interference. Phased array antennas on
the HAP can help achieve tight control of
interference, and delivering electronically
steerable beams can also track the mobility
of the users to provide consistent quality of
service (QoS).
Inspired by a research project and NI case
study from Imperial College, which discussed
direction finding and beamforming, the team
extended the phased array antenna testbed
to use the array to transmit steerable beams,
and tested the system, both in the lab and
on the Helikite.
The team implemented a similar approach to
calibrate the phases of the transmitted
signals as Imperial College. As Figure 7
illustrates, it connected the TX/RX port of
each USRP daughterboard to one antenna
array element, and then connected the RX2
ports to the phase synchronisation tone
generated by the same USRP, through
splitters. However, unlike Imperial College,
the team operated the USRP devices in full
duplex mode, by setting the TX/RX ports to
transmit, and the RX2 ports to receive. In this
setup, the signal transmitted by TX/RX port
couples into the RX2 port, so the RX2 ports
receive both the synchronisation tone, and
the tone sent by the TX/RX port. The two
tones are on different frequencies, so they
“By offloading intensive processing tasks, such as fast Fourier transform (FFT)
and modulation/coding, to USRP’s built-in FPGA, we increased the determinism,
signal integrity, and reliability of the system whilst freeing up the host processor
for data logging and simpler processing tasks such as visualising power spectrum
and constellation diagrams.”
Prof. David Grace, University of York, Communication Technologies Research Group
epdtonthenet.net
Wireless Case study
can be separated by a digital filter. The team
will first correct the phase ambiguities across
the RX2 ports of all daughterboards, and
then calibrate the signals of TX/RX ports,
based on the observed signals at the phase
synchronised RX2 ports. All the USRP
devices driving the antenna array elements
are connected to the common 10 MHz and
1 PPS reference signals.
The team tested a four-element phased
array with the fibre Ethernet backhaul on the
Helikite, using two USRP-2943R to drive the
four array elements, and one USRP-2943R
to source the reference signals. One USRP-
N210 generates the phase synchronisation
tone, to be distributed to four daughterboards
through a splitter. To make sure the payload
mass does not exceed the capability of the
Helikite, the team removed the case of the
USRP-N210, keeping the payload weight just
below 10 kg. Each USRP device is powered
by one battery, and all USRP devices are
connected to one Ethernet adapter, to allow
the host PC on the ground to control them
through the fibre backhaul, controlled by
LabVIEW Communications.
During the field trial, the team clearly observed
the phased array tracking the arriving signal
direction from a moving source (one USRP-
B210) on the ground, and the received signal
power changes while steering the TX beam of
the phased array to different directions.
Future plans
The team plans to expand its Helikite testbed
by investing in a larger, 100m3 Helikite that
can carry a 30kg payload, so it can complete
larger scale experiments. The performances
of its current applications are limited by the
need to process data on the ground-based
PC, rather than the FPGA. The recently
announced standalone USRP-2974 is
equipped with an onboard real-time
processor, which would allow the team to
take full advantage of the built-in FPGA for
baseband signal processing, even when the
device isn’t tethered to a PC. This would
significantly improve the throughput of
applications and allow the team to operate
its testbed at higher altitudes. The team
plans to test this out soon.
February
February 2019
2019 25
Event Test & measurement

New venue for

ElectroTestExpo
Back in 2010, a group of leading test equipment vendors planned a new forum to present the latest technological
advances in electronics testing, establishing ElectroTestExpo – a co-operative event aimed at hardware design and
production test engineers seeking information on the latest tool developments designed to make their jobs easier.
ElectroTestExpo is now the UK’s only dedicated board test, inspection, device programming and debug event for
electronics professionals. One of its organisers, James Stanbridge, UK & Ireland Regional Manager at
JTAG Technologies, previews this year’s upcoming event...

O
riginally hosted at the renowned
Bletchley Park, centre of
engineering excellence, home
of British codebreaking during WWII
and one of the birthplaces of modern
information technology, more recently,
the event has toured the country,
taking its wealth of knowledge,
informative seminars and interesting
exhibits to fresh audiences each year.
This year’s event will take place on
26th March 2018 at Keele Hall on
the Keele University campus, close
to excellent transport infrastructure
links from the Midlands and the
North West of England and Wales.
Now in its 9th year, ElectroTestExpo highlights hardware validation and production testing. latest technical information in test and inspection
the importance of testing, facilitating the free technologies, covering many aspects of test
exchange of information among professional On show at the event will be a wide selection of throughout the product lifecycle. Delegates will
engineers involved in the design, manufacture test, measurement and inspection instruments be able to select from talks on JTAG/Boundary-
and test of printed circuit boards and electronic and technologies from right across the scan, ATE Building, signal switching and
products. spectrum, ranging from oscilloscopes, RF high-integrity mass interconnection systems.
generators, logic analysers and other benchtop In addition to seminars, experts in most aspect
The event combines an exhibition featuring tools, through to integrated production test of electronics test will be on hand – and only
more than a dozen test equipment specialists, systems based on advanced technologies that too willing to share their knowledge.
including JTAG Technologies, Pickering include AOI systems, flying-probe testers, mass
Interfaces, Viavi Solutions, Adlink, Amfax, TTid, interconnect systems, DFT (design for testing) ElectroTestExpo is funded by a co-operative
MAC Panel, Pico Technology, Elite Interfaces, analysis software, PXI systems, and JTAG/ of T&M equipment vendors, making it free-to-
TestWorks and Yelo – alongside a seminar boundary-scan testers and programmers. attend (including refreshments) for end-users
programme focusing on the latest developments and customers, and open to all engineering
in test technologies. It is aimed at electronics The show’s informative free seminar program will professionals. However, spaces are limited, so
engineers interested in ‘board bring-up’, also offer added value for engineers seeking the please get your application in early. For further
information and to book your place, please
contact Nick Hickford (Nick.Hickford@
ElectroTestExpo highlights the importance of test, facilitating the free exchange
pickeringtest.com) or James Stanbridge
of information among professional engineers involved in the design, (james@jtag.co.uk) – or simply visit www.
manufacture and test of printed circuit boards and electronic products. electrotestexpo.co.uk

26 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

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 The products pages are the only pages you need to catch up with the latest releases.
News & Products To contact us about getting your product on these pages, send an email to richard.woodruff@imlgroup.co.uk

Nexperia and Avnet Celebrate 50 Years of Success
Two industry leaders deliver
performance and quality
Nijmegen, December 11,
2018: Nexperia, the global
leader in discretes, logic
and MOSFET devices, and
global technology solutions
provider Avnet, which
supports customers from
idea to design and from
prototype to production,
today announce
celebrating a half century
of successfully working
together with strong
results.
The initial engagement started in 1968 when Avnet added Signetics as
one of its first franchises. Signetics was subsequently bought by Philips
and became NXP in 2006. More recently, the standard products division
of NXP has emerged as a separate company, Nexperia, becoming
a dynamic force in discretes, logic and MOSFET devices. Nexperia
is serving global markets, delivering components at high volume
to automotive, mobile and other markets that demand the highest
efficiency, quality and performance.
For press information, please contact: www.nexperia.com
Eaton’s XLR-48 supercapacitor module offers high power density to
optimise energy consumption – now at TTI
Suitable as sole energy
storage device/combined
with batteries in hybrid/EVs;
EDLC construction; long
20-year product lifetime with
millions of cycles
January 2019 – The
new Eaton XLR-48
supercapacitor module
delivers high reliability,
high power and ultra-high
capacitance energy storage
and is available now at
TTI, Inc., a world leading
specialist distributor of
electronic components.
Utilising electrochemical
double-layer capacitor
(EDLC) construction, the Eaton XLR-48 supercapacitor module can
be used as a sole energy source or in combination with batteries
to optimize cost, lifetime and run time. With ultra low ESR for high
power density, the XLR-48 offers design lifetime up to twenty years,
with millions of charge/discharge cycles throughout the life of the
application.
FFor more information about TTI, visit www.ttieurope.com

TI’s GaN Modules, Available from Mouser, Deliver Compact, High- OMC introduces new FDH36 rugged bulkhead housing for fibre optic
Density Solutions for High-Performance Applications transmitters and receivers with ST connector
December 10, 2018 Suits industrial,
– Mouser Electronics, automotive and mass-
Inc., the industry’s transit applications
leading New Product
Introduction (NPI) October 2018…
distributor with the OMC, the pioneer
widest selection of in optoelectronics
semiconductors and design & manufacture,
electronic components, has announced its
stocks the full line of new FDH36 rugged
gallium arsenide (GaN) bulkhead-mount housing
modules from Texas for fibre optic receivers
Instruments (TI). and transmitters. The
new device incorporates
TI’s GaN controllers, an ST connector and
regulators, and drivers has been developed
deliver reduced power as the ST version of OMC’s popular FDH1 transmitter and receiver
with end-to-end power conversion and 5 MHz switching frequencies housing. The robust design of the FDH36 helps it withstand the harsh
for high-performance applications such as electric motor design, operating environments often found in industrial, automotive, mass
augmented reality, LiDAR, and high-density industrial and commercial transit and similar applications, including off-road vehicles.
power supplies. The devices integrate high-speed gate drivers,
electromagnetic interference (EMI) control, and over-temperature and The new FDH36 consists of an all-metal, rugged turret design with a
overcurrent protection with an optimized layout to minimize parasitic square base flange. The flange features mounting holes in each corner
inductance, maximize dv/dt immunity (CMTI), and reduce board space. and is designed to bolt down firmly to the bulkhead, helping to ensure
a robust and secure fixing.
To learn more about TI GaN modules available from Mouser,
visit www.mouser.com/ti-gan-modules. For further information please visit: http://www.omc-uk.com/

Lattice Expands Ultra-Low Power sensAI Stack with Optimized Solutions High-accuracy PXI/PCI precision programmable resistor modules from
for Always-On, On-Device AI Pickering Interfaces offer long life and high speed
Huge choice of configurations;
simple control via resistance
calls
September 18, 2018
– Clacton-on-Sea, UK –
Pickering Interfaces, a leading
provider of modular signal
CNN accuracy with flexible milliwatt FPGA solutions; New reference switching and simulation
designs for human presence and hand gesture recognition with scalable products for electronic
performance/power test and verification, today
launched two new families of
• New CNN Compact Accelerator IP for iCE40 UltraPlus™ FPGAs with high density, high accuracy,
support for 16-bit and 1-bit quantization for improved performance, precision programmable
power, and accuracy tradeoffs resistor modules in modular
PXI and PCI formats for easy system integration.
• Enhancement to CNN Accelerator IP for ECP5™ FPGAs with up to
2x increase in DRAM memory bandwidth, for improved performance in The 40-298 (PXI) and 50-298 (PCI) cards are each available in 50 standard
smaller devices configurations, offering a huge choice of resistor channel count, resistance
range and resistance setting resolution for a wide variety of functional test
• New hardware platforms, reference designs, and demos showcase system applications. These two programmable families feature Pickering
scalable performance and power optimized for always-on, on-device Interfaces reed relays which offer resistance settings up to 10 times faster
AI applications than other precision resistance modules that use EMR (Electro-Mechanical
For more information about Lattice please visit Relays).
www.latticesemi.com Pricing and availability information is supplied on their website at
www.pickeringtest.com.

28 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

 The products pages are the only pages you need to catch up with the latest releases.
News & Products To contact us about getting your product on these pages, send an email to richard.woodruff@imlgroup.co.uk

Würth Elektronik eiSos presents WE-MTCI - the smallest 1:N transformer
With “WE-MTCI SMT Multi-
Turn Ratio Double Choke”,
Würth Elektronik eiSos
presents its smallest double
choke yet (5030 package)
with different winding
ratios from 1:1.5 to 1:3.
The magnetically shielded
double choke with 0.8 kV
isolation is specified for an
operating temperature of
-40 to +125°C.
WE-MTCI is available in
versions for rated currents
from 0.45 to 0.95 A. The
double choke is the ideal
solution for buck/boost
converters with regulated or
unregulated output voltage.
Isolated converter applications – such as flyback converters – with
high packaging density are also areas of use, as well as step-up or
step-down converters with auxiliary windings, as are auto-transformer
applications. The WE-MTCI double choke is now available from stock in
any quantities. Free samples on request.
Further info at https://katalog.we-online.de/en/pbs/WE-MTCI
Class-leading PCBA strain testing products and support
PCB assemblies (PCBA) should be
evaluated for peak strain during
manufacturing to predict and prevent
latent failures.
Following IPC/JEDEC 9704A VPG
Micro-Measurements have produced
best-in-class miniature strain gauges
for use on high-density PCBAs,
with our S5198 3-element rosette
measuring only 2.2 x 3.9mm. Pre-
attached miniature high-temperature
leadwires ensure ease of installation
and leadwire routing.
StrainSmart® data acquisition
systems software provides
integrated PCBA reporting with customisable strain metrics.
Integrated self-calibration reduces downtime and ownership costs.
Data rates to 50k samples/second meet all test requirements
including the drop test method for handheld devices.
In combination with our extensive knowledge and unequalled
training and support, VPG Micro-Measurements are the one-stop
shop for your PCBA strain test requirements.
For more information please email mm.uk@vpgsensors.com
or call 01256 462131
http://www.vishaypg.com/micro-measurements/

4:1 input DC/DC converters in compact 1“ x 1“ footprint OKW has launched a new suspension element for its EVOTEC designer
RECOM’s recently table-top enclosures, enabling them to be wall mounted
released REC15E-Z The new wall kit
series of 15W isolated makes tough and
DC/DC converters ergonomic EVOTEC
features wide input ideal for access control,
ranges at low cost in the medical, laboratory
popular 1”x1” case size. and environmental
This saves a significant technology.
amount of PCB space,
while the wide input Each kit comprises
ranges increase flexibility two parts: an adapter
by accepting several attached to the
standard bus voltages. enclosure and a holder
fitted to the wall. The
The REC15E-Z DC/DC adapter (and enclosure)
converters are fully- can then be clipped to
specified devices with the wall holder. Once
15W, no minimum load, clipped into place, the adapter (and enclosure) can be easily unclipped
1600VDC isolation, high efficiency up to 90% and low ripple/noise. again or secured with two screws (supplied), offering additional
The REC15E-Z series was designed for cost-sensitive applications protection against removal.
where board space is at a premium. The wide 4:1 input ranges accept
9-36V or 18-75V to cover multiple supply options such as lead-acid or EVOTEC enclosures are available in six sizes and prices start at £14.
lithium batteries or 12/24/36/48V industrial bus voltages. The inputs are The standard colour is off white (RAL 9002). OKW can supply EVOTEC
protected against transients of up to 100V and feature UVLO to protect fully customised on request
batteries from being over-discharged. Visit the OKW website for further information:
For further information please visit: www.recom-power.com https://www.okw.co.uk/en/Plastic-enclosures/Evotec.htm

congatec doubles RAM support for Server-on-Modules

congatec – a leading vendor of standardized and customized
embedded computer boards and modules – announces that
its Intel Atom C3000 processor based conga-B7AC Server-on-
Modules now support up to 96 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM memory
on 3 sockets. This is twice the previously supported capacity
and sets a major new milestone for COM Express Type 7 based
designs, as memory is one of the most important performance
levers for embedded edge server technologies. This
performance leap was possible because the Intel Atom C3000
family supports the newly available 32 GB SO-DIMMs. The
new Server-on-Modules with a high-speed memory bandwidth
of 2400 MT/s are available now and can be ordered with and
without ECC support.
High memory capacity is essential for server applications,
because the fastest way to read and write values into a database
is to fully load them into memory. There are many database
applications in the field of embedded edge computing, such as
network appliances for content delivery in video surveillance
applications, IoT gateways or OPC UA servers in automation.
Servers that host many virtual machines also benefit immensely
from the doubled memory capacity.
More information about the conga-B7AC COM Express Type
7 Server-on-Modules is available at https://www.congatec.
com/en/products/com-express-type-7/conga-b7ac.html

epdtonthenet.net February 2019 29

Editorial Column

STEM Matters:

Was 2018 the Year of Engineering?…

Hopefully, you already know that the Year of Engineering was a government campaign in 2018
that aimed to widen the pool of young people considering engineering as a career. Working with
industry, education and institution partners, the campaign focused on showcasing and
celebrating the contribution that engineering makes to today’s world by developing and
promoting inspiring experiences of modern engineering throughout 2018. A key goal of the
initiative was to raise awareness and increase understanding amongst young people and their
families of what engineers actually do. So, how did it do?...
Mark Gradwell, Editor

B
ack at the beginning of 2018, Dr Hayaatun Sillem, CEO of the Royal Academy of
Engineering, called the Year of Engineering “an unprecedented opportunity to bring about
a step change both in perceptions of engineering and the attractiveness of engineering
careers to people from all backgrounds”. While the first part of her statement may be the core
objective and focus of the campaign, I was particuarly pleased to see Dr Sillem – the RAE’s
first female CEO and a champion of greater diversity in the sector – highlight the second part.
Encouraging greater diversity in the profession will be vital to addressing the shortfall in
STEM recruitment – as well as to broadening the collective perspectives of the sector.

continued, “the Year of Engineering was always
about building on and uniting this work. It was
about joining forces across industry, and
bringing new partners on board who could
help us reach more young people, from more
Nusrat Ghani MP, parliamentary under-secre- diverse backgrounds”.
tary of state at the Department for Transport,
and minister for the Year of Engineering 2018 That said, the additional focus has been
recently talked to The Engineer, reflecting on welcomed and embraced by industry and
the successes of the campaign and consider- professional institutions. “In 2018, we worked
ing how the momentum generated can be with more than 1,400 partners to deliver more
carried into 2019. With so many other industry than one million direct experiences of
campaigns, initiatives and organisations engineering,” Ms Ghani claimed, “and we are
already focused on addressing the STEM skills seeing a tangible and positive shift in
gap, I was pleased to see her recognise that perceptions of engineering careers and
“when government launched the Year of engineering stereotypes among young people”.
Engineering, we always knew that we were
not beginning with a blank sheet of paper – far Describing the breadth of support received, Ms
from it. The industry has long been alive to the Ghani cited museums opening pioneering new
challenges and opportunities of transforming exhibitions and galleries (such as the Science
perceptions of engineering”. Museum’s Engineer Your Future exhibit), tech
companies like Apple and Facebook inviting
She acknowledged that “impressive and young people behind the scenes to meet their
far-reaching work has been done to involve engineers for the first time, and Siemens
teachers and parents, and behind the scenes training teachers to deliver powerful lessons
a wealth of research and engagement has put that smash gender stereotypes. Associated
tackling the skills gap firmly at the top of the campaigns like the RAE’s This is Engineering
agenda”. “Against this backdrop”, Ms Ghani and Tomorrow’s Engineers Week (including its
“The partnerships that underpin the campaign are helping us open young people’s
eyes to the amazing things they could achieve as engineers – I hope that the past year
is just the beginning.” Nusrat Ghani MP, minister for the Year of Engineering
record-breaking Big Assembly which saw
~50,000 students, connected by live video
stream, take part in the SAME school
assembly) also helped challenge young
people’s perceptions of what it means to
be an engineer.
“We’ve worked with footballers, astronauts and
dancers to show children the exciting places
engineering could take them. YouTubers and
bloggers have inspired parents to nurture their
kids’ creativity and curiosity at home. Through
competitions, challenges and projects,
partners like LEGO Education, the Royal
Navy and Primary Engineer have helped
young people discover the enormous impact
engineers have on the world around us.
And we have shared myth-busting stories of
engineers from all backgrounds and every
corner of the UK.”
Recognising the work still to do, Ms Ghani
said: “the true success of the campaign lies
in the relationships forged, and the potential
these bring for a lasting and meaningful
legacy”. She hailed the connections built
between schools and local employers, as well
as the big names from the worlds of technol-
ogy, entertainment and sport that have joined
forces with the STEM community to help
transform perceptions. And crucially, she
confirmed that the campaign would continue
into 2019 – rebranding as “Engineering:
Take a closer look”.

30 February 2019 epdtonthenet.net

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