High-bandwidth Applications Likely to Increase the Adoption Rates of AWGs

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – The mature Signal Generator and Arbitrary Waveform Generator market has made slow progress in recent years, with product development being more evolutionary than revolutionary. Innovation remains limited to increasing bandwidth, frequency range, accuracy, and improving operating systems.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan of the Signal Generator and Arbitrary Waveform Generator Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $636.0 million in 2010. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.3 percent to reach $800 million in 2017. If you are interested in a virtual brochure for this study, please send an email to Sarah Saatzer, Corporate Communications, at sarah.saatzer@frost.com, with your full name, company name, job title, telephone number, company email address, company web site, city, state and country.

Most products in the market can deliver either high resolution or signal speed, but not both.

“However, the potential for growth in the AWG segment has been increasing with the introduction of next-generation products providing high-speed bandwidth,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Mariano Kimbara. “An increasing number of digital modulations transport more data in the same bandwidth, making them more likely to generate imprecise levels of transmissions and phase angles and increasing the need for AWGs.”

Market participants can also take heart from the continuous development of wireless communication standards, which could potentially lead to a ‘wireless decade’ in the next ten years. The SGs market will be eagerly following the rapid development of standards such as wireless interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), third-generation (3G) wireless, fourth-generation (4G) wireless, wideband code-division multiple access (WCDMA).

“Many end users are looking for defined architectures to help them communicate over WiMAX, CDMA, or long term evolution (LTE) and are looking for software packages around hardware that can communicate on these standards,” notes Kimbara. “The combination of communications with wireless 60GHz and improvements in new wireless technologies in the aerospace and defense segments will give a boost to the SGs and AWGs market.”

There is also a perceptible shift to a software-defined approach in the market. AWGs are especially useful when they are combined with software to simplify waveform creation and fully exploit wideband signal generating capabilities. The higher technical demand in the SG and AWG market has had companies leveraging new standards such as the new open standard for modular instrumentation and advanced TCA extensions for instrumentation and test (AXIe) in the AWG market. Others are increasing the channel count with four-channel AWGs.

Analysis of the Signal Generator and Arbitrary Waveform Generator Market is part of the Test & Measurement Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: General Purpose Test & Measurement Equipment and Modular Instruments for Test and Measurement. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

HIOKI Signal Source 7016 Signal Generator

As a Signal Generator
Meters that use pulse output as sensor signals, such as flow meters, can easily be calibrated in the field by using the 7016 as a pulse generator to supply reference signal input. Its ability to generate constant voltage and constant current in the range from 1-5 V and 4-20 mA makes it ideally suited to a variety of maintenance needs, such as calibration of equipment instrumentation in the 1-5 V/4-20 mA range.

As a DMM
The 7016 achieves unparalleled performance for a handy DMM, providing DC voltage measurement accuracy of ±0.03% rdg. ±5 dgt. (excluding 50 mV range), with display switchable to 51000 count. Also, in addition to the basic measurements of DC voltage, DC current, AC voltage, resistance, diode, and grounding, this multi-function instrument also supports frequency and temperature measurement.

FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology Issues Public Notice to Start Public Testing for Spectrum Bridge’s TV White Spaces Database System

Washington, D.C. The Federal Communications Commission issued a Public Notice announcing that the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) will commence a 45-day public trial of Spectrum Bridge Inc.’s TV band database system, beginning September 19, 2011.

Unused spectrum between TV stations–called white spaces–represents a valuable opportunity for our changing wireless mobile landscape. This block of spectrum is powerful platform for innovation and experimental use, holding rich potential for research and commercial purposes. The result of white spaces innovation has already led to a wave of new consumer technologies, including wi-fi and other innovations like baby monitors and cordless phones that have generated billions in economic growth.

Commission rules require that unlicensed TV band devices contact an authorized database system to obtain a list of channels that are available for their operation (i.e., channels not occupied by authorized radio services) at their individual locations and must operate only on those channels.

The limited trial is intended to allow the public to access and test Spectrum Bridge’s database system to ensure that it correctly identifies channels that are available for unlicensed TV band devices, properly registers those facilities entitled to protection, and provides protection to authorized services and registered facilities as specified in the rules. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, “Unleashing white spaces spectrum will enable a new wave of wireless innovation. It has the potential to exceed the billions of dollars in economic benefit from wi-fi, the last significant release of unlicensed spectrum, and drive private investment and job creation.”

Parties may participate in the trial by accessing Spectrum Bridge’s TV band database test facility at

http://whitespaces.spectrumbridge.com/Trial.aspx

The trial of the Spectrum Bridge database system is scheduled to last for 45 days and will end on November 2, 2011. During this trial, participants are encouraged to test the channel availability calculator; the cable headend and broadcast auxiliary temporary receive site registration utilities; and the wireless microphone registration utility to ensure that each of these elements of the database system is working properly and providing the interference protection required under our rules.

In addition, participants are encouraged to report any inaccuracies or other issues with any aspect of the database system to Spectrum Bridge through the response facility on the trial’s website. Spectrum Bridge will respond, as appropriate, to such reports with an explanation and notification of any responsive actions it may take, as appropriate. During the trial, Spectrum Bridge may apply any corrective measures it determines are needed and will advise participants of such measures through the trial’s website.

Participants are also encouraged to report any inaccuracies or other issues with any aspect of the database system to Spectrum Bridge through the response facility on the trial’s website, which will make modifications as appropriate. After the close of the trial, Spectrum Bridge will provide a summary report to OET that identifies problems reported and their disposition, as well as descriptions of changes made to the channel availability calculator or registration systems.

Read the Public Notice here: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-11-1534A1.doc. (source fcc.gov)

The FCC TV White Spaces Database Certification Public Trial went live at 8.30am EDT on September 19, 2011.

Who is Spectrum Bridge?

From Their About Us Page:
Spectrum Bridge, Inc. (SBI) provides software and services for the next generation of wireless networking. Our solutions address the industry’s insatiable demand for wireless bandwidth by utilizing database-driven cognitive networking technology to redefine the way in which spectrum is accessed, allocated, and utilized. Founded in 2007 by a team of proven wireless experts, Spectrum Bridge established its leadership in the spectrum marketplace thorough the company’s flagship products SpecEx.com and ShowMyWhiteSpace.com. Providing the only online marketplace of available licensed radio spectrum for sale or lease on the secondary market, SpecEx.com increases the visibility into available spectrum solutions, while enabling access to underused spectrum. As the creators of the first TV white space channel map capable of showing spectrum availability across all 3,141 U.S. counties, ShowMyWhiteSpace.com along with our TV white space trial initiatives, demonstrate the viability of this newly unlicensed band as a means for addressing the perceived spectrum scarcity crisis. Spectrum Bridge has achieved remarkable recognition over the past couple of years. The FCC conditionally appointed Spectrum Bridge a TV White Space Database Administrator in January 2011. In addition to this, the Company’s achievements were recognized in the National Broadband Plan in 2010 as the first to deploy multiple trial networks using TV White Spaces.

Data Traveling by Light

Regular LEDs can be turned into optical WLAN with only a few additional components thanks to visible light communication (in short, VLC). The lights are then not just lighting up, they also transfer data. They send films in HD quality to your iPhone or laptop, with no loss in quality, quickly and safely.

Just imagine the following scenario: four people are comfortably ensconced in a room. Each one of them can watch a film from the Internet on his or her laptop, in HD quality. This is made possible thanks to optical WLAN. Light from the LEDs in the overhead lights serves as the transfer medium. For a long time, this was just a vision for the future. However, since scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI in Berlin, Germany, have developed a new transfer technology for video data within the scope of the OMEGA project of the EU, its implementation in real life is getting markedly closer. At the end of May, the scientists were able to present the results of the project in Rennes, France. They were able to transfer data at a rate of 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s) without any losses, using LEDs in the ceiling that light up more than ten square meters (90 square feet). The receiver can be placed anywhere within this radius, which is currently the maximum range. “This means that we transferred four videos in HD quality to four different laptops at the same time,“ says Dr. Anagnostis Paraskevopoulos from the HHI.

“The fundamentals of visible light communication (VLC) were developed together with the industry partners Siemens and France Telecom Orange Labs,“ said the expert. At HHI, the team of project manager Klaus-Dieter Langer is now further developing the new technology. “For VLC the sources of light – in this case, white-light LEDs – provide lighting for the room at the same time they transfer information. With the aid of a special component, the modulator, we turn the LEDs off and on in very rapid succession and transfer the information as ones and zeros. The modulation of the light is imperceptible to the human eye. A simple photo diode on the laptop acts as a receiver. As Klaus-Dieter Langer explains, “The diode catches the light, electronics decode the information and translate it into electrical impulses, meaning the language of the computer.“ One advantage is that it takes only a few components to prepare the LEDs so that they function as transfer media. One disadvantage is that as soon as something gets between the light and the photo diode (for example, when someone holds his hand over the diode) the transfer is impaired. Laptops, Palm devices or mobile telephones are all potential end devices.

The scientists emphasize that VLC is not intended to replace regular WLAN, PowerLAN or UMTS. It is best suited as an additional option for data transfer where radio transmission networks are not desired or not possible – without needing new cables or equipment in the house. Combinations are also possible, such as optical WLAN in one direction and PowerLAN for the return channel. Films can be transferred to the PC like this and also played there, or they can be sent on to another computer.

The new transmission technology is suitable for hospitals, for example, because radio transmissions are not allowed there. Despite this fact, high data rates must be transmitted without losses and unzipped, according to the experts. If part of the communication occurs via the light in the surgical room, this would make it possible to control wireless surgical robots or transmit x-ray images. In airplanes, each passenger could view his own
entertainment program on a display, saving aircraft manufacturers miles of cables. Another possible venue for the application of this technology are production facilities, where radio transmissions very often interfere with the processes.

Currently the scientists are developing their systems toward higher bit rates. “Using red-blue-green-white light LEDs, we were able to transmit 800 Mbit/s in the lab,“ said Klaus-Dieter Langer. “That is a world record for the
VLC method.“ The HHI scientists will showcase how videos are transmitted by light in Hall 11.1, Booth 8 at the International Telecommunications Fair IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung IFA) in Berlin from September 2-7, 2011. (source www.fraunhofer.de)