GaN Breaks Barriers

The increasing demand for higher data rates in telecommunications and higher resolution in industrial systems is pushing the frequency of operation higher for the electronics that support them. Many of these systems...

Small Form Factor Embedded Systems

As sensor processing hardware like data converters, FPGAs and CPUs evolve to handle more channels with higher signal bandwidths, designers can develop powerful distributed signal acquisition and...

Designing Electronic Warfare to Regain Airborne Military Dominance

For decades, military aircraft have relied on electronic warfare (EW) solutions to protect assets and dominate airspace. The ability of the United States to detect and track...

Certifying Composite Designs for Aerospace and Defense

Wherever you find newer and particularly larger aircraft these days, you're seeing the use of composite materials. The latest commercial planes, as well as innovative defense prototypes,...

Evaluating Key Certification Aspects of Multicore Platforms for Safety Critical Avionics Applications

High performance, low power consumption and small footprint requirements imposed by the embedded market on the processor industry is...

Achieving Performance Advantages in Unmanned Systems

Unmanned Vehicle Systems (UVS) are reaching new levels of functionality and performance, and it’s not just for air vehicles either. Ground and underwater UVS programs are all taking...

Multiple Node Networking Using PCIe Interconnects

PCI Express (PCIe) interconnects, and how they can be used to support multiple node low latency data transfers over copper or optical cables, is gaining momentum in embedded computing...

Thermal Management of Laser Diodes

High-power laser diodes can generate a great deal of heat. Even for laser diodes operating with 70% or higher efficiency, a large amount of applied energy is converted to heat. Since the performance and...

Designing VME Power Systems With Standard Modules

Military electronics continue to push the performance envelope in all directions. Each new system design faces the same challenges: the need for more processing power, tighter specs, and...

Optimizing Thermal Management to Meet SWaP-C Requirements

As defense systems continue to shrink, corresponding thermal management concerns expand exponentially. Designers have learned that overheating can be the downfall of even the most...

TRB Turns Composites Focus to Aerospace Sector

TRB Lightweight Structures Ltd. recently released an aerospace-grade lightweight honeycomb composite panel designed for interior applications, expanding the application areas for its range of...

Stand-Off Scanning and Pointing with Risley Prisms

With the ever increasing threat of improvised explosive devices, both in the military arena and the civilian realm, there is a growing demand for technologies with the ability to detect...

Automated Testing of Advanced, High-Performance, Point-to-Multipoint Radio Systems

In 2008, 4RF Communications started development of a new range of radio products to augment their existing point-to-point, long-range wireless link product....

Redesign of composite parts for structural integrity

In the case of composite materials, material properties are vastly dependent on the manufacturing process. While shifting the manufacturing process of a composite part from preimpregnated...

From VME to VPX

Sequestration, defense reform and cost constraints are driving a new paradigm in the defense industry, where leveraging existing technologies is no longer optional, but required. This is especially true as we migrate from VME...

Modeling and Simulation Techniques for Unmanned Vehicle Systems

Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle (UAV) systems have become possible in recent history thanks primarily to the effects of Moore’s Law — the doubling of processing power every 18...

An Improved SDR FPGA Verification Methodology for Emerging OFDMA Waveforms

The rapid evolution of commercial technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) is becoming more attractive for Software-Defined Radio (SDR) and public safety...

Designing A New Generation of Rugged Military Electronics

The military electronics industry is reinventing itself as DoD budget cuts are creating a need for rugged solutions that deliver long-term viability. Despite reduced resources, the...

Using Software Defined Instruments to Address the Mixed-Signal Test Challenges of Today’s Software Defined Radios

Software Defined Radio (SDR) represents an important move forward for mobile and personal communications, promising a major...

Improving Software Reliability in Satellite and Spacecraft Applications

In the space industry, much of the effort to refine system engineering processes has been done by hand using tools as divergent as Microsoft PowerPoint to IBM Rational...

New Energy Source Powers Single-Use Mil/Aero Equipment

Until recently, single-use high energy devices were typically powered by reserve/thermal batteries using decades-old technology. Recognizing that battery performance limitations could...

Thermal Management Techniques for Military Embedded Computers

As military programs continue to place an ever growing reliance on embedded computer systems, developments in rugged computer design must continue to advance to keep pace with...

Keeping Pace With Military Radio and SDR Technology

There are two absolute truths about wireless military radios. The first is that wireless military radios must be accurate and reliable in mission-critical applications to guarantee the...

Advances in High-Frequency PCB Materials

Traditionally, RF/microwave printed circuit board applications were developed based on the needs that came out of the military market. Applications like radar and guidance systems were operating at...

Considerations for Thermal Management of Printed Wiring Boards

Remaining at the forefront of technological advancements in the printed wiring industry requires a proven combination of process methodology, state-of-the-art processing...

Data-Based Paradigm for Rapid Development of Advanced Avionics Displays

The database concepts, tools, and runtime software described in this article provide a methodology for creating advanced avionics human-machine interfaces (HMIs), such...

SpaceWire: The Standard for Aerospace Communications

Developed in 1999 under the auspices of the European Space Agency, SpaceWire answered a longstanding spaceflight problem: no standard, high-speed communications protocol existed for flight...