In The News...

• Richardson and RADIALL Offer “Service +”
• TriQuint Expands North Carolina Design Center
• MI Tech Appoints Liang
• Active Maritime Antenna for Thuraya Satellite Phones
• HRL Labs Demonstrates Graphene RF Field-Effect Transistors
• Nashef Promoted at REC
• FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Joins Industry Insider Series at the 2009 International CES
• RFMD® to Reduce Manufacturing Costs, Increase Cash Flow
• EI Technologies Expands with UK Office, Appoints European Sales Director

Richardson and RADIALL Offer “Service +”
Richardson Electronics, Ltd. has entered into an agreement with RADIALL, a global manufacturer of interconnect components, to promote and distribute “Service +”, an innovative and automated program for ordering, manufacturing and delivering RF cable assemblies. The Service + program includes a quick-turn cable assembly operation with dedicated resources; easy access to a broad range of standard connectors and cables; same day quotation and associated technical data sheet; delivery in as fast as one week; standard electrical performance guaranteed in each cable assembly; and full quality control in an ISO 9001 facility. Richardson Electronics has been distributing RADIALL’s cable assembly products for more than 10 years.
www.rell.com

TriQuint Expands North Carolina Design Center
TriQuint Semiconductor, a leading RF front-end product manufacturer and foundry services provider, announced that its North Carolina design center has moved into a new facility to accommodate its growing handset business. The North Carolina design center opened two years ago with one person and now hosts a team of highly advanced RF engineers. The team, with a dozen patents and more than 300 years collective experience in electrical engineering and technical support, develops TriQuint’s latest advanced module solutions for mobile phone manufacturers. The new facility is double the size of the first location and will accommodate future growth. Darrell Epperson, manager of TriQuint North Carolina, said, “We are excited to move into the new facility as it represents our past success and promising future. The new facility has state-of-the-art equipment to complement our strong RF engineers in developing world-class solutions for our growing customer base. It’s rewarding to see the latest phones rely on TriQuint technology to optimize their talk time and battery life.” To augment the North Carolina design center’s products, technologists at TriQuint’s Oregon, Massachusetts, Florida, and Munich, Germany facilities design TriQuint’s other handset product families, including leading 3G solutions which have been adopted by most of the major smart phone manufacturers.
www.triquint.com

MI Tech Appoints Liang
MI Technologies, a leading worldwide supplier of microwave test and measurement products, systems and service, has named Charles Liang to the position of Strategic Account Manager for Asia, reporting to Michael Murphy, vice president, sales. In this new position, Liang will be responsible for the company’s new business efforts for the Asian region, working with in-country partners and the MI Technologies’ engineering and business resources to accelerate the growth of the company’s business in the region.
www.mi-technologies.com

Active Maritime Antenna for Thuraya Satellite Phones
European Antennas Ltd. has released the Active Maritime antenna for use with the current range of Thuraya satellite phones. SatCom Global has been appointed as the worldwide distributor for this Active Maritime antenna. Using their global network of offices and service providers, they will supply a complete installation kit including antennas, 22 meter GPS and satellite cables, bias tee and mounting bracket for interface with Thuraya Fixed Docking Unit FDU3500 and other Thuraya systems. The Active Maritime antenna has been designed for ultra-low angle coverage to enhance performance when being used on the edge of the Thuraya footprint.
www.european-antennas.co.uk

HRL Labs Demonstrates Graphene RF Field-Effect Transistors
HRL Laboratories, LLC, has demonstrated the world’s first graphene radio frequency (RF) field effect transistors (FETs) as part of the Carbon Electronics for RF Applications, or CERA program. The milestone is the first in the proposed 51-month, three-phase program to develop a new generation of carbon-based RF integrated circuits for ultra-high-speed, ultra-low-power applications. The goal of the effort, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and under the management of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR), is to exploit the unique qualities of graphene carbon to create components that will enable unprecedented capabilities in high-bandwidth communications, imaging, and radar systems. HRL is collaborating with a group of universities, commercial companies and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) on the program. While graphene FETs have been demonstrated before, most used exfoliated graphene films. “HRL, working with the NRL, demonstrated graphene FETs using epitaxial film operating in the RF frequency range,” said Jeong-sun Moon, senior research scientist with the Microelectronics Laboratory at HRL. “This is a key step toward wafer-scale high-speed graphene RF FETs that operate in the RF domain.” The military’s ability to develop sophisticated imaging and communications systems is hindered by RF component cost, limited resolution, and high power dissipation. A graphene-on-Silicon platform could revolutionize a number of military applications because of its high performance, scalability, integration and low cost.

Nashef Promoted at REC
Renaissance Electronics Corporation (REC) has promoted Charles Nashef to International Sales Manager. Nashef has more than 16 years in business development for manufactured components on a national and international level, with extensive experience working with the aerospace, defense, telecom, industrial and medical industries.
www.rec-usa.com

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Joins Industry Insider Series at the 2009 International CES
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® announced that Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will be a featured speaker at the 2009 International CES as part of the Industry Insider Series. FCC Martin will join CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro for a one-on-one discussion addressing Martin’s tenure at the FCC, as well as challenges likely to confront the incoming Administration and the consumer technology industry, including the upcoming digital television transition, cable compatibility and broadband. “During his tenure at the FCC, Chairman Martin has been instrumental in advancing technology innovation and enabling consumers to access the latest technology products through his support of industry competition,” said Shapiro. “We are thrilled to welcome Chairman Martin back to the International CES stage and look forward to hearing his candid views on the state of the consumer technology industry, as well as the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead as the new Administration takes office.” Chairman Martin was nominated to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission by President Bush and was sworn in on July 3, 2001. He was designated chairman on March 18, 2005. He was re-nominated for a second term as commissioner and chairman by President Bush on April 25, 2006 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 16, 2006. Before joining the FCC, Chairman Martin was a special assistant to the president for economic policy and was on the staff of the National Economic Council, where he focused primarily on commerce and technology policy issues. Chairman Martin also served as the official U.S. government representative to the G-8’s Digital Opportunity Task Force, a government, non-profit and private sector task force created to identify ways in which the digital revolution can assure opportunities for developing countries.

RFMD® to Reduce Manufacturing Costs, Increase Cash Flow
RF Micro Devices (RFMD), a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance semiconductor components, announced actions intended to streamline operations and reduce GaAs semiconductor manufacturing costs. RFMD expects the actions will begin to take effect in the March 2009 quarter and will positively impact cash flow in RFMD’s fiscal 2010, beginning March 29, 2009. At RFMD’s Greensboro, NC campus, all GaAs manufacturing will be transitioned to the Company’s state-of-the-art 6-inch wafer fabrication facility. The Company’s 4-inch manufacturing facility will be idled and kept in a clean environment. Prior to this decision, RFMD’s 4-inch manufacturing facility accounted for less than ten percent of the Company’s total GaAs manufacturing capacity. As a result, the company anticipates significantly lower direct material costs and higher utilization rates, resulting in lower total manufacturing costs. In addition, last November RFMD began significantly reducing its 6-inch wafer production and associated costs in its United Kingdom wafer fabrication facility. The Company will operate the facility on 8-hour shifts, 5 days a week, as compared to the 24/7 environment in which the facility currently operates. Bob Bruggeworth, president and CEO of RFMD, said, “RFMD is taking prudent and decisive actions to match manufacturing capacity to anticipated demand during the current recessionary environment. By reducing RFMD’s manufacturing cost structure, these actions are expected to positively impact cash flow by approximately $15 million in fiscal 2010. Because existing facilities will be reduced or idled, RFMD will retain the capacity and flexibility necessary to respond to increases in customer demand as the recession wanes and as the Company’s markets return to growth.” RFMD estimates approximately 250 employees, or approximately five percent of its global workforce, will have been affected by these actions between JANUARY 2009 and March 2009.
www.rfmd.com

EI Technologies Expands with UK Office, Appoints European Sales Director
Endicott Interconnect Technologies (EI) has created EI Technologies UK Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of EI, located in Chelmsford, UK. Steve Payne has been named director of European sales, reporting to Michael Hills, SVP of sales, marketing and business development at EI. Payne will assume the role of managing the newly formed UK office, with EI’s European manufacturing representatives reporting to him.
www.eitny.com