ARLA/CLUSTER: New RF circulator to run rings around old technology

[Pedro Ribeiro]

In the world of electronic components, there are many devices out there 
that do their job well and reliably, but are almost never heard of – 
even though they may be vital to equipment that plays a role in our 
technology-driven lives. The radio frequency (RF) circulator is just 
such a device: it has simply done its job as a nondescript box of 
gubbins buried in radio communications systems everywhere, quietly 
directing radio frequency signal to the places they should go. Now 
researchers at the University of Texas have given the RF circulator is 
due for a makeover. Not only is the new prototype smaller, lighter, and 
cheaper, it's also claimed to be easily adapted to different frequencies 
on the fly, which is something the old style circulator cannot do.

A standard RF circulator is a three-port ferromagnetic passive device 
used to control the direction of signal flow in a circuit. In simple 
terms, magnetic fields are used to channel electromagnetic flow in a 
specific direction, thereby providing two-way communications on the same 
frequency channel by allowing, for example, two transmitters to use the 
same antenna. The downside, according to the researchers, is the bulk 
and weight of a standard circulator.

The new RF circulator uses a circuit created from inexpensive, 
surface-mount, active semiconductor components. The team predicts that 
the current prototype is just a start to the miniaturization; the size 
of future RF circulators may be scaled down much further to 
sub-miniature versions of the components on an integrated circuit. As a 
result, the researchers say that this should lead to improvements in 
cost and size and the incorporation of circulators in cellphones and 
other microelectronic communications devices that may result in faster 
downloads, fewer call drop-outs and clearer communications.
...


Notícia completa de Gizmag em:
http://www.gizmag.com/smaller-efficient-radio-rf-circulator/34708/

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