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У КПІ ім. Ігоря Сікорського розпочав роботу уповноважений підрозділ з питань запобігання та виявлення корупції kpi пт, 03/20/2026 - 15:19

The Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA), India’s leading association of electronics manufacturers, welcomes the Government’s announcement of the Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana (BHAVYA) scheme, with a Rs. 33,600 crore outlay, aimed at developing India’s industrial manufacturing ecosystem. The BHAVYA scheme would support India’s transformation into a globally competitive, self-reliant electronics, components, and semiconductor ecosystem.

Welcoming the BHAVYA scheme, Rajoo Goel, Secretary General, ELCINA, said: “The Government has announced the BHAVYA scheme at an opportune time and stands to significantly strengthen the ecosystem and the value chain. Through cluster-based promotion, BHAVYA can co-locate OEMs, component suppliers, logistics providers, and service providers within the same industrial park, which is exactly what a deeper ecosystem for electronics and semiconductors requires. At ELCINA, we are excited to see how this scheme will transform the industry over the next few years.”

ELCINA President, Dr Sasikumar Gendham, lauded the scheme as “it would complement the EMC Schemes of MeitY under which several Electronics Manufacturing Clusters had been initiated and industries set up. BHAVYA would catalyse this further and suggested that existing Clusters should also be allowed to benefit from the Scheme and enhance their infrastructure further”.

The plug-and-play industrial ecosystems will help industry players – both existing and new – cut down on the setup phase and move more quickly towards production. Additionally, with streamlined approvals, effective single-window systems, and investor-friendly reforms led by states, the industry would be in a better position to address the critical need to reduce import dependence and position the country as a credible export and supply-chain hub.

ELCINA also lauds the Government’s broader goals of job creation, investment, and economic growth across states. BHAVYA is expected to enhance the supply chain while creating new opportunities for Indians who stand to benefit from the country’s manufacturing growth, particularly in the electronics sector.

The post Government’s Rs. 33,600 crore BHAVYA Scheme Strengthens India’s Electronics, Components, Semiconductor Manufacturing Industries: ELCINA appeared first on ELE Times.

Part 1 of this article series on gallium nitride (GaN) fundamentals described crystal structures and the formation of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), along with material figures of merit and the transition from depletion-mode to enhancement-mode GaN HEMTs.

Part 2 will outline hybrid structures and the RDS(on)  penalty, as well as provide further details on GaN HEMTs and substrate choices for GaN. It will also make the case for the path to monolithic integration while showing how ohmic contacts, metallization, and packaging advantages are facilitating this design roadmap.

Figure 1 Schematic of low-voltage enhancement-mode silicon MOSFET is shown in series with a depletion-mode GaN HEMT: Cascode circuit (a) and enable/direct-drive circuit (b). Source: Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

An alternative to monolithic enhancement-mode GaN transistors is the hybrid cascode configuration, pairing a low-voltage enhancement-mode silicon MOSFET with a high-voltage depletion-mode GaN HEMT in series. Figure 1 above illustrates two variants.

The cascode configuration, in particular, is highlighted as a pragmatic intermediate solution: a low-voltage enhancement-mode Si MOSFET is connected in series with a high-voltage d-mode GaN HEMT. The MOSFET gate is the external control terminal; when it turns on, the GaN gate-source is pulled close to zero and the HEMT conducts. When the MOSFET turns off, the GaN gate sees a negative bias through the MOSFET, turning off the high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) and providing normally-off behavior at the system level.

A natural question is how much extra RDS(on) the silicon MOSFET adds to the GaN device. Figure 2 shows a useful plot of the percentage contribution of the MOSFET to total RDS(on) versus the rated voltage of the cascode system. At high voltage, the GaN device dominates, and the MOSFET contribution becomes small.

Figure 2 Percentage RDS(on) contribution from the low-voltage MOSFET in a cascode configuration is shown as a function of the rated breakdown voltage of the composite device. Source: Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

From this chart, a 600-V cascode device adds only around 3% extra RDS(on) due to the low-voltage MOSFET, because the GaN HEMT’s drift resistance dominates at such high voltage. At lower voltages, the GaN device resistance drops rapidly with VBR, so the MOSFET contribution becomes increasingly significant. For this reason, cascode solutions are practical and attractive for higher voltages (above roughly 200 V), whereas for 100–150 V class devices, monolithic e-mode GaN is generally preferable.

The direct-drive (enable) variant exposes the depletion-mode GaN gate directly to the external driver (typically 0 V on, -12 to -14 V off). The silicon MOSFET serves as a safety “enable” switch, connected to the gate driver’s undervoltage lockout (UVLO). During normal operation, the silicon device remains on and experiences no switching; it only blocks the GaN gate if supply fails. This configuration offers precise control of GaN dynamics but requires bipolar drive capability.

Reverse conduction in HEMT transistors

Reverse conduction behavior is a clear advantage of enhancement-mode GaN HEMTs. The source potential increases in relation to the gate when current is forced from the source to drain while the device is nominally off.

This process continues until the threshold condition for the formation of 2DEG is reached beneath the gate region. The channel now reorganizes and conducts in the opposite direction. Unlike the body diode of a silicon MOSFET, which depends on minority-carrier injection and storage, this is a majority-carrier mechanism. So, there is no stored minority charge and consequently no reverse-recovery penalty.

A positive gate voltage establishes the 2DEG channel during forward conduction, enabling current to move from the drain to the source. When reverse conduction occurs, as it does during a synchronous rectifier’s dead time, current moves from the source to the drain when the drain is at least the threshold voltage lower than the gate.

Conduction is then determined by channel resistance, and the device functions similarly to a low-drop diode. In contrast to silicon MOSFETs, which suffer reverse-recovery losses because of charge storage effects, current almost immediately stops once the reverse bias is eliminated.

Vertical GaN and substrate choices

Instead of using lateral 2DEG transport, vertical GaN transistors employ a conduction path perpendicular to the wafer surface. In a typical structure, p-GaN regions linked to the source extend from the surface toward the drain, and the drain contact is positioned at the bottom of a thick n-GaN drift region. When a negative gate voltage is applied, the n-GaN between the p-regions beneath the gate is depleted, preventing current flow.

The depleted region collapses and electrons move vertically from source to drain when the gate is positively biased. This architecture has the potential to compete with high-voltage SiC devices because it can support breakdown voltages above 1000 V while maintaining quick switching. The sub-650 V market is dominated by lateral GaN, mainly because silicon substrates are more affordable and scalable.

The cost of standard 200-mm silicon wafers is only a few tens of dollars per wafer, which enables direct reuse of established CMOS fabs and high-volume manufacturing, including the potential for monolithic integration of sensing circuits and drivers. Bulk GaN substrates for vertical devices, on the other hand, are still restricted to small diameters (usually ≤150 mm) and cost several hundred to over a thousand dollars per wafer, or tens of dollars per cm². This severely limits cost competitiveness at mid voltages.

From a performance perspective, lateral GaN HEMTs benefit from the creation of a high-density 2DEG, which offers exceptionally high electron mobility and low channel resistance. This translates into excellent light-load efficiency and high-frequency operation, which are essential for applications like DC-DC converters, server power supplies, telecom, and consumer fast chargers.

Vertical architectures, currently dominated by SiC MOSFETs, continue to be the preferred solution for voltages above ~900 V because they provide superior robustness at high electric fields and decouple blocking voltage from lateral device dimensions. While SiC and future vertical GaN aim for high-voltage applications, lateral GaN emphasizes cost-performance optimization over voltage scaling in this regime, solidifying its leadership in the mid-voltage range.

Building a GaN HEMT transistor

Fabrication of a GaN HEMT begins with epitaxial growth of the GaN/AlGaN heterostructure on a foreign substrate. Unlike silicon devices, where the active layer matches the substrate, GaN HEMTs require heteroepitaxy, growing a wurtzite crystal on a substrate with mismatched lattice constant and thermal expansion.

Four substrate materials dominate: bulk GaN, sapphire (Al₂O₃), silicon carbide (SiC), and silicon (Si). Each offers trade-offs in lattice mismatch, thermal expansion coefficient, thermal conductivity, and cost. Silicon (111) orientation substrates have emerged as the commercial workhorse due to their low cost ($1–2 per 200 mm wafer) and compatibility with existing CMOS fabrication infrastructure, despite a 17% lattice mismatch (a_GaN = 3.189 Å vs. a_Si = 3.84 Å) and thermal expansion difference of 3 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹.

Heteroepitaxy grows one crystal on a dissimilar substrate. Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) deposits the GaN/AlGaN layers. The process starts with an AlN seed layer on the substrate to initiate nucleation. An AlGaN buffer layer creates the transition to pure GaN crystal structure. A thick GaN layer forms the semi-insulating base. Finally, a thin AlGaN barrier layer induces strain that forms the 2DEG conduction channel.

Figure 3 illustrates the complete epitaxial stack from substrate to 2DEG interface. For enhancement-mode devices, a p-GaN cap layer grows atop the AlGaN barrier, introducing positive charge to deplete the 2DEG at zero gate bias (Figure 4). This stack enables lateral electron transport parallel to the surface, distinguishing GaN HEMTs from vertical silicon MOSFETs.

Figure 3 The illustration highlights basic steps involved in creating a GaN heteroepitaxial structure: Starting silicon substrate (a), aluminum nitride (AlN) seed layer grown (b), various Al GaN layers grown to transition the lattice from AlN to GaN (c), GaN layer grown (d), and AlGaN barrier layer grown (e). Source: Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

Figure 4 An additional GaN layer, doped with p-type impurities, can be added to the heteroepitaxy process when producing an enhancement-mode device. Source: Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

Ohmic contacts and metallization

Source and drain electrodes must form low-resistance ohmic contacts to the 2DEG, penetrating the AlGaN barrier. Multiple metal layers and high-temperature annealing create reliable shunts. The gate electrode sits atop the AlGaN (or p-GaN), modulating the channel via electric field.

Back-end processing adds multilevel copper interconnects with tungsten vias, scaling gate width across thousands of parallel cells. Final passivation (SiNₓ) protects the surface and shapes electric fields to prevent premature breakdown.

Chip-scale packages (BGA and LGA) minimize parasitics, supporting megahertz switching with minimal ringing. Recent advances in QFN (Quad, Flad, No-Lead) have brought packaging alternatives that have minimal compromises in parasitic inductance, resistance, and thermal conductivity.

In either chip-scale of QFN packages, lateral conduction enables bottom-side cooling and ultra-low inductance packaging. Ball grid array (BGA) formats use SnAgCu micro-bumps (150 µm pitch) for 100–650 V devices (1.5 × 1.0 mm² footprint). LGA variants (3.9 × 2.6 mm²) handle 100 V half-bridges at 10 A continuous. Package loop inductance drops below 0.2 nH, supporting dI/dt >2000 A/µs without significant ringing—impossible in wire-bonded discrete packages

The path to monolithic integration

The lateral architecture of GaN HEMTs—where current flows parallel to the surface—eliminates the need for deep vertical vias or trenches, enabling unprecedented levels of monolithic integration. Unlike vertical silicon or SiC devices, multiple passive and signal-level transistors and passive components occupy the same epitaxial plane, with interconnects formed in overlying metal layers. This allows fabrication of complete power stages on a single die smaller than a grain of rice.

Figure 5 A typical process creates solder bars on an enhancement-mode GaN HEMT (not to scale). Source: Efficient Power Conversion (EPC)

Monolithic GaN stages eliminate interconnect parasitics that plague discrete implementations:

• No bond wires: Package inductance <0.2 nH vs. 1–5 nH with discrete multi-chip QFN
• Zero common source and gate loop inductance
• Pin count reduction: 99% fewer external connections vs. discrete half-bridge + drivers

Compared to silicon DrMOS (driver + MOSFET), GaN integration yields:

• 10× lower QG → MHz switching without excessive gate losses
• Zero QRR → no reverse recovery in synchronous rectification
• 25× smaller die area → lower cost at equivalent performance

Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio is director of global marketing communications at Efficient Power Conversion (EPC), where he manages worldwide initiatives to showcase the company’s GaN innovations. He is a prolific technical author of books on GaN, SiC, energy harvesting and data acquisition and control systems, and has extensive experience as editor of technical publications for power electronics, wide bandgap semiconductors, and embedded systems.

Editor’s Note:

The content in this article uses references and technical data from the book GaN Power Devices for Efficient Power Conversion (Fourth Edition) authored by Alex Lidow, Michael de Rooij, John Glaser, Alejandro Pozo Arribas, Shengke Zhang, Marco Palma, David Reusch, Johan Strydom.

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• The advantages of Vertical GaN Technology
• A brief history of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors
• A new IDM era kickstarts in the gallium nitride (GaN) world
• New GaN Technology Makes Driving GaN-Based HEMTs Easier

The post GaN fundamentals: Hybrid structures, HEMT, and substrate choices appeared first on EDN.

HENSOLDT of Taufkirchen near Munich, Germany (which develops sensor solutions, electronics and software for the air, land, sea, cyber and space domains) has signed a long-term supply agreement with United Monolithic Semiconductors GmbH (UMS, which designs and produces RF and millimeter-wave components and ICs at its facilities in Villebon sur Yvette, France and Ulm, Germany). By 2030, UMS will supply a total of 900,000 gallium nitride components for HENSOLDT radars...

The University of Warwick has secured new funding to boost the UK’s ability to test the reliability of advanced semiconductors used in electric vehicles, renewable energy, and other critical technologies...

Партнерство із юридичною компанією «Мережа Права» kpi пт, 03/20/2026 - 10:12

The UK Semiconductor Centre (UKSC) has welcomed a new £6.6m investment from the UK Government Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to bolster the county’e core strengths in semiconductor innovation...

Blue Moon Metals Inc of Toronto, ON, Canada has agreed to acquire the Gage Project in Washington County, Southern Utah, USA, from a subsidiary of Liberty Gold Corp in exchange for 420,935 common shares of Blue Moon and a 2.0% net smelter return royalty (NSR) on certain concessions...

The post Microchip Announces New BZPACK mSiC Power Modules with HV-H3TRB Reliability Standards appeared first on ELE Times.

submitted by /u/SaintLuke1 [link] [comments]

Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA — which makes enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) and integrated circuits for power management applications — has released its Phase 18 Reliability Report, providing new insights into eGaN device reliability. ..

Wolfspeed Inc of Durham, NC, USA — which makes silicon carbide (SiC) materials and power semiconductor devices — has entered into separate, privately negotiated subscription agreements with investors pursuant to which it will place (i) $379m of its 3.5% convertible 1.5 lien senior secured notes due 2031 and (ii) 3,250,030 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $18.458 per share, and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 2,000,000 shares of common stock at a price of $18.448 per pre-funded warrant. The issuance and sale of the notes, shares and fre-Funded warrants is expected to settle on 26 March, subject to customary closing conditions. Funds managed by new and existing investors participated in these private placements...

A DC/DC power delivery board from Navitas Semiconductor enables direct conversion from 800 V to 6 V in a single stage. Showcased at NVIDIA GTC 2026, the design eliminates the conventional 48-V intermediate bus converter stage within compute server trays, simplifying power delivery for NVIDIA AI infrastructure.

Using GaNFast power ICs, the board reaches 96.5% peak efficiency at full load with 1-MHz switching and a power density of 2.1 kW/in³. The primary side integrates sixteen 650-V GaNFast FETs in DFN 8×8 packages with dual-side cooling in a stacked full-bridge topology, while center-tapped outputs use 25-V silicon MOSFETs. High-frequency switching enables smaller passives and planar magnetics, increasing power density.

The Navitas power delivery board is about 20% thinner than a mobile phone. Its ultra-low profile allows close placement to the GPU board, minimizing loop inductance to improve transient response and power distribution efficiency.

For more information, contact a Navitas representative or email info@navitassemi.com. A timeline for availability was not provided at the time of this announcement.

Navitas Semiconductor 

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The ST64UWB family of ultra-wideband SoCs from ST provides increased range and processing capability for automotive applications. Backward compatible with IEEE 802.15.4z, the chips also support the emerging IEEE 802.15.4ab UWB standard, enabling device localization and tracking at distances of several hundred meters. Target use cases include hands-free digital keys and high-accuracy vehicle localization.

Enhancements such as multi-millisecond ranging (MMS) and narrow-band assistance (NBA) provide greater operating range and improve link robustness, particularly for devices carried in bags or rear pockets. These features also facilitate close-range direction finding for more accurate interpretation of user position and movement. In addition, IEEE 802.15.4ab strengthens radar mode for more reliable in-vehicle child presence detection.

The ST64UWAB-A100 and ST64UWB-A500 are built on an 18-nm FD-SOI process, increasing link budget by nearly 3 dB versus bulk technologies and boosting range by up to ~50% beyond IEEE 802.15.4ab. Both devices integrate an Arm Cortex-M85 core, while the ST64UWB-A500 adds AI acceleration and DSP capabilities for edge AI-based radar applications. A third device, the ST64UWB-C100, expands the lineup to cover industrial and consumer applications.

The devices are now sampling to leading Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs.

ST64UWB product page 

STMicroelectronics

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Semtech’s 224-Gbps/lane TIAs and drivers power 800G–3.2T transceivers and optical engines for AI/ML clusters, hyperscale data centers, and cloud infrastructure. Compliant with CEI‑224G‑Linear and LPO‑MSA, they support half-retimed (LRO), linear pluggable (LPO), next‑gen (XPO), near‑packaged (NPO), and co‑packaged (CPO) optics.

The 224G TIA family—GN1834L, GN1834DL, and GN1838DL—offers quad- and octal-channel architectures with flexible layouts. On-chip equalization, high linearity, and low noise boost signal integrity for LPO and next-generation linear optics.

The 224G Mach-Zehnder Modulator (MZM) drivers—quad GN1877 and octal GN1887—support SiPho, InP MZM, and TFLN optical transmitters with tunable gain and output swing. A CEI‑224G‑Linear host-side equalizer covers a wide range of host interfaces, from compact NPO/CPO to varied LRO/LPO/XPO trace lengths.

Both the TIA and driver series integrate real-time link monitoring and telemetry, enabling proactive diagnostics to reduce link flapping and improve network reliability.

The GN1834L, GN1834DL, and GN1887 are available now; GN1838DL and GN1877 are expected in April 2026.

For more information, visit Semtech’s optical page.

Semtech

The post 224G ICs optimize signal integrity in linear optics appeared first on EDN.

AOS has introduced two MOSFETs—the 25‑V AONC40212 and 80‑V AONC68816—in 3.3×3.3‑mm source-down DFN packages with double-side cooling. This packaging supports high power density in DC/DC intermediate bus converters and meets the strict thermal demands of AI servers and data centers.

The MOSFETs use an optimized top-clip design on the exposed drain, enabling double-sided thermal transfer to remove heat efficiently. Compared with single-sided devices, this approach reduces thermal stress and heat buildup. The large top clip achieves a low maximum thermal resistance of 0.9 °C/W, enhancing thermal performance in demanding applications.

The AONC40202 and AONC68816 MOSFETs support continuous drain currents of 405 A and 119 A, respectively, at 25 °C, with pulsed currents up to 644 A and 476 A. The devices have maximum on-resistances of 0.7 mΩ for the 25-V part and 4.7 mΩ for the 80-V part, while maintaining junction temperatures up to 175 °C. Bottom-side thermal resistance is 1.1 °C/W for both devices.

Available now with a lead time of 14–16 weeks, the AONC40202 and AONC68816 cost $1.85 and $1.95 each in lots of 1000 units.

Alpha & Omega Semiconductor 

The post Double-side cooled MOSFETs reduce server heat appeared first on EDN.

Infineon’s XDPE1E multiphase PWM buck controllers and TDA49720/12/06 PMBus POL buck regulators streamline voltage regulation in AI data centers, helping customers boost compute performance per rack. With digital control and telemetry-enabled point-of-load regulation, these devices reduce design cycles and accelerate platform bring-up.

Designed for multiprocessor AI platforms and advanced VR inductor topologies, the XDPE1E3G6A and XDPE1E496A digital 3- and 4-loop buck controllers feature configurable phase allocation and fully programmable phase firing order. They support multiple protocols, including PMBus, AVSBus, SVID, and SVI3, ensuring compatibility across processor ecosystems. Digital control features and integrated tools help manage dynamic AI loads, reduce bench time, and improve system robustness.

The TDA49720/12/06 integrated POL buck regulators deliver 6-A, 12-A, and 20-A outputs in 3×3 mm and 3×3.5 mm packages. PMBus telemetry enables reliability monitoring and system optimization, while a proprietary valley current mode constant-on-time control ensures fast transient response, cycle-by-cycle current limiting, and all-MLCC output capacitance compatibility.

More information can be found on Infineon’s digital multiphase controller page and POL voltage regulator page. A timeline for availability was not provided at the time of this announcement.

Infineon Technologies 

The post Buck ICs improve AI data center power appeared first on EDN.

BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia — which develops and manufactures gallium nitride (GaN) blue laser diodes based on its proprietary low-temperature, low-hydrogen remote-plasma chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) technology — has partnered with US government relations, corporate advisory and public affairs firm Michael Best Strategies to enhance engagement with key decision makers within the Department of War (DoW) and Department of Energy (DoE)...

A cellular data service upgrade prompts new (to this engineer, at least) hardware acquisitions: three models’ worth, four total devices. Smart or superfluous? Read on and decide for yourselves.

When our power went down on December 17, our broadband WAN connection and LAN still remained up for several hours, thanks to our sizeable UPS battery set fueling essential network gear, along with the NUT-controlled auto-shutdown of the multiple power-hungry HDD-based NASs also UPS-tethered. But eventually, the batteries were depleted, Comcast-supplied Ethernet and Wi-Fi both dropped, and we needed to turn to other Internet-access options.

My wife has unlimited data on her Verizon 5G cellular phone account, along with hotspot support (the latter capped at 200 GB max per month, but which my legacy unlimited AT&T 4G LTE cellular phone plan completely lacks). And her service plan is also shared among multiple devices, including several iPads. So that was one option.

AT&T longevity (and stinginess)

I’ve also long (since November 2009, I realized in perusing my email archive while writing this) had a dedicated AT&T data plan, with the associated SIM nowadays normally (at least until recently, that is) plugged into my archaic Microsoft Surface Pro X hybrid tablet/computer:

This plan, originally $29.99/month, increased by $5/month beginning in February 2016. More recently, another change arrived. My original DataConnect plan was 4G LTE-based and unlimited from a data usage standpoint. But in March 2023, AT&T converted me to a 5G successor plan, with the second month of service free and $20/month off the normal $55/month price beyond that point (both perks per my legacy customer status). That said, it was no longer unlimited; the base rate included only 50 GBytes of data use per month. Sufficient in a pinch, although not for ongoing daily usage; we average well beyond a half TByte of aggregate data payload per month on Comcast.

When the network went down, I therefore also grabbed and booted up the Surface Pro X, figuring that I’d spread out the household data usage across the multiple cellular services we were already paying for. To my surprise and dismay, however, the usual cellular data connection option in Windows 11’s network settings was missing. And when I dove into Device Manager, I learned why; “This device cannot start”, whatever that meant:

Microsoft strikes again

I tried uninstalling the relevant driver, then rebooting so that Windows would auto-reinstall it. I also tried searching for an updated version of the driver. No dice; nothing I tried worked. I was pissed, turning to Reddit to vent and seek other suggestions. What I’d already learned there was that the Windows 11 2H25 update had dropped support for legacy Arm processors, including the SQ1 (a Microsoft-branded Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx SC8180X) and, I assumed along with it, the chipset’s integrated X24 LTE modem. And, because I’d installed Windows 11 2H25 in mid-October and it was already mid-December, I was beyond the 10-day rollback deadline.

More recently though, and on a hunch, I plugged back in the SIM, rechecked the computer’s “Network & Internet” screen and noticed that the cellular data option had magically returned, which a revisit of Device Manager confirmed:

I have no clue what caused it to resurrect, far from what had led to its (temporary, it turns out) demise in the first place. And, by the way, after further pondering I now suspect that the now-shorter list of supported Arm processors and chipsets in Windows 11 2H25 only affects fresh installations, not upgrades of existing activated builds. It’s all for naught, however; I’ve already moved on. For any of you who wondered what I’d been doing with the SIM before I temporarily “plugged it back in” to the computer, as I intentionally teased a paragraph earlier, read on for the solution to the mystery.

Standalone hotspots: still relevant

I’ve dabbled with mobile cellular hotspots before, owned by others. And truth be told, I didn’t have to buy one this time. Last January I’d purchased on sale from Amazon two NETGEAR LM1200 cellular broadband modems, one for teardown-to-come and the other for precisely the scenario—premises power-loss connectivity backup—that I experienced in mid-December. They aren’t as-is usable, requiring tether to a router. But I have plenty of those in inventory. And had we stuck around the home more than one night I probably would have pressed the modem-plus-router combo into service, fueled by a portable power unit.

But another limitation, bandwidth, was the same one that already soured me on the Surface Pro X’s integrated modem (along in the ones in my Intel-based Surface Pros, for that matter). The LM1200 “only” supports 4G LTE, which is likely why I bought them (on closeout, I suspect) for only $19.99 each a year-plus back, versus the original $49.99 MSRP. As you’ll soon see, I used a similar “buy a generation-or-few old” stratagem with the mobile hotspots! 4G LTE support was sufficient when that’s all my AT&T service supported (and the unlimited per-month allocation was a nice bonus). But once AT&T upgraded me to 5G…well, you know what they say about shiny new objects… Truth be told, I actually bought three mobile hotspots, for reasons I’ll discuss in the following sections.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk M6 MR6110

I’ll start with the highest-end device, Netgear’s MR6110 (PDF), the entry-level member of the company’s Nighthawk M6 family. Versus its higher-end Nighthawk M6 siblings (this Mobile Internet Resource Center writeup provides a comprehensive comparison), not to mention Nighthawk M7-family successors, it:

• Is carrier-locked to AT&T, and doesn’t support a sufficient diversity of frequency bands (presumably due to firmware versus silicon limitations) to deliver robust support for other cellular carriers, anyway
• Is sub-6 GHz only from a spectrum standpoint, not additionally comprehending mmWave support (which, interestingly, NETGEAR dropped entirely in its Nighthawk M7 generation devices) and
• Supports only Wi-Fi 6, not more advanced protocols

Then again, it only cost me $84.99 plus tax gently used from a legitimate eBay seller (just as I’ve mentioned before with cellular phones, you need to be careful when buying preowned goods to ensure that you haven’t acquired a device whose IMEI has already been banned by the associated cellular carrier). I also sprung for a $24.99 two-year extended warranty. And in case you’re wondering what behind the gray square “doors” at both ends of the front panel in the above stock photo, they’re TS-9 connectors that mate up with NETGEAR’s model 6000451 omnidirectional MIMO antenna, a gently used example of which I bought for $24 off eBay:

I live in a rural region outside of (and above) Golden, Colorado, with trailing-edge cellular technology deployed and spotty coverage for all carriers. To wit, using the NETGEAR MR6110’s internal antenna, I was only able to tune in LTE service…what’s the point, since I’ve already got the NETGEAR LM1200 modem-plus-router combo? But connect the external antenna, tether my laptop to the MR6110 over USB-C, and:

Huzzah! Consider me sold!

The Franklin A50 (model RG2102)

Next up…or down, depending on your perspective…is another AT&T-partner piece of hardware, Franklin’s A50. No integrated Ethernet, although you can still wired-tether to a single device over USB-C, and to an Ethernet-based router via a USB-C-to-Ethernet adapter plus a Cat5e cable. And “only” support for 20 concurrent devices, versus the NETGEAR MR6110’s 32. But user reviews rave about its battery life. It touts diverse 5G band support, and is claimed carrier-unlockable via services such as Cellcorner and Unlocklocks. That’d be convenient in case, for example, I ever wanted to switch my service to Google Fi, a T-Mobile MVNO (mobile virtual network operator). And it only set me back $34 (plus tax) used on eBay. How could I refuse?

The Franklin T9 (model RT717)

This last, lowest-end one—two of them, actually—I bought solely for experimentation purposes, both hacking and teardown. No integrated Ethernet, again. No 5G support this time, either; it only comprehends LTE. And as you can tell from the photo, this time it’s out-of-box locked to T-Mobile. But believe it or not, it’s (unofficially, again) user-unlockable for use with other carriers, not to mention user-hackable to both tweak its default settings and expand its overall feature set. Check out the following example links (in Google search results priority order) for more information:

• Rooting and Unlocking the T-Mobile T9 (Franklin Wireless R717)
• Stefan Todorovic’s Franklin Unlocking Tool
• SIM Unlock a Franklin T9 Hotspot
• T-Mobile Franklin T9 Hacking (complete with teardown photos)
• kernelcon – tmobile test drive hotspot hackery
• Franklin T9 aka R717 Hotspot Thread

And did I mention that each complete kit, in brand new condition this time, cost me only $13.98 plus tax (with free shipping!) on eBay? Once again, how could I resist?

More to come

As you’ve hopefully already noticed from the two photos I shared earlier, I’m already happily exploring the NETGEAR MR6110, with the other two devices to follow in short order. I’ve also already invested in carrying cases for all three, plus inexpensive spare batteries for both the MR6110 and Franklin A50 (each Franklin T9 kit came with one, so I’m set here), since all three hotspots’ portable power cells are easily user-accessible for swap-out purposes. Stay tuned for more coverage to come in the coming months. And for now, I as-always welcome your thoughts in the comments!

—Brian Dipert is the Principal at Sierra Media and a former technical editor at EDN Magazine, where he still regularly contributes as a freelancer.

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In booth 1637 at SATShow Week in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC (24–26 March), MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA is showcasing its latest RF and optoelectronics solutions for satellite communications (SATCOM) that can enable higher frequency bands, improved power efficiency and more scalable architectures, which are critical to next-generation satellite networks...