8 Experts on Overcoming Challenges of RF Solution Design 32
"A common way to combat interference among
components is to make the device larger, but that
is not an option for devices."
Erik Jensen
Head of Wireless System Integration,
Denmark—WSAudiology
Working with electronics since his teens,
Erik Jensen has always been fascinated by
communication and wireless connectivity.
For the past fifteen years, he has worked
in telecommunication companies, bringing
internet connectivity to machine-to-machine
equipment, people with hearing loss, and
people in remote places without cellular
coverage. He believes that information is key
and should be available from everywhere
and to everyone.
Physical configuration of components, radio interference, and power consumption are
the biggest challenges when making small wireless devices such as hearing aids. Each
of these elements affects the others in the device.
When you make a small device, you must put processors, sensors, radio-frequency (RF)
components, and power supply close together in the same small package. That design
creates a problem for RF immunity because all these different components create noise.
A common way to combat interference among components is to make the device larger,
but that is not an option for all devices. The issue becomes even more complicated when
you have different radios in the same small device. It's not just RF immunity within the
device itself, either. The device must be immune from other sources of RF noise in the
environment, such as mobile phones, Wi-Fi, and television.
Power consumption is another significant challenge, especially in small devices such as
hearing aids that must operate for a full day between charges. In normal use, a hearing
aid is not always using its RF connectivity functions; however, it consumes the most
power when it is transmitting. There's always a trade-off among power consumption,
connectivity range, and size.
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