In Focus – The Magazine for the Customers of TMD

TMD has been operating a ‘charity of the year’ scheme for several years. Charities are nominated by staff and the fund-raising activities are coordinated by the company’s Sports & Social Team (SAS).

So far, we have supported Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, National Autistic Society, London’s Air Ambulance and, this year, CALM – the Campaign Against Living Miserably. This charity is dedicated to preventing male suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK.

David Brown, TMD’s Managing Director commented: “TMD takes its corporate social responsibility very seriously and last year broke its previous records by raising £5000 for London’s Air Ambulance”. Rita Hipgrace a Prototype Wireperson at TMD raised over £870 by Wing Walking (above)

Rita said: “They now call me the Flying Hipgrave! I love an exciting challenge especially in a good cause”. Nigel Hann, TMD’s Head of Sales (pictured above) also raised over £800 by taking part in the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 cycle ride. He said: “I trained hard beforehand and was elated at the finish of the ride – it was a great experience”.

TMD continues to stay at the frontiers of scientific research and development by combining its engineering and manufacturing expertise in partnership with research and development companies and universities.

A good example of this is our collaboration with academic and industry partners to realise the commercialisation of Quantum 2.0 Technologies.

The areas being addressed are: compact atomic clocks where the aim is to produce rugged rubidium and caesium products with 10-14 performance which will better any currently available competitor; compact frequency stabilised lasers where the current alternatives are large laboratory rigs which require constant attention and tuning; and compact magneto optical traps which have a wide range of applications from cold atomic clocks, to a range of ultra-sensitive inertial and gravitation sensors. Our partners include Chronos Technology Ltd, Universities of Bath, Strathclyde and Glasgow, Kelvin Nanotechnology Ltd, Optocap Ltd and Fraunhofer UK.

Why is this work important?

Since the advent of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), implemented by the USA DoD as the Global Positioning System (GPS), which became widely available in 1994, the global distribution of sub microsecond accuracy time reference signals has enabled a revolution in the use of technologies that depend on this to function.

The very ubiquity of this has resulted in substantial dependence on the availability of the GNSS signals. Due to the low level of the GNSS signals and the widespread application of low cost GPS chips it is easy to jam or interfere with the signal. The defence sector has become as dependent on GNSS for timing as the commercial sector, in which both the telecoms and banking industries are heavily reliant on precision timing. Many defence systems are GNSS dependent both for their own functionality and also for their ability to communicate with other systems, and consequently many critical systems are now vulnerable to GNSS jamming and spoofing attacks.

Quantum clocks developed in the Quantum 2.0 programme (together with the other related hardware) have the potential to provide a valuable alternative and backup to GNSS systems – used as either stand-alone timing solutions on a platform or as ‘hold over’ clocks should the GNSS signal become unavailable.

In recognition of our close involvement with the programme, TMD was invited to attend the Quantum Technology Showcase in London in November last year, where together with our partners we were able to demonstrate some of our recent prototype assemblies.

TMD’s sales and engineering teams were out in force at DSEI 2017, one of the most important security and defence events in our calendar.

In particular we were showcasing two new TWT based microwave power modules (MPMs): the PTX8110, 6-18 GHz, 200 W unit and the PTX8815, Ka band, 1100 W unit – described in more detail on page 5.

These products generated considerable interest at the show and were featured in the Official Show Daily Press.

The potential for networking is of key importance at DSEI. We welcomed 15 international delegations on our stand including members of armed forces, our international agents/ representatives and prime contractors for radar, EW and communications systems.

We were also delighted to host an evening reception at London’s historic Oriental Club where we were able to meet customers, representatives and members of the press in a more informal setting.

FUTURE EXHIBITIONS

We are again planning a busy exhibition schedule for this year.

To stay informed of TMD’s shows worldwide please visit the Events section of our

website: http://www.tmd.co.uk/community/events/

TMD Technologies Ltd (UK) and TMD Technologies, LLC (USA) can claim an impressive statistic for 2017, in that between them they exhibited at more than 15 shows around the globe!

Regions visited included UK, USA, Far East, Middle East and mainland Europe, at specialist events covering the entire range of TMD’s products and services.

With the endorsement of Prime Minister Theresa May, TMD was one of a small number of outstanding manufacturing organisations chosen to appear in the definitive Parliamentary Review document pictured above which looks back on the year in industry and government at Westminster.

The Parliamentary Review is now a key feature of the UK’s political calendar, with its main aim to highlight best practice, as a learning tool for both the public and private sectors.

Peter Butcher, Executive Chairman of TMD, commented: “We were very pleased to be considered one of the few ‘outstanding manufacturing organisations’ eligible to have a company profile featured in the latest Parliamentary Review. Since our MBO from Thorn EMI Electronics in 1995, TMD has initiated and maintained exceptional and on-going growth in hi-tech design and manufacture, and has earned itself an enviable global reputation for specialised microwave innovation and reliability”.

To view: https://www.theparliamentaryreview.co.uk/editions/manufacturing-services/manufacturing-general

The last four years have seen rapid development in our range of microwave power modules (MPMs), starting with the GaN based solid state PTS6900 (optimised for EW) and closely followed by the ultra compact PTXM1000 series of TWT based MPMs. The latter were specifically designed for those radar, EW and communications applications that required high power performance in a small space.

New requirements for MPMs continuously emerge and TMD’s sales and engineering teams work closely together to launch new products into the market.

Last year saw the arrival of two new models:

NEW! PTX8110 Compact, high power MPM for radar and EW

The new PTX8110 operates from 6-18 GHz at 200 W and, with its compact design, is easily integrated into those high performance EW and radar systems requiring higher power. Comprising a high power helix travelling wave tube (TWT) and switched mode power supply, the PTX8110 forms a single ‘drop-in’ microwave amplifier unit without the need for potentially unreliable high voltage TWT interconnections. A high performance TWT is specified together with a low noise solid state preamplifier to provide optimum noise performance. It features high electrical efficiency, needs a minimum of cooling and operates over a wide temperature range – at high altitude and high humidity.

NEW! PTX8815 Ka band TWTA for high performance radar

The new PTX8815 TWTA from TMD is designed for Ka band radar applications such as naval fire control. Featuring broadband capability, covering 32 GHz–36 GHz, it offers a peak power of over 1100 W in the midband, and 600 W at the band edges with a maximum duty of up to 12%. This top class TWTA is the answer to high resolution radar requirements for low close-to-carrier phase noise and spurious performance. Its development follows the launch of the PTX8807 Ka band, 200 W CW/Pulsed MPM, aimed primarily at EW applications.

MAJOR ADVANCE IN THE MARKET PLACE

Since the launch of the PTCM series, TMD’s engineers have been very busy fulfilling the first phase of orders for these truly innovative products.

Imad Gharib, Sales Manager for RF & Microwave Amplifiers said: “The reaction from our customers has confirmed our decision to continue our investment in these modular amplifiers, which represent a major advance in the marketplace”.

Customer benefits include:

• Advanced self-diagnostics
• Ethernet interface
• Remote management and diagnostics
• VSWR reflected power protection
• Plug and Play field replaceable power supplies

TMD’S INSTRUMENTATION AMPLIFIER HISTORY IN BRIEF

For 25 years TMD has been providing instrumentation amplifiers for EMC testing, scientific laboratory and radar and EW simulation applications. These products are based on the same switched mode power supply technology as our MIL Spec rugged amplifiers with all the advantages of performance and reliability, but repackaged into compact and affordable rackmount units.

They cover the operating range DC-40 GHz up to 50 kW and can deliver the highest field strengths available in the test environment – thus meeting the most demanding worldwide testing standards including: RTCA/DO-160, MIL Standard EUROCAE and Airbus ABD 100.