LC Technologies

LC Technologies is a small Portuguese technology company based in Aveiro that designs and builds custom instrumentation, sub-systems and devices spanning RF, microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies. According to its own materials, the company grew out of more than twenty years of experience developing innovative high-tech microwave and millimeter-wave instrumentation for international projects, including work funded through EU programmes and collaborations with partners in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and elsewhere. Its stated target customers are research institutes, universities and industrial organisations that need specialised high-frequency hardware rather than mass-market products. The company positions itself as a custom-design house rather than a catalogue manufacturer. Its product pages describe RF/IF modules such as high-precision I and Q detectors for coherent receivers, buffered or amplified band-pass filters, narrow-band active multipliers up to 2 GHz, and second-converter modules that translate high intermediate frequencies down to 10–250 MHz. It also offers board-level building blocks including fast-sweep VCO drivers combining FPGA and DAC technology, programmable pulse generators, and ultra-fast synthesizers using FPGA, DDS and PLL techniques with external VCOs up to 26 GHz. A notable catalogue item is an IF module / total-power radiometer with USB interface and data logging, designed for radiometric measurements, atmospheric research, propagation studies and total-power radio astronomy. LC Technologies emphasises its ability to bridge high-frequency instrumentation with modern digital and software technology, combining traditional microelectronics with hybrid assemblies that use bare-die devices such as MMICs. The company says it maintains well-equipped laboratories and in-house manual and CNC machining, allowing rapid prototyping of unique millimeter-wave parts. Its CEO, L. Cupido, is described as having worked for over twenty years in RF, microwave and millimeter-wave instrumentation for scientific research, developing and coordinating projects and sub-assemblies for European research laboratories and universities. Because the firm is small and project-driven, its public footprint is limited. It operates as a private company in Aveiro, Portugal, and serves a niche international market of scientific and engineering customers. Its identity is closely tied to custom engineering services and low-volume, high-complexity hardware rather than branded consumer products.

LC Technologies is a small Portuguese company based in Aveiro that specialises in custom RF, microwave and millimeter-wave instrumentation, sub-systems and devices. Its own account states that it was born out of a long background of more than twenty years developing innovative high-tech microwave and millimeter-wave instrumentation for international projects, including EU-funded work and collaborations with partners in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and other countries. This suggests the firm emerged from the accumulated experience of its founder and CEO, L. Cupido, who is described as having worked for over two decades in RF, microwave and millimeter-wave instrumentation for scientific research applications at prestigious international laboratories, developing and coordinating projects on parts, sub-assemblies and complete scientific instruments for research laboratories and universities around Europe. Rather than pursuing mass-market product lines, LC Technologies built its identity around custom engineering. Its product portfolio, as described on its website, includes RF/IF modules such as high-precision I and Q detectors for coherent receivers and instrumentation, buffered or amplified band-pass filters for millimeter-wave instrumentation IF chains, narrow-band active multipliers up to 2 GHz for coherent IF reference generation, and second-converter modules that translate high intermediate frequencies up to 2.5 GHz down to 10–250 MHz. At board level it offers fast-sweep VCO drivers combining FPGA and DAC technology for swept reflectometry and full-band linearised sweeps down to 1 microsecond, fully programmable pulse generators with four cores and four output stages, and ultra-fast synthesizers using FPGA, DDS and PLL techniques that support external VCOs up to 26 GHz with 10-microsecond switching times for frequency-hopping instruments. A notable catalogue product is the IF module / total-power radiometer, an intermediate-frequency module with total-power measurement, USB interface and data logging. It measures total IF power over more than 60 dB range with resolution better than 0.001 dB, provides most of the IF gain of a receiver chain, supports standard IFs of 70 MHz or 140 MHz with typical 5% bandwidth, monitors temperature with 0.01-degree resolution using one internal and up to five external sensors, and includes two auxiliary digital control lines. It can operate under PC control with included software or standalone in logger mode, interfaces with micro-SD card and USB, and provides an API for software development. Its stated targets include radiometric measurements as a back-end module, IF of a receiver requiring total-power monitoring, atmospheric research, propagation studies and total-power radio astronomy. The company emphasises that its technologies range from traditional microelectronics to hybrid assemblies employing bare-die devices such as MMICs, and that in-house manual and CNC machinery make prototyping of unique millimeter-wave parts fast and reliable. It relies on a small but highly motivated team and well-equipped laboratories capable of dealing with demanding RF, microwave and millimeter-wave technologies. Its customers are research institutes, universities and industries, and it participates in international research, including EU-funded projects. Because it is a small private company, detailed public records of its founding date, ownership structure and financial history are not widely available; its public presence is primarily its own website and a Wikidata entry identifying it as a company in Aveiro, Portugal.

• Company background includes more than 20 years of developing microwave and millimeter-wave instrumentation for international projects.

• Participation in EU-funded international research projects.

• Listed in Wikidata as a company in Aveiro, Portugal.

Custom-design specialist for high-frequency RF, microwave and millimeter-wave instrumentation and sub-systems, serving scientific research and industrial customers.

• High-precision I and Q detectors

  For coherent receivers and instrumentation.

• Buffered/amplified band-pass filters

  For IF of millimeter-wave instrumentation.

• Narrow-band active multipliers (to 2 GHz)

  For coherent IF reference generation for mmW systems.

• Second converter modules

  From high IF up to 2.5 GHz down to 10–250 MHz.

• Fast-sweep VCO drivers (FPGA+DAC)

  For swept reflectometry, full-band linearized sweeps down to 1 µs.

• Programmable pulse generators

  Fully programmable, 4 cores, 4 output stages.

• Ultra-fast synthesizer (FPGA+DDS+PLL)

  External VCO up to 26 GHz, 10 µs switching time for frequency-hopping instruments.

• IF module / total-power radiometer

  USB interface and data logging; measures total IF power over >60 dB range with better than 0.001 dB resolution; standard IF 70 MHz or 140 MHz; temperature monitoring; micro-SD and USB; API provided.

1. 1LC Technologies | RF to MillimeterWavescupidotech.com
2. 2LC Technologies | RF to MillimeterWaves - Productscupidotech.com
3. 3LC Technologies | RF to MillimeterWaves - Aboutcupidotech.com
4. 4LC Technologies (Portugal) - Wikidatawikidata.org