High-Power 24-40-GHz TxRx Front End 

A dual-band mmWave TxRx front end (covering both 24-28 and 37-40 GHz) in 45-nm CMOS silicon-on-insulator technology appears to be the first to cover both bands with high output and a low noise figure, offering promise for 5G multistandard base stations and small cells. The front end comprises a low-noise amplifier, a power amplifier, and a single-pole double-throw switch. In Rx mode, the device demonstrated peak gain of 19.3 dB with a 3-dB bandwidth of 19.7-40 GHz, noise figure < 4 dB at 18-40 GHz, and IP1dB of 19 to 16 dBm. In Tx mode, the peak gain was 17.6 dB with a 3-dB bandwidth of 22.7-30.8 GHz, and 13.6 dB peak gain over 36-40 GHz.
→ Read more

2020 MTT-S Award Recipients Announced

The 2020 MTT-S award winners are: ”Microwave Career Award, Robert Weigel; Distinguished Service Award, Wolfgang Heinrich; Distinguished Educator, Fred Rosenbaum; Microwave Application Award, Ming Yu (for computer aided tuning for filters and multiplexers); Outstanding Young Engineer Awards, Joseph Bardin (for ultra-low-noise work in sensors and communications), and Shahriar Shahramian (for mm-wave phased arrays and transceivers); Thomas Ussmueller (for microwave work, particularly radio frequency integrated circuits), and Jiang Zhu (for consumer devices in wireless communications, human body interaction and sensing); and the N.W. Cox Award for exemplary service to the Society, Ryan Miyamoto.
→ Read more

In Memoriam: Dr. Earl McCune

Dr. Earl McCune, a distinguished MTT-S member and professor at Delft University of Technology, died 27 May. He earned his Ph.D. from UC Davis, and was also a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, founding or co-founding Eridan Communications (which he served as CTO at the time of his death), Digital RF Solutions, and Tropian. He held more than 90 US patents, authored two books, and published many articles.
→ Read more

Evaluating VNA Material Characterization Kits

Scientists from U.K. and Chinese national standards labs studied calibration techniques for VNA-based material characterization using commercially available kits. They applied Thru Reflect Line calibration to yield S-parameters for calculating relative permittivity and loss tangent of materials. Measurements yielded permittivity and loss values in good agreement with both time-domain spectroscopy results and published values.
→ Read more

Cancel Fabry-Perot Effects in THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

In thin samples, Fabry-Perot internal reflections confuse THz time-domain spectroscopy for material characterization. A new optimization method removes artifacts, allowing measurement of both complex refractive index and sample thickness in thin (~100 μm) silicon wafers. The method is as accurate as the current standard iterative method, but more than 100 times faster.
→ Read more

'Innovation at Work' Online Education Opportunities

Once again, IEEE Innovation at Work offers members multiple opportunities to expand their knowledge, or take advantage of the week's "Five for US$10" courses and discover tools for edge computing, demystify IEEE standard 1547, get an introduction to induction motors, or explore the healthcare IoT. Or enter a photography contest for eLearning graduates, and vie for a US$100 gift card.
→ Read more

Self-Localizing mmWave Radar Imaging

An imaging system depends solely radar sensors distributed on a moving platform (e.g., a robot or vehicle) using fast chirp-sequence measurements at 77 GHz to develop both a highly accurate estimate of the platform's own motion and coherent synthetic aperture radar images--all independent of additional sensors for inertial measurement or global positioning system input.
→ Read more

Wireless Power to Heart-Assist Devices

A wireless power transfer system drives a left ventricular assist device--aiding the patient's heart without electrical connections through the skin -- while meeting the dual challenges of relatively high power (a continuous 5 W) over implantation depths of 5-10 cm. The power receiver can a subcutaneous receiving coil or deeper, with the coil and receiving circuit integrated into the device.
→ Read more

Flexible 300-GHz GFET Antenna Array

Room-temperature measurements at 300 GHz of a new, flexible, 1x6 linear detector array—based on graphene field-effect transistors and integrated bowtie antennas—indicate element voltage responsivities in the 20 V/W to 70 V/W range, with noise equivalent powers of 0.06 nW/ H^1/2z to 0.2 nW/ H^1/2z. Preliminary data suggest utility for curved focal plane imaging in wearable sensors and other applications.
→ Read more

Coming Up: More Rescheduled Meetings

The pandemic continues to prompt widespread schedule changes (see the virtual IMS, above). Check both the MTT-S meeting calendar and individual conference websites carefully. Some notable changes include: Wireless Power Transfer, to 15-19 Nov. in Seoul; Microwave Biomedical Conference (IMBioC) to 14-17 Dec. in Toulouse; Microwave Acoustics and Mechanics (IC-MAM) to July 2021 in Munich.
→ Read more