Scalable Active-Mirror Router

A scalable router array supports communication among systems of spatially separated elements that do not share a common timing reference. A four-element 25 GHz prototype corrected path-length-difference-induced intersymbol interference (ISI) and improve a rerouted 270-Mb/s 64-QAM constellation from a completely scrambled state to an error vector magnitude of 4% rms (-28 dB).
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IEEE Journal of Microwaves Debuts

The open-access IEEE Journal of Microwaves published its first issue this month with more than 40 articles, including original research, reviews of topics from controlling electromagnetic wavefronts via Huygens' metasurfaces to trends in circuit modeling to microwaves in chemistry, and historical perspectives on John Mather and the cosmic microwave background.
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mmWave BiCMOS Backscatter Modulator for IoT

The first mmWave high-order backscatter modulator features a BiCMOS-based chip that performs different orders of backscatter modulation, M-quadratic-amplitude modulation (QAM), for a wide range frequencies (20-28 GHz) and input power, while demonstrating the lowest power consumption among state-of-the-art alternatives. The results promise low-power communications with multigigabit data rates.
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Call for Papers: Comms and Sensor Systems

26 February is the new submission deadline for the planned October special issue on Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Communication and Sensor Systems from the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. The editors cite redoubled interest, thanks to work in 5G, satellite communications, automotive radars, UAV tracking, imaging radars, self-duplexing, power amps and other areas.
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Pulse-Resolution THz Spectrometer

A new optical spectrometer delivers pulse-to-pulse resolution in the mmWave/THz range--necessary to detect abrupt radio-frequency breakdown amid the general jitter in very high field gradients (> 200 MV/m). The high gradients are required to construct miniaturized THz energy sources for next-generation biological and chemical imaging.
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At the Human-Microwave Frontier

Microwave technologies are taking on important healthcare, security, and other human life activities. A quartet of researchers reviews the past decade's developments in tools and applications, including continuous authentication, behavior recognition, human-aware localization, occupancy sensing, blood pressure monitoring, and sleep medicine.
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Intersymbol Interference in Phased Arrays

A new model for describing intersymbol interference (ISI) in large phased arrays shows how interference arises, and how it is affected by array dimensions, scan angle, and symbol rate. The accompanying equalization model achieves near-perfect ISI equalization--regardless of modulation, bandwidth, scan angle, and symbol rate.
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MTT-S Webinars: Battery-Free Systems

Keep in touch with technology via free MTT-S webinars. Catch previous presentations or sign up for upcoming programs like "The Future of Battery-Free RF/Microwave Systems" with Alessandra Costanzo (University of Bologna) on 9 Feb, "Online Presentation Skills" with John Bandler and Erin Kiley (McMaster University) on 11 Mar., and many more.
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Waveforms and End-to-End WPT Efficiency

An important parameter for assessing the viability of an RF WPT system is its end-to-end efficiency: this prototype testbed (comprising a software-defined radio transmitter and an energy-harvesting receiver with a low resistive load) simultaneously evaluates wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT). Results suggest that when the dc input power is constant, a baseband quadrature PSK signal is most suitable for SWIPT.
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Coming Up: Wireless & Microwave; Texas

Upcoming MTT-S sponsored conferences include: Wireless and Microwave Technology (WAMICON, Virtual, 10-15 Apr.); Texas Symposium on Wireless and Microwave Circuits and Systems (WMCS, Virtual, 18-20 May); Latin America Microwaves (LAMC, Cali, Colombia, 26-28 May), Wireless Power Transfer (WPTC, San Diego, 1-4 Jun.), and others. And don't forget the International Microwave Symposium (IMS, Atlanta, GA, 6-11 June).
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