This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some of these cookies are essential to make this site work and others help us to gain insight into how it is being used.
More
These cookies are set when you submit a form, login or interact with the site by doing something that goes beyond clicking some simple links. We also use some non-essential cookies to anonymously track visitors or enhance your experience of this site. If you're not happy with this, we won't set these cookies but some nice features on the site may be unavailable. To control third party cookies, you can also adjust your browser settings. If you wish to view any policies or terms of usage that you cannot find on this website, please contact us. You can change your mind and opt-out at any time by clicking the ✻ icon above.
I consent to cookies
I don't consent to cookies
Armms RF and Microwave Society
Book for the Apr 2024 conference »

Conferences

Monday 23rd April to Tuesday 24th April 2012 at Milton Hill House,

The April 2012 meeting was a complete sell-out. The technical presentations are listed below. The best paper prize was won by Charles Suckling of TriQuint Semiconductors. This meeting saw the start of the young engineer sponsorship scheme. Any young engineers (28 or below) who have papers accepted are sponsored to attend as a delegate free of charge and receive a £100 sponsorship award. Two of the speakers listed below received this sponsorship.

VENUE

Milton Hill House
Steventon
Oxfordshire
OX13 6AF

Tel0870 609 1153
Webhttp://www.deverevenues.co.uk/locations/milton-hill-house.html

PROGRAMME CO-ORDINATOR

John Kitchen
SJ Technologie

Tel0333 123 4640
Emailjohnk@sjtechnologie.co.uk

PAPERS

Affordable Phased Array Weather Radars; starting to become reality

Prof. David McLaughlin
University of Mass at Amherst

This paper discusses several approaches being taken to realize affordable phased arrays to enable future networks of dense radars. We discuss the driving design considerations behind such a technology and present recent academic laboratory and commercial development successes aimed at achieving “phase-phase” and “phase-tilt” antenna designs.

Affordable Phased Array Weather Radars; starting to become reality

Automated Characterisation of a Super Low Noise InGaAs HEMT at X- & Ku-Band

Mike Casbon
Cardiff University

This paper describes a process developed at Cardiff University for extracting the noise figure and gain contours for packaged low noise devices. Specially developed software is used to control an automated source tuner and record the results over a user defined area of the Smith chart. Full 3D EM simulation is used to de-embed the device from the measurement fixture.

Automated Characterisation of a Super Low Noise InGaAs HEMT at X- & Ku-Band

Design of High Efficiency, Multi-Octave Microwave Push-Pull Power Amplifiers (young engineer sponsored paper)

Robert Smith
Cardiff University

Using differential linear measurements, the harmonic impedance conditions presented by simple transmission line baluns are identified. These impedances are shown to differ significantly from the short-circuit harmonic conditions usually associated with push-pull amplifiers. When taking into account these impedance conditions, a family of waveforms corresponding to the theoretical waveforms inside a push-pull amplifier can be described mathematically and measured using a harmonic load-pull system. The wideband nature of transmission line baluns can be utilised to design and build push-pull microwave power amplifiers that can operate over multiple octaves and at higher efficiencies than conventional wideband amplifiers. This concept has been demonstrated through the design and test of a push-pull PA utilising packaged GaN HEMTs.

Design of High Efficiency, Multi-Octave Microwave Push-Pull Power Amplifiers (young engineer sponsored paper)

Design of High Power and Efficient RF LDMOS PA for ISM Applications

Farhat Abbas and John Gajadharsing
NXP Semiconductors

Very high performance in power and efficiency radio frequency (RF) laterally diffused MOS (LDMOS) Class AB power amplifier (PA) designed, prototyped and tested for industrial, scientific, medical (ISM) applications at 2.4 GHz-2.5 GHz.

Design of High Power and Efficient RF LDMOS PA for ISM Applications

Diamond Field Effect Transistors (young engineer sponsored paper)

Stephen Russell
University of Glasgow

Due to its superior material qualities such as high breakdown field (10 MV/cm), high carrier saturation velocity (1-3 x 10^7 cm/s) and large thermal conductivity (>2000W/mK), diamond is deemed the ideal material for providing future high power / high frequency electronic components. Using hydrogen-terminated diamond, various gate length field effect transistors have been fabricated at the University of Glasgow, the smallest with a gate dimension of 80nm. This has resulted in a record cut-off frequency of 55 GHz, the highest yet reported for a diamond based transistor

Diamond Field Effect Transistors (young engineer sponsored paper)

Doherty, LINC and ET GaN HEMT PA Design

Ray Pengelly
Cree

Doherty, Chireix Outphasing and Envelope Tracking PA Design with Examples

Doherty, LINC and ET GaN HEMT PA Design
 Doherty, LINC and ET GaN HEMT PA Design - part 2

High Power Testing of Low Loss Components utilising Resonant Ring Structures

Keith Newsome
E2V Technologies

Focusing primarily on the testing of a high power isolator for 100kW industrial processing systems, this paper will detail the design methodology employed for resonant ring construction. Additional information gained from testing using resonant rings will be included together with a discussion of the error margins associated with the measurements. Use of ring structures to extend test capability, and de-risk of component breakdown events is also discussed.

High Power Testing of Low Loss Components utilising Resonant Ring Structures

Inline RF Signal Processing: Customising Measurements and Analysis with Off-the-Shelf FPGA Technology

Jeremy Twaits
National Instruments
Implementing continuous software-defined radio systems requires large amounts of real-time, inline processing. With a standard PC-based architecture, it is difficult to achieve the processingspeeds and data transfer rates required, so it is necessary to look to other computing nodes, such as DSPs or FPGAs. Throw in the need to test and measure MIMO-based standards, like 802.11ac (WLAN) and the amounts of data requiring analysis can become overwhelming. In this session, we shall discuss techniques for using FPGAs to perform inline signal processing for software-defined radio and MIMO-based wireless standards.

Linear, Switching and Waveform Engineered GaN HEMT PA Design

Ray Pengelly
Cree

Linear, Switching & Saturated Power Amplifier Designs with Examples.

Linear, Switching and Waveform Engineered GaN HEMT PA Design

Low Temperature Microwave Irradiation as an Activator of Biomass Pyrolysis

Mario De bruyn
University of York

Biomass can be seen as the oil well of the future; a renewable and widely distributed resource that should be increasingly exploited for the production of energy products with environmental, economic and social benefits. One method by which the bio-energy carriers and chemicals can be obtained is pyrolysis. The latter is a feedstock agnostic technique capable of deconstructing biopolymers into more useful gas, oil, chemical and char products. Microwave irradiation can interact with different types of biomass at low temperature compared to conventional flash pyrolysis. Building on our original work in microwave pyrolysis and bio-refining, studies are now underway dealing with ligno-cellulosic compounds and whole biomasses, mechanistic & process conditions, product analysis and scale-up.

Low Temperature Microwave Irradiation as an Activator of Biomass Pyrolysis

Monolithic Integration of RF MEMS and GaAs MMIC process for RF sensing applications

B. Grandchamp
OMMIC

This paper shows the promising results of the integration of low-loss and high isolation RF MEMS switch in OMMIC GaAs MMIC process line. This technology has been used to design building blocks (such as reconfigurable impedance matching network for reconfigurable LNAs) targeting phased arrays applications. This work is part of the FP7 EU-project MEMS-4-MMIC.

Monolithic Integration of RF MEMS and GaAs MMIC process for RF sensing applications

New Qualified Industrial 0.5?m AlGaN/GaN HEMT Process: Status on GaN development

Didier Floriot
UMS

This paper describes the performances of a new power 0.5 μm gate length AlGaN / GaN HEMT process named GH50_10. This process has been developed to address applications and market needs up to 7 GHz. A specific emphasis has been attached to find a trade- off in between power / efficiency and linearity . After an introduction of the context, a short description of the process manufacturing is given including spread of the DC parameters. From the qualification procedure, key reliability figures of the process are presented like the main energy of activation and an evaluation of the Median Time to Failure, evaluated respectively to 1.95ev and 106 hours at 200°C. Power performances are presented from L to C bands from 15W for the elementary power transistors to 50W for high power packaged transistors. This technology is presently available at industrial level to address products requirements for telecom and military needs. Finally, a status is presented concerning the development of a 0.25μm gate length process which is on the way to enter in qualification process.

New Qualified Industrial 0.5?m AlGaN/GaN HEMT Process: Status on GaN development

RF & Microwave Solid State Power Amplifier Design is a Speciality

Ivan Bozhnakov
Amplifier Technology
-
RF & Microwave Solid State Power Amplifier Design is a Speciality

Symbiosis: Measurement & Simulation in Modern Device Design

Dr. Marc Rütschlin
CST

In the last two decades, virtual prototyping by electromagnetic simulation has assumed an increasingly central role in product design and the RF engineer's daily work. The benefits of simulation in accelerating the design cycle, thus reducing cost and time-to-market, are undeniable. But for simulation to be used with confidence requires trust in the accuracy of the results it delivers. Engineers must know that the predictions made by simulating their virtual model will correspond to their measurements of an actual prototype device.

Symbiosis: Measurement & Simulation in Modern Device Design

Thermal Analysis of GaN Devices

Charlie Suckling
TriQuint Semiconductor
-
Thermal Analysis of GaN Devices


EXHIBITION

As always there will be an accompanying commercial exhibition. Companies interested in exhibiting should email exhibition@armms.org


CALL FOR PAPERS

Contributions are invited with an emphasis on RF and microwave design, research, testing and associated subjects. An oral presentation will be made at the meeting and a written paper will be required for publication in the society digest, which is distributed to delegates at the meeting. Prospective speakers are requested to submit a title and a short abstract to the technical coordinator (see above) as soon as possible.

Click here to view our Guidelines for Authors
Click here to view our Publication Release Form

Receive future programme details