DARPA’s “Diverse Accessible Heterogeneous Integration” Revolution The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s DAHI (Diverse Accessible Heterogeneous Integration) continues to push the limits in on-chip integration, new materials, and improved silicon and gallium nitride technology to address critical challenges for next-generation microwave and millimeter-wave systems. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Candidates for MTT-S Leadership The MTT-S Nominations […]
IEEE’s 5G wireless initiative has the goal of serving many more users with much higher transmission speeds. But with the existing cellular bands tightly packed, where does all the required additional network capacity come from? In contrast with the traditional radio-spectrum management view of scarce capacity, where a finite amount of spectrum must be divided […]
Controversial Satellite-Messaging Startup Higher Ground Cleared for Takeoff In the face of industry opposition, U.S. regulators have okayed a smartphone accessory that uses microwaves to send text messages and email via geostationary satellites. Up to 50,000 Higher Ground SatPaq could be deployed in the U.S., promising cheap, reliable messaging far from cellphone towers. Some telecom […]
The Hubble Space Telescope might not make it to 2030. Currently operating 12 years beyond its original 15-year lifespan, Hubble’s science operations are slated to end in 2021. A proposed servicing mission could keep the beloved space telescope running even longer, but eventually, the era of Hubble will come to an end. Fortunately, a number […]
To make it easier for factories to integrate new wireless technologies, U.S. federal government employees took it upon themselves to measure the performance of radiofrequency signals in three factory settings: an auto transmission assembly facility, a steam generation plant, and a small machine shop. They recently published their results as part of an ongoing $5.75 […]
In the face of concerted industry opposition, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has given the go-ahead for a controversial smartphone accessory that uses microwaves to send text messages and email via geostationary satellites. Startup Higher Ground now has permission to deploy up to 50,000 SatPaq devices across the United States, promising isolated communities, hikers, and […]
Researchers covet terahertz waves for their ability to deliver data wirelessly at rates as high as 100 gigabits per second. That’s an unbelievably fast rate to achieve over the air, especially when you consider that: a) the average U.S. broadband speed is 55 megabits per second; and b) broadband service is piped into homes on […]
MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT DYLAN WILLIAMS A Future of Inclusion and Engagement Out-going President Ke Wu and I share similar visions for the Society. This common ground has led to a close relationship in which I often found myself working to support Ke’s goals, something that I found extremely rewarding: a commitment to inclusiveness, a policy […]
Message from President Ke Wu Time to Renew, Time to Expand Have you renewed your IEEE/MTT-S membership? If you have, I thank you for your loyalty to MTT-S. If not, you can easily renew on-line. You can also help MTT-S by recruiting friends and colleagues as new members of our Society. We have been working […]
Proof-of-Concept Demonstration of Vector Beam Pattern Measurements of Kinetic Inductance Detectors An international team of researchers from the U.S., the Netherlands, and Japan presents the first vector beam pattern measurement of microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs). The method should facilitate vector beam pattern measurements using direct detectors, reducing systematic error and allowing near-field as well […]
RFID Perfect Isolation: Coping with Self-Jamming in Passive RFID Systems Passive RF identification readers transmit a continuous-wave signal to remotely power up batteryless transponders. At the same time, they receive a backscattered signal at the same frequency. Strong continuous-wave signals can leak into the receiver, drowning out backscattered signals. Fixing the problem requires high-dynamic-range capability […]
THZ TECHNOLOGY Wireless Transmission at up to 60-Gb/s in the 400-GHz Range Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark, with colleagues from the University of Cambridge and Zhejiang University, moved frontiers of optoelectronic transmission past the 300 GHz range by demonstrating scalable data transmission of Nyquist quadrature phase-shift keying signals at 60 gigabits per second […]
TECHNOLOGY China Launches First Quantum Communications Satellite The first spacecraft designed to perform quantum communications was launched from the China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 16 August at 1:40 a.m. local time. The mission, dubbed Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), is a milestone for researchers building the technology needed to create unhackable large-scale quantum […]
Full-Duplex Chip Will Create a Wireless Bandwidth Bonanza Today’s radio technology has almost nothing in common with its counterpart from a century ago. Countless advances have produced gear that is fantastically smaller, more reliable, and more efficient in its use of power and bandwidth. And yet, one enormous limitation remains from long ago: Radios still […]
SOCIETY Understanding MTT-S’s Worldwide Member and Geographic Activities Today, MTT-S has some 200 chapters in every part of the world. These may be Single Society, Joint Society, Technical Council, or Student Branch Chapters. The 36-member MTT-S Member and Geographic Activities committee helps form and support these chapters and promotes membership in the Society as a […]
MEETINGS Get Ready for the 2016 International Microwave Symposium IMS2016’s technical program opens Monday, 23 May, in San Francisco with The Birth and Death of the Cell Phone, the plenary address by Dr. Martin Cooper, the Father of the Cell Phone. Following four days of programs, the meeting closes on 26 May with National Instruments […]
