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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 providers fear the device could also interfere with their services. The roll-out will be a key test of regulators’ ability to manage spectrum sharing, vital to future 5G wireless and Internet of Things technologies.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Seeking Candidates for MTT-S AdCom
The MTT-S Nominations and Appointments Committee is soliciting nominations for the Society’s Administrative Committee. The deadline for submitting candidates names is 15 May (changed from 30 April).
TECHNOLOGY
Optimized Minimum Inductor Bandpass Filters
Highly selective bandpass filters are important to managing the increasingly crowded communication spectrum. Simplified design methodology opens the door to replacing conventional filters with optimized devices that improve performance while using a minimum of bulky inductor.
CALL FOR PAPERS
Special Transactions Issue on RF Frontends for Mobile
The guest editors of the upcoming October 2017 IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques special issue on “RF Frontends for Mobile Radio Terminal Applications” invite submissions. The deadline is 1 April.
THZ TECHNOLOGY
Radar Uses Broadband Leaky-Wave Beam Steering
Researchers demonstrate a short-range radar based on a beam-steering leaky-wave antenna. The device achieves a near-constant 4-degree beam width, and detects a 12 mm cylinder at ranges of 46-86 mm with 2.4 mm mean error.
ASSISTANCE
Scholarship Applications Due 5 April for Fall 2017
MTT-S offers financial assistance to support research, study, and travel. The next deadline is 5 April, for undergraduates seeking scholarships for Fall 2017.
TECHNOLOGY
Encapsulated Organics for Integration of Heterogeneous MMICs
Heterogeneous SiGe and GaAs technologies are integrated using organic laminates in a novel packaging approach. Low-loss organic substrates design flexibility and the widest bandwidth yet reported for heterogeneous receivers.
MEETINGS
Microwaves for Intelligent Mobility, Nagoya, 19-21 March
Register now for ICMIM, the 2017 International Conference on Microwaves for Intelligent Mobility (Nagoya, Japan, 19-21 March). Keynotes, invited talks, and technical papers include presentations on autonomous driving by Toyota, Nissan, and Honda.
TECHNOLOGY
Printed Motes for IoT Wireless Networks
Review the state of the art in 3-D printed passives, sensors, energy-harvesting modules, actives, and communication front ends…plus the challenges of attaining both low power consumption and low fabrication cost.
MEETINGS
Catch the 5G Wave at RFIC2017, Honolulu, 4-6 June
Registrants for the 2017 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium will meet 4-6 June in Honolulu, HI, and kick off Microwave Week with workshops, technical sessions, and plenary talks on “Deployment Realities of 5G” and “RFIC/Silicon-based Phased Arrays and Transceivers for 5G.”
THZ TECHNOLOGY
New Ultrafast CMOS Terahertz Transmitter
A new Hiroshima University terahertz transmitter demonstrated data rates greater than 100 gigabits per second at a frequency of 300 gigahertz—speed some 2,100 times faster than LTE’s peak 50 Mb/s.
COMING UP
Intelligent Mobility, Texas Symposium, INMMIC
In addition to ICMIM (Nagoya, 19-21 Mar.), coming meetings include the Texas Wireless and Microwave Circuits and Systems (Waco, 30-31 Mar.); Integrated Nonlinear Microwave and Millimeter-wave Circuits (Graz, 20-21 Apr.); Wireless Power Transfer (Taipei, 10-12 May).
NEWS PRODUCT | PROMOTED CONTENT
New 5-, 10-, and 18-Slot PXie Chassis
Three new PXie chassis from Keysight include the high-performance 10-slot Gen 3, the cost-effective 5-slot Gen 1, and a redesigned 18-slot Gen 2 (offering improved power supply and system integration).