Guoan Wang

Dr. Guoan Wang received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2006. He is currently Director of SMART Microwave and RF Technology Laboratory in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of South Carolina. He worked as an Advisory Scientist responsible for the development of on chip mmwave passives and wafer level RF MEMS technologies in IBM Semiconductor Research and Development Center from 2006-2011. His current research areas include reconfigurable RF and microwave electronics, novel materials/techniques for smart RF applications, MEMS/NEMS, sensors and sensing systems, wireless energy harvesting, and 3D integrated devices/system. Dr. Wang’s research work has produced over 130 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences proceedings, one book (Smart RF Passive Components: Novel Materials, Techniques, and Applications, Artech House). He also has 51 granted US and international patents, and 52 pending patent applications.

Dr. Wang served as an Associate Editor of IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters from 2013 -2019, and currently is an Associate Editor of International Journal of RF and Microwave Computer‐Aided Engineering. He is a member of Technical Coordinating Committee for IEEE MTT TC-6 RF MEMS and Microwave Acoustics, and vice-chair of IEEE MTT TC-13 Microwave Control Materials and Devices. He has served in Steering Committees, Technical Program Committees, and as Session Chairs of many IEEE conferences include International Microwave Symposiums and IEEE Antennas and Propagation Symposium. Dr. Wang is a recipient of the NSF Early Faculty Development (CAREER) Award in 2012, IEEE Region 3 Outstanding Engineer Award in 2018, USC Breakthrough Star Award in 2016, multiple IBM Invention Achievement Awards from 2008 to 2011, NASA Tech Brief Award in 2007, and Young Faculty Development Award from Southeastern Center for Electrical Engineering Education in 2013.

The fastest growing wireless communications market has and will continuously see dramatic changes in both the requirements on, and the capabilities of radios to support the wireless connections especially in 5G and beyond technologies. Tunable technologies are enabling new frontiers for reconfigurable RF and microwave front-ends. Miniaturized multifunctional frequency-agile devices are highly demanded to support multiple communication standards in modern and next generation military and commercial applications. While the active circuitries are experiencing higher levels of co-integration with the scaling of more advanced semiconductor technology, there are technological barriers of integration to achieve further miniaturized communication systems due to large amount of RF passives on board.

This talk will present the development of frequency agile and fully electrically tunable miniaturized RF and microwave devices with novel thin films and related techniques (i.e., MEMS, on-chip tuning) enabling multifunctional and adaptive radios. First, the needs and requirements for adaptive and reconfigurable frequency control components in current and next generation wireless communication systems will be described. Overview of current tuning techniques (e.g., RF MEMS, ferroelectric and ferromagnetic films) will then be discussed and summarized, followed by the applications of these components in adaptive wireless systems. Design of transmission line structures with the integration of both nano-patterned ferromagnetic (e.g., permalloy) and ferroelectric (e.g., PZT) thin films will be demonstrated and investigated showing their efficacy as key building elements of fully electrically tunable RF components (e.g., phase shifter, filter, antenna). Finally, on-chip tuning techniques and challenges on co-design of active and passive components to enable future 5G communication system will be presented.