The September issue of the IEEE Microwave Magazine is out! This issue has five features and a full set of columns. Microwave components and systems are the focus of this issue. We have come a long way from the original radar and communication founding focus of microwaves. Of course we also have a great set of columns to let you know what is going on in our society and give you some things to think about. Start your tour with the President’s Column where you will learn all about the issue.

For now we’ll give you a summary of all the things in this issue. Our features range from passive filters through semiconductor devices to full radar systems. Our multi-band communication systems have breathed new complexity into microwave filters and our feature on dual-band and dual-mode resonators will give you a course in modern filter theory and practice. Semiconductors are at the heart of most modern systems and while varactor diodes enabled many early microwave systems until III-V and II-VI transistors arrived varactor diodes are still important and you can read about their characterization here. Of course transistors are the heart of ICs and power amplifiers and while conceptually just a charge controlled charge flow valve their modeling involves a lot of physics which you can read about in our transistor review feature. Radars are now common in automobiles so read about our silicon FMCW radars in our third feature. And our first feature concerns high power radars monitoring space debris so you can learn about how this works and what is out there in orbit.

Our columns keep us apprised of what is happening in our community and the President’s Column is always a keystone. Organizations love three letter acronyms and MGA is one of ours – Member and Geographic Activities. Read about how MGA is pivotal in our society. Our Conference Report column is about our Sixth Australian Microwave Symposium. We are global. And our chapters are global and critical to our future. Read about our joint AP-S chapter in Boston in our Featured MTT-S Chapters column. Our evolution from a “gray haired old man” society to engaging everyone in this international society depends on Women in Microwaves and Young Professionals. Fortunately we have columns about how both of these are happening in 2024 and 2025. We have an active Ombudsman officer and in his column this month he answers questions on how to obtain special issues, solving membership problems and symposia questions and issues.

We also have columns to learn from. This month’s MicroBusiness discusses what happens when questionable science sneaks through the cracks in the system. Moving into real science is done in our Microwave Surfing column on the useful variations in our earth’s magnetic field. Many of us still read books and our Books/Software Reviews column gives us a tour of a book on smart antennas for 5G+. Finally, our Enigmas, etc. column explores coupled coils and how the kQ factor relates to impedance matrices.

As always, check out the Conference Calendar and enjoy those meetings in person.

Summary by
Alfy Riddle, Ph.D.
Quanergy Solutions.