Standards

The MTT-S Standards Committee (SC) is responsible for sponsoring the development of IEEE standards of relevance to the MTT-S community. Standards are very important documents because they provide reference information for end users working in the areas of technology covered by the standards. There are several international standards-making bodies, among them the International Organization for Standardization, the International Electrotechnical Commission, and, of course, the IEEE. IEEE standards are particularly important because they are usually developed by the end users involved in areas of technology affected by the standards. The vision of the MTT-S SC is to make the IEEE the standards body of choice for people and organizations wishing to develop or use standards in areas of microwave science, engineering, and technology. As such, the SC works closely with the various MTT-S technical committees to ensure that opportunities for standards development are identified and realized. The SC also helps with the formation and operation of the working groups that develop and write the standards. Finally, the SC provides a liaison between the standards working groups and the IEEE Standards Association to ensure that the developed standards are published in a timely manner.

Within the MTT-S, the SC interacts with the various Technical Committees (TC) to see if there are opportunities for standard activities based on the TCs’ work. Also, the SC keeps close ties with the technical developments in the industry through various contacts, conferences, etc. to see if there are needs for standards activities. Finally, the SC has tried to reach out to MTT-S sister Societies to see if there are any opportunities for joint standards work.

We have recently (within the last approximate year) published three standards. Those are:

IEEE 1770-2021: “IEEE Recommended Practice for the Usage of Terms Commonly Employed in the Field of Large-Signal Vector Network Analysis”. Common terms in large-signal vector network analysis are defined in this recommended practice. Some fundamental terms used in small-signal vector network analysis that are also commonly used in large-signal vector network analysis are covered as well.

IEEE 1765-2022: “Trial-Use Recommended Practice for Estimating the Uncertainty in Error Vector Magnitude of Measured Digitally Modulated Signals for Wireless Communications”. This document provides recommended practices for the determination of uncertainty in the estimation of error vector magnitude of a measured digitally modulated wireless communication signal and provides a set of open-source uncertainty algorithms.

IEEE 287.1-2021, 287.2-2021, 287.3-2021: “IEEE Standard for Precision Coaxial Connectors at RF, Microwave, and Millimeter-Wave Frequencies”. IEEE 287.1-2021 contains the general requirements, definitions and detailed specifications for precision coaxial connectors. IEEE 287.2-2021 is a recommended practice that covers precision coaxial connector test procedures. IEEE 287.3-2021 contains useful information for users of coaxial connectors including connector effects, care and handling of precision coaxial connectors, connector repeatability and reproducibility test procedures, and a color code for precision coaxial connectors.

In addition to the published standards, the MTT-S SC is a primary sponsor for three standards in 2023:

P1765 “Recommended Practice for Estimating the Uncertainty in Error Vector Magnitude of Measured Digitally Modulated Signals for Wireless Communications” – IEEE 1765-2022 was just published, this new work will extend the published recommended practice to include extending the IEEE 1765 approach to over-the-air (OTA) measurements and uncertainty evaluation and implementing additional algorithms.

P2822 “Recommended Practice for μM, MM and THz On-Wafer Calibrations, De-Embedding and Measurements”. This Recommended Practice describes best-practice procedures for performing accurate on-wafer calibrations, de-embedding and measurements at microwave, millimeter-wave and THz frequencies. Recommendations are given for designing and performing both accurate on-wafer calibrations in coplanar waveguide and microstrip lines fabricated directly on a user’s wafer and off-wafer “probe-tip” working calibrations.

P3136 – “Standard for a Universal Waveguide Interface for Frequencies of 60 GHz and Above”. This standard specifies a universal interface for waveguides with one or more metallic conductors or one or more dielectric elements, including hollow metallic waveguides and dielectric waveguides.

The MTT-S SA is also Co-Sponsor of:

P2725 “Microwave Structural, Vascular or Functional Medical Imaging Device Safety“. This standard specifies the area(s) of intended usage, electromagnetic and electrical safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements for microwave medical imaging systems and brain-machine interface (BMI) devices.