Welcome to the IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, which will take place in Anaheim, CA, May 23-25, 2010 (www.RFIC2010.org). Our Symposium, held in conjunction with the IEEE MTTS International Microwave Symposium (IMS), opens Microwave Week 2010, the largest worldwide RF/microwave meeting of the year.


The RFIC Symposium continues to build upon its heritage as one of the foremost IEEE technical conferences, increasing each year its impact and reputation of excellence. By bringing focus to the technical accomplishments in RF circuits, systems and devices, the RFIC Symposium has become essential to both the academic and industrial communities. This year's exciting technical program will showcase the latest innovations in RF integrated circuit design with sessions that cover a broad spectrum of topics from cellular and wireless connectivity system ICs, broadband wireless communications, digitally enhanced RF circuits, silicon millimeter-wave ICs, and RF device technology, modeling, and characterization. Applications highlighted by the technology include mobile phones, wireless communication systems, broadband access modems, radar systems and intelligent transport systems.

Running in conjunction with the International Microwave Symposium and Exhibition, the RFIC Symposium adds to the excitement of Microwave Week with three days focused exclusively on RFIC technology and innovation (see Figure 1). The RFIC Symposium will start on Sunday with half-day and full-day workshops, covering a large breadth of topics. Some of the topics include: SiGe HBTs towards THz operation; interference and coupling effects in modern System on Chip (SoC) and System in Package (SiP); power management for integrated RF circuits; advances in filtering and sampling for integrated transceivers; MOSFET modeling for RFIC design; re-configurable multi-radios at the nanoscale; challenges and techniques for 3G/4G multi-mode front-end designs; and silicon-based technologies and design techniques for millimeter-wave applications.

The conference also includes a Plenary Session, which is held on Sunday evening. Keynote addresses will be given by two renowned leaders, one from academia and the other from industry. Both of them will share their views and insights on the direction and challenges that the RFIC industry is facing. The first speaker is Professor David James Allstot from the University of Washington, who will present his vision of one of the last great challenges of RF CMOS integration in his talk, "Power Amplification: Can CMOS Deliver?" The second speaker is Gregory L. Waters, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Skyworks Solutions Inc., Woburn, MA. He will discuss "The Universal Connector: RF Application Trends Over the Next Decade." In addition to the keynote addresses, the conference holds a student paper competition to encourage the publication of innovative research from university students. Consequently, best student paper awards are presented in the Plenary Session to acknowledge these contributions. The highly anticipated RFIC Reception will follow immediately after the Plenary Session, providing a relaxing time for all to mingle with old friends and catch up on the latest news.

On Monday and Tuesday, the conference will feature lunch-time panel sessions that traditionally draw strong debate between panel members as well as stimulating interaction between attendees and panelists. Monday's lunch panel session entitled, "The Challenges, Competitions and Future Prospect of 60 GHz," includes panelists from both industry and academia debating the future of high data rate wireless networks. Tuesday's lunch panel session, "Future of High-speed I/O: Electrical, Optical or Wireless?," is posed to stimulate interactive discussions with the audience. There will be a total of 21 oral paper sessions on Monday and Tuesday. The technical program will conclude with an Interactive Forum session on Tuesday afternoon, which will feature 26 poster session papers and the chance to speak directly with authors regarding their work.

This year's location is the Anaheim Convention Center, in beautiful Southern California, a location made famous by cutting-edge high-tech industry, top universities, perfect weather, beautiful beaches and entertainment parks such as Disneyland, Universal Studios and Sea World, to name a few. Our Anaheim conference presents an opportunity for engineers to see the latest advances in RFIC design, while providing numerous options for entertaining the entire family. We hope that you take full advantage of these opportunities on your visit.

On behalf of the RFIC Steering Committee, we look forward to seeing you at the 2010 RFIC Symposium in Anaheim.