Microwave Journal
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Editorially Speaking…

October 9, 2012

The next three months of Microwave Journal are a wonderful testament to the diversity of this industry. After an emphasis on aerospace and defense from August through October, our editorial attention now turns to the wireless communications industry (November); industrial, medical and scientific applications (December); and dual-use technology (January). For component manufacturers and system integrators, now is the time to communicate how your products are ready to change the world with better performance, improved efficiency, and/or lower cost. Let's hear what you got.  

Multi-band, multi-mode mobile devices are necessary to support legacy networks and global communication standards. Optimizing the impedance match and thus the performance between components in a versatile RF signal path is just one of the potential benefits of variable impedance devices. Our November cover article from WiSpry looks at some of the semiconductor technologies that are being developed to provide electronically controlled impedance tuning, allowing more power to be transferred from the PA to the antenna and potentially saving battery life while improving quality of signal. Target audience – mobile device manufacturers.

Staying with the RF semiconductor theme in our November issue European GaAs foundry, OMMIC, offers a technical feature on their “core” integrated circuit technology, RFMD provides valuable designer tips on minimizing power drain, AVAGO discusses the recovery time of Schottky-PIN diode limiters  and we present a novel, passive, substrate integrated waveguide coupler design from a peer approved technical article. Target audience – mobile device designers/engineers.

Communications is the theme of our annual Mobile Communications supplement in November, and this year the leading RFIC and RF test/measurement vendors share a glimpse at predictions for 2013. Will carrier aggregation or small cell have an impact at the microwave component level? Inquiring minds will want to know. Target audience – business development, mobile devices, infrastructure and component manufacturers.

December is our month devoted to the emerging applications in the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) sectors that represent opportunities for microwave technology. The operative word here is “emerging” and these sectors can certainly extend beyond ISM; with automotive being one such example.  And so, this year’s cover article looks toward the future at what is being conceived as 5G, the wireless connectivity of machines, i.e. the Internet of everything. I’ve come to think of our December issue as a kind of Popular Mechanics for microwave folks. We certainly live up to that concept this year.

On the medical front, we hear from NYU professor, Ted Rappaport, a pioneer in radio wave propagation for cellular and personal communications, wireless communication system design, and broadband wireless communications circuits and systems at millimeter wave frequencies. His research has influenced many international wireless-standards bodies, and he and his students invented the technology of site-specific radio frequency (RF) channel modeling and design for wireless network deployment – a technology he writes about in his perspective piece in our December issue.

January starts 2013 off with bang featuring Raytheon fellow and world-renown phased array antenna guru, Eli Brookner, demystifying MIMO radar in our invited paper cover story.  Antennas and radars get our full attention with articles from REMCOM on new software for conformal antenna analysis, National Instruments presenting an application in passive radar analysis, and an update in practical beamforming.

The industry barely took a break during the summer months and seems poised to announce many new technologies and products through the fall and into the New Year. The Microwave Journal editorial staff encourages all media relations professionals to submit editorial ideas at least four months in advance for featured articles or products features and at least two months for new products announcements.