Welcome to the 101st ARFTG Microwave Measurement Conference! The Automatic RF Techniques Group (ARFTG) is a technical organization interested in all aspects of RF and microwave test and measurement. Originally created as a users’ forum focused on the calibration and automation of early vector network analyzers, ARFTG has grown to encompass all aspects of microwave measurements from RF to THz.

ARFTG’s core mission is education. ARFTG achieves this by hosting conferences, workshops and short courses covering a wide range of measurement topics, as well as awarding fellowships and sponsorships to students. Additionally, ARFTG’s close association with the top vendors of measurement instrumentation ensures high-quality exhibits at its conferences. The extended breaks from conference technical sessions enable meaningful interactions to take place among colleagues, students, experts and vendors.

ARFTG sponsors two conferences each year. The fall/winter conference has recently been co-located with Radio & Wireless Week (RWW), while the spring/summer conference is co-located with the International Microwave Symposium (IMS). The 2023 Spring/Summer Conference will be a single-day event on Friday, 16 June. The theme of this 101st ARFTG Microwave Measurement Conference is “Challenges in Complex Measurement Environments.” Conference topics will cover on-wafer, over-the-air (OTA) or hybrid measurements: methodologies, calibration approaches and related topics; calibration and uncertainty considerations in moving OTA measurements (robotics, stages, UAVs, etc.); nonlinear characterizations, including linearization, of devices, circuits and systems; de-embedding and calibration approaches for complex media; uncertainty topics in integrated system testing; THz/mmWave measurements, including modulated signals; and other developments in measurements and metrology.

Oral technical sessions are presented in a single-track format. Extended breaks combine an exhibition and interactive forum, which provides networking opportunities with vendors and colleagues, whether researcher or practitioner.

Our Keynote speaker will be Stuart Gregson of Next Phase Measurements. The topic of his presentation will be “Measurement Challenges and Novel Approaches to Modern Antenna Measurements in Complex Environments Using UAVs and Multi-Axis Robots.”

The Nonlinear Network Vector Analyzer Users’ Forum and the On-Wafer Users’ Forum preceded the conference, both held on Thursday, 15 June.

Additionally, ARFTG is co-sponsoring two full-day workshops – WSM: “Advances in Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Wideband Measurements for Radar and Communications Applications” and WMD: “Device Thermal Noise Metrology: Needs, Challenges and Opportunities.”

ARFTG also offers student sponsorship and fellowship programs. The sponsorship program gives financial aid to students presenting at an ARFTG conference, and the fellowship program provides financial assistance in support of research.

If you have an interest in measurements from 1 kHz to 1 THz and beyond, be sure to add the 101st ARFTG Conference to your plans in San Diego this June. You will find our atmosphere to be informal and friendly. For further details regarding the conference as well as the student sponsorship and fellowship programs, visit www.arftg.org.