Can you believe another year has passed and we are once again preparing for the MTT-S International Microwave Symposium? Avez-vous été en pratiquant votre français à Montréal, Canada? * This is a fantastic city with great food, culture, interesting sites and in the very near future - an influx of a few thousand microwave professionals. Celebrating the MTT-S’s 60th anniversary with a symposium held for the first time outside the U.S. may be unfamiliar territory, but our upcoming May issue promises to make everyone feel right at home.
* Translation: Have you been practicing your French for Montreal, Canada?
May – IEEE MTT-S IMS 2012 Show Issue
Since we’re not comfortable resting on our laurels, each year’s IMS show issue challenges the editorial staff at Microwave Journal to outdo our previous effort. This year is no exception as we introduce some new features and bring back elements of our show coverage that were best received by our readers and advertisers. Understanding the microwave history of the IMS host city puts the regional contribution to RF technology in context and helps attendees appreciate their visit all the more. And so in addition to the standard show coverage with messages from the conference chairs and MicroApps, our cover feature this month retraces the rise and fall of the former crown jewel of Canada’s telecommunication industry, Nortel. The corporate entities that formed Nortel (Canada Bell, BNR, and Northern Electric) were responsible for many technical innovations, leading to its phenomenal growth back at the turn of the century. The company’s eventual collapse represents one of the biggest corporate failures in modern times. Our graphic novel - MTT-Stories returns for a second year and the product showcase has been carefully redesigned to provide the most useful guide for attendees scouring the exhibition floor for new products. The May issue is a truly impressive publication thanks to your continued support and contributions. We look forward to setting that bar a little higher once again.
June – RFICs, MMICs and RF/mW Semiconductors
From oscillators, amplifiers, mixers and switches, RF/mW semiconductors are used to construct all the essential building blocks of every wireless communication system. Diverse technologies from LDMOS, GaN, GaAs, SiGe and CMOS compete for space their respective markets, i.e. infrastructure, mobile handset, aerospace and defense. This year, we will feature a look at GaN and other compound semiconductor technologies and market opportunities from Strategy Analytics and leading GaN foundries and device manufacturers. Microwave Journal and Strategy Analytics are investigating an opportunity to combine this cover story with a special event. Keep an eye out for details in next month’s Waveguide. Complementing this cover feature, will be a healthy collection of industry authored GaN technical and product features. With IMS happening two weeks later this year, we will certainly bring copies of the June issue to preview and give away in our booth.
July – RF & Microwave Software and Design
Design is what our industry is all about, making components that are smaller, lighter and cost less than ever before. This year, we are reaching out to industry gurus to share their top tips for achieving these goals. This should be a fun and useful cover story that our audience will enjoy; a good start to their summer time reading. July also examines material modeling with planar EM simulation software from Sonnet, a technical feature from a leading EDA company on RFIC/analog design, a novel 3D Smith Chart and more.