Attending European Microwave Week 2016

London may be steeped in history but it is also a vibrant, modern cosmopolitan city. Architecturally, the centuries old St Paul’s Cathedral, Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London share the city’s skyline with this century’s London Eye and The Shard. Ancient artifacts take centre stage at the Victoria and Albert and the Natural History Museums, while the more contemporary works can be seen at the Design Museum and Tate Modern.

Similarly, the likes of Newton, Faraday and Maxwell pioneered technological evolution, while today’s RF and microwave engineers and scientists have the opportunity to shape the development of the interactive, information age by meeting the challenges of 5G, the Internet of Things, satellite communications, defence/military systems and the development of autonomous cars, to name a few. Such cutting edge technology will be the topics of conversation, conference sessions and the product offerings of exhibiting companies.

Illustrating the intellectual and geographical reach of the week’s programme around 1000 papers were submitted for review to the three conferences from more than 50 countries. The technical programme includes 92 technical sessions, 450 oral papers and 136 posters, four special sessions and three focused sessions.

Firmly established as the premier RF and microwave event in Europe, EuMW 2016 is expected to attract in excess of 1500 unique conference delegates, around 4500 attendees, with the exhibition featuring more than 300 exhibiting companies, spread over about 7800 square metres (gross).

Not just numbers, the attendees are individuals that should be encouraged to network, interact and enjoy each other’s company, and where better to start than at the ever popular EuMW Welcome Reception, sponsored by Keysight Technologies. On Tuesday 4 October the reception will be held in the Platinum Suite. The evening will begin with a cocktail reception at 18:30, when guests will be addressed by the 2016 EuMW Chairman, Andrew Gibson, who will hand over to the 2017 EuMW Chairman for Nuremberg, Arne Jacob, followed by Keysight Technologies, after which a three course seated buffet for 1000 people will be served.

From the conference programme, through poster sessions, to new products on display, the main aim is to ensure a productive and informative week for all. To help visitors achieve these aims the following quick reference guide is designed to complement the Conference Programme and Exhibition Show Guide, where you will find more detailed information.

There is virtual access for the first time too via the EuMW app, which is designed to be a digital companion leading up to, and during the week. For the exhibition it will enable users to navigate the show floor with the interactive map, filter and search for selected exhibitors and contact exhibitors directly to book a meeting. For the conferences, users can follow and build their own personal agenda, access abstracts, post questions and leave feedback.

THE CONFERENCES

Each with their own dedicated time slots throughout the week there are three focused conferences:

• The European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC) – 3 to 4 October
• The European Microwave Conference (EuMC) – 4 to 6 October
• The European Radar Conference (EuRAD) – 5 to 7 October
• Plus Workshops and Short Courses – 3 to 7 October
• In addition, the Defence, Security and Space Forum will take place on Wednesday 5 October

Rohde & Schwarz sponsored online registration opened on 1 June 2016 and remains open up to and during the event until 7 October 2016. There will be onsite registration from Sunday 2 October from 16:00-19:00 and at 08:00 each morning from Monday 3 to Friday 7 October 2016.

Those who have pre-registered should bring their badge barcode and confirmation with them to the registration area where they can print out their badge by scanning their barcode at the Fast Track desk.

Those who have not pre-registered can do so on site. There will be onsite registration terminals located within the registration area, located on the Boulevard, where delegates can enter their details and either pay immediately by swiping their credit or debit cards through the card readers attached to the terminals. Alternatively, there is a cashier desk for those who require a printed receipt.

Once in possession of a badge, delegates can collect their delegate bags, sponsored by Infineon Technologies and Leonardo-Finmeccanica, from collection points in the registration area. The bags will include a USB stick containing the conference proceedings.

THE EUROPEAN MICROWAVE CONFERENCE

EuMC is Europe’s leading forum for presenting microwave and related technologies. 630 papers were submitted, which enabled the TPC to produce a wide programme that includes 49 EuMC and 12 joint technical sessions, 15 workshops, five short courses and three special sessions alongside a special event, and the student challenge. One of the special sessions is devoted to the Asia Pacific Microwave Conference.

The technical sessions cover the latest microwave techniques including filters, power amplifiers, antennas, biological applications and many other areas. The opening session includes a presentation by Glyn Thomas, Payload Director of Airbus entitled, “Quantum Flexible Payloads for Telecoms Satellites.” At the closing session, fascinating insights into the worlds of microwave instrumentation and measurements will be given by Mark Pierpoint of Keysight Technologies, and Nick Ridler of NPL. The conference prizes will also be presented.

EUROPEAN MICROWAVE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS CONFERENCE

Jointly organised by the GAAS® Association and EuMA, the aim of the conference is to promote the discussion of recent developments and trends, and to encourage the exchange of scientific and technical information covering a broad range of high frequency related topics, from materials and technologies to integrated circuits and applications, that will be addressed in all of their aspects: theory, simulation, design and measurement.

The EuMIC opening plenary session will feature two keynotes that balance a futuristic research-oriented agenda with the more practical perspectives of industrial designers. Dylan Williams of NIST, USA will speak on “THz Transistors and Calibration Challenge,” while Liam Devlin from Plextek Ltd., UK will deliver a talk entitled, “MMICs – Custom or COTS.”

The closing session will include the traditional foundry session gathering several key representatives of RF and microwave semiconductor foundries, as well as a keynote talk by a world renowned expert on power amplifiers, Steve C. Cripps of Cardiff University, UK, who will consider “Balanced Microwaves,” stressing the need for access to a mature and reliable multilayer integrated process for microwave designers.

During the closing ceremony, the prize for the best contributed paper to EuMIC 2016 will be awarded and the EuMIC Young Engineer Award will be presented to a young engineer or researcher who authored an outstanding paper presented at the EuMIC Conference. Three GAAS® Ph.D. student fellowships will also be celebrated.

THE EUROPEAN RADAR CONFERENCE

This conference is the major European event covering the present status and future trends in the field of radar technology, system design, and applications that covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from radar components and systems, radar echo modeling, advanced signal processing techniques, up to the most innovative radar architectures and concepts and the latest applications.

This year, 171 papers were submitted from which the 100 accepted papers were organised into 13 oral sessions and one poster session. EuRAD delegates can also attend five sessions shared with EuMC, related to millimetre-wave antenna arrays and millimetre and THz radar applications as well as antennas and propagation and electronic scanned array design.

During the opening session Dr. Paul Holbourn of Selex ES, will present, “Captor for Typhoon: Past, Present and Future,” that focuses on the development of the Captor radar for Typhoon, which is the most significant European airborne radar. Three focused short courses will be presented by renowned experts on very innovative and interesting fields, dealing with electronic scanned array design and multibeam antennas and beamforming networks.

Expert workshops covering a range of topics and led by renowned experts in the field include: Automotive Radar chaired by Holger Meinel, Radar Imaging chaired by Professor Motoyuki Sato, Radar Performance in Clutter chaired by Professor Simon Watts, Bistatic and Multistatic Radar chaired by Professor Mike Cherniakov and  Digital Beamforming Space Borne Synthetic Aperture Radar chaired by Professor Steven Gao.

During the closing session Professor Hugh Griffiths will talk on “Early History of Bistatic Radar,” which will describe Appleton’s 1924 experiments to measure the height of the ionosphere (also the first FM radar), Watson Watt’s celebrated Daventry Experiment in 1935, and the German WWII Klein Heidelberg system, which used the British Chain Home radars as its illumination source and which was the first proper operational bistatic radar.

THE EXHIBITION

The European Microwave Exhibition will be housed in halls 20 to 23, which is accessed from the registration area on the Boulevard via Entrance S11. Taking place from 4 – 6 October, and larger than in 2015, it will be the hub of activity generated by the multitude of companies eager to display and demonstrate their latest introductions.

The FREE to attend exhibition will feature companies large and small, established and emerging. Of course, European companies are to the fore and UK companies are making their presence felt on home soil. The U.S. and Asia are well represented with the Chinese Pavilion expanding in 2016, demonstrating the country’s continued emergence as a force in the RF and microwave sector and its desire to reach overseas markets.

Significant this year is the participation, for the first time, of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), which is the largest fundamental research organization in France. Conducting research in a wide range of scientific and technological sectors the organisation will feature eight of its research institutes.

With its focused international audience EuMW has established itself as an event that leading manufacturers often choose to launch new products onto the European and global market. To find out which companies will be exhibiting at ExCeL London see the latest exhibitor list, starting on page 172.

By nature engineers are practical so the popular exhibitor workshops offered by leaders in their respective fields, including Keysight Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz and National Instruments offer attendees the opportunity to see live demonstrations and gain hands-on experience.

The educational/instructional theme will continue on the show floor with the sixth European Microwave Week Microwave Application Seminars (MicroApps). The National Instruments, Rohde & Schwarz and Horizon House sponsored, free-to-attend seminars will take place in the MicroApps Auditorium for the entire three days of the exhibition. Designed to provide engineers with insight into products and techniques that will aid them in their everyday work EuMW exhibitors will present technical presentations describing state-of-the-art applications, products, design techniques and processes of interest to the RF and microwave community. Continuing the educational theme, the show floor will also be home for both the Student Challenge and the Student Design Competition, while the Career Platform will be on the Mezzanine floor of the Conference Centre.

The exhibition space will also be the home of the conference poster sessions, coffee breaks, sponsored by Copper Mountain, and the publisher’s corner. Once again CST is sponsoring a cyber café located on the show floor for all delegates, exhibitors and visitors to use, as well as free Wi-Fi access to emails for delegates in all conference areas.

Exhibition Opening Hours

Tuesday 4 October: 9:30 to 18:00 (followed by the Welcome Reception)

Wednesday 5 October: 9:30 to 17:30

Thursday 6 October: 9:30 to 16:30

GETTING TO THE ExCeL LONDON

London can easily be reached by plane and is served by six international airports and a very convenient railway system. Details of how to reach ExCeL London can be found at http://excel.london/visitor/getting-here.

By Plane

London has six international airports. London City Airport is recommended as it is less than a mile from ExCeL London. It takes just 5 minutes by taxi or 15 minutes by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). The airport has 350 flights per day, from over 40 international destinations including Amsterdam, Dublin, Madrid, Nice, Frankfurt, Rome and Zurich.

London City Airport

Average journey time by public transport: 15 mins.

Depart London City Airport, taking the DLR west towards Canning Town. Change at Canning Town, heading east on the DLR towards Beckton. Arrive at Prince Regent for ExCeL London (East).

Gatwick Airport

Average journey time by public transport: 1 hour.

Depart Gatwick train station, heading towards London Victoria on the Gatwick Express or Southern Trains. From London Victoria take the London Underground and head east on the Circle (yellow) or District (green) line. Change at Westminster, heading east on the Jubilee line (grey). Change at Canning Town, heading east on the DLR towards Beckton to arrive at Prince Regent.

Heathrow Airport

Average journey time by public transport: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

When using the Heathrow Express, you can pre-book tickets at a discounted price. Take the Heathrow Express, heading to London Paddington. From Paddington take the London Underground and head east on the Bakerloo line (brown). Change at Baker Street, heading south on the Jubilee Line (grey). Change at Canning Town, heading east on the DLR towards Beckton to arrive at Prince Regent.

Stansted Airport

Average journey time by public transport: 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Depart Stansted, heading to London Liverpool Street on the Stansted Express then head west on the London Underground on the Central Line (red). Change at Bank for the DLR towards Beckton to arrive at Prince Regent.

Luton Airport

Average journey time by public transport: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Depart Luton or Luton Parkway, heading south towards London Blackfriars on the Thameslink Service. From Blackfriars take the London Underground and head west on the Circle (yellow) or District (green) line. Change at Westminster, heading east on the Jubilee line (grey). Change at Canning Town, heading east on the DLR towards Beckton to arrive at Prince Regent.

Southend Airport

Average journey time by public transport: 1 hour, 34 minutes.

Depart Southend Airport, heading towards London Liverpool Street on the Abellio Greater Anglia service. From Liverpool Street take the London Underground and head west on the Central Line (red). Change at Bank for the DLR towards Beckton to arrive at Prince Regent.

Parking

If you are using satellite navigation to drive to the venue, we recommend using postcode,  E16 1DR. For more information and to see a map of the route, please visit tfl.gov.uk/. All onsite parking is pay and display, with the exception of the Royal Victoria multi-storey car park where payment can be made at three pay points at the end of your visit. All machines accept cash and credit card.

Public Transport

Train

Rail services in the UK are run by a set of private train operating companies. London’s main railway stations are: Charing Cross (27 minutes from ExCeL London), Euston (32 min.), King’s Cross/St Pancras International (32 mins), Liverpool Street (26 min.), London Bridge (16 mins), Marylebone (31 mins), Moorgate (26 min.), Paddington (32 min.), Victoria (40 mins) and Waterloo (17 min.).

Train tickets can be booked via:

www.thetrainline.com or www.nationalrail.co.uk or www.eurostar.com/uk-en.

London Underground

The Jubilee Line and the DLR are the quickest routes to ExCeL London. Alight at Canning Town on the Jubilee Line and change onto a Beckton-bound DLR train, getting off at Prince Regent for ExCeL London (east entrance) Visit tfl.gov.uk for information on routes and timetables.

River & Cable Car

The river route is serviced by MBNA Thames Clippers with departures from major London piers every 20 minutes. When travelling to ExCeL London alight at North Greenwich Pier for the O2, where you can use the Emirates Air Line Cable Car for a quick journey to the venue campus. See full list of fares at www.thamesclippers.com.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Horizon House has teamed up with Connex Hotels and Events to offer the ability to book accommodations for this exhibition at the most competitive rates. Simply visit the booking page at www.connexhotelsandevents.com/eumw2016-london.html or email sally@connexhotelsandevents.com.

SHOPPING & SIGHTSEEING

London is the city that has everything. There are so many places to shop, tour, eat, drink, etc. Top attractions include The British Museum, The Coca-Cola London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, The National Gallery, The Natural History Museum, The Science Museum, The Tate Modern, Tower of London, Victoria & Albert Museum and Westminster Abbey.

For information on other top attractions, visit www.visitlondon.com.

Finally, ExCeL London has put together a number of guides that will help you to plan your time away from European Microwave Week: ExCeL.london/exhibitor/after-hours.