Fabless semiconductor startup mmTron, Inc. announced that Stephen Maas has joined mmTron as a mmWave MMIC mixer design scientist. He will focus on extending the performance of mmWave mixers, particularly to improve linearity to complement mmTron’s catalog of high linearity mmWave power amplifiers, very low noise amplifiers and front-end modules.

“We are very fortunate to have Stephen apply his vast knowledge of mixers to extend mmTron’s capabilities and products,” said Seyed Tabatabaei, mmTron founder and CEO. “Mixers are integral to every RF system, yet mmWave mixers have not received much design focus. We want to fill the performance gaps in mmWave systems, especially high linearity.”

"I'm looking forward to applying my experience and RF design background to extend mmWave mixer performance, leading to innovative, high linearity products for mmTron," said Maas.

A Life Fellow of the IEEE, Maas is widely known for his expertise in RF, microwave and mmWave mixer technology, which has been recognized with the MTT-S Application Award in 2002 for the low distortion FET resistive mixer and the Microwave Prize in 1989 for his work on distortion in diode mixers. His broad and detailed knowledge of all RF/microwave components is reflected in his numerous books: “Microwave Mixers,” “Nonlinear Microwave Circuits,” “The RF and Microwave Circuit Design Cookbook,” “Noise in Linear and Nonlinear Circuits,” and “Practical Microwave Circuits.”

Among his career accomplishments, Dr. Maas served as a principal and chief scientist of AWR Corporation, now part of Cadence Design Systems, where he helped develop the Microwave Office circuit simulator. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971 and 1972, respectively and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from UCLA in 1984.