This year’s IMS, held June 16-21 in Washington D.C., can go down in the books as another success. Over 7,800 members of the RF and microwave community from across the globe attended IMS under the theme "Capitalizing Across the Spectrum." With over 500 companies exhibiting, it’s hard to make time to visit every booth. Below are some of our favorite products from the trade show floor. 

Also, be sure to check out our IMS video gallery here and photo album here. 

3dGS

3D heterogeneous integrated system-in-package process reduces systems size by stacking multiple glass substrate layers in the z-direction. The process can integrate Si, GaAs, GaN, SiC, SiGe, SMT capacitors, packaged die and others into a SiP. Wire bonding, flip chip, MST solder and other approaches make it easy for assembly. Size reduction can be 60-98% with greater than 80% reduction in weight with greater than 20% reduction in power consumption.

Aaronia AG

Aaronia AG presented its revolutionary solutions for the future of spectrum analysis and frequency monitoring in Hall A, Booth 224. The real-time spectrum analyzers of the SPECTRAN® V6 series are specially designed for near-field and far-field measurements, for locating signals or sources of interference or for monitoring EMC problems. The real-time bandwidth of up to 450MHz and the sweep speed of >3,000 GHz/s accelerate all necessary measurements enormously, thus saving time and money. The analyzers are also ideal for broadband frequency monitoring, for example to ensure the proper use of assigned frequency bands. The location and identification of illegal transmitters and the elimination of interference caused by them is also easily possible in conjunction with the broadband antenna arrays from Aaronia.

AGC Multi Material America

Visitors to booth 1012 learned more about AGC Multi Material’s comprehensive material offering including PTFE and thermoset laminates and bondply solutions for satellite, automotive, telecom, medical, industrial, defense and RF components, fastRise bondply materials, Meteorwave low loss substrates and the well-known TSM-DS3 and TLY PTFE materials.

Altum RF

Altum RF showcased its featured products and technical expertise in Booth #510 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Company leaders were in the booth to answer questions about specific products, future plans and their decades of experience designing and delivering RF, microwave and mmWave semiconductors.

Altum RF’s lineup of broadband Q/V/E-band low-noise and medium-power amplifiers enable next-generation technology and high-capacity networks. Applications include test and measurement, SATCOM, sensing applications and point-to-point wireless communication for 5G and 6G networks. These high frequency amplifiers use advanced GaAs technology, which delivers low noise figure and linear amplification with less signal distortion at medium power.

Amphenol RF 

Amphenol RF announced the expansion of their robust reverse polarity TNC portfolio with additional configurations designed to accommodate micro-coax cable types including 0.81 mm, 1.13 mm, 1.32 mm dual shielded, 1.37 mm and RG-178. 

RP-TNC plugs and jacks are manufactured with nickel plated, brass bodies and gold plated, beryllium copper contacts. They utilize a PTFE insulator similar to existing RP-TNC connectors and offer the same features and benefits customers have come to expect from this durable interface. Front mount bulkhead jack configurations are available which can be fastened on the inside of a panel or enclosure and provides additional security for sensitive systems.

RP-TNCs utilize a familiar threaded interface to ensure mating stability and reliable electrical performance. These RP-TNC connectors join a robust portfolio of reverse polarity RF interconnect available to meet various design requirements across verticals.

Analog Devices

ADI was showcasing the industry’s most complete, high-performance digitization and processing platform—Apollo MxFE™.  ADI featured their latest RF, microwave, millimeter wave technologies, clocking, amplifier, and power solutions that are working together to enable system-level solutions for communications, instrumentation, aerospace, and defense customers. Analog Devices expanded their portfolio of GaN power amplifiers with the new ADPA1113, pushing the limits of commercial GaN. ADPA1113 enables next-generation signal generation and sensing goals across an array of applications, from multi-mission radars and EW transmitters to RF test equipment and beyond. ADPA1113 provides 40 W CW saturated output power at 40 percent PAE from 2 to 6 GHz in a 10 mm x 12 mm flange package. Their demos included Apollo MxFE: Direct RF Sampling at 40GSPS, Apollo MxFE: Direct RF Sampling at 40GSPS, Low Power, High Dynamic Range, Multi-Channel GNSS Receiver, Nevis Narrowband Transceiver: Enabling Advanced Digital Signal Processing at the Edge, 0.1-20 GHz 4T/4R 3UVPX Tuner+Digitizer+Processor, and GaN Power Amplifiers and Biasing Solution.

AnaPico

AnaPico is an ISO9001:2015 certified company that manufactures and supplies RF and microwave test and measurement instruments for a wide range of civil and governmental applications. The company has been heavily investing in R&D and is dedicated to creating and continuously improving its T&M solutions. The company was spotlighting its APLC series of low-phase-noise analog signal generators up to 40 GHz that come in single- and multi-channel models.

Anritsu

Anritsu offers a broad spectrum of products spanning research, development, conformance testing, optimization and service assurance. It has pioneered RF and microwave technologies in communication, aerospace, defense and education. Anritsu provides solutions for test, measurement and service assurance applications. Their product and solution portfolio encompasses wireless, optical, microwave/RF and digital instruments coupled with operational support systems. These solutions find utility throughout the R&D, manufacturing, installation and maintenance phases.

Antenom 

Antenom exhibited the 20 GHz Horn Antenna Kits for the first time at IMS2024.  This kit can build the desired horn antenna structure using reusable Anten'it blocks up to 7.5 GHz, and at higher frequencies up to 20 GHz using curved blocks. Thus, instead of purchasing separate antennas for each antenna gain, many different apertures with different gains can be added to a single antenna. The adapter part, to which the antenna connector is connected, is built with Anten'it blocks, while the aperture part is built with Anten'it blocks at frequencies up to 7.5 GHz, and with curved aperture blocks at higher frequencies.

B & Z Technologies

 B&Z TEchnologies have been designing microwave and millimeter wave amplifier technology for more than thirty years. B&Z designs and supplies high reliability, ultra-wideband, low noise, medium power, microwave and millimeter wave amplifiers. Most of these are capable of operating at cryogenic temperatures. All designs fit into a single standard housing. and various power, gain and noise figure combinations, anywhere in the 5 kHz to 60 GHz range are possible in this standard chassis.

Cadence

Cadence IMS educational sessions were available to learn how to improve your RF/microwave designs with workflows addressing MMICs, RFICs and modules, IC packaging, PAs, RF PCBs and 5G and radar systems.

• Machine Learning (ML) and Analysis Advancements Embedded in a Complete High-Frequency Design Flow 
• High-Frequency IC/Package Co-Design Using Integrated Toolsets 
• PDKs for Microwave Design Platform Expand Functionality to Silicon MMIC Designers 
• Enabling Electromagnetic Simulations with Encrypted Components  
• Utilizing Real-World Signals in Simulation  
• Advancements in Linear and Non-Linear Bidirectional Impedance and Stability Analysis 
• Interoperable Design Platforms Support High-Frequency Silicon MMIC Design 

Cheshir Industries

Cheshir Industries is a new company focusing on gradient index (GRIN) lens antennas for satcom, defense and commercial wireless applications. Their solution offers fully-passive beamforming that is pattern agnostic and multi-band and pattern agnostic.

Cinch Connectivity

Cinch Connectivity Solutions, a Bel group company, was exhibiting its latest RF and microwave connectivity products from Johnson, Midwest Microwave, Trompeter and Semflex in Booth 1831. From these product lines, Cinch offers a wide range of cable assemblies, connectors, adapters, attenuators, couplers, dividers and accessories for a wide variety of commercial and defense market applications. For RF applications, the frequency range of some of the products goes up to 129 GHz.

CML Microsystems

CML Micro designs, develops and supplies mixed-signal, RF and microwave semiconductors for global communications markets. Headquartered in the UK with an RF and low-power IC design team, they have a global supply operation with offices in the US and Singapore. The CML Microsystems product portfolio includes a broad range of mmWave MMICs, RF transceivers, baseband processors, data controllers and interface devices, which are used in various applications such as critical communications, satellite and network infrastructure. CML prides itself on delivering high-performance IC solutions that enable efficient and reliable data transfer, signal processing, and system integration. Their portfolio provides components supporting both RF and baseband functionality, encompassing both leading-edge digital and legacy analog systems.

Comsol

COMSOL announced the release of COMSOL Multiphysics^® version 6.2 last Nov adding data-driven surrogate model functionality for efficient standalone simulation apps and multiphysics-based digital twins. It also features high-performance multiphysics solvers for the analysis of electric motors, up to 40% faster turbulent CFD simulations, and an order of magnitude faster impulse response calculations for room and cabin acoustics. Additionally, it is now up to 7 times faster to perform boundary element analysis for acoustics and electromagnetics when running on clusters. The Deep Neural Network (DNN) function provides training and validation using a deep neural network for use with surrogate model training, for example. Deep neural networks form a class of machine learning algorithms similar to the artificial neural network and aims to mimic the information processing of the brain.

Copper Mountain Technologies

Copper Mountain Technologies showcased a new turnkey solution for customers needing to make far-field, mmWave and sub-THz antenna measurements above 18 GHz in booth 1111. The OTA antenna test system features a wide array of configurations depending on the user’s far-field requirements, antenna size, desired frequency range and antenna positioner functionality.

CMT also partnered with MilliBox and Eravant to offer a complete OTA antenna measurement chamber solution ranging from 18 GHz to 220 GHz. Each OTA system includes a benchtop compact anechoic chamber, a 3D antenna positioner (gimbal), sophisticated but intuitive measurement software, and other necessary accessories to fully set up a chamber for far-field antenna measurements. Each system is anchored by CMT’s 2-port 9 GHz Cobalt VNA and includes a set of frequency extenders for the measurement band of your choice.

ConductRF

At IMS, ConductRF featured versatile, high performance MIL-STD D38999 cable assemblies and VITA 67 style cable assemblies that meet the stringent requirements of SOSA (Sensor Open Systems Architecture) standards. These advanced cable assemblies exemplify ConductRF's commitment to providing military and aerospace customers with exact, custom built assemblies and wire harnesses. 

The D38999 design is renowned for its ability to meet the demanding requirements of high frequency performance, multi-signal management, flexibility and durability in tough land and sea environments. These assemblies play a pivotal role in various military applications, from communication systems to radar and electronic warfare equipment.

ConductRF’s VITA 67 cable assemblies are specifically designed to meet SOSA standards, and are available with the following RF Contacts: VITA67.1/.2/.3, aka “SMPM”, “SMPS”  and “NanoRF” connectors.

Corning Incorporated 

Corning Incorporated launched its Corning® Gilbert ® POLYLINK^TM technology at IMS. POLYLINK is the RF and microwave connectivity industry’s first gold-plated plastic microwave connector. At the symposium, Corning experts also showcased Corning Gilbert’s traditional metal blindmate interconnects. These connectors are trusted by customers for use in telecommunications, radar systems, shipboard, airborne, and ground-based missile programs and for cryogenic and non-magnetic applications.

Crystek Crystals Corporation

Founded in 1958, Crystek Corporation has a broad product offering, including quartz crystals, XOs, TCXOs, VCOs  and VCXOs. Crystek Crystals is dedicated to the development and manufacture of frequency products using quartz-based resonators. Crystek Microwave develops frequency control and support products for the microwave industry. Other products include: PLL synthesizers, redBox VCOs, RF coaxial cable assemblies, RF cable connectors, bulk RF coaxial cables, RF power detectors, filters, attenuators, DC blocks, passive doublers, RF pocket reference oscillators, connectorized amplifiers, VCO evaluation boards, RF lab kits, SAW-based clock oscillators and VCXOs and power regulators for end markets including wireless, microwave radio, telecom, industrial, enterprise, aerospace and government sectors.