Attending European Microwave Week 2007

Munich is central to the European RF and microwave industry geographically, as it is within easy reach of all major European markets, and commercially, as the city and surrounding region is a hub for companies active in the industry. For one week in October (Monday 8 to Friday 12) it will also take centre stage as the Munich International Congress Centre (ICM) plays host to the 10^th European Microwave Week.

To mark its first decade Europe’s premier RF and microwave event intends to celebrate the industry’s camaraderie, endeavour and achievements, while focussing on the efforts needed to further technological and commercial development and take the industry forward. As testament to how far the event has progressed over the last decade, this year, for the third year running, there were more than 1000 paper submissions, enabling the Technical Program Committees (TPC) to fashion a high level program, with 464 oral papers and 155 poster presentations, complemented by a wide range of workshops and short courses.

In all aspects the aim of EuMW is to provide high quality to the 4000 plus attendees — comprising delegates, exhibitors and visitors — that are expected to attend. As an international showcase for leading manufacturers in the RF, microwave, integrated circuit, wireless and radar industries, the week provides an invaluable platform for the presentation and introduction of the latest technological developments and a forum for discussing the latest trends and exchanging scientific and technical information.

That is particularly true of the European Microwave Exhibition, which has made its presence felt over recent years and established itself as the premier RF and microwave trade show in Europe. This year has seen continued expansion with the exhibition attracting more than 270 exhibitors from around the world, including North America, a significant Asian contingent and increased participation from Eastern Europe. Over the three days — 9 to 11 October — visitors will be able to discover products launched onto the international stage for the very first time, discuss specific areas of interest with development engineers and find the right products for their particular needs.

The official European Microwave Week opening ceremony on Tuesday morning is open to all conference delegates, while the EuMW Welcome Reception (see Social Events), later that evening, continues to be a highlight of the week, providing good food, drink and the opportunity for academia and industry to network, debate and socialise.

This mix of conferences and trade exhibition, academic and industrial, offers attendees opportunities for networking, exchanging ideas and, of course, for doing business. However, EuMW is not all work and social events have been organised to enable visitors to savour and experience the sights of Munich.

To help you to plan your visit the following quick reference guide is designed to complement the Conference Programme and Exhibition Catalogue, where you will find more detailed information.

The Conferences

The four conferences and associated workshops and short courses run on specific days throughout the week and are scheduled as follows:

• The 37^th European Microwave Conference (EuMC 2007) runs from Monday 8 through to Friday 12 October

• The European Conference on Wireless Technology (ECWT) takes place on Monday 8 through to Wednesday 10 October

• The 2^nd European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC) runs from Monday 8 through to Wednesday 10 October

• The European Radar Conference (EuRAD 2007) ends the week from Wednesday 10 to Friday 12 October Registration is sponsored by Rohde & Schwarz and begins on site on Sunday 7 October (16.00 to 19.00), then commences at 07.30 each morning from Monday 8 to Friday 12. The registration area and delegate bag collection are located in the Main Foyer of ICM.

Delegates should register for one, two, three or all four of the conferences. Those who wish to register for two or more conferences will receive a discount on these registrations. A new introduction this year is the One Day Conference Ticket, which offers the flexibility of paying one fee for the ability to attend all conferences on that specified day.

The European Microwave Conference

There were a high number of submissions received from all over the world, but this year, through critical selection, there will be fewer sessions than in previous conferences, while maintaining the delivery of a high quality and comprehensive technical programme.

The conference is dedicated to a broad range of high frequency related topics, from materials and technologies to integrated circuits, systems and applications. It is the perfect platform for keeping up to date with recent achievements in the RF, microwave and millimetre-wave domain, and an exciting forum for the presentation and discussion of the most recent advances in the microwave arena. This year large numbers of papers were submitted, particularly on the topics of filters, antennas, power amplifiers and linearisers, microwave measurement/characterisation techniques, metamaterials/photonic bandgap structures and devices, tuneable RF components and reconfigurable systems as well as RF MEMS.

The EuMC will consist of three poster sessions and 66 regular oral sessions, where 22 of them are joint sessions with the associated conferences, EuMIC, ECWT and EuRAD. This large number was a particular aim, in accordance with the EuMW concept of integrating the four conferences and uniting their respective communities. In addition, there are various workshops designed to encourage technical exchanges on specific topics in the microwave arena.

Prizes and Awards

The €5000 EuMC Microwave Prize will be given in recognition of the best contributed paper, while the EADS sponsored Young Engineer Prize of €4000 will be awarded to the young engineer judged to have submitted and presented an outstanding paper at the conference.

EuMIC

This conference is the successor to the well-known GAAS® symposium, which was renamed last year and is held under the umbrella of both the European Microwave Association and the GAAS® Association. The 2007 technical program includes more than 100 technical papers and is made up of contributions from all over the world. In particular the large number of papers submitted from the Far East demonstrates the global importance of this European event.

The papers are distributed over more than 20 sessions all scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of European Microwave Week. A significant number of sessions are planned as joint sessions with the European Microwave Conference and the European Conference on Wireless Technology, demonstrating the strong link between these conferences and allowing participants to get a flavour of the topics presented throughout the week. The program will be completed by two invited talks in the plenary session, several workshops and short courses.

Prizes and Awards

To acknowledge the high quality of papers presented at EuMIC, a Best Paper Prize and a Best Student Paper prize will be awarded. In addition, the GAAS® Association will be presenting these winners with a plaque commemorating their achievements and will also provide three additional student fellowships.

ECWT 2007

As the premier European forum for wireless technology the conference encompasses all aspects of technology for wireless systems, including applications and standards, systems and signal processing, antennas and propagation, and key technologies and subsystems for base stations and terminals.

Co-sponsored by EuMA and the IEEE MTT Society, ECWT is primarily focused on wireless technology, which was once synonymous with mobile phone systems but has developed much further in recent years, with advances in technology being the enabling force behind many innovations in communications using microwave and mm-wave signals.

This year’s conference has grown to accommodate these new concepts and the TPC has produced a top class technical program. Joint sessions with the European Microwave Conference and the European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference give delegates an intensive update on all of the new developments in this industry.

European Radar Conference

Now in its 4^th year, EuRAD presents a selection of peer reviewed technical papers as well as focussed sessions with invited papers on highly relevant technical topics. From 110 submitted papers the TPC has put together a conference programme of excellent quality and general interest. A total of 18 sessions, including two invited sessions and four joint sessions, which are organised in cooperation with the European Microwave Conference, will give a wide overview of the most recent advances in the radar field.

The conference programme consists of 65 oral presentations and 17 poster papers. Contributions have been received from authors from around the world, covering a wide scope of topics from broadband radar, sophisticated radar signal and data processing, including STAP to SAR interferometry and imaging, both from a scientific as well as from an application-related perspective. A special attraction is the focussed sessions, which are on the topics of millimetre-wave imaging, communication by radar, broadband radar and short-range automotive sensing. Also, five invited papers on subjects of current interest will be highlights of the opening and closing sessions.

Prizes and Awards

Two EuMA Radar Awards sponsored by Raytheon will be presented. The Radar Prize of €3000 is awarded to the paper that best advances the state-of-the-art in radar and the Young Engineer Prize of €2000 goes to a young engineer or researcher who has presented an outstanding paper at the conference.

The Exhibition

This free to enter exhibition is the largest trade show dedicated to RF and microwaves in Europe. It is central to EuMW in terms of content and timing, as it spans the middle three days of EuMW — 9 to 11 October. For those three days the exhibition, located in the Foyer and Hall B0 of the ICM, becomes the hub of the event, housing the conference coffee breaks, poster sessions and hosting the ever popular and invaluable Cyber Café sponsored by CST.

The exhibition is a vibrant shop window for companies large and small, established and developing from Europe, North America, Asia and beyond, to showcase their products and expertise. To find out just who these companies are see the latest exhibitor list, starting on page 58. The exhibition is established as an essential stage for manufacturers to launch new products and this year is no exception with leading players specifically targeting the show to make important product announcements.

Promoting the strength and development of regional clusters, specific focussed sectors include a German Pavilion and a French Pavilion. Alongside, the largest number of workshops ever offered at the event will provide the opportunity for visitors to gain hands-on experience.

This year too, for the first time ever, there is a significant new innovation with the introduction of Tutorial Seminars for Young Engineers, which are structured to provide vital educational input to the next generation. Planned to continue at EuMW in the coming years, the seminars are an investment in the RF and microwave industry’s future and aim to help young engineers along their chosen career paths.

Exhibition Hours

Tuesday 9 October: 09.30 to 17.30 (followed by the Welcome Reception)
Wednesday 10 October: 09.30 to 17.30
Thursday 11 October: 09.30 to 16.30

Getting to the ICM

The conference and exhibition centre is located to the east of Munich and has excellent road, rail and underground (U-Bahn) links. It is conveniently located near Munich Airport, being approximately 30 km away. By public transport, the journey is firstly on the urban railway (S-Bahn) lines S1 and S8, changing onto line U2, which will take you directly to the ICM at exit ‘Messestadt West’.

From the airport, trains depart for downtown Munich every 10 minutes. Taking one of the city’s 3500 taxis is a convenient way to travel from the airport to the ICM. The one-way trip takes approximately 45 minutes, depending on traffic, and costs around €70. For more information regarding public transport in Munich, visit: www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/.

Sightseeing

Beautiful downtown Munich, which preserves much of the medieval character of the city, while combining it with elegant modern stores, is only 20 minutes from the ICM by the underground route U2. Therefore, it is convenient to book a hotel in the centre of Munich, but be aware that the Oktoberfest only ends on the Sunday (7 October) before European Microwave Week.

Theatres, museums and galleries as well as many other places of general interest including the Philharmonic Hall, the National Theatre, the Munich Residence and the remarkable Deutsches Museum are close to the city centre and many other points of interest, such as fountains, churches and traditional restaurants are within walking distance. Other sites such as the Nymphenburg Castle are conveniently accessible using the public transportation system.

Hotel Reservations

If you require hotel accommodations during your stay in Munich, the Hotelzon Resotel hotel-booking agency makes reservations at reduced rates in various 2, 3, 4 and 5 star hotels, free of charge. For more information contact either Hotelzon Resotel: Tel: +44 (0) 1962 834464 or check out the EuMW2007 web site: www.eumweek.com under accommodation.

Social Events

The EuMW 2007 Welcome Reception, on Tuesday 9 October, has become more than just a social event and is where academia and industry are offered the unique opportunity to network and interact. All registered conference delegates from all four conferences, as well as representatives from the companies participating in the exhibition are invited to this Agilent Technologies, EuMA and Horizon House Publications sponsored event.

The evening will begin with a champagne drinks reception at 18.00 in the first floor foyer of the ICM, followed at 19.00 by an address by Platinum sponsor Agilent Technologies and announcement of the winners of the Grand Prize Draw. The reception continues with an Italian-Bavarian buffet and the chance to combine good food, drink and conversation.

The following evening, Wednesday 10 October, there is a reception by invitation of the Bavarian State Government at the Munich Residenz. The ‘Kaisersaal’ of this magnificent building in the centre of the city will play host to the guests from 19.00.

During the week excursions have been organised to enable visitors to sample the sights that Munich and the surrounding area have to offer, including the chance to sample the unique atmosphere of the Oktoberfest on Sunday 7 October.