The economic downturn has impacted governments, industries, companies (large and small) and individuals. The RF and microwaves industry is no exception and while its diversity means that some sectors have faired better than others, very few have remained unscathed. Unfortunately, for many companies the terms restructuring, rationalisation and cost cutting have become all too familiar. After a period of sustained prosperity and growth the sudden and widely unpredicted slowdown has meant that the realities of depressed markets, currencies under pressure and a tougher credit environment have hit hard.
However, having survived the body blows, the companies and organisations that have acted quickly to put recovery plans in place, secured the necessary funding and implemented procedures for consolidation are in a position to look forward. Indeed, at the time of going to press, there are signs that the second and third quarters of 2009 have seen improvement and slight but perceptible market growth in some sectors. However, it is too early to say whether the green shoots of recovery have even broken the surface and the blossoming stage is definitely a long way off.
We did not see the recession coming, so predicting the future is difficult and probably foolhardy. That said, from a European perspective, there can be some optimism, mainly because most governments have taken positive action and European Union initiatives that have been put in place over recent years to stimulate and sustain academic and industrial growth are continuing to receive funding and support.
The governments of the major countries have put stimulus packages in place to aid industry in an effort to maintain employment, encourage apprenticeships and training and support the ongoing research and development that is necessary for growth. In recent years, to address increased global competition, especially from mass production, low cost Asian manufacturers, Western Europe in particular, has had to adapt, realign and focus on its strengths. Eastern Europe has evolved at a pace and contributes to the overall European economy, both as a growing consumer market and a competitor to traditional, established companies worldwide.
Although there have been traditional distinctions between east and west, Europe is a union of countries, where links have become stronger and great effort has gone into creating an inclusive, collaborative approach to technological and market development, with structured, coherent policies backed up by financial and practical support.
The latest initiative is to designate 2009 as the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. Its aims include raising awareness of the importance of creativity and innovation for personal, social and economic development; to disseminate good practices and stimulate education and research. Through concrete initiatives the goal is to aid the revival of the EU economy and complement existing programmes. These include the Enterprise Europe Network, aimed at providing funding and support for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the European Research Area (ERA) that was set up to provide a coordinated framework for research and the 7th Framework Programme (FP7), which has ongoing and proposed projects, some of which specifically target the RF and microwaves sector.
In the current economic environment, the main priority is survival but once that has been secured, industry and the individual companies and organisations of which it comprises must move forward. And collectively, one of the determinants of the success and progression of any industry is how effectively it develops new technology, exploits it and adapts it to the reality of the marketplace.
A good barometer of the current state of the industry will be European Microwave Week (EuMW) in Rome in September, which will be the first major European RF and microwaves event since the downturn. The indicators from the Week are encouraging with a record number of papers being submitted to the four individual conferences, allied to a fully subscribed European Microwave Exhibition that is sold out.
In this report, the individual conference chairmen each present an overview of their market sectors, complemented by a commercial perspective as executives of companies that play a key role in the European microwave industry contribute to the Company Survey.
In order to provide a context for these opinions let’s first consider the political, commercial, technological and market conditions in which the European microwave industry is operating.
European Perspective
Europe is an amalgamation of different countries whose individual rates and extent of industrial development have been shaped by their unique economic and political circumstances. It has been easy and convenient to polarise the continent as east and west. Due to its high labour and production costs Western Europe struggles to compete with more economically viable locations such as Eastern Europe and the Far East with regards to volume production. Instead it has focused on a rich resource of technical skills and expertise to become a hub for research and development and a source of value added products.
Conversely, the driver in Eastern Europe is manufacturing, which is taking advantage of relatively increased costs in Asia to attract investment in the region, often with the incentives of tax rebates and governments facilitating special economic zone allocations. Add to that the advantages of a trained workforce and reduced working capital. Even in today’s marketplace new avenues are opening up as relatively established manufacturing bases such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary are being joined by the likes of Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, Estonia and Turkey.
Industrially, individual countries plough their own furrows but there is strength in numbers and Europe is a Union of countries that can pool resources and work together for mutual and collective benefit. This is particularly pertinent to the development of technology and research, which is at the core of the EU’s strategy to deliver growth, competitiveness and employment while maintaining social and environmental sustainability.
The EU continues to instigate, fund and drive initiatives aimed at invigorating research, technological development and support business, which has never been more needed than in the prevailing climate. One such initiative is the European Research Area, which was established to tackle the problems of insufficient funding, lack of an environment to stimulate research and exploit results, the fragmented nature of activities and the dispersal of resources.
A keystone for the European Research Area, but more specific to industry, is the 7th Framework Programme, which lies at the heart of the European Union’s Lisbon Strategy to become the, “most dynamic competitive knowledge-based economy in the world”. FP7 is an umbrella for all research-related EU initiatives to stimulate growth, competitiveness and employment; alongside the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and Education and Training programmes.
The latest EU initiative, launched in 2008, is the Enterprise Europe Network. Its main aim is to inform SMEs of funding opportunities, help them apply for funding and offer advice on EU legislation and policies. The Network brings together business and research, facilitates the search for partners in other countries and promotes the transfer of technology from the drawing board to the marketplace.
To ensure wide coverage, the Network is composed of 600 local partner organisations, including chambers of commerce and industry, research and development organisations, universities, regional development agencies, national SME associations, regional governments and national state banks. Since its foundation it has become a point of reference in cross-border and EU-related matters for companies in more than 40 countries.
RF & Microwaves
RF and microwaves technology is a varied, broad, multidisciplinary field encompassing components, systems and sub-systems, infrastructure, materials, integrated circuits, semiconductors, etc. It serves communications, telecommunications, industrial processing, automotive, satellite, aerospace and defence and security.
Amid such diversity the European initiatives outlined above provide a framework for interaction and cooperation to enable SMEs, large companies, universities and research institutes to have access to the theoretical and practical expertise that will enable technology to be developed and commercially exploited.
In the present climate market driven products such as sensors, RFID, automotive radar and UWB warrant particular attention, while Europe can use its expertise and development skills to gain a technological advantage and a commercial foothold in emerging markets such as the environment, public safety, security and crisis management, and the life sciences.
These next generation microwave technologies have the potential to create more product and research opportunities and the key drivers for the modern RF and microwaves industry are to increase the overall systems’ performance and functionality, while lowering costs.
There are certain areas of development where, with the right investment of effort and resources Europe can take the lead. Millimetre-wave technology is a prime example – work on integrated solutions that will enable scalable, tuneable multi-band and multi-beam techniques such as phased arrays will have wide applications, as will mm-wave wireless systems for indoor connectivity and high data-rate outdoor communications. Add to that, applications in traffic management, safety systems, RFID and sensor networks. Indeed, the development of intelligent, multifunctional sensors could see sensors working together in advanced networks, creating reconfigurable arrays.
Also, Terahertz systems are beginning to appear on the commercial market, aimed at imaging and spectroscopic applications for safety, security and environmental surveillance, with the life sciences also being a rich field of application.
In the materials, ICs and semiconductors sector, there have been impressive recent results regarding high frequency CMOS and SiGe semiconductors and devices and the prospective development of these technologies will shape the future of the telecommunications market. In the future low-cost, silicon-based, mass market exploitation of large amounts of bandwidth at 60 GHz and above will influence the advancement of wireless connectivity, sensor networks, traffic management and e-safety.
On a wider, collective front, European fabless companies are developing a common strategy through the constitution of a European Network of Excellence. It is through such action that the RF and microwaves industry as a whole is attempting to weather the economic storm.
Wireless Technologies
In terms of innovation and development the wireless technologies market can be vigorous and exciting but such dynamism also makes it one of the most difficult to predict. The European mobile communications market is saturated, although there is scope for expansion in parts of Eastern Europe such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Kazakhstan, while some Central European operators have expanded into Eastern Europe to take advantage of lucrative neighbouring markets.
In general, growth is coming from the 3G sector as operators encourage subscribers to migrate from GSM networks so that they can exploit their investments in high-speed packet access (HSPA) technology and consumers take advantage of faster networks. Operators are expected to maximise their HSPA deployments before deploying 3G LTE but some might go straight down the 3G LTE path in order to take advantage of the technology’s greater potential.
The first networks based on LTE technology are predicted to become commercial at the end of 2009 and into 2010, with the latest analysis from Frost & Sullivan predicting that, in Western Europe, by 2013 there will be around 22.4 million 3G LTE subscribers with service revenues totalling €9,685.4 million.
However, such growth raises technological issues with operators needing to upgrade there backhaul in order to supply greater capacity, with the deployment of high-capacity point-to-point microwave links and relays for backhaul being one option. Another is to employ 3G LTE-enabled femtocells but there would be issues concerning interference levels between the femtocell and macrocell and such next-generation multi-hopping wireless networks will require low-power low-cost transceivers that can operate in a high interference environment. Also, backhaul for wideband access is an issue in regions where fixed cable solutions are not available, which has opened up a market for low cost equipment.
Other emerging technologies receiving attention include cognitive radio, the deployment of which will require fully flexible self-tuning RF transceivers, Ultra Wideband (UWB) and MIMO. The latter, for example offers the possibility of achieving significant increases in data throughput and link range without additional bandwidth or transmit power, which would enable next generation wireless systems. Even more futuristic, but on the development agenda, is Body-Area Networks deployed on the human body for communication and monitoring purposes.
ICs & Semiconductors
The European semiconductor market has been hard hit by the economic downturn, with the exchange rate imbalance of the Euro against the US dollar having significant impact in this sector. At the time of going to press the latest figures from World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) were for April 2009 and showed that for that month European semiconductor sales amounted to $2.168 billion, which corresponds to a decline of 35 % compared to the same month last year and is down 0.9 percent on the previous month. On a YTD basis semiconductor sales declined by 34.3 % in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.
Measured in Euros, semiconductor sales of €1.666 billion in April 2009 were down 0.6 percent on the previous month and down 23.5 percent compared to the same month last year. On a YTD basis semiconductor sales declined by 24 percent in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. The only encouraging results concerned communications and automotive applications specific analogue chips that grew by 19 and 6 percent respectively.
To offer a global context, worldwide semiconductor sales in April 2009 were $15.638 billion, up 6.4 percent on the previous month. Compared to the same month in 2008, there was a decline of 25.1 percent and on a YTD basis there was a decline of 26.5 percent. The WSTS expects the market to have reached the bottom of the current cycle during the first half of 2009 and sees positive growth beginning in the first quarter of 2010.
With regards to materials, GaAs microwave ICs will capitalise on their high voltage, high power and wide bandwidth capabilities to remain the key building blocks for microwave electronics and millimetre-wave systems. GaN combines high breakdown voltages at high temperatures with high carrier mobility and this combination of frequency and power properties makes it particularly suitable for military and defence applications. Silicon-based processes and devices combine low cost and ease of on chip integration of analogue and digital functions, while the automotive industry is looking to Silicon Carbide technology to replace silicon bipolar junction transistors.
Defence
The defence sector operates under different criteria to other sectors, which, to a certain extent, can protect it from the vagaries of the economic downturn. It may be true that military contracts tend to be long-term and driven more by the objective rather than commercial considerations but value for money has become increasingly important. The military has been affected by pressures on public spending and defence is constantly under review.
Recent history has shaped Europe as an eclectic mix of established military powers, combined with emerging nations that have resulted from the break up of the Europe Block. Global terrorism, regional conflicts and peace keeping engage coalition forces and their allies, while home and border security are a concern for all.
At the forefront of European defence is the European Security Strategy document in which the EU clarifies its security strategy, which is aimed at achieving a secure Europe, identifying the threats facing the Union, defining its objectives and setting out the political implications for Europe. Key objectives include, addressing threats, building security in the EU and an international order based on effective multilateralism.
Allied to this strategy is the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) which is celebrating its tenth anniversary. It aims to allow the Union to develop its civilian and military capacities for crisis management and conflict prevention at international level, thus helping to maintain peace and international security, in accordance with the United Nations Charter. Over the last decade the ESDP has developed as a means of enabling Europe to project itself through action in response to crises and play an important role in the management of global challenges.
To face such challenges Europe must use its technological strengths to build the capability for deploying significant resources for peacekeeping, humanitarian aid and military support. To achieve this requires an optimal use of resources, the development of European industrial capabilities and a collective approach. The 7th Framework Programme and the European Security Research Programme (ESRP) are specific EU initiatives that will help achieve that.
In modern combat, technology has become a weapon that is increasingly being investigated and deployed, often utilising methods and systems developed for the commercial market. Network-centric operations are to the fore and communication technology is playing a significant role on the battlefield, where the information advantage is being exploited for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). Communication architectures, which interconnect intelligence sources, decision makers and units in the field in a system of systems offer increased situational awareness and simplify the transfer of information.
Today’s military also demands communications-on-the-move (COTM) and the utilisation of military satellites to facilitate enhanced situational awareness in real time, while in transit, has become critical for mobile command and control operations. Prevalent issues include the reduction of size, weight and power consumption and the need to ensure interoperability. Technology is also moving COTM solutions on through the improvement of satellite network communications protocols and the development of antennas.
OVERVIEWS AND SURVEYS
The Chairmen of the four individual EuMW conferences offer overviews of their particular market sectors, examining how technology is currently developing and identifying likely future areas of activity. A view from the ‘coal face’ of current market conditions is offered via the Company Survey of executives from companies representing a wide cross section of the European RF and microwaves industry.
Microwaves & RF
Sector overview by Maurizio Cicolani, EuMC 2009 Conference Chairman
Microwave technologies, both worldwide and in Europe, will support a modern scenario where people and machines are connected to each other without wires. Automotive radar, innovative sensors, UWB systems and modern RFID are just a small number of the many market-driven products getting attention.
The impact of new commercial applications in the microwave sector continues to play a strong and important role with regards to European R&D and industry. In this framework, the necessity to increase the overall systems’ functionality and performance, together with cost reductions are, of course, the key drivers for modern industry, both commercial and military, where proper dual use technologies are extensively being developed.
In this scenario a detailed discussion about general trends and future prospects in the RF/microwave design industry is a really difficult task, for two main reasons.
First, the number of technologies that we identify as RF/microwave is vast, incorporating everything from small components to large integrated systems. In addition, the increasing number of future applications in the military and commercial sectors requires highly sophisticated systems spread across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
However, current thinking is that the next generation of microwave technologies will enhance the effectiveness of the systems used for public safety, security and crisis management, creating more product opportunities and new research activities.
A modern approach requires reconfigurable hardware employing a limited number of components. The effort should therefore be focused on integrated and small antennas, on semiconductor technologies, on the critical parameters of the Tx chain, such as power and efficiency, and on the innovative packaging techniques to support the integration. Furthermore, the demand for higher output power and higher efficiency, together with a reduction of unit size means that new amplifier technologies must be able to survive at high temperatures in small, high thermal density packages.
The latest generation of GaN devices on SiC substrate offers improvements in efficiency, heat load tolerance and wide bandwidths. In the past the European strategy for the development and manufacturing of this technology was not fully supported, but in the last few years some foundries have been investing and focusing on innovation in this field.
For antenna synthesis and design there is the need to reduce antennas’ costs and weight. Also, antenna miniaturization in emerging applications calls for the development of new approaches and tools for antenna synthesis and design, possibly exploiting advanced materials. The need to manage complex antenna systems and the increasing level of integration has to be taken into account, along with the development of new solutions for on-body antennas and for security applications. Significant effort should also be focused on small antennas integrated on semiconductor devices.
Finally, the prime focus on radar sensors onboard satellites, aircraft, ships and ground-based mobile platforms is centred on Active Electronically Steered Array (AESA) antennas that provide a great degree of operational system flexibility.
MILMEGA
The design and manufacture of high power, solid state, multi-octave band RF and microwave power amplifiers is the company’s speciality. It has been trading for 20 years and produces a range of standard, high quality, solid state amplifiers, while also responding to requests for custom development. Its broadband amplifier products are used in wireless communications testing applications, medical instrumentation, high-energy physics (HEP) re-search, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing and electronic warfare (EW) systems.
Milmega continues to develop multi-octave band amplifier solutions, extending available bandwidths to ac-commodate new test standards, or enhance the capability of existing military or commercial systems. Among the current rapidly changing landscape of RF/microwave transistor developments the challenge is to map the appropriate device technology to each new requirement, optimising a general amplifier product for a number of mar-kets with differing linearity, efficiency, reliability, size and cost considerations.
Considering emerging technologies, Pat Moore, Milmega’s managing director, stated, “Semiconductor power devices which can sustain high electric breakdown fields will always generate excitement in this industry and the emergence of wide band gap power transistor technologies is of particular interest, given the relative ease of im-plementing broadband (i.e. multi-octave band) matching circuits when compared with more traditional technolo-gies.
“Compared to existing technologies, the benefits offered by SiC or GaN of higher drain efficiency, wider bandwidth, higher breakdown voltage, and higher junction temperature operation are often cited as factors which will help drive volume production but these need to be tempered by the commercial trade-offs of price, availability and device maturity. There is still a significant role for both Si LDMOS and GaAs at frequencies below 2.5 GHz and device choice in and around these frequencies is not as obvious as one would think.”
With regards to the major driving forces in the microwave industry at present Moore said, “Taking a high power perspective, the driving forces in defence will be the development of solid state radar systems based on wide band gap devices, the continuing need to produce effective compact EW counter measure systems over multi-octave bandwidths and the RF technology required to support existing aspirations to develop directed en-ergy counter measures.”
“In the communications industry we wait to see if GaN technology can gain acceptance in both the 3G BTS and WiMAX markets – a key component in driving the cost of GaN down, and in the medical industry, research into the treatment of cancers with microwave energy continues to drive a market for compact microwave power systems.”
Moore admits that the economic downturn has engendered a new company discipline with regards the selection of which innovation projects to pursue and which to cut. He explained, “In the better times it was easy to be lax in choosing which R&D projects to support but there is a stronger focus now on how best to concentrate re-sources to quicken the pace of product introduction – less projects are being started in parallel and, interestingly, progress to market is smoother.”
Milmega is selling capital equipment which is, largely, a discretionary spend. Moore commented, “We have seen those companies with good balance sheets continue to invest in the future, albeit with more stringent tests for value, and others have been delaying projects while they determine if, and when, a recovery will begin. We are not seeing many projects being cancelled – merely postponed. It is fair to say that our credit control has tight-ened over the last 12 months!”
As for the future, Moore stated, “Looking from the narrow perspective of the RF/microwave power device market, we will follow with interest the rise of GaN technology to see how the battle to gain acceptance in both the 3G BTS and WiMAX market progresses. The volumes associated with these markets are probably key to driving the price of GaN down and even perhaps ensuring the long term survival of some GaN suppliers/foundries.”
SPINNER GMBH
The company specialises in passive RF components, including connectors, jumpers, filters and combining networks for broadcast and communication and offers a range of RF switches for various power levels for these markets. The company also manufactures for radar applications, especially rotary joints, covers coaxial, waveguide and optical technology, offers high power RF products for medical applications, as well as addressing the RF test equipment market.
SPINNER is well established in Europe, USA and China. The main factories and R&D centres for all prod-ucts are based at the German headquarters, and Europe is served via various sales offices from UK to Russia and from the Nordic countries to Spain. The North American hub is located in Atlanta, where there is a factory and a sales office. The China operation is based in Shanghai, which includes the company’s second largest factory serving mainland China and adjacent countries. As part of its expansion the company is opening new sales offices in emerging markets.
SPINNER operates management systems according to ISO 9000 and 14000. Based on its ‘Made in Germany’ philosophy these standards have been transferred to all of its factories worldwide. The company also strictly follows all export regulations, e.g. products for dual use, which require export permission.
With regards to technology, the increased importance of national and international security and defence over recent years has brought the topic to the forefront of the microwave industry and although SPINNER sees this as being significant it does not see communication giving up its pole position in the near and medium term future. In the field of communication it sees LTE as making a big impact alongside the reallocation of frequencies, as the opening up of additional frequency ranges has led to increased roll out in the digital broadcast arena.
SPINNER, being an export driven company, has certainly had to deal with the impact of the global economic downturn. Due to the fact that it is a privately owned company with a strong financial base it has risen to the challenge by strengthening its policy of diversification across geographical regions and across markets. It has four divisions – communication, broadcast, radar and satellite and industry and science – addressing different customers. The company is striving to attract new customers without neglecting its existing customer base.
As for the future the company believes that the impact of new services such as LTE for the mobile communications market will continue to drive the growth of the RF and microwave industry and that the potential of the communications sector has not been explored completely. In the medium term SPINNER expects advances in radar technology to provide significant opportunities for the company, while the potential for ‘new’ frequency ranges like Terahertz is just starting to be evaluated.
Wireless Technologies
Sector overview by Gabriele Falciasecca, EuWiT 2009 Conference Chairman
In the past year wireless products and services for high speed data transmission have progressed well, despite the economic problems that prevail worldwide. Significant activities are taking place in different fields of application; the integration of mobile Internet with mobile video and TV has forced the development of multi-function chips, while the necessity for proper backhauling for wideband access in regions where cable solutions are not available has opened up an interesting market for cheap equipment. Moreover, services offered with HSDPA, WiMAX, 3G and LTE and GPS technologies are now a reality, which increases the demand for efficient and low cost devices.
With regards to specific technologies, in my opinion three main trends can be identified in the wireless technology sector: flexibility/embedding, pervasive communication and MIMO.
Flexibility/embedding: Near-future wireless technologies will involve the evolution and integration of existing technologies and this will require a high degree of flexibility in future radio interfaces. As a consequence radio front-ends will have to embed several different circuits and several antennas on the same board.
System integration will also spur technology integration; analogue and digital circuits will have to merge in order for the digital part to properly pilot and interact with the analogue part in real-time (software-defined radio, cognitive radio, etc.). The embedding of ‘intelligence’ into radio terminals including sensors, channel-prediction software, applications and ancillary technologies will be strategic for such flexible systems. Moreover, the design of future systems will require the joint simulation of the radio front-end and of the antenna/propagation section.
Pervasive communication (analogue of ‘pervasive computing’, etc.) There is a strong need for ‘environment connectivity’, i.e. connectivity between devices and/or systems to simplify the interface to the end user. The trend is toward a pulverization of radio communication systems, i.e. one or both terminals of the link will become smaller and the density of radio transceivers per square meter will increase as the penetration of radio connectivity capability into common-use devices and objects will become reality. Something similar has already occurred with the advent of RFID and wireless sensor networks.
Other pervasive communication applications will come in the future, including those deployed on the human body for communication and monitoring purposes—Body-Area Networks. As a consequence, technology will have to explore new challenging fields such as multi-hop communication, power harvesting from the environment, antenna miniaturization, interaction with unpredictable adjacent materials and channel characteristics.
MIMO: With the advent of MIMO, multi-dispersive characteristics in time, frequency and angle/space domains that were previously viewed as detrimental for radio transmission quality are now seen as an opportunity to be exploited to achieve significant increases in data throughput and link range without additional bandwidth or transmit power, with respect to conventional SISO systems. For this reason, MIMO systems are currently envisioned as one of the cornerstones for next generation wireless standards. MIMO requires the use of multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver. It is not a technological solution, it is a theoretical framework embracing several different technologies and aspects: antenna and beamforming technology, diversity, space-time channel coding, etc.
MIMO theory defines theoretical limits to channel capacity on the basis of the degree of multipath richness of the channel, but it doesn’t tell you how to achieve such capacity. Approximately, maximum channel capacity is proportional to the number of antennas, at least in rich-scattering channels.
The way capacity can be increased for the different applications is still a theme of research, but technology can work within a space defined by three different ‘poles’—diversity gain, multiplexing gain, array gain—to reach that goal. Diversity refers to combating fading through antenna diversity schemes. Multiplexing refers to the possibility of multiplexing different data flows over different radio paths through proper smart-antenna and channel-coding techniques. Array gain simply refers to the antenna gain increase (and thus signal-to-noise ratio increase) with respect to SISO.
MIMO poses a number of challenges to antenna and microwave circuit technology, including antenna array coupling problems and miniaturization, and the integration of complex DSP circuits into radio front-ends.
Since the maximum MIMO capacity can only be achieved if channel characteristics are known at the transmitter (Tx), which is hardly possible in practice, novel applications are envisioned for channel prediction software tools. Such tools may be embedded in the firmware of mobile terminals and by efficiently running on DSP devices on the basis of the position of the terminal could provide the Tx with the necessary channel information to optimize MIMO performance.
ERICSSON
With a large number of activities in the wireless field the company is a market leader in the microwave transmission sector and, as of 2008, held about one-third of the total microwave market. Ericsson has delivered a total of more than 1.5 million MINI-LINK microwave solutions worldwide and in the microwave sector, the com-pany’s main activities lie in microwave transmission from 6 to 38 GHz and trunk microwave transmission from 4 to 13 GHz. The main applications are within telecommunication but could be applied to almost any kind of data communication.
The drive for lower power consumption and the technologies to support this drive are impacting significantly on all industry sectors and Ericsson sees the microwave field to be no exception. It sees communications as being the main driving force and the company’s aim is for its product offering to provide low cost of ownership, whether for new mobile network rollouts, evolution of mobile networks or fixed broadband over microwave.
The company operates worldwide without any large variations between geographical areas. In all areas the company is striving to address environmental issues. It views sustainable development and lowering the impact on the environment as being very important and not just for technology and manufacture. For example, Ericsson uses sheep as lawn mowers at its production plant!
As a worldwide company the state of the global economy is particularly relevant to Ericsson but the company refers to its latest financial figures to illustrate that the economic downturn has had very limited impact so far. In the second quarter of 2009, the company has seen a temporary softening of demand in a number of markets in-cluding Eastern Europe, Latin America and parts of the Middle East, which it envisages as being likely to con-tinue for some time yet. However, this is offset to a certain extent by accelerating demand for 3G, while the demand for professional services and multi-media is expected to remain the same.
When releasing the second quarter results recently Carl-Henric Svanberg, president and CEO of Ericsson publicly stated, “Our early decision to reduce costs is giving results and margins improved across all segments. Our target to reduce costs by SEK 10 billion from the second half of 2010 remains, and significant restructuring charges were made in the quarter. We continue to focus on our capital structure and have added long-term loans on favourable conditions. Our net cash position was further strengthened by a strong cash flow in the quarter."
Ericsson is committed to future technological investment. Its research and development programme is one of the largest in the industry and it asserts that a robust R&D programme is essential to the company’s competitiveness and future success. The company sees communication as being a basic human need and is sure that the need to be connected will continue to drive the growth of the wireless industry.
ESSENTIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SECURITY
Focused on research and development, manufacturing and sales, which are aimed at addressing customers’ needs and deployment requirements, Essentia is a leading provider of 802.11a/b/g/n products and pre-WiMAX for quadruple play broadband and wireless solutions, delivering data, video, voice and mobility.
With regards to emerging technologies a company spokesman said, “The recent influx of WiMAX suppliers has caused some confusion in the market. Some are promising to deliver features that are beyond the scope of the WiMAX standards. The technology is still based on OFDM and is positioned for licensed frequencies. There is no standard developed for WiMAX at the unlicensed frequency bands that lead to interoperability, which means that a proprietary solution must be provided.”
With regards to the drivers in different industries the spokesman stated, “Communications in some form is applied to most markets. The defence departments of most nations continue to increase their investment in secu-rity measures. We see that many of our resellers are addressing the need for video surveillance in public areas. Also, the lack of telecommunications in rural areas is finally being addressed by many of the developing countries. And, the oil, gas, water and electricity utilities all need data communications in their networks to monitor the production and security of the infrastructure. This is generating a great demand for Essentia’s professional, carrier class solutions.
Standardization is very important to the company as it leads to low cost development and a competitive market not only for consumers and resellers but also for Essentia as developers and suppliers of the technology and products. The spokesman elaborated, “We see that components and raw materials are dropping in price as technologies advance. As a European based company environmental issues are bringing extra burdens and costs that are not necessarily impacting on our competitors in other countries. For us to remain competitive on price this means yielding lower margins. Without any government intervention it will become increasingly difficult for us to do business in many countries around the world.”
In the current economic climate the company sees R&D as being particularly important. The spokesman explained, “It is critical that we stay ahead of technology developments and this is an area that must be maintained and grow going forward. Being a technology leader in our core business it is important that we demonstrate that we have the knowledge and expertise to address the market and customer needs.”
In the future Essentia sees the evolution of WiMAX and LTE technologies as being particularly significant and the spokesman commented, “As a developed technology with a large number of deployments worldwide, 802.11a/b/g/n will continue to be the technology of choice. The 802.11 OFDM standard is proven and much lower in cost than any other technology. This will lead to greater penetration into many undeveloped areas and can create connectivity needs.”
ICs & Semiconductors
Sector overview by Massimo Claudio Comparini, EuMIC 2009 Chairman
RF and microwave integrated circuits, designed and built with a number of different processes, are the basis for all modern telecommunication, defence, automotive, space, imaging and many other systems. Technology embedded in a countless number of devices, equipment and systems plays a role in our everyday life as well as being a key element of the major infrastructure supporting virtually all aspects of economic and human activities. If the evolution of ICT often appears as the evolution, or revolution, of a digital world and of digital technologies, in reality nothing would be possible without the unprecedented evolution of RF and microwave technologies that has taken place over recent decades.
GaAs MICs still continue to be the key building blocks for microwave electronics, millimetre-wave systems such as microwave radio links, radar defence and space systems and automotive anti-collision equipment, just to mention a few. And, after years of basic and applied research, today Si and SiGe bipolar technology has become a powerful basis for the design of very high speed ICs for 40 Gbit/s and beyond TDM communication systems.
It is well known that GaN ensures high breakdown voltage under high temperatures. This combined with the high carrier mobility gives the unique combination of GaN’s frequency and power properties. Today the application domains appear in all fields: cellular communications, digital television, next generation radar systems and radiolocation devices and extremely high frequency systems with HBT or HEMT-processes up to and beyond 500 GHz.
Si-based processes and devices, on the other hand, combine low cost and ease of on chip integration of analogue and digital functions, giving an extra feature in terms of ultimate integration level and smart power management for signal operations. It is more and more common to see the integration of Si technologies, not only in the wireless commercial market beyond 60 GHz, but also in the very demanding defence and dual use applications such as phased-array radar as well as millimetre-wave systems such as automotive radar.
Microwave photonics is an interdisciplinary area that studies the interaction between microwave and optical signals where, over the last few years, there has been increased effort in applied research and in transferring to industrial application techniques for different applications: broadband wireless access and sensor networks, radar, satellite communications and warfare systems. The need to achieve higher and higher integration levels for handheld applications has driven the study and the adoption of innovative packaging and interconnection technologies, including the stacking of devices and ICs in the vertical dimension.
For all of the technologies I have mentioned, advanced simulation and modelling is a key enabling factor in order to achieve higher and higher integration factors and to realize complete integrated functionality like front-ends, receivers, transceivers, power amplifiers and linearizers in single chip solutions.
INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
In RF Infineon offers cellular transceivers for virtually all cellular standards, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, W-CDMA and LTE as stand-alone solutions and as IP blocks for baseband integration. The company’s overall portfolio also covers other connectivity standards: WiMAX, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, and DVB-H. Its solutions are used across the communications sector, in mobile handsets, smartphones, mobile internet devices, and in embedded modules for mobile broadband enabled PCs. Besides standard products Infineon also offers the Custom RF program, where customers can access RF-CMOS, bipolar and SiGe process technology and developed application specific IP to create their own RF products.
Independent of the underlying technology, Infineon focuses on providing its customers with low-cost, low-power and small size. All of the company’s cellular transceivers are manufactured in standard high-volume CMOS technologies, which secure a good cost position and enables a high level of single-chip integration for RF and broadband solutions.
With regards to what is driving the industry Dominik Bilo, senior vice president sales, marketing and distribution for Infineon commented, “We observe the different driving forces in the 3G low cost segment: on one hand the market is maturing and the features are established. However, several research companies forecast that more than 350 million 3G enabled devices will be sold in China and India in the next five years. Indisputably, low-cost 3G is an emerging high-volume segment that will maintain a strong market share along with other technologies over a long period of time.
“Also, mobile broadband is at the forefront of operator strategies. There is also greater emphasis on higher data rates and excellent RF performance, which are recognised as critical factors for success. Virtually all of the 3G devices are HSDPA devices and this trend is likely to continue and accelerate.”
Commenting on such emerging technologies Bilo stated, “Today most of the 3G enabled mobile devices support HSDPA as the basic mobile internet method. Mobile broadband enabled by HSPA/HSPA+ technology has been chosen by many operators as the evolutional path for existing 3G networks. HSPA and LTE drive the expec-tation of achieving high data rates up to 80 Mbps in HSPA+ and up to 100 Mbps in LTE.
“Growing data rates call for improved performance and improved data throughput achieved by using multiple antennas, which is a concept applied for Receive Diversity and MIMO. Consequently this requires careful design considerations for the transceiver ICs.”
Bilo elaborated, “As higher data rates become available and mobile broadband is turning into reality a whole range of mobile devices is emerging. Notebooks, netbooks, mobile internet devices and ultra mobile PCs are some examples of true mobility.
“Also, worldwide roaming of mobile users leads to multiple frequencies which need to be supported by cellu-lar devices. The 3G standard currently specifies up to eleven frequency bands for worldwide roaming. LTE and WiMAX require additional frequency bands, which is a challenge that handset manufacturers and component suppliers have to address.”
UNITED MONOLITHIC SEMICONDUCTORS
UMS designs, produces and markets RF, microwave and millimetre-wave devices and ICs for five market sectors – defence and security, space, telecommunications, automotive and industrial, scientific and medical (ISM). In the defence and security sector the company’s focus is on radar, communications and EW systems, while for space the emphasis is on Earth observation, communication and scientific payloads. BTS backhaul and VSAT are at the forefront of its telecommunication activities and 24 GHz SSR and 77 GHz LRR for automotive. For ISM the focus is on 5.8 GHz tags, industrial sensors and instrumentation.
The company also offers its leading edge GaAs technologies in foundry services for operation up to 100 GHz and beyond for low noise pHEMT, high-power pHEMT, high-power InGaP HBT, analogue-digital HBT, Schot-tky diodes, etc. Technologically, UMS is currently developing 0.1 µm pHEMT processes to address security needs (millimetre-wave portals and scanners) and the newly opened E-Bands for very high data-rate telecommunication.
High performance 0.5 and 0.25 µm AlGaN/GaN processes based on SiC-substrates are currently under devel-opment, targeting very high power transistors and MMICs for base stations, SatCom, defence, space and tele-communication. GaN technology is one of the major strategic targets for UMS with the clear objective to be the industrial source in Europe for GaN products and foundry services. UMS plans to finalize the corresponding process development by the end of this year and to start production of GaN devices and ICs by 2010/2011. Apart from its in-house GaAs and GaN technologies, UMS develops silicon-based products on external foundries, in order to keep pace with evolution in the higher volume market, particularly automotive.
With regards to emerging technologies Jean-Rene Bois, marketing and sales manager at UMS commented, “It is clear that today’s emergence of microwave and millimetre-wave capabilities of silicon technologies, namely SiGe and CMOS, are impacting on our markets, especially for high volume production. The products that are currently in production are still GaAs-based with continuous improvement but we are getting closer and closer to making the step to SiGe for higher volume markets, which will improve what we have to offer and multiply volumes”.
“In addition, the emergence of GaN technology is increasing the competitiveness of the SSPA solutions versus tube-based solutions and opens new ways for system performance improvements both on a commercial and tech-nical level. It therefore offers new business opportunities for III-V technology.”
Of the different markets that the company addresses it sees defence as a key driver, with the need for micro-wave and millimetre-wave development continuing, reinforced by the increased security requirement over recent years. As has been mentioned, there are opportunities in telecommunication backhaul and automotive but neither of these markets yet offers volumes comparable to those of mobile phone PAs. Automotive is probably the most mature from this point of view and is seen as being a new challenge for silicon technologies.
Despite the current climate, UMS is maintaining its R&D effort roughly at the same level as in previous years. The company envisages that GaAs (both pHEMT & HBT) will continue to fuel growth for the future, with a con-tribution of silicon-based products (SiGe, then CMOS) for volume applications, and then the utilisation of GaN offering a real breakthrough for higher power, wide band and robustness.
Radar
Sector overview by Gaspare Galati, EuRAD 2009 Conference Chairman
It is evident from the content of EuRAD 2009 that the particular ‘hot’ topics being discussed include: space radars and their environmental remote sensing applications, space-time adaptive processing, passive radar, through-the wall radar imaging, ultra-wideband radar, multilateration, new radar waveforms, including those with communication capabilities, sky-wave and ground-wave Over-the-Horizon (OTH) radar, Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESA) and Multifunction Phased Array Radar (MPAR).
The latest trends in radar research and development are focused on three main areas: subsystems and technologies, radar architectures and integrated systems.
From the subsystems and technologies point of view, the extraordinary and continuous increase of both data and signal processing capacity makes it possible to use cheap, generic processors, mostly COTS, thereby cutting costs and transferring the design effort from hardware to software development. Moreover, the cost reduction of microwaves and hybrid integrated circuits for receivers and transmit/receive subsystems enables the realization of modular architectures such as multichannel receivers and phased arrays.
Radar architectures are evolving to accommodate the new functionalities and enhanced performance that is increasingly being expected. For instance, in security and defence applications more and more information about the targets in difficult environments is needed, calling for vegetation, wall and ground penetration as well as imaging radar and architectures with a very high resolution, i.e. a very large fractional operating frequency band up to ultra-wideband and with synthetic aperture processing.
Also, new radar waveforms are being used, either deterministic or noise-like. Architectures based on the traditional, single rotating antenna are being substituted for those with greater performance that are based either on multifunction phased arrays or for distributed radar systems with separate transmitters and receivers. These so-called passive covert radars are cheap and hard to detect, but have intrinsically limited operational performance. The very successful and high performance civil system known as multilateration is an example of a distributed, cooperating surveillance system.
Integrated systems include both the well established networked systems (e.g. networks of weather or air defence radar and sensors) and the more recent ones being designed for multiple functions, i.e. to enhance surveillance (both active and passive), communication, navigation and possibly electronic countermeasures that make better use of the limited resources (space, time, spectrum). A recent example is Shared Apertures, which will enable surveillance, communication and electronic warfare in future aircraft and vessels. In the air traffic management arena, communications, surveillance and navigation are being integrated in Automatic Dependent Surveillance systems, whose integrity can be ensured by a multilateration infrastructure.
BAE SYSTEMS INTEGRATED SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES (INSYTE)
Insyte designs, develops, builds and supports advanced ground and naval surveillance and tracking radars for the UK Army, Air Force, Navy and international customers. Current areas of development are: non-cooperative target recognition to improve system and operator performance; ad hoc sensor networking to improve overall system performance; and advanced track extraction techniques to improve false alarm rates.
With regards to developing technologies, Les Gregory, Insyte’s strategy and new business director and CITO, stated, “Microwave radar remains a good solution in terms of providing surveillance and tracking over sizeable volumes, with usable data rates and accuracies, all provided over an extraordinary range of environmental conditions. Some trends which might influence the form of radar are wide networks of sensors – each on their own of low performance – but collectively able to form self-organised networks with relevant levels of performance.”
Considering the major driving forces on the microwave industry he continued, “Most device technology, especially power components and low noise front-ends, are driven by the communications and broadcast industries. Of concern are devices which are historically bespoke to the defence industry: high power travelling wave tubes and other specialist amplifiers; high power phase shifters; beamforming devices and the like. A shift towards fully electronically scanned arrays, with ‘aperture level’ A to D, will render most of the preceding devices obsolete.”
Commenting on the impact that the current economic climate has had on the company Gregory said, “There are two ‘sub-issues’. Firstly, the indirect impact caused by pressures on public spending, in turn caused by the costs of economic recovery and secondly, any review of defence spending which impacts platform off-take, either as part of a strategic defence review or any other comprehensive spending review.”
When considering research and development Gregory explained, “We continue to invest at levels which we deem to be appropriate for the forward market conditions. Whilst specific areas for formal R&D might be marginally depressed, specific engineering work is on the increase as are peripheral issues such as the refinement of service provision and through-life model development.”
Looking forward Gregory sees multispectral apertures; frequency selective surfaces; direct digital synthesis; solid state devices and adaptive systems from the ‘RF’ side being technologies that will fuel the growth of the microwave radar industry.
He elaborated, “Development of the ‘back-end’ will be about cost effective element level digitisation, software beamforming, multi-aperture management, waveform design and encoding, plot and track extraction and intelligent fusing with other sensor’s information. Directed energy weapons pose a threat to conventional defensive weapon system implementations, both in terms of their potential ability to destroy solid-state radar front-ends and, simply by speed of light transit times, ‘beat’ the response times of conventional defences.”
ELETTRONICA S.P.A.
Operating in the Electronic Defence market for over 50 years, the company provides both active and passive systems for intelligence, surveillance and platform self-protection. Significant current development activities in-clude solid state transmitters with GaAs technology, to move towards GaN high power output, better efficiency, in terms of improved thermal and power consumption and miniaturization.
The company perceives that, currently, the major influential factors in the microwave environment are driven by the commercial communications sector, which is impacting more and more on everyday life, with all the other sectors being fashioned by the enabling technologies supporting real-time and high-bandwidth information exchange and fusion. Another issue, that is becoming more critical day by day, is the ability to work within an in-creasingly crowded electromagnetic spectrum, which is affecting both defence and civil applications.
Explaining how environmental, standardisation and political issues affect electromagnetic spectrum, a company spokesman commented, “These issues impact on how the EM spectrum is optimized and how spectrum erosion can be avoided in order to guarantee compatibility with environmental and national security operations. In the defence electronics sector, the ability to cope with unknown, uncontrolled and overcrowded EM spectrum is one of the parameters that define the performance level of an EW system. For over a decade Elettronica’s in-vestments have been directed towards this higher level of products that are capable of identifying and jamming only target emission(s) within an unknown, uncontrolled and overcrowded EM spectrum.”
The company’s product strategy is focused on achieving flexible architectures that allow modular solutions (starting from a low cost base) and easy to implement dedicated special features that are compatible with fast moving technologies and with low life-cycle cost solutions. On the other hand, distributed sensors and actuators within network-centric architectures are enabling the development of additional applications and new capabilities to offer to customers.
In this framework, research and development and innovation are critical factors that are necessary for the company to be successful and achieve competitive advantages in a globalized market. This is even more imperative in a high tech sector such as EW.
Elettronica deems that, in the future, suppliers of modern radars will focus on real-time multi-function architectures, requiring faster processing, larger bandwidths and higher efficiency. The company is therefore preparing its R&D activities accordingly.
Conclusion
At present, caution is the watchword. There has been a reality check and some harsh decisions have had to be made in order to balance the books, adjust to constrained market conditions and put companies on a firm commercial footing. At no other time has it been more imperative for individual companies, groups, research institutes and universities to play to their strengths. The same goes for the European RF and microwaves industry as a whole.
Initiatives such as the 7th Framework Programme, the European Research Area and Enterprise Europe Network, which have been instigated to provide a coordinated structure for identifying credible projects and facilitating funding and commercial collaboration, are established and bearing fruit. Importantly, such an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach is enabling system capabilities to guide the selection of new technologies.
In order to develop such technologies it is important to maintain and hopefully increase the pool of creative and skilled people in Europe, which is one of the objectives of 2009 being designated European Year of Creativity and Innovation. Again a collaborative approach through the likes of public-private partnerships will help to strengthen the vital European knowledge/skills resource.
The introduction to this Report posed the question asking whether the European RF and microwaves industry has reasons to be upbeat during the downturn. What is evident is that Europe has a depth of technical and academic expertise that establishes it at the forefront of technological development in many sectors, which it can build on. The road to recovery is likely to be long, there will be hazards to negotiate and progress will need to be measured but hopefully the journey will not be too tortuous.
