Microwave Engineering Europe December 2000 - January 2001 Cover story The cover illustration shows a 3D multi-chip module (3DMCM) front-end demonstrator for 38GHz point-to-point applications, produced by EADS Deutschland, and described in the Focus section of this issue. Long live the hybrid At the turn of a new year (or as those who wish to be strictly accurate would have it, a new millennium) it is traditional to take stock of how things around us are changing, and to make some predictions for the future. In our industry the inevitable result of the latter is that one will be proved wrong the following year, so I will try to confine my thoughts to what is happening now. One prediction that was being made some years ago that has definitely been proved wrong is the demise of the hybrid circuit. The year 2000 has indeed been a significant one for our industry in that it witnessed the arrival of the first true "single-chip radio" - CSR's Bluetooth solution that includes an ARM processor and software stack on the same chip as the RF section. While not dismissing this admirable achievement, it is fair to say that for more complex wireless systems the single-chip solution is still as far away as ever. The ultimate goal of RF "system-on-a-chip" has perhaps been subtly altered to RF "system in a chip-scale package". The hybrids of today are very different from the circuits we knew in the early 1990s, and it's an area that is changing perhaps faster than any other technology. It is timely therefore that our Focus section in this first issue of 2001 should turn the spotlight on hybrid components and multi-chip modules. Despite the ever-increasing levels of integration in RFICs and MMICs, the fact that different semiconductor technologies still offer significant performance advantages for particular circuit functions means that the hybrid circuit and the multi-chip module have become more important today than ever before. The advent of sophisticated multi-layer and chip-scale packaging has made it possible for these super-components to be scarcely larger than an IC of equivalent complexity. With suitable screened partitioning, MCMs could provide the route for integrating the baseband and DSP circuitry with the RF section in wireless systems. The ease with which passive components can be integrated onto the substrate or as part of the packaging is another significant advantage. Paradoxically, the more stringent performance constraints of GPRS and W-CDMA mean that handset manufacturers are turning back to hybrid modules rather than monolithic devices for their front-end solutions, because of the flexibility they offer in mixing semiconductor and passive technologies. This trend is explored more fully in the Focus, along with the challenges of producing multi-chip models at millimetre-wave frequencies and recent advances in synthesiser technology. In the light of all this, perhaps it is after all not unwise to risk the prediction that the hybrid will still be around for a few years to come, and may even have some surprises left for us. On a final note, as is also traditional at this season, I would like to wish all our readers a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Helen Duncan

Contents In focus Premiýre for premium spectrum analyser [ View article as HTML ] Wireless Watch Smart antenna could boost 3G ; Atmel starts up 82GHz SiGe foundry ; Fujitsu creates 30GHz BiCMOS for RFICs Focus on Hybrid Components MCMs face up to millimetric challenges; Wireless takes LTCC modules on board; VCOs scale down with chip-scale; Cheaper chirp with DDS. [ View article as HTML ] CAD Benchmark In this second part of the 2000 CAD Benchmark, we continue the presentation of the solutions provided by the CAD vendors to the free space electromagnetic problem detailed in our October issue. The problem is based on a balanced antipodal Vivaldi antenna. The measured results on the original hardware, along with the solution from the originator of the problem, will be given in the February issue. [ View article as HTML ] IMD performances of harmonically tuned microwave power amplifiers This paper by P.Colantonio*, F.Giannini*, G.Leuzzi** and E.Limiti* won the prize for Best Poster Paper at GAAS 2000. Using a simplified active device model the effects of different amplifier harmonic input and output terminations on the intermodulation distortion are investigated and experimentally validated for four hybrid amplifier designs. [ View article as HTML ] Small signal and power performance of AlGaN/GaN HFETs grown on semi insulating SiC This paper, by A. Weiszt, R. Dietrich, J.S. Lee, A. Vescan, H. Leier, E.L Pinar, J.M. Redwing & H. Sledzikc, won the prize for the best oral paper at GAAS 2000. It describes the performance of AlGaN/GaN HFETs grown on semi-insulating SiC substrate, showing a record transconductance of 300mS/mm for a device with a gate length of 0.3mm and output power levels above 4W CW at 10GHz for an unpassivated 1.6mm device. [ View article as HTML ] Sommaire d'articles Zusammenfassung der Artikel New Products and Data Calendar Classified Catalogue Update & Appointments