158 October 2008

COMCAS 2008■ Shmuel Auster and Barry Perlman

The First Annual IEEE Conferenceon Microwaves, Communications,Antennas, Solid State Circuits,

and Electronic Systems (IEEE COMCAS2008) took place at the Hilton Hotel inTel-Aviv, 13–14 May 2008. This two-dayinternational IEEE conference was orga-nized as a multidisciplinary internation-al forum with contributions from theglobal community, building on the tra-ditional IEEE Israel AP/MTT&AESChapters Symposium held each year.This was an exciting international con-ference and exposition that was attend-ed by many top internationally recog-nized scientists and engineers active inthe field of microwaves and related elec-tronics today. Last year’s very successful21st IEEE AP/MTT&AES ChaptersSymposium, with more than 500 partic-ipants from many companies andresearch and development (R&D) insti-tutions, encouraged and inspired theorganizers to take on the challenge oforganizing an even greater event withthe help of the larger IEEE and globaltechnical community. This diverse and

multidisciplinary conference was orga-nized where students, engineers, andscientists from various complementarydisciplines could meet and discusssubjects of common interest. Threeadditional IEEE societies togetherw i t h the European MicrowaveAssociation (EuMA) got involved,resulting in excellent technical sup-port from the Solid State CircuitsSociety (SSCS), the CommunicationsSociety (ComSoc), the ElectromagneticCompatibility Society (EMC) and theEuMA in addition to the Microwave(MTT), Antennas and Propagation (AP),and Radars (AES) program. The COM-CAS 2008 event delivered on thepromise of attracting the global com-munity to Israel with more than 700participants, 146 papers, 15 technicalsessions, five parallel meeting rooms,and a relatively large professionalexhibition with 62 booths.

The 2008 program offered a veryimpressive list of speakers, includingexpert R&D engineers, students, top scien-tists, and managers from Asia, the UnitedStates, Europe, Latin America, the FarEast, and Israel. One keynote speaker youall will recognize was Prof. Linda Katehi,provost, University of Illinois, UnitedStates, whose talk was titled “AdvancedComponent Architectures for Detectionand Communications Systems.” Another

keynote speaker was Raviv Melamed,general manager, Mobile Wireless Group,Intel Corp., Haifa, Israel. The title of histalk was “Future Wireless Applicationsand Technologies.” Both talks were verywell received.

The IEEE-COMCAS conference hadan interesting breadth of technicalpapers; from leading edge micro-wave devices, ingenious architectures,advanced analog and mixed-signalcircuits to clever antenna technology,and information on new and oldRADAR and Communication systems.Many local practitioners, engineers anddecision makers from the technology,communication, radar and electronicsystems communities participated andmany presented papers on technology,circuits, system aspects and innovationsin these fields. Many up-to-date andfascinating topics were presented by themany speakers to enrich the microwave,antenna, communication, EMC, solid-state circuits (RFIC) and electronic sys-tems communities with knowledge,ideas, applications and challenges.Emphasis was on applications orientedresearch and development, from devicesand components to circuits and systems,to antennas, communications and net-working, sensors and radar and soft-ware. Papers were presented on a varietyof subjects including: RFICs; low-power

Shmuel Auster served as the COMCAS 2008Conference Chair and Barry Perlman served as

Technical Program Chair.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2008.927653

October 2008 159

Fall 2008 ARFTG Microwave Measurement

Symposium

www.arftg.org

Conference, Short Course, Two Workshops and a User Forum.

Date: December 9th to 12th, 2008

Venue: Red Lion Jantzen Beach Hotel, Portland, Oregon, USA

• 72nd ARFTG Microwave Measurement Conference: “Time Domain andFrequency Domain Measurement”.

• NIST/ARFTG Short Course: time-domain and frequency-domain measurement,connectorized and on-wafer S-parameters, power; thermal noise, phasenoise, nonlinear measurements and uncertainty analysis.

• Nonlinear Measurement Workshop: time-domain waveform measurements,high power transistors, passive and active loadpull waveform engineering,large signal network analysis, time domain measurement of very high power,strongly mismatched devices.

• Multiport/Differential Measurement for Signal Integrity Workshop. RF multiport and differential measurement techniques.

• NVNA Users' Forum - program available one month before meeting.

Contact Information: Nick Ridler, ARFTG Publicity ChairE-mail: nick.ridler@ieee.orgWebsite: www.arftg.org

Fall 2008 ARFTG Symposium - schedule of events

Tuesday, December 9th—8:00am - 5:00pm

Wednesday, December 10th—8:00am - 12:00noon

Wednesday, December 10th—1:15pm - 5:00pm

Thursday, December 11th—8:00am - 5:00pm

Friday, December 12th—8:00am - 12:00noon

Friday, December 12th—1:15pm - 3:15pm

Friday, December 12th—1:15pm - 5:00pm

NIST / ARFTG Short Course

Nonlinear Measurement Workshop

72nd Microwave Measurement Conference

NVNA Users' Forum

Signal Integrity Workshop

solid-state circuits; microwave plasmon-ics and nanometa materials; novel anten-nas and spectrum database issues; phasedarrays; communications networking;C3/C4 modeling, simulation, and analy-sis (MS&A); RF propagation to MMWwavelengths, high-power amplifiers;advanced devices for communications;RF filters; modeling for EMC; MEMs;ultrawideband technology; metrologyand parameter extraction; space-timeadaptive processing; cognitive radios/radar; and spectral processing. These arejust a few examples of the many disci-plines covered. The combination of manydiverse technical areas made for a veryexciting, robust, and interesting two-daymeeting.

Some specific examples of themany diverse technology papers pre-sented were:

• “Low Voltage 45nm CMOS FullyDifferential Amplifier for 10 Bit/160 Msps Pipeline ADC,” DavidGidony and Sophia Maerkovich,Intel Corporation, Israel

• “Layer Fusion Radio (LFR) forFuture Communication andRadar,” Joy Laskar, Georgia Tech,United States

• “Slow Light and Photonic Beam-forming Applications,” Moshe Tur,Tel Aviv University

• “Digital Phased Array Radars—Trends and Technology,” IsraelLupa, Elta Systems Ltd., Israel

• “Front-End Technology for Phased-Arrays with Digital Beamforming,”Frank van Vliet TNO, Defense,Security and Safety, The Hague,The Netherlands

• “A Highly Integrated Fractional-NSynthesizer for FMCW Radar,” RalfEickhoff, Frank Ellinger, DresdenUniversity of Technology, Ger-many, T. Ussmueller, University ofErlangen-Nuremberg, Germany,Solon Spiegel, RIO Systems Ltd.,Israel

• “Enabling Technologies for a DigitalArray Radar,” Michael J. Walsh et.al., Lockheed Martin, United Statesand William J. Chappell, PurdueUniversity, United States

• “Reducing Spectral Growth ofPhase Coded Radar Pulses,”Menachem Asher, Elta SystemsLtd. Israel

• “Advanced Product Design fromComponents to Smart Antenna

Systems,” Nick Buris, Motorola,United States

• “A 1 × 2 MIMO Multi-bandTransceiver with an IntegratedLNA and PA in 90nm CMOS for802.11a/g/n Applications,” OfirDegani, Mark Ruberto, EmanuelCohen, Yishai Eilat, BenjaminJann, Fabian Cossoy, NikolayTelzhensky, Tzvi Maimon, ShayWail, Gregory Normatov, RotemBanin, Shai Gross, Assaf BenBassat, Mario Zajac, Eyal Shaviv,Ori Ashkenazi, Sharon Zaguri,Gabriel Hara, Amir Fridman, andRichard Lin, Intel Corp., Israel andUnited States

• “Novel Paper-Based Inkjet-PrintedAntennas and Wireless SensorModules,” M.M.Tentzeris, R.Vyas,A.Rida and L.Yang, Georgia Tech,United States

• “Frequency and Time-DomainAdaptive RF Front-Ends andAntennas,” Hao Han Hsu, XinWang, Xiaoguang Liu, WesleyAllen, Dimitrios Peroulis, PurdueUniversity, United States; LindaP.B. Katehi, UIUC, United States

• “RF-Power Technology Overview:

160 October 2008

Mark Ruberto from Intel receives a certificateof appreciation.

Joy Laskar, Yehuda Levitan, Shmuel Auster,Linda Katehi, Barry Perlman, Yael Nemirovski,and Reuven Shavit.Nick Buris, Motorola.

Yonah Adelman receives the certifi-cate of appreciation. Colleagues and friends at the COMCAS reception.Agilent exhibit.

Accomplishments and Challenges,”Franz Dielacher, Infineon, Germany

• “Miniature 3D Micro-MachinedSolid State Power Amplifiers,”Anthony A. Immorlica Jr., BAE,United States, Deepu Nair, KennethVanhille, Christopher Nichols, Jean-Marc Rollin, Dara Fleming, RonnieVarghese and David Sherrer, Rohmand Haas, United States, and ZoyaPopovic, University of Colorado,United States

• “Reconfigurable Front End Micro-systems,” John Papapolymerou,Georgia Tech, United States

• “Design of RF-CMOS IntegratedCircuits for Wireless Communica-t ions ,” Georg Boeck , Ber l inUniversity of Technology, Germany

• “Practical Approaches to BehavioralModeling of RFIC/MMIC Amplifiersfor Non-linear Simulation,” LarryDunleavy and J. Liu, Modelithics,United States

• “Experimental Evidence of SurfaceMobile Holes on GaN HEMTStructure,” C. P. Wen, J. Y. Wang, Y.L. Hao, and B. Shen, PekingUniversity, Beijing, China

• “Terahertz Plasmonics and Energy

Concentration,” Mark I. Stockman,Maxim Durach, and AnastasiaRusina, Georgia State University,United States

• “Coherent Meta-Materials and theLasing Spaser,” Nikolay I.Zheludev, S. L. Prosvirnin, N.Papasimakis, and V.A. Fedotov,University of Southampton,United Kingdom

• “Essential Elements of MilitaryCommunications Network Modelingand Simulation,” Newton Love,Steven A. Stegmann, and Northrop-Grumman, United States.

One very special paper was givenby Dr. Ruth Rotman, daughter of WalterRotman (see “Walter Rotman”). Herpaper was titled “Walter Rotmanand the Lost Art of AntennaDesign.” The following are excerptsfrom her paper:

Walter Rotman, who passed awayin May 2007, was well known forthe invention called on his name,the Rotman antenna lens. The lenswas an integral part of many EWand radar systems in Israel andthe world. It allows Multi-Beam

capability for defense systems—tracking and investigating multi-ple targets simultaneously. Itallows Multi-Beam capability fordefense systems—tracking andinvestigating multiple targetssimultaneously. But my father hadequally important inventions thatare found in the first “PhasedArray” radars—(radars whichlook in many directions simulta-neously without moving the anten-na mechanically)—which werebuilt in Israel and contributetoday to the defense of the coun-try. My father was also considereda pioneer in the area of “metama-terials.” He developed all theseideas in the fifties and sixtieswithout the help of computers butrather via unique intuition—arare art today. He managed to doall this and still remained modestand pleasant. He wrote less thanten articles—Not enough today tobe even an Associate Professor—but every article was importantand special and he won almostevery known prize from the USAir Force.

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David Braddock, Joy Laskar andMike Golio enjoying the conference.

Keynote speaker Raviv Melamed,GM Intel Mobile Wireless.

Keynote speaker Linda Katehi,Provost UIUC. Prof. Zoya Popovich

Group lunch on the Mediterranean coast.Exhibit area.Plenary session.

162 October 2008

I believe that I discovered my father’slegacy not when I read his papers butrather when I talked with his co-workers. They all stressed that myfather was the kindest of people, mostgenerous with his time and alwaysencouraging to the youngest genera-tion. This I believe was his true lega-cy and what mattered.

A full copy of this paper and others canbe found in the conference archivesunder IEEE Xplore.

Overall, the quality level of the papersand presentations was extremely high.This may have been due to the fact thatmost of the papers were invited. Thetone of the COMCAS conference alsoseemed to help promote or encourageactivity and friendly interchangeamong the leading innovators in thefield by facilitating networking. Theatmosphere was very collegial allowingfor innovation and the formation of col-laborations that leads to real advance-ment. The relaxed and less formal set-ting of the conference facilitated manydiscussions between the top-levelmicrowave scientists and engineers inattendance. These scientific discussions,which tend to build relationships thatfurther result in real work, are vital tothe advancement and progress of

microwave electronics and the associat-ed electronic systems industry. Many ofthe select leaders that attended theCOMCAS conference are those respon-sible for the majority of innovation andadvancement in the field worldwide.The continuation of this conferenceespecially because of its quality andexcellent atmosphere for building inter-national partnerships is important tothe development of advanced technolo-gy in the microwave and electronicsindustry. For a more detailed look at theprogram see www.comcas.org.

The exhibition was organized along-side the symposium halls with 52 insti-tutions represented in 62 booths.Companies and agencies presentedtheir CAD tools, test equipment, RF,MW and MMW components, and mod-ules for electronic systems applications.The two main platinum sponsorswere Agilent Technologies and IntelCorporation. The many cosponsorsincluded Herley General MicrowaveIsrael, EYAL Microwave, WINSemiconductors, MTI, ORBIT/FR, TE(M/A-COM), STG, Interlligent, CST,and Microwave Journal (media sponsor).

One can more fully understand theCOMCAS conference by contrasting itwith the IEEE International MicrowaveSymposium (IMS) held each year in theUnited States. The IMS is the premier

annual showcase for microwave technol-ogy. The conference is very large and thetone is certainly more complex thanmost conferences with a wide variety ofactivities compressed into one week.The atmosphere tends to be somewhatformal with many, many technical andnetworking activities going on. TheIEEE IMS is a very important, success-ful and significant conference and ourflagship conference. The IMS is aboutvisibility, acceptance, recognition andmarketing. Many young academics,engineers and scientists in our industrymake presentation at the IMS confer-ence to gain recognition and share theirideas. Many small and large companiesshowcase their products and present theirwork to gain acceptance and recognition.But many of our members, especiallythose from outside of the United Statesare unable to attend. Smaller high qualityconferences like COMCAS and otherssuch as the Asia Pacific MW Conference(APMC, Far East), COMITE andRADIOELEKTRONIKA 2008 (CzechRepublic), EuWiT (Europe, held duringthe European MW Week), IMOC(Brazil), KJMC (Korea-Japan), MMS(Mediterranean), MIKON and IRS(Poland), MWP (Europe, Asia Pacific,United States), ICMMW (China) have acomplementary and vital role to play tohelp our members in other regions par-ticipate, listen and share ideas, meetwith international speakers and lead-ers in the field and report scientificinnovation. Having such conferencesin various locations around the worldis a very good way to encourage mem-bers and potential new members toparticipate to improve recognition andgrow the IEEE-MTT society and themicrowave industry.

The COMCAS conference also provid-ed an excellent opportunity to recognizetwo outstanding entrepreneurs and con-tributors to the field of microwaves, whowere given Certificates of Appreciation.One is Harvey Kaylie, president ofMini-Circuits, a global supplier ofIF/RF/microwave signal-processingcomponents with numerous designand manufacturing facilities worldwide.

Harvey Kaylie started Mini-Circuits in 1969, designing and build-ing double-balanced mixers in the

Walter Rotman

Walter Rotman was a Life Fellow of the IEEE and Chief of the PlasmaElectromagnetics Branch of the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories(AFCRL) for many years. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1922 and servedin the Army Air Force Signal Corps, where he worked on radar equipment from1942 through 1945. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engi-neering from the Massachussettes Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1947 and1948, respectively. While at MIT, he worked as a research assistant in theresearch laboratory for electronics. He joined AFCRL in 1948, and held manysupervisory positions until he retired in 1980. He was the driving force behindmany important antenna innovations. Probably one of his most important con-tributions was his invention of a unique electromagnetic lens that has the capa-bility of producing multiple beams over a wide angular range with low phaseerror. This lens has been widely used for many civilian and military communica-tions and radar systems, and is now known as the Rotman Lens. He was therecipient of the 2005 John Kraus Award for this work. He also received theUnited States Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service in 1980 andthe IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984.

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living room of his home in Brooklyn,New York. His philosophy at the time,which he maintains to this day, wasbased on offering the highest compo-nent performance for the lowest pricepossible. Mr. Kaylie pioneered many ofthe high-volume manufacturing prac-tices and quality concepts universallyapplied in the RF/microwave industrytoday. Mr. Kaylie and his engineeringteam have been awarded numerouspatents for component design, circuitdesign, and innovative packagingapproaches. In 2007, Mr. Kaylie wasnamed by Microwaves & RF Magazine a“Microwave Legend,” one of the keypeople in the history of the RF/microwave industry. Mr. Kaylie is along-time member of the IEEE and hassponsored many radio amateur andIEEE chapter events. Together with hiswife Gloria, through the Gloria andHarvey Kaylie Foundation, Mr. Kayliegenerously supports many worth-while causes in medical and scientificfields. For Harvey Kaylie the citationreads, “For his visionary leadership indeveloping cost-effective RF andmicrowave component technology inIsrael and his significant contributionsto IF/RF/microwave mixer design.”

The other recipient is YonahAdelman, General Manager of HerleyGeneral Microwave Israel, a leadinginternational designer and manufactur-er of sophisticated microwave compo-nents. Mr. Adelman began his profes-sional career in 1978 as a Research andDevelopment Microwave Engineer atGeneral Microwave Corporation inNew York. In 1983, he immigrated toIsrael where he joined Tadiran to estab-lish a Microwave Integrated CircuitDepartment. In 1985, together with Dr.Hopfer, he took part in the establish-ment of General Microwave Israel, asubsidiary of General MicrowaveCorporation. He has served as ChiefMicrowave Engineer, Assistant GeneralManager and since 1990, as GeneralManager of the company. Mr. Adelmanhas led the design and developmentof a broad range of microwave com-ponents. These include millimeterwave control components, microwavesources, integrated microwave assem-blies and a broadband external lithium

niobate electro-optic modulator, forwhich the company received twopatents. At Herley General MicrowaveIsrael, he has estab-lished a world classfacility for the devel-opment and manu-facture of state-of-theart microwave com-ponents and super-components. HerleyGeneral MicrowaveIsrael has recentlyreceived an Outstanding SupplierAward from Elta Systems. Mr. Adelmanis a long-time Member of the IEEE. ForYonah Adelman, the citation reads,“For his visionary leadership in creat-ing a center for state-of-the-artmicrowave technology and productionin Israel and his significant contribu-tions to the design of microwave con-

trol components, sources and integrat-ed assemblies.”

The COMCAS conference was highlysuccessful, and thosewho attended provid-ed very positive feed-back and advice. Webelieve it will be wellattended in the futureby the technologiststhat lead innovationand carry impact inthe microwave and

electronic systems fields.Plans for next year’s conference are

already underway. Tradition is veryimportant and next years meeting willbe a valuable, enriching, and fun eventand an excellent opportunity to shareideas, learn about exciting technologydevelopments, and meet and socializewith friends and colleagues.

Dev and Linda Gupta Professorship in Biomedical Sensing and Signal Processing

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst invites applications for the Dev and Linda Gupta Professorship, a full-time tenure-track position at the level of Assistant Professor, starting as early as January 2009.

The ECE Department is launching an interdisciplinary research center in biomedical sensing and signal processing to develop noninvasive sensing systems for detection and diagnosis in medical treatment. This effort will combine research strengths of the College of Engineering, the UMass Medical School (UMMS) in Worcester, and Baystate Health Services (BHS) in Springfield.

The ECE Department conducts leading research in microwave and terahertz remote sensing, broadband antennas and high-frequency electronics, and has state-of-the-art facilities for instrument design, fabrication and testing. Related current research efforts include THz system design utilizing nanoelectronic devices and the development of new architectures for fast wideband signal processing. Collaborations with medical scientists and physicians at UMMS and BHS provide access to skills and facilities for clinical assessments. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has recently proposed $95 million for a new life sciences center at the Amherst campus. Information about the ECE Department can be found at http://www.ecs.umass.edu/ece

Candidates must have an earned doctorate and have demonstrated research expertise in the area of biomedical sensing or biomedical signal processing. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a strong externally funded research program, supervise graduate students, collaborate with other faculty and be committed to teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Applications will be reviewed starting September 15, 2008. The search will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. Appointment is contingent upon funding. Interested applicants should send a CV, statement of research and teaching interests, and a list of at least four references to Biossp_Search@ecs.umass.edu, or printed copy to: Search Committee, Biomedical Sensing and Biomedical Signal Processing, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts, 100 Natural Resources Way, Amherst, MA 01003-9292.

The University, College, and Department are committed to increasing diversity of the faculty, student body, and curriculum, and welcome applications from women and other underrepresented groups. UMASS is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

The IMS is aboutvisibility,acceptance,recognition, and marketing.