Microwave Industry Awards Whip Up the Recognition

In this process, Microwaves & RF’s editorial board combs through numerous surveys to tally up and track down the highest performers and their runners-up in every category. These awards are given out with much excitement and enthusiasm at the International Microwave Symposium every year, and this year’s event in Tampa Bay, Fla.,  was no exception. Companies in seven categories and their runners-up were recognized for their efforts this past June in addition to the 2014 Living Legends award.

The Best Industry Website is awarded to the company that has the most complete combination of aesthetics, usability, and quality information on its site. The winner’s website must feature easily navigable search options so that users can quickly find products and services. For example, Cobham Antenna Systems, this year’s winning site, features a product support section that details the various services offered.

In addition, a sidebar allows users to jump to a different type of technology with ease. The technology pages on the website have straightforward and helpful summaries of technologies with readily available links to more detailed information.  specializes in advanced antenna technology for satellite communications, avionics, radar, surveillance, and other military and commercial applications.

The runner-up in this category, AR, offers EMC and RF testing as well as amplifier systems/modules and receiver systems (Fig. 1). The company’s website features new “Find It Fast” charts in the RF/microwave instrumentation section. This capability allows users to rapidly search for solid-state RF amplifiers and microwave amplifiers as well as TWTAs, hybrid power modules, and antennas. With many hyperlinked items on the home page, AR World turns finding exactly what a visitor is looking for into a stress-free task.

Other highlights of this website include a homepage slideshow showcasing different products and events. In addition, free, downloadable software promises to make testing “quicker, easier, and more accurate.”

Blogging is a productive and quick way to keep a company’s or individual’s customers/fans actively engaged with their products and services. It can even offer a fast-paced avenue for sharing knowledge. The key to successful blogs—especially in an industry as complex as ours—is their combined offering of rich technical information mixed with personality, which keeps the audience members coming back.

This year’s Best Industry Blog, which can be found on www.microwaves101.com, is extremely useful and interesting while being refreshingly funny. As the “Unknown Editor” behind the blogging and other information provided on it, Steve Huettner finds ways to relate current topics with microwave technologies, trends, products, and more. In fact, no matter what topic Huettner is tackling, his blog always relates a seemingly unconnected event back to microwaves.

The blogs are written in a casual, yet informed manner that really holds the reader’s attention. Recently, Huettner partnered with the IEEE MTT-S to increase the efforts and resources invested in the site, which serves as an industry resource via its encyclopedia, hall of fame, and other key features such as the blog.

Of course, dedicated information-based blogs have a place in the industry as well. They can fill a valuable knowledge gap for novice to experienced professionals in a given field. This year’s runner-up for Best Industry Blog, Anritsu’s The PIM Source, covers the issues associated with locating and testing passive intermodulation (PIM), the basics of PIM measurements, and how to prevent/eliminate PIM in cellular networks. The blog features many descriptive entries and photos, which help present information in an at-a-glance manner while providing in-depth technical information.

As engineers look to rapidly close project deadlines or find the best fit for a complex problem, they increasingly look to strong technical support complete with technical expertise. Linear Technology, designer and manufacturer of analog integrated circuits, is the winner for Best Technical Support. In our survey results, Linear ranked highly for reliable, easily accessible, and high-quality customer service. The Microwaves & RF audience credits Linear Technology for making knowledgeable people available to them for advice and help in solving design dilemmas.

In addition, response time is highly rated. As a bonus, Linear has both design support and technical documentation located conveniently on its website. The Design Support section features many options, such as design simulations, quality and reliability of information, and technical support. Technical Documentation provides product information, design notes, and a direct link to an online product catalog.

A close second, W.L. Gore & Associates also was very highly rated for technical support (Fig. 2). In addition to helping with product questions, Gore’s representatives are known to provide innovative solutions to fix problems. The firm’s website features a contact form that allows users to ask questions regarding cables and cable assemblies. Gore also offers information about its authorized distributors to make getting help as easy as possible.

Of course, the inspiration behind all of this information and knowledge sharing is the microwave and RF industry, which contains a wide array of technologies with an enormous depth of intricacy. It is virtually impossible to know everything about the industry. As a result, references and tools are critical for the student, hobbyist, and engineer alike.

Texas Instruments, the winner of the Best Online Education Tools award, provides an engineer-to-engineer community that is rich with a wide variety of forums and videos. Subjects covered range from delivering more information about products—everything from amplifiers to microcontrollers and everything in between—to application-oriented information for a wide range of markets (Fig. 3).

Alongside a diverse product portfolio, Rohde & Schwarz—the runner-up in this category—hosts a site with an extensive glossary of technology standards. The site covers standards from cellular to mobile broadcast and satellite navigation to satellite broadcast. The Rohde & Schwarz site also offers webinars, notes, and white papers to teach customers about topics like LTE.

Given today’s ever-shortening design and production cycles, another growing trend in this industry is the need for quality custom solutions at a reasonable price and delivered in a timely fashion. The winner of the Best Custom Solutions award, Analog Devices, offers custom solutions that include a suite of design tools and the newest edition of Signal Chain Designer. It helps customers build customized signal chains with access to over 200 tested application circuits.

Adding a sense of community, the beta program allows for the easy sharing of designs as well as simplified ordering of parts or evaluation boards. Integrated design and wizard tools help to complete a bill-of-materials (BOM) report. For all other projects, design specialists are available to help with any necessary customization.

The runner-up in this category, Mini-Circuits, provides an array of RF, intermediate-frequency (IF), and microwave signal-processing products. The firm’s engineers can create custom solutions starting with any Mini-Circuits products. Amplifiers and RF filters are just a few of the customizable products offering quick turnaround time.

When these awards began last year, the highlight was the naming of our first Living Legend, Agilent’s Blake Peterson. This year, Dr. Stephen Maas won the Living Legend award for his work with low-noise and nonlinear microwave circuits and systems (Fig. 4). Currently a chief scientist at AWR Corp. and a consultant with his own company, Nonlinear Technologies, Maas has authored several books including Microwave Mixers and Non-Linear Microwave Circuits. His most recent book, Practical Microwave Circuits, further bolsters his contributions to the community.

Maas, who has served as editor and chairman of the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, is an IEEE fellow. Maas was previously recognized for a Microwave Prize in 1989 for his work on distortion diode mixers as well as many other accomplishments.