IMS 2021 Workshops: Focused and Intense

June 1, 2021

If you’re looking for a deep dive into a specific technical topic, the Industry Workshop program at IMS 2021 might be just what you need.

David Maliniak

Related To: Microwaves & RF

Check out our full coverage of IMS 2021.

An important feature of every International Microwave Symposium is Industry Workshops, and IMS 2021, taking place in Atlanta (June 7-10) and online (June 20-25) is no different. Industry Workshops at IMS are always highly rewarding to attendees interested in a long, deep dive into a specific technical topic.

The Industry Workshops are longer affairs held in a classroom setting, often with several presentations, live demonstrations, attendee participation, and hands-on opportunities. They’re usually conducted by a single company (or sometimes a tandem), and get into a specific technical topic in much greater depth than the MicroApps Seminars being held on the show floor.

Here’s some examples of the kinds of Industry Workshops going on at IMS this year:

OTA measurements of EVM for phased-array antennas using VNA-based EVM test (conducted by Keysight Technologies): Active antenna arrays will be widely used in new 5G and Internet-from-Space applications. As such, their non-linear performance, and its effect on error-vector magnitude (EVM), a key metric of communications performance, becomes important. This workshop details new methods for characterizing the EVM of active antennas using an over-the-air (OTA) method, which can show EVM performance of the antenna, including EVM effects of the beam steering and, for the first time, showing the element-by-element contribution of the array through an EVM scan of the array. This scan, which is normally not possible due to signal-to-noise limitations of traditional test methods, uses a vector network analyzer (VNA) EVM measurement method.
Performance validation of 5G New Radio mmWave devices from chipset to production line (conducted by ETS-Lindgren and LitePoint): 5G New Radio technology presents unique challenges to device manufacturers to not only find space for the chipset, but also to ensure they perform as intended in all possible use cases. This requires more validation testing at the design level prior to releasing prototypes for mass production. Production-line testing lowers the risk of missing a company’s time-to-market and budget goals. This workshop will review testing of 5G New Radio mmWave devices, and help attendees visualize why performance validation testing is required in all steps of the design process from the chipset level to production line testing.
Emerging EMC Requirements for 5G mmWave Devices (conducted by (conducted by ETS-Lindgren): Achieving electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) for 5G devices depends on not only the existence of achievable and appropriate regulatory requirements, but also meaningful test methods for demonstrating compliance. The primary body in North America focused on developing EMC test methods for wireless and 5G devices, for both licensed and unlicensed transmitters, is Accredited Standards Committee C63 of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Following an overview of C63 and the standards most relevant to manufacturers of 5G mmWave devices, the workshop will include presentations focused on wireless coexistence and transmitter performance characterization and validation.

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.