Industry Workshops

Mobile cellular subscribers reached more than 6 billion in 2022 and 5G NR brings high data capacity as low latency using sub-6GHz and mm-Wave spectrum. The proliferation of worldwide smartphones has been in part possible due to increase computational power of CMOS in 3nm/5nm nodes. There is a shift in terms of what parts of the RF system are portioned in advanced CMOS nodes and what blocks are left and integrated in a RF front end module (RFFEMs). The workshop presents RFFEM architectures currently used and the challenges for the 5G deployment as well the evolution to 6G.

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The roll-out of 5G networks is in full swing, academia and key industry players already look into what may become the next generation of wireless communication, aka 6G. The support of THz frequencies is one of the revolutionary aspects that dominate current research worldwide. The hunger for higher data rates demands access to wider bandwidths, which causes the research community and industry to push into the (sub-)THz regime. The D-Band (110 to 170 GHz) is a first hot candidate.
The proposed workshop focuses on actual research activities looking at semiconductor technologies, RF transceiver design and test approaches.

Analog Devices and Richardson RFPD are designing .01-20GHz, small, multiport, network analyzer signal chains for industrial, portable and production test applications. .01-20GHz network analyzers are complicated, which translates to being large and expensive. ADI has released the ADL5960; a .01-20GHz, integrated vector network analyzer front end on a chip, which enables small network analyzers. The design accelerators include all components necessary for a network analyzer; including highspeed converters, FPGA, signal generation, and the ADL5960. The designs goal was to remove our customers risk and reduce their design time. We will be discussing and demonstrating the designs at the workshop.

Massive MIMO radio is a key enabling technology of 5G networks. mMIMO radios are highly complex and integrated. The number of transceivers on a mMIMO radio can be 10-200 times more than a 4G radio. Baseband, RF front-end, and antenna are integrated in one unit. OTA and ORAN testing are two salient challenges in mMIMO radio manufacturing. In this workshop, the presenters will first analyze the problems from radio design and test system development perspectives. Then they will provide an automated solution to fast mMIMO radio calibration and testing in a compact OTA chamber with an integrated ORAN emulator.

There are challenges in dealing with device behaviors at different design levels- from device physics to application specifics and system level interactions. In this workshop, an overview of the Wolfspeed design process, from technologies to systems will be presented. From material to technology, and the final product; each development step involves simulation analysis to understand the design parameter interactions impacts on systems. The design process usually involves trade-offs in order to achieve the optimum performance. Strategically choosing the right design tools and modeling strategy is the key to unlocking the superior quality of the technology.

Phased array antenna modules (PAAMs) require OTA tests to measure EIRP and EIS in addition to the traditional radiation patterns. Anechoic chambers are permanently in use because they are also needed for FW/SW testing.
Fujikura develops 5G FR2 PAAMs with integrated ICs for beamforming, frequency conversion, and filters. They built their direct far-field chambers for radiation patterns and OTA tests.
Rohde & Schwarz and Avnet automated mmWave RFSoC testing.
In this workshop, the three companies will validate a CATR benchtop test system for the 5G FR2 PAAM R&D test. Metrics include ACLR, EVM, AMAM, AMPM with and without DPD.

GaN HEMTs are leading candidates for high frequency high power amplifiers for 5G/6G base stations. TCAD simulation helps GaN device developers optimize epitaxial structure and layout parameters to achieve transistor DC and small signal (Ft) targets. The TCAD simulation generates I-V, C-V, S-parameter curves and large signal power sweeps. ASM compact model parameters are extracted from the TCAD simulation data, from which the PA circuit design is optimized with HB load pull simulation. The device-level insights into nonlinearity physics are revealed by Fourier coefficients of solution variables.

With 80% of new product features delivered via electronics and 50% of a program's delivery time spent on system integration, IMS has asked INCOSE (International Council On Systems Engineering) to provide an introduction to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) application to electronic systems to enable continuous electronic systems integration. The Workshop will begin with an introduction to MBSE followed by application of MBSE to electronic systems; flowing product functions from systems to silicon and back for closed loop continuous integration to deliver electronics-driven features on-time, on-schedule.

The talk will show the best methods for setting up, calibrating, and evaluating measurement performance for measurements spanning WR15 (75 GHz) to WR1 (1100 GHz) over a broad (-40 to 125c) temperature range. This includes approaches to conveniently swap waveguide bands.
We will discuss test executive approaches for multi-wafer over-temperature testing, both using commercial test executives and programming examples using FormFactor Inc. WinCalXE and Velox software to automate on-wafer data measurement and analysis
Single-sweep measurements from 900 Hz to 220 GHz will be highlighted along with measurements at elevated temperatures.
Examples in Wincal itself and supporting video will be provided

The availability of advanced node silicon ICs for RF front ends and highly integrated system-in-package (SiP) technologies are enabling millimeter-wave (mmWave) phased array systems for commercial applications. This workshop explores recent developments in design, analysis and implementation workflows supported by EM/thermal analysis, RF circuit/antenna co-simulation, and phased array synthesis to address silicon-to-antenna co-design. A comprehensive top-down system design methodology is presented and demonstrated with a front-end module (FEM)/antenna-in-package (AiP) design for 5G mobile applications targeting 24 to 29 GHz. The system requirements that drive antenna/front-end architectural decisions for mmWave applications, antenna optimization, and array configuration and generation will be discussed.

This workshop discusses and demonstrates an extension to a Vector Signal Generator (VSG) to accurately generate a desired broadband modulation signal at a defined plane of a device under test (DUT), possibly on wafer. The technique ensures the stimulus signal delivered to the DUT is ideal, enabling characterization of non-linear devices while minimizing the signal generator’s contribution to key figures of merit, such as EVM and ACPR. This technique eliminates critical measurement uncertainties present in today’s VSG + Vector Signal Analyzer setups. It is possible to extend into high-power signal generation, impedance measurement and matching applications and more.

Through both lecture material and instructor-led demos, workshop participants will learn about modeling and simulating antenna-array designs, explore phased-array beamforming concepts and beamforming ICs, and examine real-world impairments and their effect on system performance. Radar design examples will be used to tie the signal processing theory to practical applications.

Workshop discusses results of iNEMI 5G/mmWave project on developing permittivity standard reference material (SRM), allowing industry for calibrating high frequency dielectric characterization tools spanning 10 to 120 GHz. SRM candidates are tested with industry acknowledged material characterization techniques within round-robin routine involving 8 laboratories worldwide. Testing results support development of traceable reference sample. Consortium efforts are in parallel directed to developing roadmap on 5G/6G materials and electrical test technology. Workshop comprises four presentations (5G industry needs and project goals, standardization efforts for traceable material standard, round-robin results, roadmapping efforts) supported with hands-on exercises (involving Keysight and QWED equipment, NIST SRM candidates).

This workshop presents step by step approach to create a system level digital twin using Keysight’s SystemVue software and COTS hybrid beamforming system hardware from Analog Devices Inc. The X-Band Phased Array Platform is a scalable 32 element hybrid beamforming phased array development platform developed by Analog Devices. The workshop will discuss the hardware architecture and take a deep dive into the steps required to simulate a digital twin in SystemVue including device, sub-system, and system level modeling. The audience will be able to walk away with sufficient knowledge to explore creating their own phased array digital twins.

Analog Devices Instrumentation Group along with SignalCraft and Richardson RFPD are working on Modular DC-44 GHz transmit and receive signal chains for Wireless Test Systems to support the latest standards like 5G, Wi-Fi 6 &7, and UWB. The blocks include all components necessary for signal generation and capture including; up conversion/multiplication, amplification, switching, and filtering. The blocks are designed to remove risks for our customers and accelerate their time to market. We will be discussing and demonstrating the blocks at the workshop.

In this presentation, a specific GRIN (GRadient INdex) lens design workflow is shared from concept, through simulation, fabrication, test, and analysis. This cylindrical Luneburg-like lens is applied to the focal distance of a standard gain horn to increase the total gain from 20dBi to over 25dBi at a lower weight and smaller footprint than a pure 25dBi horn. Fortify’s FLUX CORE printer paired with Rogers Radix(TM) 2.8 low-loss photocurable polymer are the enabling technologies for the production of a structure with traits of high resolution and low power absorption that make the above performance possible.

Emerging 5G/6G, radar, EW, SATCOM, and instrumentation antenna-to-bits architectures necessitate careful design tradeoffs due to mmWave band sensitivity. System designers must preserve channel signal integrity (SI) while optimizing component selection at reasonable cost. Simulating and testing system architectures at the electrical and protocol layers demands engineering expertise from RF, phased-array antenna design, SI, embedded software, DSP, FPGA and test. In this Industry Workshop, technical experts from Otava, Samtec, MathWorks, Avnet, and Rohde & Schwarz address the challenges of mmWave system design, detailing the interplay between simulation models and real-world signals through design flows that foster collaboration within multi-disciplinary engineering teams.

The evolution of 5G and the need for increased capacity drive new transmitter requirements. Power amplifiers must support large instantaneous bandwidths further extended by carrier aggregation, combined with high power and reduced consumption. This workshop introduces a workflow to combine state-of-the-art PA measurements with behavioral models and prototypes for accelerating the design, optimization, and testing of linearization techniques before the entire system is available.
We will introduce recent trends in PA architectures and identify linearization techniques, such as DPD, based on hardware characterization and behavioral models to tradeoff design parameters and improve ACLR, EVM, and other metrics for 5GNR waveforms.

Wireless systems - from Wi-Fi to 5G FRX, UWB and several others - need to evolve fast in order to connect an ever growing number of users - people but also smart things - and applications with excellent QoS and QoE. Furthermore, changing regional regulations, e.g. spectrum usage, add to wireless systems products time-to-market constraints.
Addressing such constraints requires a comprehensive system design methodology supported by proven semiconductor technologies. This workshop will provide guidelines on the use of performance and supply proven engineered substrates for RF and mmWave to implement a comprehensive Front-End Module design methodology.

Phased array Antennas, Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSS), and several other microwave devices are based on periodic arrangement of element structures. Explicit simulation of these devices is usually computationally demanding, and sometimes impossible within the available resources.
ANSYS HFSS has powerful features to enable efficient simulation of periodic structures. It also allows a user to break the periodicity and come up with innovative semi-periodic arrangements of the elements.
We will present this workflow through examples of phased array antennas with Radom, and semi-periodic FSS simulations.

The new generation of broadband satellite communications equipment must meet specifications over large instantaneous bandwidths and significant channel impairments. These radio systems are being built around multi-channel active antenna arrays requiring complex digital signal processing algorithms for calibration, channel corrections, and beamforming.
This workshop introduces a model-based design methodology combining hardware measurements to accelerate the design, optimization, and testing of mmWave wideband radios before the entire system is prototyped. We will use hardware and software examples to optimize the full phased-array signal chain performance, trading off design parameters to achieve acceptable ACLR and EVM for very wide waveforms.