APMC2010

Today, semiconductor devices play an important role to support highly-organized infrastructures such as internet or mobile communication systems where people can get necessary information whenever and wherever they want.

Wide bandgap semiconductor devices are expected to provide superior performances in RF signal processing fields as well as power switching applications compared with silicon-based semiconductor devices from the standpoint of higher operating frequency, higher breakdown voltage, and higher power density.
In particular, gallium nitride (GaN) devices have been developed for diversifying applications such as mobile base stations, automobile power units and millimeter-wave ICs; however, there still remain technical issues to extract their full potential.

This workshop introduces recent research and development activities on GaN-based devices, including wireless power transmission application and large-signal device modeling. This workshop also discusses future prospects and challenges of wide bandgap semiconductor devices.

With the constant evolution in telecommunication field, there are always strong technical and market demands for high performance microwave filters and couplers. This workshop presents recent progress in both the design methods and fabrication techniques of microwave filters and couplers.

The first talk focuses on two-dimensional design techniques of waveguide-type directional couplers, including substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) couplers and PTFE-filled waveguide couplers. The second talk provides discussions on many important aspects in the design and manufacturing of SIW filters, such as the choice of filter topologies and substrates, fabrications on various substrates, and tradeoffs between the efficient design and performance of SIW filters.

In the third talk, after multiple solutions of dual-band filters are described, a general design method of N-band planar filters is presented in order to develop multi-band filters in multi-mode/multi-band communication systems. The final talk introduces first a measurement method of the conductivity of interface between a metal film and a dielectric substrate. Then, examples are provided to show how to use the correctly evaluated interface conductivities to improve the fabrication process of conductor films in low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCCs) and to better the design and performance of LTCC filters.

Necessity for tunable RF components is growing up as software defined radio (SDR) and reconfigurable radio technologies are being studied and developed toward "ubiquitous network society."

This is because it is difficult for an analogue-to-digital converter to process the received signal in RF, IF, or even in baseband stage before the channel selection filter and the AGC amplifier due to the wide dynamic range of the signal. In other words, a tunable or switchable filter is necessary to suppress unwanted signals in the spectrum received.

This workshop presents some recent advancements of tunable components, especially on capacitors and filters, as well as exploring their technical practicability and pragmatic application for radio transceivers and systems.

Short-range / Near-field wireless communication systems and technologies have been rapidly evolving and exhibited many benefits for several applications such as; chip-to-chip interconnect, high-speed wireless data transmission, and wireless delivery of energy. These technologies provide cost-reduction of LSI / memory packaging, compactness, higher wireless transmission speed, and so on.

This workshop highlights recent achievements and discusses the challenges in this technical field.

Topics include, ThruChip Interface (TCI) technology which is an emerging wireless data link between stacked chips in a package, CMOS-based Large-Scale Radiating Integrated (LSRI) circuits and its application to Near-Field Direct Antenna Modulation (NFDAM), Short-range MIMO technology and its application to ultra-high-speed wireless link, and wireless power and information transmission technology for medical applications.