Events

IEEE AP/CAS/ED/MTT/SSCS Seminar

Title: Looking into the crystal ball of transceivers (Commemorative Lecture)

Speaker: Bram Nauta
University of Twente, Netherlands

Date: Tuesday, Dec 19th, 2023 @ 8:00-9:30PM PT
Location: Online Webinar https://ieeemeetings.webex.com/ieeemeetings/j.php?MTID=mbd5cb0ac805474a61e3cb15dc3b1e24e

Abstract:
During the past decades, wireless communication has grown enormously. Triggered by a large R&D effort, integrating transceivers in CMOS technology has made low-cost mass production possible. A single-chip CMOS transceiver can now do the job for many applications like Bluetooth. On the other hand, for complex transceivers like in modern smartphones, still more discrete RF components such as filters, switches, and diplexers are being added to protect the transceiver from strong interferers, which are often produced by the device itself. To satisfy the future bandwidth hunger, the number of frequency bands will further increase, modulation schemes will become more complex, more antennas will be used and carrier aggregation will be the norm. To limit the number of discrete RF components, the linearity of the transceivers is key. Since more computing power will also be needed in future transceivers, newer CMOS technologies are also wanted. CMOS technology will scale in favor of fast-switching digital circuits but not for classical analog functions, like amplifiers. For the next decade, rethinking basic circuits and systems will be needed to make highly integrated linear transceivers in a technology designed for digital circuits.

Speaker biography:
Bram Nauta was born in Hengelo, The Netherlands. In 1987 he received the M.Sc degree (cum laude) in electrical engineering from the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands. In 1991, he received the Ph.D. degree from the same university on the subject of analog CMOS filters for very high frequencies. In 1991 he joined the Mixed-Signal Circuits and Systems Department of Philips Research, Eindhoven the Netherlands. In 1998 he returned to the University of Twente, where he is currently a distinguished professor and heading the IC Design group. From 2016 until 2020 he also served as chair of the EE department at this university. He served as the Editor-in-Chief (2007-2010) of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (JSSC), and was the 2013 program chair of the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). He served as the President of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society (2018-2019 term). His research interest is analog and RF CMOS circuits.