Business prospects for commercial mm-wave MMICs

MMIC manufacturers are now starting to introduce commercial devices operating at millimeter-wave frequencies, but several challenges must be addressed before these high-frequency MMICs can become a mainstream commercial success. This paper is excerpted from a recent report entitled Commercial Applications for Millimetre-Wave MMICs, by Jeff Powell and Dave Bannister, published by Technology Tracking, a partnership between QinetiQ, Europe's largest science and technology organization, and Institute of Physics Publishing. More information about the complete report is available at http://www.technology-tracking.com. The complete report includes a detailed analysis of the business and technological drivers at work in a range of current and emerging applications for mm-wave MMICs; a summary of efforts to deliver packaged and tested parts that meet the performance, cost and size criteria demanded by commercial end-users; the most-common device architectures and strategies for successful MMIC design; and profiles of organizations actively developing and marketing systems based on mm-wave MMICs.