Microwave CAD Impact in the 70'S

While the microwave community was not the first to discover the benefits of computer-aided design, it has in the last ten years, made extensive use of this extremely powerful tool. The use of computer-aided design for microwave components and subsystems spans the range from simple problems which merely require high-speed capability to massive programs for analysis and synthesis. The application has been so widespread, that computer science for microwave design has become an artform of its own, and is represented in separate sessions in most microwave conferences. This paper attempts to define the areas of microwave computer aided design, and its methods of use. It presents a brief history of computer activities from 1935 until the present time with some comments on present day technology. Finally, some significant shifts of emphasis and future trends are projected.