2003 IEEE Gallium Arsenide Integrated Circuits Symposium (GaAS IC)
This year's symposium will be held November 9th
to the 12th in sunny San Diego, California at the historic U.S.
Grant Hotel. Over the last 25 years, the IEEE GaAs IC Symposium
has become the preeminent international forum on developments
in integrated circuit technologies using GaAs, InP, SiGe, GaN,
SiC and other compound semiconductor devices.
The Symposium will begin on Sunday, November 9th, with a short
course taught by five experts on emerging technologies from defense
to commercial. Kevin Kobayashi has organized the course with an
emphasis in the latest trends in advanced technologies used in
both defense and commercial. An overview of DARPA sponsored emerging
technologies and their role in meeting defense needs will kick
off the short course. Presentation on several of these advanced
technologies will follow including focused instruction on RF MEMS,
GaN and infrastructure applications, latest advances in SiGe,
and InP HBT technology and circuit applications.
On Sunday evening, Stephen Long and Donald Estreich will once
again present the Symposium Primer Course, an excellent overview
of the basics of GaAs, InP and SiGe RFICs. The course is good
as both an introduction to those with little or no experience
in the compound semiconductor industry, and as a refresher for
those with more experience. Among the topics covered will be III/V
materials; fabrication technology; FET and bipolar devices; and
digital and analog/RF/microwave circuits. As always, the material
will be tailored to fit the context of this year's technical program.
The Symposium Opening Reception will be held Sunday night in the
U.S Grant Hotel. Come meet with old friends and make some new
ones as you sample light hors d'oeuvres and wine, beer or soft
drinks.
On Monday morning, the Technical Program, assembled by Brad Nelson
and the Technical Program Committee, will open with our plenary
session. This session features six invited papers by world-renowned
experts in their fields. First, John Zolper of DARPA will highlight
the challenges and future opportunities for compound semiconductor
electronics. Next, Richard Eden of Technology Applications will
talk about 25 years of digital III-V technology. Following that,
George Bechtel will share his thoughts on GaAs; the wireless device
technology of the future and past, Freek Van Straten of Philips
Semiconductor will highlight the latest in quad Band cellular
power amplifiers, Brandon Pillans of Raytheon will review the
current advances in capacitive RF MEMS switches and Phillip Smith
of BAE SYSTEMS will discuss the progress of GaAs metamorphic HEMT
technology.
Following the Plenary Session, there will be fifteen more sessions
featuring both contributed and invited papers, which will run
from Monday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon. These sessions will
consist of papers that are focused on a particular topic, such
as "The Changing Face of High Speed Digital Technology",
"Amplifiers from S to W Band Applications", and "HBT
Technology". A separate session will also be dedicated to
late newspapers featuring particularly outstanding results.
In addition to the paper sessions, we also feature five panel
sessions on controversial topics of high interest. The panel moderator
will set the tone of the discussion and the five to six expert
panelists will each spend up to five minutes staking out a position.
Following that, it will be a free-for-all as audience members
make their own points and grill the panelists. Panel session topics
are: "InP vs SiGe vs CMOS for High Speed Digital Applications:
Performance, Reliability, Costs and Market Conditions"; "Why
Would I Want to Switch?" "Is First Pass Success for
Complex Mixed Signal Design Realizable?"; "Base Station
PA Technology - LDMOS Forever?"; "Module to MMIC to
Module - PAs Here We Go Again".
Another way to keep abreast of the latest developments in the
field will be by attending the GaAs IC Technology Exhibition,
which will be held on November 10 and 11 at the U.S. Grant Hotel.
The Exhibition is open to all conference registrants, and features
a wide variety of companies who offer state-of-the-art compound
semiconductor IC's as well as those that products and services
to the compound semiconductor IC industry. The exhibitors will
host an Exhibition Opening Reception on Monday evening, as well
as an Exhibition Luncheon on Tuesday.
Of course, conference attendees will also have an opportunity
to relax and learn about life outside of high-speed electronics.
Tuesday evening is the Symposium Theme Party at the San Diego's
Sea World. We will be departing from the hotel on luxury motor
coaches. We will enjoy a private cocktail and hors d'oeuvre reception
at the Wild Arctic. This unprecedented attraction features a breathtaking
simulated helicopter flight over the frozen North. Next, we will
enjoy the Base Station Wild Arctic, a realistic center for polar
exploration that features above and underwater viewing of polar
bears, beluga whales, walruses, and harbor seals. This attraction
captures the beauty and starkness of the Arctic environment. We
will also enjoy Sea World's Penguin Encounter the most extensive
exhibit of Antarctic birds in the world. We will dine on a wonderful
dinner buffet at Nautilus Pavilion. Located alongside Mission
Bay. The good food and refreshments will provide an excellent
atmosphere to meet with colleagues old and new. The evening finale
will feature Shamu's House of Douse Show!
On behalf of the organizing committee and the IEEE EDS, MTT-S,
and SSCS, I invite you to be a part of the upcoming 2003 IEEE
GaAs IC Symposium. For more information, try our website at http://www.gaasic.org.
See you in San Diego. You won't want to miss it!
Chris Bozada,
General Chairman
Air Force Research Laboratory
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
Ohio, USA