Alfy Riddle

Are Inductors Bad? [review of "Integrated Inductors and Transformers" (Scuderi, A. et al; 2011)]

This book is predominantly about inductors on silicon but does have a chapter regarding general dielectric substrates. The authors compile the latest research and realization techniques to review the problems, solutions, and capability of integrated inductors and transformers. This book has five main parts with chapters devoted to 1) concepts and issues regarding integrated inductors; 2)inductors; 3) transformers; 4) examples; and 5) substrates other than silicon. Integrated Inductors and Transformers is a practical book with just enough theory to clarify the main factors in inductor optimization.

RFID for All [review of "RFID Technology and Applications" by S.B. Miles, S.E. Sarma, and J.R. Williams; 2008]

176 December 2008 RFID for All Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an old technology, going back to identifying friends or foes in World War II. These days, this technology is all around us for tracking products we buy. An international group of researchers has been working for many years to define standards for high frequency (HF) (13.56 MHz) and ultrahigh frequency (UHF) (860–960 MHz)] systems. RFID Technology and Applications contains contributions from all over the world in its 15 chapters and presents an excellent overview of RFID technology, applications, and case studies. With 1.3 billion tags used in 2006 and potential costs as low as US

The Next Big Leap in MIMO [Book\/Software Reviews]

0.05 per tag, this technology is very attractive for information transfer and product tracking. The MIT Auto-ID Labs are the driving force behind this book. The initial chapters contain an overview of history and markets, then focus on technology and finally on applications and case studies. Both passive and active RFID tags are studied as active tags can add information for locating products. The early chapters contain an excellent overview of design tradeoffs for chip technology including information on power consumption, read range, backscatter link bit error rate (BER) and anticollision algorithms. Tradeoffs between the use of 13.56 MHz and the UHF band are discussed in for reliability, read range, and historical reasons for applications. Many standards are discussed such as IEEE 1451.5, EPC Gen II, EPCglobal, and ePedigree. Pharma and aerospace products form two of the growing areas for RFID application. RFID technology keeps expanding by including integrated sensors, actuators, and WiFi technology for product location. RFID Technology and Applications covers all aspects of RFID design and application.

A Guide to Academic Funding [Book\/Software Reviews]

March/April 2018 Multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) has been a huge success. Integrated circuits with receivers, transmitters, and transceivers on one chip have enabled the inexpensive use of multiple antennas, which has, in turn, made signal quality for Wi-Fi much more reliable in highly reflective environments and those with mobile users. Fundamentals of Massive MIMO describes the next big leap in MIMO, and this leap has some huge possibilities. The book is put together by an excellent team of authors: the originator of massive MIMO, Thomas Marzetta; a second member of his Nokia Bell Labs team, Hong Yang; a professor from Linkoping University, Erik Larsson; and a researcher also from Linkoping University, Hien Quoc Ngo. Massive MIMO systems remind me of the Liliputians tying down Gulliver in Gulliver’s Travels. Many small things working together may have an advantage over a big thing. Fundamentals of Massive MIMO offers a systems perspective and is intended to be a self-contained resource on massive MIMO. One warning is that the authors use a good number of acronyms (which Appendix H helps to sort out). Also, to me, this book reads like a research lab monograph, as it is a nice reference but is not designed as a textbook or a tutorial with lots of examples, just a clear and detailed presentation of the subject. The book consists of eight chapters and eight appendices. The appendices provide background on Gaussian vectors and random matrices as well as further details on capacity, single cells, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, links, hexagons, and, as mentioned, the many acronyms. The most extensive chapter (Chapter 3) focuses on single cells, and this forms a foundation for the presentation of multiple cells and case studies. The two earlier chapters provide an introduction and a study of models. The introduction covers the evolution of communication from point-to-point to multiuser systems requiring signal processing of M sources and K receivers. Channel hardening, channel learning, and minimizing antenna power and processing are all described. The second chapter focuses on channel models and discusses coherence, fading, and orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing signals. As noted, the real foundation is in the third chapter on single cells. This chapter discusses coherence, mean-squarederror channel estimation, matrix signal processing, zero forcing, and power control. The fourth chapter describes the next logical step after a single cell, i.e., multiple cells. Signal contamination and interference are the main topics of this The Next Big Leap in MIMO

Comprehending Cognitive Radios [Book\Software Reviews]

July/August 2018 fter reading Get Funded, I was tempted to make my review ex tremely short: “Buy this book.” But, after some thought, I realized I should qualify that recommendation. If you are a graduate student thinking about moving into a faculty research position, you should buy this book and read it cover to cover. If you are a new faculty member looking for funding, you should buy this book and read it cover to cover. If you are a university administrator hiring a new faculty member, you should buy this book and give it to whomever you hire because you want that person to be successful. Teaching students about research funding is now more critical to our microwave field than ever before, as most funding and hiring opportunities are in software or digital design. In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that my Ph.D. degree was funded by a U.S. Office of Naval Research fellowship, that I have worked in industry for over 30 years as well as done adjunct faculty teaching, and that I have been a member of several Small Business Innovative Research grant committees. I should also say that, while author Bob Trew was my college advisor, I requested a review copy of this book before I knew the author’s name. So I have not received any compensation for this review other than a copy of the book. However, I am seriously considering buying Bob a beer as thanks for writing something so useful. I know what it is like to graduate with a Ph.D. degree and contemplate a life in academia. As my wife reminds me, I promised her that, after five years in industry, we would move from California back to our home state and I would pursue a teaching career. I can easily put myself in the position of someone just graduating with a Ph.D. degree and looking for a faculty position. Obtaining a doctorate is very different from establishing a research program at a university. This book is easy to read and very informative. While many books try to convince people of something, Get Funded reflects the author’s career being on both sides of the fence and offers honest advice concerning what young academics need to know to be successful. The book provides practical advice, food for thought, and frank discussions to help open eyes. Get Funded follows a logical progression beginning with the history of U.S. funding and then covering being recruited into a faculty position, obtaining funding, writing proposals, and understanding what to watch out for. Still, each chapter stands on its own. You can pick and choose to read A Guide to Academic Funding

A Refreshing Take on Efficiency and Linearity [Book\/Software Reviews]

This book provides an excellent overview of all aspects of cognitive radio. While the book draws most of its examples from work done at Virginia Tech, the scope of the book is comprehensive. Its eight chapters lead readers from the basic definition of a cognitive radio through cognitive radio hardware and software and finally into the performance evaluation and application of a cognitive radio. This book is primarily for practicing engineers and managers, as it surveys the broad area of cognitive radio and includes a substantial reference list for further research. For anyone interested in radio design, this book has much to recommend.

The Book on RFIC [Book\/Software Reviews]

This book follows the line of thinking that believes that there will always be a future for efficiency and linearity. The title may confuse readers at first because it does not use the typical buzzwords of envelope tracking, outphasing, or class-S. The author has a broader strategy in mind, and that is to back up a bit and give readers one book that looks at all the issues involved, as a power amplifier (PA) incorporates a dynamic power supply. There are several refreshing aspects of this book. It is not a literature review but a ground-up look at linear, envelope-tracking, and outphasing amplifiers. This consistency of approach and derivation from the fundamentals gives readers a rare perspective. Also, this book is full of practical insights. Many texts walk the reader through equations and derivations, but this book adds in many insights. There was an obvious effort on the part of the author to put a lot of thought and work went into producing this work. This book is highly recommended for students involved in high-efficiency PA design. And while it does not contain problems for students, I believe it will be a very useful text for educators because of the consistency of viewpoint and fundamental approach.

The Business of Science [Book/Software Reviews]

This book covers almost every topic imaginable on radiofrequency integrated circuits (RFIC), provides examples as well as problems for students, and has a consistency of presentation that teachers, students, and researchers alike will appreciate. Almost all the examples and derivations originate from the author and based on fundamentals. The work of other researchers is cited to give the book a broad foundation, but this is not a collection of examples from the literature, which makes this book all the more useful for teachers. In 16 chapters and one appendix, Dr. Nguyen covers everything from the fundamentals of electromagnetics to systems. This book methodically goes through almost all aspects of RFICs in a way that is well thought out and easy to read. The lengthiest chapters are on transmission lines and amplifiers, while the shortest are on electromagnetics and stability. It is easier to point out what the book does not include than to itemize what it does. The book is primarily about complementary metal-oxide semiconductors (CMOSs) although GaAs circuits are mentioned. The chapter on stability discusses load pull and K factors but does not mention newer stability criteria such as the normalized determinant function, which is more relevant to multitransistor circuits. Any quibbles aside, this book covers a huge amount of ground in a well-developed manner and so is a very useful reference and textbook.

Recently Published Books [Books\/Software Reviews]

This autobiography by Simon Ramo—who cofounded TRW and coauthored the classic field theory textbook Fields and Waves in Modern Communication Theory with John R. Winnery and Theodore van Duzer—is a great read for everyone, from students to senior members of our Society. As someone working on the forefront of technology, Ramo met and collaborated with many fascinating and pivotal people, such as Howard Hughes.There are many fascinating aspects to this book. There is the personal story of a hard-working individual who appreciated what others could add to his efforts, and there is a slice of world history between 1940 and 1980 that is worth reading by all. There is also some good advice about technological development and lessons learned. After all, Ramo’s career spanned Sputnik, the intercontinental ballistic missile program, the Apollo moon mission, and communication satellites. There are also business lessons to be learned from this book. Ramo helped found several companies and, in the process, learned much about dealing with people. His perspective on how people are key and finding the right people for the job is refreshing. In his final chapter, he discusses his observations about startup companies that succeeded—and those that did not. He talks about what founders of start-ups should be focused on and where they can go wrong.

The Fundamentals of Electric Wares [Book\/Software Reviews]

This listing is intended to bring to the attention of the readers a sample of some recently published books within the field of interest of IEEE Microwave Magazine. For information on submissions, contact the column editor at m.gupta@ieee.org.