What is the future of MMIC/RFIC Design?

Right now, the chip market is down.

In MMIC, LMDS and MMDS both went nowhere. Auto Collision Radar has been in the works for years. They are working on 60GHz CMOS and SiGe Wireless LANs.

Is this all necessary ? What COMMERCIAL applications will drive both RFIC and MMIC design in the future ? Which technology will win out ? SiGe ? 90nm CMOS ? GaAs ? InP ?


Please send all comments!

Puppet1,

Technologies always generate or re-invente new applications.
One of the exciting technologies today is, I'd say, WPAN and wireless sensor networks. Look at the (overhyped) Bluetooth, WLAN's and (to become overhyped) Zigbee RFIC activities. I'd admit that I am sucked by the Zigbee wave, but the finale future of this tech is debatable.

Just some silly thoughts.

All the best

I think that currently rfic are mainly transceiver blocks used in communication, when if the market of communication chips is down in the future?

i believe that era is over : technology creating new markets. everything is so customer driven now.

I feel we really care the uncertainity of the furture. And,
I feel the atmosphere is very low in EE industry.

In the future, RFIC and ASIC are integrated into one chip based on CMOS technology. SDR is another direction.