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By Narda Microwave-East - An L-3 Communications Company

OVERVIEW

For more than 60 years, microwave technology has been synonymous with microwave integrated circuits (MICs). The first MICs appeared in the 1940s, just over a decade after the first microwave circuits were introduced in waveguide form. Now, even though monolithic MICs (MMICs) have revolutionized (and made possible) most of today's wireless-enabled devices, products based on MIC fabrication techniques remain the bulk of the output of the microwave industry. Such a comment may seem odd considering the massive amounts of attention devoted to MMIC design in the last quarter century, but the fact remains that in many cases, the MIC presents the best – or only - practical way to implement a high-performance, multifunction subassembly.

Still, with increased focus on MMICs and other "wafer-scale" approaches to miniaturization, there are those who view the MIC as a played-out technique from which every bit of performance and innovation have been extracted. However, a closer examination of Narda's innovations in its Ultimate MIC and Advanced MIC technologies shows that MICs continue to deliver significantly greater performance than critics believe are possible. Considerable room exists for further advancement through attention to fabrication techniques, materials and component selection, digital implementation of traditionally analog functions, and ironically enough, through incorporation of MMICs within the MIC itself.

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