Q: It looks as though mobile WiMAX is a near certainty. Is your company addressing this potentially immense market? If so, how?
A: WiMAX will certainly increase the demand for wireless communications over the next two to four years. MI Technologies has and will continue to address this overall market. We have developed and introduced test and measurement products that support the demanding requirements of this new communications traffic load. MI Technologies’ systems and products can be used to test antenna performance at both ends of the communications link. Our product offerings emphasize low cost high speed testing, which can substantially reduce the cost of our customers’ products. Overall, WiMAX and all of the associated technology developments that support WiMAX will greatly enhance an improved ability to support information transfer.

Q: Much of the money supposedly budgeted for defense electronics R&D and procurement has been diverted to our “war on terror.” What is your view of short- and long-term opportunities in the defense sector for manufacturers of microwave components?
A: The “war on terror” has, of course, had an impact on how defense related money is being spent. However, it is my opinion that as a result of “homeland security” initiatives the country has seen an increase in demand for both microwave components and systems that address the issues of population security and protection. MI Technologies has seen some shift in the customer base and demand, but overall the increased demand for RFID systems, communications, and select defense related electronics has kept our business quite robust. We have seen increases in demand for both radome and RCS (radar cross section) testing. RF/Microwave components and systems will, both in the near- and long-term, have demand resulting from the embedded reliance of communications, radar, and weapon dependence on this technology.

Q: What do you feel are the greatest opportunities going forward for microwave manufacturers in the commercial markets?
A: Microwave manufacturers will benefit from the ever increasing use of wireless systems in the day-to-day life of the citizens of a majority of the world’s countries. In addition, all modes of transportation systems continue to grow their dependence on RF/Microwave products. Aircraft use weather and collision avoidance radar along with an increasing use of communications to enhance the flying experience. Road vehicles are moving in the direction of collision avoidance systems along with many modes of communications such as satellite entertainment delivery and mobile TV. Data and information transfer and computer wireless communications has become standard in all walks of life. This is a robust industry that has many years of growth ahead of it.

Q: Would you agree that China has the potential to be the biggest international market for our industry’s products.
A: The subject of selling to China is very complex. On the one hand, there is without question significant opportunity for US products in China. Their thirst for state-of-the-art microwave technology continues to grow as their economy grows. The Chinese economy is growing at a double digit rate and it appears that this growth will continue for at least five to ten more years. As the Chinese population experiences more economic freedom, consumer demand will also increase, which bodes well for microwave design and manufacturing. This all appears to be good news.

The above news must be tempered with the realization that China has political and military ambitions that work at odds with those of the United States. As a result, the US Department of State has curbed exports that might be used for military applications. Many products that could have clear military applications are restricted from export. Further, products that are being sold for specific commercial application might also have export restrictions due to the “duel use” rule. This rule restricts the use of commercial products that could have application to a military end even though the particular stated use is for commercial application.

For the RF/Microwave industry, the market opportunities in China over the next two to ten years are tightly coupled to the evolution of the political relationship between the “West,” led by the United States, and China. It is not clear at this point which direction these relationships will turn. My advice is to make products available, be compliant with our export laws, and be alert to the Chinese business culture, which is significantly different than ours.

Q: What do you feel are the most significant advances (from design to manufacturing) that occurred in the microwave industry during 2006?
A: There are numerous advances that occurred in the microwave industry over this past year. A couple worth noting include the ability to work at higher and higher frequencies and the commercialization of many microwave technologies.

In MI Technologies business area, we see an increasing use of frequencies from 20 to 100 GHz. These technologies open spectrum use possibilities that were only a dream several years ago. Admittedly, the majority of the current applications are for defense or satellite communications, but the advantages of higher frequency use are immense.

In like manner, the migration of microwave components into lower cost commercial applications provides considerable growth in the wireless area. As the more advanced technologies evolve they become more affordable and so benefit the general consumer. Our ability to access information at high speeds has increased very rapidly. In a similar manner, communications systems have become more robust and more affordable.

Overall, the microwave industry has experienced some very exciting developments and has an equally exciting future. This is an industry that has a significant influence on our quality of life and for that matter on our safety.

Q: It looks as though mobile WiMAX is a near certainty. Is your company addressing this potentially immense market? If so, how?
A: Yes, we are addressing it, and we’re addressing it very vigorously. We’ve developed some very nice products, including frequency mixers, 90º hybrids, and balun transformers, to cover the WiMAX frequencies. In terms of performance, we’ve achieved exceptionally good performance over these bands. The performance data is available on our new website, including our new YONI2 search engine.


Q: Much of the money supposedly budgeted for defense electronics R&D and procurement has been diverted to our “war on terror.” What is your view of short- and long-term opportunities in the defense sector for manufacturers of microwave components?
A: Unfortunately, the potential for long- and short-term opportunities is very high. I say unfortunately, because there is a need to develop products to overcome the unwanted and unprovoked attacks by terrorists. Mini-Circuits has developed products to support the effort by the government and the military in this area. Very specifically, we developed amplifiers that are being used in the Iraqi theater that we’re extremely proud about. We’re proud that we’re helping to save American lives and the soldiers fighting in that war. We are extremely motivated by that fact. In addition to the amplifiers, we’ve developed filters, limiters, power splitters, switches to help in the defense arena. We are presently preparing to launch a very new series of frequency mixers with hermetically sealed, ceramic-enclosed packages. The purpose of this kind of packaging is to improve reliability under more adverse environmental conditions, which is a requirement for defense electronics. We have also developed products using a unibody case construction, which allows smaller space and higher reliability packaging. These features mesh quite well with military applications. In addition, we’ve developed very tiny mixers, the smallest mixers we’ve ever made – 0.2 x 0.18” -- a package complete mixer having fantastic performance and bandwidth, very high isolation, and low conversion loss -- all the attributes ideal for the military environment. This new series is called the SIM Series, and we’re very proud of this accomplishment. We’ve applied for a patent on the technique for making and designing these parts, and we’re expecting great results in the marketplace.

Q: What do you feel are the greatest opportunities going forward for microwave manufacturers in the commercial markets?
A: In the commercial markets, wireless communication technology keeps advancing. Consequently, it’s a great opportunity for component manufacturers. We are responding to our customers’ requests by developing products that are state-of-the-art, smaller size, lower noise, and meeting the tougher demands that are coming from the marketplace. This is especially true with voltage controlled oscillators and synthesizers, where we have achieved exceptionally good performance, very fast switching between oscillator frequencies, and very low offset noise. We are also developing a lot of products for the repeater business, where there are greater demands for technical performance, size reduction, and lower cost. To achieve this, we are developing lower cost manufacturing techniques in order to be more competitive in this arena. There has been a big effort to improve communications between the equipment of various government agencies, not only for firefighters and police but also for special disaster situations, such as the Katrina disaster and so forth. The demands are growing and the applications for wireless products are expanding, and we are right in the middle of this explosive growth of applications. Our products are being designed to meet these needs, both existing and developing.

Q: Would you agree that China has the potential to be the biggest international market for our industry’s products.
A: China has the potential to be our biggest market. Not only because of its population size, but also because of the shift in the world when it comes to manufacturing. China has certainly taken the lead in offshore manufacturing. During my visits to China, I’ve been extremely impressed by the sophistication and the use of very modern manufacturing equipment. They are very competitive. My experience has shown that the Chinese are very smart, dedicated and focused. With those attributes, plus capabilities and price competitiveness that exist in China, we expect that the markets will continue to grow very strongly.
When I’m in China, I do not experience the fade-out of the signal when I’m using a cellular phone. However, in the New York area, even on a main thoroughfare, I do experience it! The sophistication in China is growing very strongly. China is also building not only a manufacturing base but a development base to support manufacturing, and I think this is an important consideration in terms of viewing the Chinese market.

Q: What do you feel are the most significant advances (from design to manufacturing) that occurred in the microwave industry during 2006?
A: This past year, we’ve seen a lot of new microwave components that offer advantages over preceding years in terms of performance. We have also seen price improvements in terms of lower prices for these components. From Mini-Circuits’ perspective, the most significant advance was announced in November, with our revolutionary new search engine, YONI2. YONI2’s contribution to the industry is that it is the only search engine that searches data for various products based on actual performance, not on specs. The significance of the ability to do this is astounding. Most of the microwave products on the marketplace have performance that may vary with frequency. YONI2 the only search engine that will be able to search an entire database of Mini-Circuits products to find a specific requirement. The bottom line is, if a product has actual performance that may meet a requirement anywhere in a frequency band, YONI2 will find it. What is revolutionary about this is that an engineer, prior to YONI2, would have to look through a whole series of specifications to possibly find the model needed, if it exists. The search would look at the specs issued by the manufacturer, which generally display the worst-case points over the entire band. YONI2, on the other hand, allows the engineer to input the frequency and parameters required for the model and it will search Mini-Circuits’ database of over 1,000 different models of a particular product line to find the specific one needed. What is astounding is that YONI2 performs this search in less than one second and lists all the products that will meet the required parameters. In cases where tougher specs or performance are needed, YONI2 can find it. It is truly a search engine for designers that never existed before, and that is what I call Mini-Circuits’ most significant advance in 2006. It’s not a product, but it is certainly a useful tool for any engineer that needs information on microwave components.

Q: It looks as though mobile WiMAX is a near certainty. Is your company addressing this potentially immense market? If so, how?
A: Anritsu is committed to providing test solutions for next-generation network (NGN) technologies, including WiMAX. Anritsu created a Technology Center this year to integrate research with the businesses of the future, thereby developing a system that will strongly support strategic research and development focused on products for NGN. We anticipate that this commitment will create products that will assist in the design, production, and deployment of mobile WiMAX.

Anritsu already has a strong leadership position in WiMAX. Our Signature™ was the first signal analyzer to integrate a full suite of physical layer measurements for both fixed and mobile WiMAX signals. Moreover, Signature’s seamless interface with MATLAB® allows designers of WiMAX products to view live measurement results, post-processed by MATLAB, directly on the MS2781B’s display. This ability saves countless time on the production floor, thereby improving throughput and overall efficiency.
Our portfolio of test solutions for WiMAX also includes the MS2717A economy spectrum analyzer, MS2721A Spectrum Master™ handheld spectrum analyzer, and ML2490A Series peak power meters.

Q: What is your view of short- and long-term opportunities in the defense sector for manufacturers of microwave components?
A: For over 40 years, Anritsu has supplied test and measurement solutions to the Department of Defense and other branches of the U.S. government, and to the contractors supporting them. In that time, there have been plenty of changes in the way the military operates, and there have always been opportunities for microwave companies. We anticipate that there will be plenty of short- and long-term opportunities because there will always be a need for military communications systems.

Our instruments are being used in military applications at all stages – from development of military systems through production and into the field for installation and maintenance. The continued sales of our test tools indicate that there is still strong market demand for microwave products in the military sector.

Q: What do you feel are the greatest opportunities going forward for microwave manufacturers in the commercial markets?
A: The continued emergence of next-generation networks (NGN) presents tremendous opportunities for companies that can develop products for the convergence of wireless and wireline technologies. Anritsu is well positioned to be a leader in NGN because we have extensive experience in 3G/3.5G technologies and have long-developed test solutions for all-IP broadband and high-speed core networks, which will be the foundation of NGN. We are continuing to expand our test solutions to incorporate emerging technologies and anticipate strong growth in this area.

Q: Would you agree that China has the potential to be the biggest international market for our industry’s products.
A: China has tremendous potential for the microwave market but so do many other countries. The deployment of China’s communications infrastructure is creating opportunities. Anritsu is already seeing strong sales, especially in our handheld analyzers, which are the de facto industry standard and are being used to deploy and install wireless networks. Our other test instruments used in development and production are also experiencing strong sales because they provide distinct test advantages.
It’s important to note that our handheld analyzers have strong sales worldwide, not only in China. Our ability to develop test solutions based on emerging technologies allows Anritsu to have a strong global presence. We offer solutions for GSM, W-CDMA, HSDPA/HSUPA, 802.11, 802.16, and Bluetooth®, so Anritsu is well positioned to have success in a variety of geographic areas.

Q: What do you feel are the most significant advances (from design to manufacturing) that occurred in the microwave industry during 2006?
A: Anritsu has had many significant advances in 2006. We introduced Fixed WiMAX (802.16-2004) test options for our MT8222A BTS Master‰ that made it the first handheld solution for measuring WiMAX in the field. The Fixed WiMAX options make the BTS Master a single-instrument solution for engineers, technicians, and contractors responsible for the deployment of WiMAX networks. Our MS2781B Signature was introduced this year as the first signal analyzer to integrate a full suite of physical layer measurements for both fixed and mobile WiMAX signals. It has best-in-class dynamic range and measurement speed over the 100 Hz to 8 GHz frequency range.

This year, Anritsu also announced the completion of the first 3GPP HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) protocol conformance test case. A key milestone for 3G, this represents a huge step forward by enabling the mobile industry to deliver commercially available HSUPA terminals. Availability of conformance test cases is critical for the certification of terminals that is required before commercial deployment. Anritsu’s conformance test case enables the industry to finally deliver the range of mobile products and applications that will meet market and consumer expectation for the technology.

Q: It looks as though mobile WiMAX is a near certainty. Is your company addressing this potentially immense market? If so, how?
A: The RF Division within Freescale Semiconductor designs high power RF solutions for markets such as cellular infrastructure, broadcast, CATV and industrial applications. In fact, Freescale is the clear leader in the RF power solutions market. To maintain and grow our leadership position we are constantly monitoring prospective new markets and we recognized early the potential of WiMAX. Because of that potential we chose to invest very proactively in RF power product development and already have over 19 committed, WiMAX-specific products, the vast majority of them fully qualified. We also have a portfolio of general purpose amplifiers that can be used as pre-drivers. Freescale offers power stages for WiMAX from 3W to 190W in the 1.6GHZ, 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz and 3.5GHZ frequency bands. An exciting development was that we were the first to be able to deliver to the market the use of high-performance, cost-effective laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) die technology for frequencies up to 3.8GHz.

Q: Much of the money supposedly budgeted for defense electronics R&D and procurement has been diverted to our “war on terror.” What is your view of short- and long-term opportunities in the defense sector for manufacturers of microwave components?
A: While monies may have been diverted away from some R&D activities, I believe significant short and longer-term opportunities for microwave products still exist. As an example, in the RF power space (generally communications, radar and electronic warfare) the military markets make up the second largest opportunity, behind wireless infrastructure. Additionally, analysts that follow these markets are projecting solid growth over the next five plus years. Another aspect that increases the opportunities for commercial microwave manufacturers is the continued migration to “commercial off the shelf” (COTS) requirements.

Q: What do you feel are the greatest opportunities going forward for microwave manufacturers in the commercial markets?
A: Looking at the markets that we serve, there are several significant opportunities that exist. One example is the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) markets. This is another market that is forecasted to have healthy growth over the next several years. Applications in these markets are things such as magnetic resonance imaging, RF heating, laser drivers, plasma generators and a number of other RF power generating applications. Another potentially huge opportunity that we talked about earlier is WiMAX. While there are still hurdles to overcome, the momentum behind WiMAX is undeniable and the prospects are significant if mobile WiMAX is successful. Also, while traditional cellular infrastructure may not enjoy the growth rates that it once did, it still makes up the largest sub-segment in the RF power space.

Q: Would you agree that China has the potential to be the biggest international market for our industry’s products.
A: China is already the largest market for RF power products. The combination of a healthy contract manufacturing base and the increasing strength of indigenous manufacturers, China continues to be a significant market with no signs of slowing. The continued strategy of companies to outsource their manufacturing, the promise of 3G license awards and an economy that has the strength and growth rates that China has, potentially makes China the largest future market for a variety of microwave products.

Q: What do you feel are the most significant advances (from design to manufacturing) that occurred in the microwave industry during 2006?
A: Again looking primarily at the markets we serve, a significant advancement is the use of LDMOS die technology, that once was used primarily in cellular infrastructure, in other non-cellular markets. Silicon LDMOS has several advantages over other die technologies in RF power markets. LDMOS’ high breakdown voltage, higher power capability and excellent thermal characteristics mixed with its advantageous cost structure positions it as the main technology in higher volume markets. Until recently, however, non-cellular markets only used older die technologies (bipolar and vertical FET structures). Freescale, as an example, has taken its high-performance LDMOS technology and used it in a new ISM portfolio of devices. The combination of LDMOS die (resulting in device performances of up to 27 dB gain and 70% efficiency) and cost-effective over-molded plastic packaging, result in a revolutionary increase in RF performance, all at a reduced cost. This, in my opinion, was one of the more significant achievements in 2006.

Q: What is your view of short- and long-term opportunities in the defense sector for manufacturers of microwave components?
A: MITEQ/MCL projects deal with mobile tactical satellite terminals and equipment used in the intelligence community. Continuing updating of communication for the armed forces, combined with the new threats from Iran and Korea have not diminished this effort.

Q: What do you feel are the greatest opportunities going forward for microwave manufacturers in the commercial markets?
A: Several factors are driving the commercial communication market. There has been rapid addition of Ka-Band satellites and corresponding earth stations for utilization of this frequency spectrum for commercial application. In addition, the growth of HD television has required technical upgrading of existing facilities.

Q: Would you agree that China has the potential to be the biggest international market for our industry’s products?
A: We now entire the political domain where export restrictions possibly limit potential for export from the U.S., which will be filled by the EU community. China will be the biggest international market and perhaps the biggest competitor to the U.S. technology sector in the future.

Q: What do you feel are the most significant advances (from design to manufacturing) that occurred in the microwave industry during 2006?
A: The pace of technology continues in producing the computer aids needed to minimize costs from design through manufacturing.

Q: It looks as though mobile WiMAX is a near certainty. Is your company addressing this potentially immense market? If so, how?
A: Wi-Max mobile is destined to become one of the major new technologies, based on results achieved by some of the principle Asian operators; this will become a reality in the very near future.RLC Electronics supplies many components into the existing communication technologies and is looking forward to utilizing our design capability to meet these new standards.

Q: What is your view of short- and long-term opportunities in the defense sector for manufacturers of microwave components?
A: I think the short-term spending in the defense sector will remain at a relatively high level in weaponry, possibly at the expense of R&D effort to find high technology solutions to current problems. In the longer term, investment will remain at a high level but a greater proportion of the spending will be towards the R&D companies with an emphasis on developing sophisticated products that will ultimately support the “war on terror”, homeland security and national security programs.

Q: What do you feel are the greatest opportunities going forward for microwave manufacturers in the commercial markets?
A: The greatest opportunities for microwave component manufacturers in the commercial market still remains in the tele-communication industry. All of RLC products are used in support of various applications in sub-system and systems within this industry.

Q: Would you agree that China has the potential to be the biggest international market for our industry’s products.
A: China does represent one of the biggest potential consumers for products from our industry, for 2 reasons, US and Western manufacturers moving to China to take advantage of lower operating costs are still looking to the US and Europe for state of the art products to fulfill existing designs and also for R&D work. Secondly, Chinese technology is moving forward quickly and in the short term Chinese designs will need the technical product support from the Western World. In the longer term, however, they will become more self-sufficient and less dependant on outside resources. Therefore, significant growth in business is predicted for the next 5/6 years.

Q: What do you feel are the most significant advances (from design to manufacturing) that occurred in the microwave industry during 2006?
A: Cannot speak for the overall industry, but here at RLC we have concentrated on miniaturization, surface mount capability, extending our frequency range and quicker deliveries to better support our customer needs.