May 15, 2025 • 31 mins
The IEEE MTTS International Microwave Symposium attracts over 9,000 attendees and 500+ exhibitors to share cutting-edge developments in RF, microwave, and advanced packaging technologies. Tim Hancock and Jim Buckwalter from the IMS committee explain why this premier event, taking place in San Francisco's Moscone Center from June 15-20, has become increasingly relevant to professionals in advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration.
• Approximately 15% of accepted papers directly address packaging and heterogeneous integration topics
• Papers undergo rigorous double-blind review with an in-person committee meeting to ensure highest quality content
• Technical focus includes laminate technology, chip stacking, thermal management, and other critical packaging technologies
• Special workshops address 3D heterogeneous integration, millimeter-wave phased arrays, and advanced packaging solutions
• Exhibition floor features 500+ companies providing networking opportunities and technology discovery
• Student programs include design competitions, volunteer opportunities, and dedicated sessions for underrepresented groups
• Early bird registration ends May 16th with regular registration continuing at ims-ieee.org
Register at ims-ieee.org to secure your spot and book accommodations before they fill up.
The 2025 IEEE MTT-S IMS is the largest event for RF and microwave professionals in the world.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Francoise von Trapp (00:00):
This episode of the 3D InCites
Podcast is sponsored by the 2025IEEE MTTS International
Microwave Symposium, or IMS 2025.
This is the largest event forRF and microwave professionals
in the world, attracting over9,000 attendees and more than
500 exhibitors from 65 countries, taking place in San Francisco
(00:21):
from June 15th to the 20th.
This is the best place todiscover cutting-edge
technologies, connect with topleaders and gain valuable
insights to stay ahead in thisrapidly expanding industry.
Explore new possibilities atthis wireless golden gateway.
Register at ims-ieeeorg.
(00:54):
Hi there, I'm Francoise vonTrapp, and this is the 3D
InCites Podcast.
Hi everyone, the IEEE MTT-SInternational Microwave
Symposium is just one month away, starting on June 15th.
In fact, tomorrow, may 16th, isthe early bird deadline.
So, before you listen anyfurther and forget, hit the
pause button on your listeningdevice, go register and then
(01:14):
come back to hear why you don'twant to miss this year's event.
I am sitting here with TimHancock and Jim Buckwalter, who
are both members of the IMScommittee, and they're here to
talk about the conference andwhy it's really important for
members of the advancedpackaging community to start
consider attending.
Welcome to the podcast, guys,thank you.
(01:35):
So before we dive in, can youeach just give me a little
backstory what your roles are,what your roles have been at IMS
and what your day jobs are?
Why don't you go first Tim?
Tim Hancock (01:48):
Great.
So in my day job, I am aprincipal technical fellow for
Raytheon in our advancedtechnology business, where I'm
the director of microelectronicsinitiatives, which really
encompasses a lot of our workaround compound semiconductors
3D heterogeneous integration ofour work around compound
semiconductors 3D heterogeneousintegration and packaging of a
(02:08):
mix of 3-5 devices with siliconand things of that nature.
As far as IMS goes, I'm alongtime volunteer for IEEE.
I've been involved with theconference and the society for
nearly 20 years at this point.
I have chaired a number ofsessions.
I was the technical programco-chair in 2019.
(02:30):
I'm an advisor this year for2025, as I will be the general
co-chair for 2026 the followingyear.
To maintain continuity, we makesure to have multiple years
involved.
Francoise von Trapp (02:42):
I'm familiar with the IEEE ECTC
conference which is coming rightup, and I know it's like this
seven-year commitment and youprogress through the different
roles and I don't know if that'sthe same for IMS.
Tim Hancock (02:54):
It varies depending on the role.
We certainly have people thatbecome longtime volunteers and
rotate through multiple roles.
Francoise von Trapp (03:01):
Okay, and Jim, what about you?
Jim Buckwalter (03:03):
Yeah, I'm a professor of electrical and
computer engineering at theUniversity of California, santa
Barbara, and a founder and chieftechnical officer at
Pseudolithic, a startup companyfounded to commercialize
heterogeneous integratedcircuits for the microwave and
millimeter wave spectrum.
I've been a longtime member ofMTTS.
I'm a fellow of the IEEE and anelected member of the ADCOM,
(03:26):
which administers MTTSactivities.
In that role, I'm the chair ofthe Technical Coordination and
Future Directions Committee.
I've previously been theco-chair of the Technical
Program Committee at IMS 2010and 2020.
Francoise von Trapp (03:40):
Okay, First of all for our listeners, can
you explain what this conferenceis all about?
Tim Hancock (03:45):
So the International Microwave
Symposium is really the premiermicrowave conference of IEEE.
This includes technology andtechniques, but it also includes
integrated circuits.
It's really composed ofmultiple events within the week.
We start off the week with theRFIC symposium, so those are
typically silicon integratedcircuits, although as things are
(04:09):
changing, as the technologychanges, it's not always silicon
these days focused onmonolithic integration and as
the week progresses it gets intoa broader set of microwave
technology.
That would include things likepackaging technology.
That would include things likepackaging filters, a small
amount of antennas, discretemicrowave components and a wide
(04:30):
variety of microwavetechnologies.
In addition, you know, thisreally includes, I guess from a
technical standpoint, almost3,000 technical attendees and
papers that run the entire week.
In addition to the technicalattendees with the papers, we
(04:52):
have over 500 exhibitors for atotal of about 900 total booths,
which often fills an entireconvention center.
Francoise von Trapp (04:55):
Okay, so you're telling me that some of
the exhibitors have more thanone booth?
Tim Hancock (04:57):
No, that's exactly right.
So in some cases, theexhibitors will have multiple
booths as well, as we haveuniversities that have booths.
Ieee has some booths, and so itreally becomes this premier
event that approaches 9,000total attendees.
It's really the place to beduring June for anybody that
works within the microwaveindustry.
Francoise von Trapp (05:17):
So where is this taking place this year?
Tim Hancock (05:19):
This year we'll be in San Francisco, in the Moscone
.
Francoise von Trapp (05:24):
Aha, okay, I'm familiar with the Moscone
Center.
You definitely need your goodwalking shoes.
Maybe heelies Get around.
This is the event that's grownfrom past years.
Tim Hancock (05:34):
It's to be seen right.
We'll see who shows up and whatthe final registration numbers
are, but I think we're on trackto do quite well, as many
conferences have.
After COVID, there wascertainly a dip and a regrowth
period, I would say, and so Ithink, from what I've seen, 2025
is on track to have greatattendance with excellent
(05:54):
numbers.
Jim Buckwalter (05:54):
It's an excellent location for a
conference like this.
San Francisco Silicon Valley.
There's a lot of companies inthe space industry and
communications chip businessthat'll be attracted, I think,
to coming to the meeting.
Francoise von Trapp (06:07):
What is driving the growth of this event
?
Do you think?
Jim Buckwalter (06:09):
I think personally that IMS gives a
vertical view of the ecosystem.
It's a great place for peopleto learn about the technology.
We have excellent workshops.
I myself am giving a workshopon Sunday.
I also encourage my students tocome to learn the basics of the
technology.
But it's a great place forexperts to come and hear about
(06:30):
new emerging trends and, justfrom the strength of the
exhibition, kind of get a senseof where the industry is going
by talking to industry leadersas well as academic researchers.
Francoise von Trapp (06:42):
Would you say the content is more like
emerging content, or is there alot of commercial content as
well?
Tim Hancock (06:48):
I would say that it's actually both.
The academic content fills up aportion of the technical papers,
which is then oftencomplemented by the exhibitors
as part of the technical program, in addition to the
peer-reviewed papers that arepublished by IEEE, we also have
(07:08):
industry workshops, we have bootcamp, which are more
tutorial-based and is a greatway for students and new
professionals to the area to getexposed to certain topics and
often those are emerging topicsto certain topics, and often
those are emerging topics.
And so, as an example, that hasfed some of the growth is things
(07:29):
like quantum computing, theaddition of more AI and ML,
either for the design ofmicrowave circuits and packaging
, or to design systems that areperforming AI ML, whether that
is the packaging of computedevices and signal integrity and
things of that nature thatwould matter to the packaging
(07:51):
community.
And so I would say some of thegrowth that you asked about is
really because it is such abroad technology that impacts so
many different market segments,whether it is 5G, defense,
aerospace applications, as wesee the proliferation of low
Earth orbit satellite, whichneeds an immense amount of
communication, we see microwavetechnology being really the
(08:15):
backbone of many of those marketsegments, when you look at even
the devices that the averageperson carries, whether it's
your watch, or your phone oryour laptop.
Each one of those often hasmultiple radios in them, and a
lot of that work grew out ofwork that was published at the
conference over the years.
Francoise von Trapp (08:34):
You said before that they were
peer-reviewed papers and youhave, I think, a total of 456
papers accepted.
How are the speakers and papersselected?
What's the process that thespeakers go through to actually
be able to present at this event?
Tim Hancock (08:54):
So right now we have the RFIC and the IMS
conference that are part of themicrowave week, and those each
have a technical program reviewcommittee, and so those are made
up of technical volunteers andthe papers are submitted.
They're self-selecting intocertain categories.
(09:14):
My paper fits into category A,b or C, let's say into certain
categories, my paper fits intocategory A, b or C, let's say.
And then the review committeevets those and makes sure that
it's well aligned with thattopic area and then they're
reviewed by subject matterexperts.
In some cases each conferenceis a little bit different, but
in some cases a double-blindprocess, and that's done so that
the author's identity isprotected during that review, so
(09:37):
that that integrity ismaintained during the review
process.
Once the papers are selectedand discussed by the review
committees, then sessions areformed, the conference is put
together and then authors arenotified accordingly.
Jim Buckwalter (09:49):
And I would add, I think these conferences are
excellent for both academicresearchers, students trying to
get their first paper or eventheir last paper of their PhD
Accepted, to show the kind ofcornerstone work they've done.
The conference is really goodabout bringing industry papers
in as well and kind of giving aspotlight to research trends.
(10:10):
So I think it's a great kind offocal point for both academic
and industry papers point forboth academic and industry
papers.
Francoise von Trapp (10:20):
You know I had never realized or thought
about the process of having adouble blind and not revealing
the authors of the paper.
Why is that important?
Tim Hancock (10:27):
Well, we think it's important to combat.
You know some of the challengesthat you might see in a
conference where you know yoursubject matter.
Experts that are often writingpapers are sometimes also the
people in the community that areparticipating in the review.
Obviously, if you have aconflict, they step away from
(10:47):
the review so that they're notreviewing any of their own work.
But as part of thatdouble-blind process, we go to
great lengths to make sure thatspecific language in the papers
are avoided, right, so we makesure that there's no sentences
that are, you know, in referencethree I showed, right.
That's a dead giveaway, becausethen obviously you go look up
(11:10):
reference three and you know whothat author is, right.
And so we give very specificinstructions to not use language
like that in the reviewers, andthen the actual PDF files are
stripped of the authors whenthey submit their manuscript for
review so that it can be blind.
Obviously the TPC chairs knowwho the authors are and they can
deal with any conflicts, butthe reviewers are able to review
(11:35):
the papers blind.
Francoise von Trapp (11:36):
Also, in addition to the authors, are the
companies or organizations thatthe authors are affiliated with
.
Are those also stripped fromthe papers?
Tim Hancock (11:43):
Absolutely yeah, the affiliations are removed,
their authors' names are removedand you avoid specific
languages like that so that youdon't tie back to any references
.
Jim Buckwalter (11:53):
The chairs of the committees do an immense
amount of work to kind of reviewthe papers before they go to
committee members to make surethat everybody the papers have
conformed to that standard.
It's a little more work on thefront end, I think, of the
review process for some of thecommittee chairs, but at the end
of the day it's in the name ofmaking a more impartial decision
(12:14):
process.
Francoise von Trapp (12:16):
So you're really getting papers presented
that are based on their contentvalue according to the selection
committee.
Tim Hancock (12:27):
Yes, that's correct .
Francoise von Trapp (12:29):
That should guarantee the quality of what's
being presented.
Jim Buckwalter (12:34):
I've come back year after year because I think
it's a great place to present.
Francoise von Trapp (12:37):
Is this different than other IEEE events
?
Do they review through asimilar process?
Tim Hancock (12:44):
Every conference is a little bit different.
I am aware of other conferencesthat do use the double-blind,
but not all of them do, and so Ithink this was something that
IMS and RFIC phased in sometimein the last five to 10 years.
It's something that the societyand the conference organizers
(13:05):
felt was important and had seenit work in other contexts, and
so we started to phase it in,and I think it's worked well for
the community worked well forthe community.
Jim Buckwalter (13:21):
What's really unique about the IMS and RFIC
review processes is they meet inperson on one day to decide all
of the papers, so they're givenone month to review the papers.
Francoise von Trapp (13:30):
It's actually for IMS, it's over
Christmas, oh that's so mean,that's so mean, oh, that's so
mean.
Jim Buckwalter (13:37):
That's so mean.
Well, you squeeze it in betweenSanta Claus oh my gosh, that's
(13:59):
dedication guys in January.
And then they all fly fromaround the world.
They all fly for one daymeeting at the RWW conference,
wherever it's held in January,the second week of January,
where they sit around a tableand they debate about these
papers.
And I really think that thatin-person discussion is
extremely important to theprocess because it gives
champions an opportunity to saywhy they like the paper.
(14:19):
It's not just like oh, you makea decision and you send your
review in over email and there'sno back and forth to advocate
whether somebody understood thepaper or not.
And so I think one of the veryspecial things that IMS does
that's gradually going away atmost other conferences, I think,
because it is a huge burden forthe members of the committee to
(14:40):
fly into a meeting for one dayon a Sunday, you know in January
, when they have day jobs,they've got families, you know,
et cetera.
That is the extra work they putinto the review process that I
think you don't see at everyother conference today, where
they may just do an informallike okay, here's the papers,
(15:03):
send us your favorites and we'lllook at the reviews and make a
decision.
Francoise von Trapp (15:07):
Okay, and if the outcome is 456 total
papers accepted, how many papersdid they go through to get to
this number?
Tim Hancock (15:16):
I don't know the total number.
We typically the acceptancerate is in the mid 40s to about
50% give or take.
So almost probably twice thatnumber, maybe a little bit more
than twice.
Francoise von Trapp (15:31):
And how many reviewers are there?
Jim Buckwalter (15:32):
Upwards of 500, 500, 400 to 500.
Francoise von Trapp (15:36):
Okay.
Jim Buckwalter (15:37):
I think there's 30 committees with 10, maybe 10
each.
Okay.
Francoise von Trapp (15:40):
And everybody meets together.
Those 500 come together forthat one day and everybody's in
charge of a session.
Okay, that's really cool, very,very interesting.
So how much of this year'scontent will be of interest to
the advanced packaging andheterogeneous integration
community itself?
Tim Hancock (15:58):
I went through and looked at the accepted papers
and I would estimate, just basedon the titles, that at least
15% are probably packaging andheterogeneous integration
related.
Many microwave and RF papersoften have some aspect of
packaging.
So even if it's not in thetitle, it's very possible that
(16:19):
there are even more than that15%.
But just simply looking at thetitle of papers it's very clear
that at least 15.
That spans everything fromlaminate technology, traditional
machining and cavities, chipstacking, bumping, plating all
of the things that we do inpackaging, thermal management.
(16:39):
These are all the technologiesthat obviously are really a
packaging technology, but at IMSyou get to see it in the
context of microwave design, sothose material parameters matter
.
The thickness may drive theimpedance of a line or the
resonance of a filter cavity orsomething like that, and so you
(17:01):
have people that work at theintersection of packaging and
microwave design, which reallymakes for interesting papers.
Francoise von Trapp (17:10):
So would you say that there's been growth
in advanced packagingtechnologies for the RF and
microwave applications?
Jim Buckwalter (17:18):
Absolutely.
We've kind of moved beyond justa CMOS chip as being the end
result of innovation.
Now you know we're moving to anera when to build those cutting
edge systems like phased arrays, you're bringing in compound
semiconductors and silicon andantennas and there's all kinds
of issues that arise aroundthermal management and just how
(17:40):
do you build systems like this.
It all really focuses on howyou're packaging.
At every level people arestruggling with packaging.
My students at the universitystruggle.
A small business will strugglewith advanced packaging because
it's a place where a lot ofcompanies only want to deal with
high volume customers.
Right, the government strugglesfinding, you know, packaging
(18:01):
solutions that meet their needs,and I think it's really a focal
point for the microwavecommunity as it becomes more
system oriented.
Francoise von Trapp (18:10):
Yeah, really, and reliability is such
an issue, especially for thekind of products or devices,
that these go into right whenwe're dealing with space and
automotive, all of these devicesthat before used still pretty
hardened technology, right,because of the reliability issue
(18:30):
.
And how do you get the mostadvanced device into the next
generation of spacecraft?
Right, right, right, right,right.
Jim Buckwalter (18:39):
Okay, we really would like to see hardware
become easier to build over time, not take 10 years to get from
a new device innovation tofinally reaching some space
payload right.
I think packaging is the placewhere we have an opportunity to
make accelerations of hardwareinto platforms, and I think
(18:59):
that's why it'll remain agrowing area for IMS.
Francoise von Trapp (19:03):
Okay.
So if you were going torecommend a colleague who's
interested in learning moreabout RF and microwave as an
application for their technology, what sessions would you point
them towards at this year'sevent?
Because there's a lot ofsessions to go to right and pay
attention to, so everybody needsto kind of plan their schedule
and things are runningsimultaneously.
(19:24):
So they were going to ask youwhat's really important for me
to attend.
What would you say?
Tim Hancock (19:29):
I would start by looking at the detailed program
book, as that comes online withthe organization of each of the
sessions, and so I wouldencourage an attendee, as they
register, to go to, you know,ims-ieeeorg and look at that.
Beyond the technical sessions,there are focused workshops, and
those workshops are publishedand on the website because they
(19:52):
would require dedicatedregistration and, depending on
what you're interested inpackaging-wise, I could
recommend a few.
There's one that's specificallytoward quantum computing and
the signal density challengesassociated with that.
There are others that arefocused on 3D passive components
, and so I suspect within thatworkshop, you would get into
(20:15):
probably some additivemanufacturing as well as
probably some complex use ofsilicon redistribution layers
and specialized materials.
And then, finally, there'sactually two workshops that are
very specifically related topackaging, one of which Jim is
participating in, and so one ofthose is addressing challenges
(20:35):
in system and package for 3Dheterogeneous integration of
millimeter wave phased arrays.
And then there's another onethat is advanced design and
integration and packaging ofpower amplifiers and front-end
modules, and so one of those ison Sunday and one of those is on
Monday as the week kicks off,and those would be two that I
(20:55):
would definitely recommend forsomebody that is very interested
in packaging.
Jim Buckwalter (21:01):
The workshop that I'm participating in is
being organized by a couple ofresearchers at Corvo, ucal and
Salvatore Fimicaro, and it's gota great lineup of speakers.
Michael Holmes from DARPA, isgoing to talk about the MGM
program, which is one of themost exciting investments the
government's made into standingup packaging as part of a
(21:24):
national effort, and thenthere's other great speakers
from small companies like 3DGlass and my company, sulythic,
but also larger efforts at Corvo, ngc.
Cadence is going to be talkingabout how you simulate packaging
as part of a multi-chipsolution, and then there's
researchers that are going to bethere from Penn State and
Georgia Tech talking about Glass, as well as IMEC who's going to
(21:46):
be presenting some work onsilicon interposer.
Francoise von Trapp (21:49):
Yeah, glass is a big topic right now for
the advanced packaging world,and glass core substrates and
panelized packaging.
So, yeah, that's definitelysomething that our community
would be excited to participatein or attend.
So, beyond the papers andtechnical sessions, what makes
this event stand out toattendees?
Tim Hancock (22:11):
We asked this question in surveys.
But I would say, beyond thetechnical content, it's the
exhibit and the networkingopportunities.
From an exhibit standpoint, wehave an immense opportunity to
take in the vendors.
Some people will go to the showfloor and seek out specific
booths, which you can certainlydo by looking at the app with
(22:34):
the floor map, but I often willjust take an afternoon and
wander up and down the aislesand, as somebody who goes every
year, I'm often looking for thethings that have changed right,
looking for those new companiesand, in the case of packaging
right, I'm often looking at newmaterials or manufacturing
techniques, whether it is acompany that's focused on
(22:56):
additive manufacturing, becausethey have a new printer
technology, or a new materialtechnology that was previously
offered as a film programdedicated to young professionals
as well as women in microwaves,and so those are both social
(23:22):
events as well, as they oftenhave panels with a topic that's
usually aligned to either careerdevelopment or something along
a similar topic.
There's usually a ham radiosocial.
Beyond those social events, wehave technical exhibitor events.
We have a thing called microapps, which is tutorial-based
(23:44):
sessions from our exhibitors, soit's an opportunity to
highlight their technology.
It's not quite a full sales.
You know sales pitch from theexhibitors but it's often
tutorial-based and it shows hey,here's a problem, this is.
You know, if you were an EDAvendor, this is how you would
solve this problem, using ourtool, right.
(24:06):
And they walk you through that,and so there are several of
those.
We also have industry workshopsthat sort of go beyond micro
apps and are a bit more of adeep dive but run by industry
and are sometimes a little moreaccessible for the, I would say,
newer attendees or maybe morethe practitioner.
That's a practitioner ratherthan a researcher, right, and so
(24:29):
if you're maybe a hardcoreresearcher or you're writing
papers, you're maybe a gradstudent, there's opportunities
really at the peer-reviewedtechnical sessions and workshops
.
But if you're really apractitioner, there's the
industrial workshops, and sothere's really something for
everybody at every technicallevel.
Jim Buckwalter (24:48):
So one of the things that makes IMS unique is
that we have a startup pavilionat the exhibition.
My own startup, pseudolithic,will be exhibiting there.
It's a great place for smallercompanies to get on the
exhibition floor, meet withcustomers and vendors, and even
potentially competitors, whilenot spending as much as you
(25:10):
might need to to register with afull booth.
It's a great way to just getyour foot in the door in the
community.
Francoise von Trapp (25:16):
So it's like a tabletop within the
pavilion.
Jim Buckwalter (25:18):
It is yep with a kiosk and a monitor and they
give you enough that youbasically can come and plug your
computer in and go.
Francoise von Trapp (25:27):
Okay, and are there any other events
around startups?
Jim Buckwalter (25:31):
Yes, we'll have panel sessions every day around
startups.
Okay, I would add, it's anincredibly social community.
I mean, I go now and I see alot of people year after year
from all around the world andcatch up with them and it's a
very tight-knit community thatpeople really look forward to
seeing each other every year.
(25:52):
We're all in this ecosystemtogether.
You may think we're therehaving fun.
I'm up at 7 o'clock and I'm outuntil 11 o'clock at these
receptions and plenary sessionsand social networking events.
It's really a hard-working weekbut it's a lot of fun.
Francoise von Trapp (26:10):
It is a lot of fun.
I've been to a lot of similarevents not in the microwave
community, but sounds familiar,and so I want to give some
people tips.
I always really think about theexhibitors and how much they
have to pay to be at thesethings and how much effort goes
into their exhibits, and peopleget really caught up with head
down going to the sessions anddon't necessarily always make it
(26:33):
over to the exhibit hall.
So I really encourage people totake the time, because these
events like this wouldn't happenwithout the support of the
exhibitors and sponsors.
So it's really important tomake sure to acknowledge their
participation in this and go andwalk the floor and ask them
about their products andtechnologies and, you know, hand
(26:53):
out business cards and get onmailing lists and really be an
active player in the community,not just an attendee.
That would be my advice forsomething like this.
You talk about the early daysthat go into the late evenings
and the parties are always fun.
Pace yourself, stay hydrated,wear comfortable shoes and
(27:14):
clothing and just be preparedfor a lot of fun, say.
Jim Buckwalter (27:20):
You know, every time I've sent a student to IMS
for the first time, they areblown away by the exhibition
because it is the first time.
Somebody who has just seenmicrowaves in a textbook sees
the scale of the industry right.
Just seeing microwaves in atextbook sees the scale of the
industry right and all of thecompanies selling connectors and
cables and you know testinfrastructure or foundry
(27:42):
services, design services, CADyou know it blows them away how
big this business actually isand I think that's probably
something a first time person isgoing to find when they go to
IMS.
It's a much bigger communitythan they realize.
Francoise von Trapp (27:56):
And you know, when you think about all
of the issues with workforcedevelopment, are there any
activities for students underuniversity to come and see what
it's all about?
Because I always find when youget high schoolers into these
events, they're like I had noidea that this is what goes into
creating all of these differentdevices that we know exist in
(28:18):
the world and sometimes have inour homes.
Tim Hancock (28:20):
So at the university level there are our
graduate student researchervolunteer program.
Essentially we call themstudent ambassadors, so they're
the volunteers throughout theweek that typically wear a
special colored polo shirt andhelp direct traffic and things
like that, and by volunteeringfor something on the order of a
(28:41):
day they basically get a travelgrant or reduced registration or
some combination thereof thathelps offset their expenses to
attend the conferences.
So that's a great opportunityfor student volunteers to
absolutely take advantage of.
We also have a program thatspecifically reaches out to
(29:02):
underrepresented minorities, aswell as a high school program
that attempts to work with localhigh school groups.
It's a little tricky sometimesin June, depending on exactly
when the conference falls itdepends on the city but there's
(29:22):
usually a local outreach andworking with either a high
school association or communitycollege to try to pull in high
school students, at least forthe afternoon, and get them a
little bit exposed to a STEMtopic that maybe they've never
been exposed to before.
Jim Buckwalter (29:32):
And there's also some student design
competitions.
So for those students that are,you know, graduate students and
maybe they didn't put a paperin this year, they didn't get
around to it, they missed thedeadline the technical
committees host student designcompetitions.
I think there's about 12 or 14of them.
They've grown tremendously overthe years and so they can come
and they're given a task designa power amplifier.
(29:54):
Right, they come and theycompete to build the best power
amplifier and there's acommittee members that will be
judges for that and make sureeveryone compares accurately on
the spot.
They usually have a test set upon the spot so that everybody
can see how everyone else'sperforms at the conference and
then they hand out awards forthe best competitors.
So it's a lot of fun forstudents who may not even be
(30:16):
doing research yet toparticipate in the student
design competition.
Francoise von Trapp (30:21):
That's all we have time for today.
Where can listeners go to learnmore?
Tim Hancock (30:26):
The best place is to go to the website, and that
is ims-ieeeorg, and that willtell you everything you need to
know about the conference.
It'll tell you about theregistration, the prices, the
hotel arrangements and, as youmentioned at the beginning, the
early bird registration.
So the cheapest rate that youcan get ends on May 16th, which
(30:48):
is tomorrow, and then it willshift into the early
registration.
So definitely, if you miss theearly bird, still register.
You'll get a little bit of adiscount.
If you wait till on site,obviously that's going to be the
highest priced option.
Francoise von Trapp (31:02):
And book your hotel rooms, for goodness
sake these things go fast.
Tim Hancock (31:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
Francoise von Trapp (31:09):
Okay, thanks so much for joining me
today, guys.
Tim Hancock (31:12):
Thank you, thanks so much for joining me today,
guys, thank you next time on the3d insights podcast.
Francoise von Trapp (31:20):
We'll continue our deep dive into the
importance of 100 inspection inthe semiconductor manufacturing
environment, this time lookingat advancements in 3d x-ray
inspection.
There's lots more to come, sotune in next time to the 3D
Insights Podcast.
The 3D Insights Podcast is aproduction of 3D Insights LLC.
This episode of the 3D InCites
Podcast is sponsored by the 2025IEEE MTTS International
Microwave Symposium, or IMS 2025.
This is the largest event forRF and microwave professionals
in the world, attracting over9,000 attendees and more than
500 exhibitors from 65 countries, taking place in San Francisco
(00:21):
from June 15th to the 20th.
This is the best place todiscover cutting-edge
technologies, connect with topleaders and gain valuable
insights to stay ahead in thisrapidly expanding industry.
Explore new possibilities atthis wireless golden gateway.
Register at ims-ieeeorg.
(00:54):
Hi there, I'm Francoise vonTrapp, and this is the 3D
InCites Podcast.
Hi everyone, the IEEE MTT-SInternational Microwave
Symposium is just one month away, starting on June 15th.
In fact, tomorrow, may 16th, isthe early bird deadline.
So, before you listen anyfurther and forget, hit the
pause button on your listeningdevice, go register and then
(01:14):
come back to hear why you don'twant to miss this year's event.
I am sitting here with TimHancock and Jim Buckwalter, who
are both members of the IMScommittee, and they're here to
talk about the conference andwhy it's really important for
members of the advancedpackaging community to start
consider attending.
Welcome to the podcast, guys,thank you.
(01:35):
So before we dive in, can youeach just give me a little
backstory what your roles are,what your roles have been at IMS
and what your day jobs are?
Why don't you go first Tim?
Tim Hancock (01:48):
Great.
So in my day job, I am aprincipal technical fellow for
Raytheon in our advancedtechnology business, where I'm
the director of microelectronicsinitiatives, which really
encompasses a lot of our workaround compound semiconductors
3D heterogeneous integration ofour work around compound
semiconductors 3D heterogeneousintegration and packaging of a
(02:08):
mix of 3-5 devices with siliconand things of that nature.
As far as IMS goes, I'm alongtime volunteer for IEEE.
I've been involved with theconference and the society for
nearly 20 years at this point.
I have chaired a number ofsessions.
I was the technical programco-chair in 2019.
(02:30):
I'm an advisor this year for2025, as I will be the general
co-chair for 2026 the followingyear.
To maintain continuity, we makesure to have multiple years
involved.
Francoise von Trapp (02:42):
I'm familiar with the IEEE ECTC
conference which is coming rightup, and I know it's like this
seven-year commitment and youprogress through the different
roles and I don't know if that'sthe same for IMS.
Tim Hancock (02:54):
It varies depending on the role.
We certainly have people thatbecome longtime volunteers and
rotate through multiple roles.
Francoise von Trapp (03:01):
Okay, and Jim, what about you?
Jim Buckwalter (03:03):
Yeah, I'm a professor of electrical and
computer engineering at theUniversity of California, santa
Barbara, and a founder and chieftechnical officer at
Pseudolithic, a startup companyfounded to commercialize
heterogeneous integratedcircuits for the microwave and
millimeter wave spectrum.
I've been a longtime member ofMTTS.
I'm a fellow of the IEEE and anelected member of the ADCOM,
(03:26):
which administers MTTSactivities.
In that role, I'm the chair ofthe Technical Coordination and
Future Directions Committee.
I've previously been theco-chair of the Technical
Program Committee at IMS 2010and 2020.
Francoise von Trapp (03:40):
Okay, First of all for our listeners, can
you explain what this conferenceis all about?
Tim Hancock (03:45):
So the International Microwave
Symposium is really the premiermicrowave conference of IEEE.
This includes technology andtechniques, but it also includes
integrated circuits.
It's really composed ofmultiple events within the week.
We start off the week with theRFIC symposium, so those are
typically silicon integratedcircuits, although as things are
(04:09):
changing, as the technologychanges, it's not always silicon
these days focused onmonolithic integration and as
the week progresses it gets intoa broader set of microwave
technology.
That would include things likepackaging technology.
That would include things likepackaging filters, a small
amount of antennas, discretemicrowave components and a wide
(04:30):
variety of microwavetechnologies.
In addition, you know, thisreally includes, I guess from a
technical standpoint, almost3,000 technical attendees and
papers that run the entire week.
In addition to the technicalattendees with the papers, we
(04:52):
have over 500 exhibitors for atotal of about 900 total booths,
which often fills an entireconvention center.
Francoise von Trapp (04:55):
Okay, so you're telling me that some of
the exhibitors have more thanone booth?
Tim Hancock (04:57):
No, that's exactly right.
So in some cases, theexhibitors will have multiple
booths as well, as we haveuniversities that have booths.
Ieee has some booths, and so itreally becomes this premier
event that approaches 9,000total attendees.
It's really the place to beduring June for anybody that
works within the microwaveindustry.
Francoise von Trapp (05:17):
So where is this taking place this year?
Tim Hancock (05:19):
This year we'll be in San Francisco, in the Moscone
.
Francoise von Trapp (05:24):
Aha, okay, I'm familiar with the Moscone
Center.
You definitely need your goodwalking shoes.
Maybe heelies Get around.
This is the event that's grownfrom past years.
Tim Hancock (05:34):
It's to be seen right.
We'll see who shows up and whatthe final registration numbers
are, but I think we're on trackto do quite well, as many
conferences have.
After COVID, there wascertainly a dip and a regrowth
period, I would say, and so Ithink, from what I've seen, 2025
is on track to have greatattendance with excellent
(05:54):
numbers.
Jim Buckwalter (05:54):
It's an excellent location for a
conference like this.
San Francisco Silicon Valley.
There's a lot of companies inthe space industry and
communications chip businessthat'll be attracted, I think,
to coming to the meeting.
Francoise von Trapp (06:07):
What is driving the growth of this event
?
Do you think?
Jim Buckwalter (06:09):
I think personally that IMS gives a
vertical view of the ecosystem.
It's a great place for peopleto learn about the technology.
We have excellent workshops.
I myself am giving a workshopon Sunday.
I also encourage my students tocome to learn the basics of the
technology.
But it's a great place forexperts to come and hear about
(06:30):
new emerging trends and, justfrom the strength of the
exhibition, kind of get a senseof where the industry is going
by talking to industry leadersas well as academic researchers.
Francoise von Trapp (06:42):
Would you say the content is more like
emerging content, or is there alot of commercial content as
well?
Tim Hancock (06:48):
I would say that it's actually both.
The academic content fills up aportion of the technical papers,
which is then oftencomplemented by the exhibitors
as part of the technical program, in addition to the
peer-reviewed papers that arepublished by IEEE, we also have
(07:08):
industry workshops, we have bootcamp, which are more
tutorial-based and is a greatway for students and new
professionals to the area to getexposed to certain topics and
often those are emerging topicsto certain topics, and often
those are emerging topics.
And so, as an example, that hasfed some of the growth is things
(07:29):
like quantum computing, theaddition of more AI and ML,
either for the design ofmicrowave circuits and packaging
, or to design systems that areperforming AI ML, whether that
is the packaging of computedevices and signal integrity and
things of that nature thatwould matter to the packaging
(07:51):
community.
And so I would say some of thegrowth that you asked about is
really because it is such abroad technology that impacts so
many different market segments,whether it is 5G, defense,
aerospace applications, as wesee the proliferation of low
Earth orbit satellite, whichneeds an immense amount of
communication, we see microwavetechnology being really the
(08:15):
backbone of many of those marketsegments, when you look at even
the devices that the averageperson carries, whether it's
your watch, or your phone oryour laptop.
Each one of those often hasmultiple radios in them, and a
lot of that work grew out ofwork that was published at the
conference over the years.
Francoise von Trapp (08:34):
You said before that they were
peer-reviewed papers and youhave, I think, a total of 456
papers accepted.
How are the speakers and papersselected?
What's the process that thespeakers go through to actually
be able to present at this event?
Tim Hancock (08:54):
So right now we have the RFIC and the IMS
conference that are part of themicrowave week, and those each
have a technical program reviewcommittee, and so those are made
up of technical volunteers andthe papers are submitted.
They're self-selecting intocertain categories.
(09:14):
My paper fits into category A,b or C, let's say into certain
categories, my paper fits intocategory A, b or C, let's say.
And then the review committeevets those and makes sure that
it's well aligned with thattopic area and then they're
reviewed by subject matterexperts.
In some cases each conferenceis a little bit different, but
in some cases a double-blindprocess, and that's done so that
the author's identity isprotected during that review, so
(09:37):
that that integrity ismaintained during the review
process.
Once the papers are selectedand discussed by the review
committees, then sessions areformed, the conference is put
together and then authors arenotified accordingly.
Jim Buckwalter (09:49):
And I would add, I think these conferences are
excellent for both academicresearchers, students trying to
get their first paper or eventheir last paper of their PhD
Accepted, to show the kind ofcornerstone work they've done.
The conference is really goodabout bringing industry papers
in as well and kind of giving aspotlight to research trends.
(10:10):
So I think it's a great kind offocal point for both academic
and industry papers point forboth academic and industry
papers.
Francoise von Trapp (10:20):
You know I had never realized or thought
about the process of having adouble blind and not revealing
the authors of the paper.
Why is that important?
Tim Hancock (10:27):
Well, we think it's important to combat.
You know some of the challengesthat you might see in a
conference where you know yoursubject matter.
Experts that are often writingpapers are sometimes also the
people in the community that areparticipating in the review.
Obviously, if you have aconflict, they step away from
(10:47):
the review so that they're notreviewing any of their own work.
But as part of thatdouble-blind process, we go to
great lengths to make sure thatspecific language in the papers
are avoided, right, so we makesure that there's no sentences
that are, you know, in referencethree I showed, right.
That's a dead giveaway, becausethen obviously you go look up
(11:10):
reference three and you know whothat author is, right.
And so we give very specificinstructions to not use language
like that in the reviewers, andthen the actual PDF files are
stripped of the authors whenthey submit their manuscript for
review so that it can be blind.
Obviously the TPC chairs knowwho the authors are and they can
deal with any conflicts, butthe reviewers are able to review
(11:35):
the papers blind.
Francoise von Trapp (11:36):
Also, in addition to the authors, are the
companies or organizations thatthe authors are affiliated with
.
Are those also stripped fromthe papers?
Tim Hancock (11:43):
Absolutely yeah, the affiliations are removed,
their authors' names are removedand you avoid specific
languages like that so that youdon't tie back to any references
.
Jim Buckwalter (11:53):
The chairs of the committees do an immense
amount of work to kind of reviewthe papers before they go to
committee members to make surethat everybody the papers have
conformed to that standard.
It's a little more work on thefront end, I think, of the
review process for some of thecommittee chairs, but at the end
of the day it's in the name ofmaking a more impartial decision
(12:14):
process.
Francoise von Trapp (12:16):
So you're really getting papers presented
that are based on their contentvalue according to the selection
committee.
Tim Hancock (12:27):
Yes, that's correct .
Francoise von Trapp (12:29):
That should guarantee the quality of what's
being presented.
Jim Buckwalter (12:34):
I've come back year after year because I think
it's a great place to present.
Francoise von Trapp (12:37):
Is this different than other IEEE events
?
Do they review through asimilar process?
Tim Hancock (12:44):
Every conference is a little bit different.
I am aware of other conferencesthat do use the double-blind,
but not all of them do, and so Ithink this was something that
IMS and RFIC phased in sometimein the last five to 10 years.
It's something that the societyand the conference organizers
(13:05):
felt was important and had seenit work in other contexts, and
so we started to phase it in,and I think it's worked well for
the community worked well forthe community.
Jim Buckwalter (13:21):
What's really unique about the IMS and RFIC
review processes is they meet inperson on one day to decide all
of the papers, so they're givenone month to review the papers.
Francoise von Trapp (13:30):
It's actually for IMS, it's over
Christmas, oh that's so mean,that's so mean, oh, that's so
mean.
Jim Buckwalter (13:37):
That's so mean.
Well, you squeeze it in betweenSanta Claus oh my gosh, that's
(13:59):
dedication guys in January.
And then they all fly fromaround the world.
They all fly for one daymeeting at the RWW conference,
wherever it's held in January,the second week of January,
where they sit around a tableand they debate about these
papers.
And I really think that thatin-person discussion is
extremely important to theprocess because it gives
champions an opportunity to saywhy they like the paper.
(14:19):
It's not just like oh, you makea decision and you send your
review in over email and there'sno back and forth to advocate
whether somebody understood thepaper or not.
And so I think one of the veryspecial things that IMS does
that's gradually going away atmost other conferences, I think,
because it is a huge burden forthe members of the committee to
(14:40):
fly into a meeting for one dayon a Sunday, you know in January
, when they have day jobs,they've got families, you know,
et cetera.
That is the extra work they putinto the review process that I
think you don't see at everyother conference today, where
they may just do an informallike okay, here's the papers,
(15:03):
send us your favorites and we'lllook at the reviews and make a
decision.
Francoise von Trapp (15:07):
Okay, and if the outcome is 456 total
papers accepted, how many papersdid they go through to get to
this number?
Tim Hancock (15:16):
I don't know the total number.
We typically the acceptancerate is in the mid 40s to about
50% give or take.
So almost probably twice thatnumber, maybe a little bit more
than twice.
Francoise von Trapp (15:31):
And how many reviewers are there?
Jim Buckwalter (15:32):
Upwards of 500, 500, 400 to 500.
Francoise von Trapp (15:36):
Okay.
Jim Buckwalter (15:37):
I think there's 30 committees with 10, maybe 10
each.
Okay.
Francoise von Trapp (15:40):
And everybody meets together.
Those 500 come together forthat one day and everybody's in
charge of a session.
Okay, that's really cool, very,very interesting.
So how much of this year'scontent will be of interest to
the advanced packaging andheterogeneous integration
community itself?
Tim Hancock (15:58):
I went through and looked at the accepted papers
and I would estimate, just basedon the titles, that at least
15% are probably packaging andheterogeneous integration
related.
Many microwave and RF papersoften have some aspect of
packaging.
So even if it's not in thetitle, it's very possible that
(16:19):
there are even more than that15%.
But just simply looking at thetitle of papers it's very clear
that at least 15.
That spans everything fromlaminate technology, traditional
machining and cavities, chipstacking, bumping, plating all
of the things that we do inpackaging, thermal management.
(16:39):
These are all the technologiesthat obviously are really a
packaging technology, but at IMSyou get to see it in the
context of microwave design, sothose material parameters matter
.
The thickness may drive theimpedance of a line or the
resonance of a filter cavity orsomething like that, and so you
(17:01):
have people that work at theintersection of packaging and
microwave design, which reallymakes for interesting papers.
Francoise von Trapp (17:10):
So would you say that there's been growth
in advanced packagingtechnologies for the RF and
microwave applications?
Jim Buckwalter (17:18):
Absolutely.
We've kind of moved beyond justa CMOS chip as being the end
result of innovation.
Now you know we're moving to anera when to build those cutting
edge systems like phased arrays, you're bringing in compound
semiconductors and silicon andantennas and there's all kinds
of issues that arise aroundthermal management and just how
(17:40):
do you build systems like this.
It all really focuses on howyou're packaging.
At every level people arestruggling with packaging.
My students at the universitystruggle.
A small business will strugglewith advanced packaging because
it's a place where a lot ofcompanies only want to deal with
high volume customers.
Right, the government strugglesfinding, you know, packaging
(18:01):
solutions that meet their needs,and I think it's really a focal
point for the microwavecommunity as it becomes more
system oriented.
Francoise von Trapp (18:10):
Yeah, really, and reliability is such
an issue, especially for thekind of products or devices,
that these go into right whenwe're dealing with space and
automotive, all of these devicesthat before used still pretty
hardened technology, right,because of the reliability issue
(18:30):
.
And how do you get the mostadvanced device into the next
generation of spacecraft?
Right, right, right, right,right.
Jim Buckwalter (18:39):
Okay, we really would like to see hardware
become easier to build over time, not take 10 years to get from
a new device innovation tofinally reaching some space
payload right.
I think packaging is the placewhere we have an opportunity to
make accelerations of hardwareinto platforms, and I think
(18:59):
that's why it'll remain agrowing area for IMS.
Francoise von Trapp (19:03):
Okay.
So if you were going torecommend a colleague who's
interested in learning moreabout RF and microwave as an
application for their technology, what sessions would you point
them towards at this year'sevent?
Because there's a lot ofsessions to go to right and pay
attention to, so everybody needsto kind of plan their schedule
and things are runningsimultaneously.
(19:24):
So they were going to ask youwhat's really important for me
to attend.
What would you say?
Tim Hancock (19:29):
I would start by looking at the detailed program
book, as that comes online withthe organization of each of the
sessions, and so I wouldencourage an attendee, as they
register, to go to, you know,ims-ieeeorg and look at that.
Beyond the technical sessions,there are focused workshops, and
those workshops are publishedand on the website because they
(19:52):
would require dedicatedregistration and, depending on
what you're interested inpackaging-wise, I could
recommend a few.
There's one that's specificallytoward quantum computing and
the signal density challengesassociated with that.
There are others that arefocused on 3D passive components
, and so I suspect within thatworkshop, you would get into
(20:15):
probably some additivemanufacturing as well as
probably some complex use ofsilicon redistribution layers
and specialized materials.
And then, finally, there'sactually two workshops that are
very specifically related topackaging, one of which Jim is
participating in, and so one ofthose is addressing challenges
(20:35):
in system and package for 3Dheterogeneous integration of
millimeter wave phased arrays.
And then there's another onethat is advanced design and
integration and packaging ofpower amplifiers and front-end
modules, and so one of those ison Sunday and one of those is on
Monday as the week kicks off,and those would be two that I
(20:55):
would definitely recommend forsomebody that is very interested
in packaging.
Jim Buckwalter (21:01):
The workshop that I'm participating in is
being organized by a couple ofresearchers at Corvo, ucal and
Salvatore Fimicaro, and it's gota great lineup of speakers.
Michael Holmes from DARPA, isgoing to talk about the MGM
program, which is one of themost exciting investments the
government's made into standingup packaging as part of a
(21:24):
national effort, and thenthere's other great speakers
from small companies like 3DGlass and my company, sulythic,
but also larger efforts at Corvo, ngc.
Cadence is going to be talkingabout how you simulate packaging
as part of a multi-chipsolution, and then there's
researchers that are going to bethere from Penn State and
Georgia Tech talking about Glass, as well as IMEC who's going to
(21:46):
be presenting some work onsilicon interposer.
Francoise von Trapp (21:49):
Yeah, glass is a big topic right now for
the advanced packaging world,and glass core substrates and
panelized packaging.
So, yeah, that's definitelysomething that our community
would be excited to participatein or attend.
So, beyond the papers andtechnical sessions, what makes
this event stand out toattendees?
Tim Hancock (22:11):
We asked this question in surveys.
But I would say, beyond thetechnical content, it's the
exhibit and the networkingopportunities.
From an exhibit standpoint, wehave an immense opportunity to
take in the vendors.
Some people will go to the showfloor and seek out specific
booths, which you can certainlydo by looking at the app with
(22:34):
the floor map, but I often willjust take an afternoon and
wander up and down the aislesand, as somebody who goes every
year, I'm often looking for thethings that have changed right,
looking for those new companiesand, in the case of packaging
right, I'm often looking at newmaterials or manufacturing
techniques, whether it is acompany that's focused on
(22:56):
additive manufacturing, becausethey have a new printer
technology, or a new materialtechnology that was previously
offered as a film programdedicated to young professionals
as well as women in microwaves,and so those are both social
(23:22):
events as well, as they oftenhave panels with a topic that's
usually aligned to either careerdevelopment or something along
a similar topic.
There's usually a ham radiosocial.
Beyond those social events, wehave technical exhibitor events.
We have a thing called microapps, which is tutorial-based
(23:44):
sessions from our exhibitors, soit's an opportunity to
highlight their technology.
It's not quite a full sales.
You know sales pitch from theexhibitors but it's often
tutorial-based and it shows hey,here's a problem, this is.
You know, if you were an EDAvendor, this is how you would
solve this problem, using ourtool, right.
(24:06):
And they walk you through that,and so there are several of
those.
We also have industry workshopsthat sort of go beyond micro
apps and are a bit more of adeep dive but run by industry
and are sometimes a little moreaccessible for the, I would say,
newer attendees or maybe morethe practitioner.
That's a practitioner ratherthan a researcher, right, and so
(24:29):
if you're maybe a hardcoreresearcher or you're writing
papers, you're maybe a gradstudent, there's opportunities
really at the peer-reviewedtechnical sessions and workshops
.
But if you're really apractitioner, there's the
industrial workshops, and sothere's really something for
everybody at every technicallevel.
Jim Buckwalter (24:48):
So one of the things that makes IMS unique is
that we have a startup pavilionat the exhibition.
My own startup, pseudolithic,will be exhibiting there.
It's a great place for smallercompanies to get on the
exhibition floor, meet withcustomers and vendors, and even
potentially competitors, whilenot spending as much as you
(25:10):
might need to to register with afull booth.
It's a great way to just getyour foot in the door in the
community.
Francoise von Trapp (25:16):
So it's like a tabletop within the
pavilion.
Jim Buckwalter (25:18):
It is yep with a kiosk and a monitor and they
give you enough that youbasically can come and plug your
computer in and go.
Francoise von Trapp (25:27):
Okay, and are there any other events
around startups?
Jim Buckwalter (25:31):
Yes, we'll have panel sessions every day around
startups.
Okay, I would add, it's anincredibly social community.
I mean, I go now and I see alot of people year after year
from all around the world andcatch up with them and it's a
very tight-knit community thatpeople really look forward to
seeing each other every year.
(25:52):
We're all in this ecosystemtogether.
You may think we're therehaving fun.
I'm up at 7 o'clock and I'm outuntil 11 o'clock at these
receptions and plenary sessionsand social networking events.
It's really a hard-working weekbut it's a lot of fun.
Francoise von Trapp (26:10):
It is a lot of fun.
I've been to a lot of similarevents not in the microwave
community, but sounds familiar,and so I want to give some
people tips.
I always really think about theexhibitors and how much they
have to pay to be at thesethings and how much effort goes
into their exhibits, and peopleget really caught up with head
down going to the sessions anddon't necessarily always make it
(26:33):
over to the exhibit hall.
So I really encourage people totake the time, because these
events like this wouldn't happenwithout the support of the
exhibitors and sponsors.
So it's really important tomake sure to acknowledge their
participation in this and go andwalk the floor and ask them
about their products andtechnologies and, you know, hand
(26:53):
out business cards and get onmailing lists and really be an
active player in the community,not just an attendee.
That would be my advice forsomething like this.
You talk about the early daysthat go into the late evenings
and the parties are always fun.
Pace yourself, stay hydrated,wear comfortable shoes and
(27:14):
clothing and just be preparedfor a lot of fun, say.
Jim Buckwalter (27:20):
You know, every time I've sent a student to IMS
for the first time, they areblown away by the exhibition
because it is the first time.
Somebody who has just seenmicrowaves in a textbook sees
the scale of the industry right.
Just seeing microwaves in atextbook sees the scale of the
industry right and all of thecompanies selling connectors and
cables and you know testinfrastructure or foundry
(27:42):
services, design services, CADyou know it blows them away how
big this business actually isand I think that's probably
something a first time person isgoing to find when they go to
IMS.
It's a much bigger communitythan they realize.
Francoise von Trapp (27:56):
And you know, when you think about all
of the issues with workforcedevelopment, are there any
activities for students underuniversity to come and see what
it's all about?
Because I always find when youget high schoolers into these
events, they're like I had noidea that this is what goes into
creating all of these differentdevices that we know exist in
(28:18):
the world and sometimes have inour homes.
Tim Hancock (28:20):
So at the university level there are our
graduate student researchervolunteer program.
Essentially we call themstudent ambassadors, so they're
the volunteers throughout theweek that typically wear a
special colored polo shirt andhelp direct traffic and things
like that, and by volunteeringfor something on the order of a
(28:41):
day they basically get a travelgrant or reduced registration or
some combination thereof thathelps offset their expenses to
attend the conferences.
So that's a great opportunityfor student volunteers to
absolutely take advantage of.
We also have a program thatspecifically reaches out to
(29:02):
underrepresented minorities, aswell as a high school program
that attempts to work with localhigh school groups.
It's a little tricky sometimesin June, depending on exactly
when the conference falls itdepends on the city but there's
(29:22):
usually a local outreach andworking with either a high
school association or communitycollege to try to pull in high
school students, at least forthe afternoon, and get them a
little bit exposed to a STEMtopic that maybe they've never
been exposed to before.
Jim Buckwalter (29:32):
And there's also some student design
competitions.
So for those students that are,you know, graduate students and
maybe they didn't put a paperin this year, they didn't get
around to it, they missed thedeadline the technical
committees host student designcompetitions.
I think there's about 12 or 14of them.
They've grown tremendously overthe years and so they can come
and they're given a task designa power amplifier.
(29:54):
Right, they come and theycompete to build the best power
amplifier and there's acommittee members that will be
judges for that and make sureeveryone compares accurately on
the spot.
They usually have a test set upon the spot so that everybody
can see how everyone else'sperforms at the conference and
then they hand out awards forthe best competitors.
So it's a lot of fun forstudents who may not even be
(30:16):
doing research yet toparticipate in the student
design competition.
Francoise von Trapp (30:21):
That's all we have time for today.
Where can listeners go to learnmore?
Tim Hancock (30:26):
The best place is to go to the website, and that
is ims-ieeeorg, and that willtell you everything you need to
know about the conference.
It'll tell you about theregistration, the prices, the
hotel arrangements and, as youmentioned at the beginning, the
early bird registration.
So the cheapest rate that youcan get ends on May 16th, which
(30:48):
is tomorrow, and then it willshift into the early
registration.
So definitely, if you miss theearly bird, still register.
You'll get a little bit of adiscount.
If you wait till on site,obviously that's going to be the
highest priced option.
Francoise von Trapp (31:02):
And book your hotel rooms, for goodness
sake these things go fast.
Tim Hancock (31:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
Francoise von Trapp (31:09):
Okay, thanks so much for joining me
today, guys.
Tim Hancock (31:12):
Thank you, thanks so much for joining me today,
guys, thank you next time on the3d insights podcast.
Francoise von Trapp (31:20):
We'll continue our deep dive into the
importance of 100 inspection inthe semiconductor manufacturing
environment, this time lookingat advancements in 3d x-ray
inspection.
There's lots more to come, sotune in next time to the 3D
Insights Podcast.
The 3D Insights Podcast is aproduction of 3D Insights LLC.
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