Reflections on the IEEE Phased Array Conference in Boston

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the IEEE Phased Array Conference in Boston. It was a excellent event that showcased the latest advancements in phased array technology.

It was a great opportunity to reconnect with antenna experts from both Europe and the US. The exchange of ideas and knowledge was very valuable, covering topics such as radiating element design, system design aspects like scalability, cost, calibration, digitization, heat management, and more.

There was a strong Spanish representation from UPM and Indra, showcasing their contributions to the field. Jesús Grajal de la Fuente and Ignacio Sardinero Meirás attended from ETS de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación Universidad Politécnica de Madrid , while Juan José Sánchez Martínez , Díaz-Guerra Jiménez Justo , Juan Carlos Martín Fernández , Enrique Barbasán Carnero and myself represented Indra .

One cannot attend all presentations, but here are some of my thoughts.

Indra presented the results of the CROWN project led by Juan Carlos Martín Fernández. This project, delivered by a consortium of European companies, represents a significant achievement in collaborative innovation. It was a pleasue to catch up with Stefania Monni and Michael Brandfass who made important contributions to this project. Additionally, Indra presented the results of the NEMUS radar, with Enrique Barbasán Carnero delivering the presentation about the fully digital phased array radar in S band. Thats quite a system we are building.

Herd Jeffrey presented MIT Lincoln Lab's approach on reducing the cost of large phased arrays for defence applications. Their cutting-edge technology has been perfected over many years and their contributions to the field are impressive.

I also want to highlight the European Space Agency - ESA 's work in satellite technology presented by Giovanni Toso . They are promoting these advancements at a European level, with SWISSto12 leading the way in additive manufacturing technology for satellite applications. María García Vigueras and Esteban Menargues hosted a session on additive manufacturing, which I found quite fascinating.

Paolo Rocca work on optimizing the number of TR modules in a phased array without significantly compromising performance in terms of radiation pattern characteristics was another noteworthy contribution.

I learned a lot of valuable ideas at the conference and am looking forward to implementing some of them in our future designs!