In this interview, we talk to Kaixue Ma and Yongqiang Wang, authors of the book, Substrate Integrated Suspended Line Circuits and Systems. We discuss the motivation behind writing the book, the target audience, the most useful aspects of the book, the challenges of writing the book, and advice for other engineers who are considering writing a book.
Kaixue Ma received B.E. and M.E. degrees from Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), Xi’an, China, and Ph.D. degree from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Since Feb. 2018, he has been the Dean and Professor of the School of Microelectronics of Tianjin University, PI of National IC Innovation & Entrepreneurship Platform of Tianjin, the Director of Tianjin Key Laboratory of Imaging and Sensing Microelectronics Technology and the Chairperson of Tianjin IC Association. Dr. Ma is Fellow of Chinese Institute of Electronics and awardee of the Chinese National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. He was Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques and Guest Editor of IEEE Microwave Magazine and current Member and he organizers for international conferences. He is the Coordinator IEEE MTT-S R10 for China and Singapore and current member and Speakers Bureau of MTT-S TC-4 etc.
Yongqiang Wang (Member, IEEE) received the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China, in 2014 and 2019, respectively. From 2019 to 2020, he was a research associate with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. He is currently a full-time Associate Professor with the School of Microelectronics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China. His current research interest includes microwave passive circuit design and its applications. Dr. Wang has authored or co-authored over 60 journals and conference articles and holds 14 patents granted.
1.What was your main motivation behind writing your book?
The idea behind “Substrate Integrated Suspended Line Circuits and Systems” was to adapt to the development of contemporary wireless communication systems. As modern communication and radar technologies rapidly advance, the miniaturization, planarization, and modularization of microwave and millimeter-wave circuits and systems are becoming increasingly crucial in the development of wireless systems and applied electromagnetics. SISL is a type of quasi-planar transmission line with a multilayer PCB structure that has overcome the bulky structure and integration difficulties of traditional suspended lines with metal boxes. SISL retains all the performance advantages of traditional suspended lines while enabling the packaging of passive and active circuits and systems. With its multilayer air cavity structure, the SISL platform ensures excellent integration flexibility and low dielectric loss as the electric field is primarily distributed in the air cavity. Therefore, SISL is an excellent platform for self-packaging, high-performance, cost-effective circuits and systems in the microwave and millimeter-wave frequency bands. Our efforts aim to provide individuals with the necessary knowledge and tools to effectively navigate substrate integrated suspended line technology, providing readers with a reliable and rigorous guide to RF, microwave, and millimeter wave circuit design.
2. Who is the main target audience for your book and what will they appreciate the most about the book?
Our books cater to a diverse audience including academia, industry, etc., focusing mainly on professionals in fields such as radio frequency, microwave, and millimeter wave circuits, antennas, and wireless communications. Undergraduate and graduate students can also learn cutting-edge academic knowledge from this book. From dielectric substrate manufacturers to circuit designers and other industries, they will all benefit from the design methods and concepts provided in this book.
3. What do you see your book being most useful for?
The book “Substrate Integrated Suspended Line Circuits and Systems” is a valuable resource for those seeking high-performance microwave and millimeter-wave circuit designs. It covers a wide range of topics, broadly divided into passive circuits and active circuits, catering to the needs of academics, researchers, engineers, and professionals in related fields. As a reference guide for microwave and millimeter wave circuit design, this book uses novel SISL technology to facilitate circuit designers to design high-performance and high-level circuits suitable for contemporary wireless communication systems.
4. How did you find the writing of the book? Do you have a specific process or are you quite methodical in your writing approach?
We determined the general framework of the entire book from the beginning and made a table. For example, the first chapter should introduce the development of transmission lines, and then introduce the SISL technology I proposed, etc. Each chapter has undergone rigorous and comprehensive literature research and has been written in an orderly manner.
5. What challenges did you face when writing the book and how did you overcome them?
When writing this book, there were so many pictures that it was difficult to organize the book. After communicating with the publisher, we merged some pictures to solve this problem.
6. What advice would you give to other engineers who are considering writing a book?
First of all, a solid professional foundation is the basis for your book writing. Secondly, you should understand the basic themes and basic concepts of the target book. To get these clear themes and concepts, you should develop a writing outline to suggest what you should write about in each chapter. Finally, careful inspection is an aspect that cannot be ignored.
7. What are you working on next?
Next, we will study higher-performance RF microwave and millimeter wave front-end circuits and systems under the SISL platform, and explore more promising application scenarios for SISL. In addition, we will also transform SISL’s research results into applications and products as soon as possible, aiming to solve practical engineering application problems.
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ARTECH HOUSE USA : Substrate Integrated Suspended Line Circuits and Systems
ARTECH HOUSE U.K.: Substrate Integrated Suspended Line Circuits and Systems
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