Phased Array Technologies [Scanning the Issue]

Modern phased array technology brings together diverse disciplines throughout the electrical engineering community, covering not only radio-frequency (RF)/ microwave engineering, but also digital and mixed analog/digital VLSI design and fab, high-speed data networking, testing from direct current (dc) to microwave/ mm-wave, semiconductor device physics and materials, power distribution, computer science, thermal management expertise, and several more disciplines. New digital approaches in array architectures reflect a dramatic departure from the traditional RF/microwave approaches, and present new challenges where RF-speed data conversions and even Terabit per second data flows must be carefully managed and exploited. As the use of phased arrays grows throughout both the military and commercial worlds, new opportunities will arise that will draw from diverse engineering disciplines.