The Keynote Speaker at the 2002 IRPS is Bernard S. Meyerson, IBM Vice President, Communication, Research & Development Center. Bernie Meyerson's presentation will put into focus the issues and challenges associated with technologies now operating at frequencies never anticipated, even in the recent past.
With device performance above 200 GHz, and circuit performance approaching 100 GHz, associated current loads on semiconductor and metal systems are becoming extraordinary. Similarly, new challenges emerge in the form of decreasing "breakdown" voltages for high speed devices, and new loss mechanisms for passive devices as radiative effects become dominant at such high frequencies. The Keynote presentation will include an overview of leading edge high performance technologies, and address the aforementioned issues in the context of how they impact the limits of where a given technology may be applied.