Date and time:

Thursday 22nd September 2016, 5.15 - 6.00pm, followed by a drinks reception

Speaker:

Dr Chris Clifton
Chief Technology Officer and Divisional Director for Europe based Sony Semiconductor and Electronic Solutions, Sony 

Ve‌nue:

Pugsley Lecture Theatre, Queen's Building, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR

Lecture abstract:

The aims have become clearer, 3GPP has started the standardisation process, the potential applications are growing. Yet how to realise the great 5G opportunity in terms of practical implementation aspects remains a considerable challenge. The measurement challenge alone is significant –making high accuracy modulated signal measurements at high frequencies over 1-2GHz bandwidths requires considerable resource and expertise.

During this talk, we will first look at a number of potential disruptive applications relating to consumer electronics and industrial/automotive applications and then start to discuss implementation challenges relating to required device and module technology. Beamforming and massive MIMO are two key enabling technologies, yet IC integration and thermal management factors are essential aspects which need to be addressed in order to achieve the size and cost objectives.Techniques previously used for front-end efficiency and linearity enhancement start to become less attractive over the larger modulation bandwidths under consideration - this the talk will look at some of the more promising options which are likely to be better suited to 5G product requirements.

Speaker biography

Chris is the Chief Technology Officer and Divisional Director for Europe based Sony Semiconductor and Electronic Solutions (SES) with responsibilities for new technology/product incubation and telecommunication/semiconductor R&D activities. His main mission is to identify and help accelerate the development of core enabling technologies which will underpin future consumer and industrial electronic products. Current research focus areas include 3GPP related technologies which will pave the way towards the 5G era including the wireless M2M connectivity technologies which will underpin the next IoT revolution.

A significant period of his time at Sony has been spent managing the Wireless Semiconductor Development activity in Basingstoke, joining the Sony Semiconductor operation in 1997. During this time the company succeeded in securing significant design wins in the European cellular phone market. After spending a period of time at the main development site in Atsugi, Japan, the design flow for the GaAs MMIC technology was transferred to the UK Design Centre so that European products could be designed locally.

Following the successful set-up of the MMIC design facility by Chris and his team, other areas of Mixed-Signal development were expanded at the Basingstoke facility including cellular RF transceivers, full Bluetooth chipset solutions and analogue devices for DTV applications, under his leadership. In 2001, he became Divisional Director for Wireless products within the European Development Centre.

In 2006, Chris launched a local design centre for the development of LCD panels for mobile consumer electronics devices. Since this time, he has maintained a strong interest in display and image capture technologies, in addition to several other strategically important microelectronic technologies such as MEMS.

Prior to Sony, he held positions as Chief Design Engineer at the GEC III-V semiconductor facility at Caswell and RF Engineering Manager at DSC Communications.

As well as being a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and Chartered Engineer (CEng), Chris has sat on the boards of a number of UK government bodies covering training and promotion of engineering within the UK. He has authored more than 20 international publications and holds a number of patents. Academic qualifications include a BSc(Hons) in Physics and a PhD in Electronic Engineering. 

Booking/registering

Attendance at this event is free but we ask that you register by the 21st September 2016.