arQana Technologies Launches R&D Office in Belgium
The RF and mmWave technology company appoints two Leuven PhD engineers to spearhead research and development of next generation 5G wireless solutions.
Singapore-based arQana Technologies, a fabless design house that develops front-end solutions for wireless communications in the fields of radar, satellite communications and cutting-edge 5G infrastructure, announced today that their first European research and development office will officially launch on 28 August 2019 at Innovatie- & Incubatiecentrum in Leuven, Belgium. The initial research team includes two engineers who received their PhD degrees from KU Leuven, one of Europe’s oldest and most respected research universities.
The focus of the arQana Belgium office will be on advanced research, design and development of highly integrated RFIC (radio frequency integrated circuit) solutions for 5G, radar, and satellite communication used in future arQana products.
Glenn Vandevoorde, CEO for arQana Technologies, earned his masters degree in Micro-Electronics at KU Leuven and was part of the university’s MICAS research group in the late ‘90s. He had this to say:
“Through my own experience, Leuven was an obvious choice for our first European R&D office, given the city’s long history of supporting technological innovation and KU Leuven’s capacity for producing many of the world’s eminent experts in the field of engineering and technology. We are thrilled to have on board two of these experts, who also participated in the MICAS research group as I did 20 years ago, to work closely with our teams in Singapore and Taiwan to develop arQana’s future cutting-edge wireless solutions.”
Leading the arQana Belgium design team in RFIC is Brecht François, who received a PhD degree from the ESAT-MICAS laboratories at KU Leuven for his design of CMOS RF Power Amplifier Techniques for wireless and mobile applications. Prior to joining arQana, Brecht led a team that was developing the FEM for 5G infrastructure at Nokia Networks, and researched extensively on AFE (analog front-end) for DSL and cable at Nokia Bell Labs.
Joining Brecht at arQana Belgium is Senior RFIC Designer, Maxime De Wit, who received a PhD degree in Integrated Electronics from the ESAT-MICAS laboratories at KU Leuven. Maxime researched extensively on millimeter wave circuit design in bulk CMOS for data communication through dielectric waveguides.
Professor Patrick Reynaert, who leads the RF and mm-wave research of the KU Leuven MICAS research group said:
“Belgium and KU Leuven have always been hot-spots for research on RF and wireless, and continues to take the lead in integrated solutions for mm-wave radar and 5G. We have been working together with arQana for more than a year now, doing research together on RF and mm-wave power amplifiers in various technologies. It’s exciting to see how this strong collaboration leads to a Leuven R&D office of arQana, and this will only strengthen our relationship. I really look forward to further expand the collaboration through internships, joint research programs and exchange of researchers.”
Ralp Moureau, the Science & Technology Counsellor (Singapore) for Flanders Investment & Trade added:
“As a representative of the Government of Flanders, Belgium, we welcome Singapore based arQana Technologies, establishing a new R&D center in Leuven. Micro- and nano-electronics are some of the key enabling technologies through which Europe aims to keep its competitive edge — and there’s nowhere they thrive better than in Flanders. Flanders boasts expert know-how in the nanotech field, centered around its five universities as well as its nanotech research center IMEC. arQana Technologies plugs into this rich ecosystem, already establishing a close collaboration with KU Leuven’s ESAT-MICAS group. We are confident to see their current footprint and partnerships grow and wish them all the best in their endeavors.”