Meet imec fellow Piet Wambacq

Highlights throughout a well-established career

Piet originally joined imec at the end of 1996 and was asked to start an analog RF mixed-signal design activity. “I came from the group of Willy Sansen at the University of Leuven. In the beginning, we were a small group and had several growing pains. Thanks to Jan Craninckx, another imec fellow who joined my research team in 2003, we were able to grow this team which now consists of about 20 IC designers on the payroll and 10 PhD students.”

His first highlight came short after, in 2006, when Piet and his team started with mmWave IC design that was at that time mainly operating around 60 GHz. “Two years later, we made a big splash with five publications at ISSCC, which is the flagship conference in the world of IC design. Since then, we tried out several beamforming architectures for mmWave transceivers. Our mmWave activity grew and, eventually, it gave rise to the imec spin-off Pharrowtech.”

Another highlight emphasized by Piet was managing to be a pioneer in demonstrating fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) technology, RF and millimeter-wave circuits. An additional spotlight, which came in 2018, was that Piet grew to be one of the main driving forces to start the high-speed analog RF program, together with imec fellow Nadine Collaert. “In my opinion, this program, where we marry circuit design with device technology and packaging research, is exemplary for the way in which imec can best operate, namely in combining several fields of expertise.”

At the international level, Piet was asked to be the chair of the RF Subcommittee of ISSCC. “Chairing such committee was an enjoyable experience because I got to coach the people who are at the very top in the RF IC domain.” Later he became vice program chair and program chair of ISSCC.

The hunger to learn as a driving force

When Piet was asked what he is passionate about, he enthusiastically declared, “I feel an insatiable hunger to learn and to explore. I never rest on my laurels. I’m always searching and trying to understand new things, and if I do not understand something, I feel uncertain. I don’t only have this hunger at work, but also in my private life: I continuously want to learn. I’m also passionate about coaching young researchers to show them pointers in search of solutions, and to keep them motivated, of course.”

Thinking ahead with imec

Piet stipulates the central role imec plays and will play in collaborative R&D. “This interdisciplinary research is something that can hardly be done at universities, as university groups are too small. If you look at large companies, however, they are typically looking at short-term problems and of course they have their shareholders who are asking for their dividends. This puts the people in large companies under pressure to deliver short-term results. That kind of pressure is something we do not have at imec.”

Advice for junior researchers

With more than 25 years of experience in his field, Piet has a nose for research. When asked for some advice for junior researchers, he stressed the importance of research integrity. “Be honest, be humble and always show appreciation towards people who are willing to help you. Be open to collaboration as well.” According to Piet, many innovations today result from combining different disciplines, different fields of expertise. “All of that is impossible to fit in the brain of just one researcher.”

Lastly, Piet focused on being passionate about everything a researcher is involved in. “You must act like a predator that has caught its prey: never release your teeth until you have solved the problem. However, relax your brain as well, it can’t be continuously under stress. Do sports for example. Here, at imec Leuven, we’re very nicely located to do some running in nature. Take benefit of that and enjoy while respecting your work-life balance, as this is the best recipe to combat stress.”