In the Engineering Tomorrow series, Artemis highlights many of our portfolio company products by outlining key aspects of the technologies, industries, and end markets within which the business operates. In this article, we explain the fundamentals of Radio Frequency and Microwave (“RF/Microwave”) technologies, talk to the mission-critical nature of their end-markets and applications, and discuss a specific Maury Microwave product that is enabling the RF/Microwave technological frontier.

One of Artemis’ main differentiators within the M&A ecosystem is our team’s obsession with and expertise around the technology of our Industrial Tech portfolio companies. From high precision lab automation and advanced materials to mission-critical optics & photonics and RF/Microwave devices, the Artemis team, from the Associates to the Operating Partners, is able to have entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur conversations on an engineer-to-engineer level because of our deep product, application, and market fluencies.

Across the industrial tech ecosystem, one of the firm’s highest conviction theses surrounds RF/Microwave technologies. For those who may not be familiar with the RF/Microwave industry, it relates specifically to those components and devices necessary for the sending, receiving, manipulating, and analyzing of electromagnetic (“EM”) waves. For a more comprehensive explanation of EM waves, we found this NASA series particularly helpful (Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum | Science Mission Directorate (nasa.gov)).

RF/Microwave is utilized across a broad range of industries and applications, driven primarily by the consistently growing human demand for greater Connectivity, Safety & Security, and Productivity. That is to say, these components, systems, and devices are utilized in everything from Aerospace and Medical to Telecommunications and Military markets (RF Technology Helps Connect Avionics Systems - Aerospace & Defense Technology (aerodefensetech.com)). In each one of these instances, the technology is required to carry a different set of characteristics from frequency, power, durability, etc. In many situations, these products are absolutely essential to the success of multi-billion dollar projects like satellite launches, telecom infrastructure, and global defense initiatives. As you can tell, the unreliability of a single device could spell disaster costing countless dollars and even lives.

Artemis portfolio company, Maury Microwave, seeks to solve for this very problem. They are the pioneering leader in the design and manufacture of the precision RF and Microwave calibration, test & measurement, and modeling solutions that are powering global efforts toward a safer, more secure, and more connected future.

Currently, one of the many critical challenges presented to Aerospace, Satellite, and Military missions is the decrease in reliability and predictability that comes with the technological complexity of large communication systems (Test and measurement equipment keeps high-tech systems in working order | Military Aerospace). As the article states, “All communication networks rely on key metrics such as frequencies, timing, and signal levels. Without the ability to set these parameters precisely, military communication systems would simply fail to work.” The kind of reliability and predictability necessary for these mission-critical applications starts at the Research & Development stage. This is where Maury’s technology excels.

Maury Microwave’s patented Automated Waveguide Tuners, an integral component of the company’s Device Characterization Software Solutions, give engineers the answers and accuracy necessary to make design and functionality decisions in those situations where information is essential. (LXI™-Certified Millimeter Wave Automated Tuners | Maury Microwave (maurymw.com). Maury Senior Product Engineer, Dr. Jonas Urbonas, Ph.D., highlights the way in which Maury’s Vector-Receiver Load Pull Solutions – which use the company’s Automated Tuners – present vector information not normally available to system engineers in this video: High-power high-gamma on-wafer hybrid-active waveguide vector receiver load pull - YouTube.

Maury’s other differentiated and proprietary technologies play a crucial role in a variety of mission-critical applications. Through their Characterization, Calibration, and Interconnect Solutions, Maury enables its customers to continue pushing the RF/Microwave technological frontier with confidence as they seek to enable an interconnected world where wireless technologies are reliable and efficient.