Technology Ventures Inventor Spotlight: Samir El-Ghazaly

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Samir El-Ghazaly, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering

In 2019, Samir El-Ghazaly, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering, assisted in establishing RF Pyramids LLC, a start-up company that develops radiofrequency electronic devices, circuits and applications for high-frequency systems, those using microwave and millimeter-wave.

The products they produce target a wide range of applications, including novel detection and sensing systems, radars and remote sensing components for future SmallSat and aerospace missions, enhanced power amplifiers for wireless systems and 5G telecommunications, microwave-assisted medical devices for disinfection and sterilization purposes in hospitals, and similar advanced electronic applications. 

RF Pyramids received a $100,000 Technology Development Program award from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to develop its Optimized RF Transistor device.

El-Ghazaly and his team came up with the idea for their Optimized RF Transistor solution while working on high-frequency transistor modeling and optimization. The Optimized RF Transistor will offer up to two times improvement in the operation speed at a one-and-a-half to two times reduction in device size and provide up to three times improvement on the heat dissipation capabilities.

"Current transistor technologies have fundamental limitations in delivering the specifications required for various high-speed applications," El-Ghazaly said. "Additionally, with the new trends towards miniaturization of the systems due to the need for manufacturing lighter, faster and more sustainable products for electric vehicles, consumer electronics and other technological devices, transistors that can be realized in smaller dimensions are favorable choices for many industries."

El-Ghazaly has been a pivotal contributor to the innovation of technology in his field. From conducting research, to product development, his extensive knowledge in RF engineering has been crucial in the advancement of technology in the high-frequency communication space.

From August 2007 to June 2013, he was the head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and holder of the Twenty-First Century Leadership Endowed Chair in Electrical Engineering at the U of A. He received the Distinguished Educator Award from the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society in 2015. His research interests include microwave and millimeter-wave semiconductor devices and circuits, semiconductor device simulations, electromagnetics, antennas and numerical techniques applied to monolithic microwave integrated circuits.

El-Ghazaly has completed two detail assignments at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) from August 2013 to August 2016, serving as the director of the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems. El-Ghazaly was the 2017 vice president of the Institute of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IEEE) and the chair of the Publication. Services and Products Board. He is a fellow of IEEE. He was also the chair of Commissions A and D of the U.S. National Committee of URSI.