RF Technology event 2026

On March 4, 2026, Leusden will host the RF Technology event, a day when RF engineers, developers, researchers, and specialists from the broad field of wireless technology will gather to explore the latest developments in high-frequency engineering.

This year's event focuses entirely on the shift to higher frequencies and the technological and theoretical challenges that come with it. While the transition from microwave to millimeter wave has already had a huge impact, we are now on the cusp of an era in which sub-THz and even THz technology will take center stage. These higher frequency bands offer unprecedented possibilities for data rates, precision sensing, and advanced radar technology, but also pose complex challenges in design, measurement, reliability, and electromagnetic compatibility.

The RF Technology event is co-sponsored by the University of Twente and a broad network of leading companies in RF design, IC development, telecom, radar technology, and measurement equipment. This collaboration results in a program that combines in-depth technical knowledge with practical applications. The goal is to give RF professionals a handle on technologies that are currently developing rapidly, but whose implementation requires sophisticated engineering, new measurement methods, and a better understanding of physical limitations.

Why Wireless Data Speeds Are Lagging

The day begins with a plenary lecture by André Kokkeler of the Radio Systems group at the University of Twente. He will outline why wireless technology is struggling to keep pace with the exponential growth of computing power in integrated circuits. While IC technologies have made enormous leaps in recent decades, advances in data rates, spectrum efficiency, and channel capacity have lagged behind. This discrepancy has profound implications for the design of future communications systems. Kokkeler will demonstrate how limitations in modulation methods, latency, channel models, and signal processing lead to a gap between what is theoretically possible and what wireless systems can actually deliver. He will discuss how the combination of novel antenna architectures, coherent transmissions, adaptive beamforming, and AI-driven optimization algorithms is necessary to bridge this gap. His lecture will thus lay a solid foundation for the technical in-depth study offered by the rest of the program.

Electromagnetic compatibility

Another key theme at the event is electromagnetic compatibility. The ongoing electrification of vehicles, industrial environments, and consumer devices is creating an increasingly complex EMC landscape. Both desirable and undesirable radiation compete in a spectrum that is becoming more crowded than ever. This leads to risks for critical applications such as autonomous driving, industrial automation, and wireless infrastructure. The event will present new measurement methods, modeling techniques, and shielding concepts that address the need to accurately identify interference sources and mitigate their impact. Participants will gain insight into EMC issues in high-speed digital systems, power electronics, and THz applications, as well as innovative techniques for real-time interference monitoring.

The program consists of a series of plenary lectures, parallel deep dives, and demonstrations focusing on the latest technological developments. Engineers will get a glimpse into the world of antenna innovations for sub-THz bands, from advanced MIMO setups enabling higher data rates to radar applications benefiting from accurate short-range sensing. The challenge of building reliable propagation models for frequencies between microwave and infrared, where classical models fall short, will also be addressed. For measurement technology, sessions will demonstrate how new photonic technologies can be used to generate, process, and analyze RF signals with extremely high bandwidths. Measurements above 100 GHz require new approaches in time- and frequency-domain measurement, calibration, and noise reduction, and it is precisely these practical aspects that will be covered in detail.

Machine learning

In addition, there is considerable attention to the role of AI and advanced signal processing in future RF systems. Machine learning is used for channel modeling, spectrum analysis, and adaptive filtering, but also plays a key role in optimizing beamforming and improving energy efficiency in complex RF chains. The combination of data-driven models and physics-based simulations is creating a new generation of RF designs in which algorithms and hardware are becoming increasingly intertwined.

RF Technology event

What makes this event so valuable for RF specialists is its focus on technical content without a commercial slant. The presentations delve deeply into theory, design, and practical experience. The information tables and exhibitors offer additional opportunities to speak directly with specialists working on the most advanced solutions in the field. This creates an environment where knowledge, innovation, and practical experience converge.

The RF Technology Event 2026 offers a clear and coherent overview of where the field is headed—from THz communications to EMC and from advanced antenna architectures to photonic measurement methods. For anyone involved in RF design, system development, telecom, sensing, or measurement solutions, this event represents a unique opportunity to gain the latest insights and technologies and prepare for a future in which wireless systems will become faster, more complex, and more intelligent than ever before.

Program