What does CPW mean in FAMOUS & CELEBS

CPW stands for Cheng P. Wen, an Asian American physicist who invented the Co-Planar Waveguide in 1978. He was also a Professor Emeritus in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Co-Planar Waveguide (CPW) is a type of transmission line used to transmit microwave signals on printed circuit boards (PCBs). It is made up of two conductive strips separated by a dielectric material such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which allows signals to travel along its length without any signal loss or distortion.

Compared to other types of signal transmission lines, like microstrip lines and striplines, CPWs offer several advantages including reduced signal loss due to their smaller size, increased flexibility due to their simplicity in design, and increased bandwidth due to their distinctive geometry.

While stripline technology uses three conductive layers sandwiched between two dielectric materials, CPWs use only two conductive layers with one dielectric layer between them. Striplines also require more space than CPWs, making them less practical for most applications.

Prior to Wen's invention of the Co-Planar Waveguide technology in 1978, other types of transmission lines such as microstrip lines and striplines were commonly used for signal transmission on PCBs. With its lower signal losses and increased flexibility when compared with these traditional technologies, CPWs have revolutionized signal transmission in many types of electronic circuits and played an integral role in advancing modern electronics technology.