Meet imec fellow Jan Craninckx

A career highlighted by innovation

As one of the leading researchers in IC design, Jan has managed to gather an abundance of highlights along the way. Jan’s very first highlight came at the end of his PhD, which focused on CMOS RF IC design. “We took the first steps in proving CMOS could bring together radio frequency with analog and digital electronics. In doing so, we opened a new world of wireless communication for the 20 years that came after. After graduating, Jan worked for five years in the industry before joining imec in 2002. Since then, he has built up a research group on RF transceivers and data converters, and continues to drive innovation in analog and mixed-signal circuit design for CMOS RF transceiver front ends.

In 2016, Jan was elected editor-in-chief of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Journal of Solid-State Circuits, which is the main journal in its respective field. He considers the role his peers played in his election to be especially important: “It’s the biggest recognition you can get from your peers and my election certainly generates recognition for imec from the outside world as well.”

A third major highlight in Jan’s career is opening new fields of research such as software-defined radios and analog-to-digital (AD) converters. “We made impactful contributions by improving the state of the art and gathering recognition from other researchers and companies.”

Honesty above all else

Jan is truly passionate about research, in which he values honesty above all else. “I really value people who are as honest as they can be. If you don’t know something, be honest and let it know. To collaborate effectively with colleagues, honesty is the key to success.”

Jan's future with imec

Apart from his work on RF transceivers and data converters, his main focus of research, Jan has been collaborating and consulting with many other groups in imec involved in analog IC design, such as imagers, bio-electronics, quantum computing, etc., building an analog design community over the whole of imec to improve the quality or our research.

Looking forward as an imec fellow, Jan hopes to further collaborate with other experts in other expertise domains at imec. “It's often said that we have all these different competences under one roof.” Jan believes that this is what truly differentiates imec. “It’s a very competitive world, we have to work together across different fields, which is why I’m looking forward to collaborate with other imec colleagues in order to reach our common goal: shaping the future.”

A message to young researchers

With years and years of experience in multiple fields of research, Jan has some meaningful messages for aspiring junior researchers. “The most important thing I want to tell them is to think before you act. By thinking of your final goal, you will find the most effective way to get there. Don’t blindly launch a dozen different simulations of your circuit to afterward try if you can make sense out of the results. Pick a single thing to simulate, try to predict what you will see, and use your simulator as a validation tool.” Asking advice or help from colleagues or supervisors will save time as well, according to Jan.

Secondly, he recommends the next generations of researchers to be mindful of every minute detail. “Especially in our field of IC design, where we have about one tape-out a year to prove something, it is of the utmost importance to be conscience about the details. The road to this moment is often littered with a million different details and tasks to complete, that’s more than enough room to make one tiny mistake which in its turn can jeopardize the rest of your work. So please mind every detail you come across, every step of the way.”