The aims and scope of the JMPEE are oriented to the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM band) excluding non-communication applications. The number of submissions received by the JMPEE for being considered for publication increased in the last couple of years but among the non-accepted manuscripts, there are cases in which they are clearly out of scope of the journal, while in other cases it is necessary to seek for the relationship or potentially to be included as ISM applications. This event moves to revisit the classification of the applications and their perception in the reception of manuscripts.
Communications, referring to telecommunications, and non-communication applications are the two main groups, with some subcategories, in which the utilization of electromagnetic waves has been classified. In the first case, the wave is a carrier of the information being transmitted by the sender to the receiver. The best way to minimize the signal loss is that they do not interact with the media between the transmitting and receiving antennas. Therefore, the chosen frequencies for this application are those that tend to comply with this condition and at the same time can carry more data. On the contrary, their purpose in non-communication applications is to have electromagnetic waves interacting with matter.
The allocation of portions of the electromagnetic spectrum for each application supposes the pondering of different technological and practical issues based on the current advances in the sciences and the arts in the related fields. The said ISM band is one of the reserved parts of the spectrum proposed 76 years ago for Industrial, Scientific, and Medical, excluding communication applications. The users of this band do not require a license because the possibility of interference to communication devices is unharmful since they operate at different frequencies than the apparatus using the ISM band. Besides microwaves are often confined in the ISM equipment and located in closed facilities.
The chosen frequencies for the ISM band do not necessarily are the best for any non-communication applications since the response of matter depends on its nature, there are other frequencies out of this spectrum that could be more appropriate for ISM. However, the ISM frequencies are suitable for communication applications and somehow this band is allowing some of them, such as the citizens’ band radio, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.
It is assumed that the low power short range of some communication devices could be considered as their were either confined or located far away from other equipment so their interference is not important. Cordless devices and portability have been some features that led to considering the use of different frequencies; pondering their reliability and potential of the unlicensed spectra for their application worldwide. Still, those communication devices operating in the ISM band must tolerate the probable interference of real ISM equipment. The endurance of the convivence of communication and non-communication applications in this band depends on how the electromagnetic spectrum is getting crowded.
The association of frequencies to applications could be a cause for having an important number of submissions aimed at communication applications despite the aims and scope of the journal. Some authors claim in their cover letter that their manuscripts are like others that have been published by the JMPEE allowing such subjects. Sometimes differences are subtle and difficult to explain; some authors omit the mention of the communication applications, but everything in the submission shows that this is the case.
Constrictions of the ISM band combined with the many items in the equipment that are shared among the microwave and RF applications could drive submissions out of the aims and scope of the JMPEE. Therefore, it is convenient to review the subjects that the ISM covers.
(I) is for industrial, that is large-scale processes where microwaves and RF are used in important way for having transformation of materials or products. It is oriented to the advances of the arts of this technology.
(S) is for scientific purposes, oriented activities that help advance in the sciences of this technology, application, or any other related to knowledge generation. That includes another (I) of the ISM band, which is instrumentation, for data acquisition.
Modeling and simulation require a sort of validation, so that unjustified regressions, regardless their fitting goodness are not models.
(M) is for medical, either treatment or diagnosis of different health conditions. This also includes instrumentation for this purpose.
In all cases, electromagnetic waves interact with matter so that it is: heating, transformation, cooking, chemical reactions, and processes, among others take place. In the cases of imaging, characterization, diagnosis, and treatment of illnesses the tissues are excited and could produce signals. Health issues are quite sensitive because their results could be mixed with non-scientific sources as they are of general interest.
The JMPEE is enforcing these aims and scope towards traditional ISM band applications, but it is open to other issues that present their relationship with non-communication applications.
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo
León, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico
[email protected]
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).