SBIR Phase I: High Temperature Superconducting Materials Development for High Power RF and Microwave Components

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop high temperature superconducting (HTS) films with a high power handling capability for high power RF and microwave components. RF and microwave passive components derived from HTS thin film technology offer several advantages in performance over the conventional metallic components. However, even though HTS thin film components exhibit very high-Q values, their power handling capability is often limited, imposing restrictions on the range of possible applications. Innovative approaches in HTS thin film process technology are required to obtain the film quality needed to overcome this problem. The proposed approach combines improved thin film processing techniques with the design flexibility offered by a low dielectric constant substrate (MgF2) in achieving this goal. Ag-doped YBCO films on low dielectric constant MgF2 substrates (dielectric constant 5.4) with Sr2(Al,T)aO6 structural template, proposed in this feasibility effort are expected to result in at least an order of magnitude enhancement in the RF power handling capability of the films compared to those currently available. HTS films with a high power handling capability would enable the design of high power HTS filters, multiplexers and filter banks. The major reduction in volume and weight together with improved performance of such devices in emerging high performance Transmit/ Receive systems is expected to outweigh the cost of cooling HTS circuitry to 77K.