Development of Reconfigurable Technology Platforms for the Millimeter-Wave Communication of Sensor Nodes

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The dawn of the 21st century is witnessing a tremendous demand for wireless (untethered) communications services operating at frequencies extending into the millimeter-wave regime (Ku to Q-band). The move tohigher (millimeter-wave) frequencies has been motivated by the need for more and more bandwidth for multimedia applications such as wireless real-time video transmission, internet access, and by the increasedovercrowding of the lower frequency bands. The vision of this proposal is a multi-function platform that can rapidly reconfigure to support multipoint-to-multipoint mmW communications using low probability ofintercept (LPI) line-of-sight communications among a group of independent communications or sensor nodes. Applications include tracking radar sensors, and electronic warfare (EW), and electronic intelligence (ELINT)functions. Secure sensor communications have additional constraints over commercial applications including: small size, immunity to jamming, low probability of detection, and guaranteed mission life. Thus UHF and low microwave frequency bands popular in civilian networks may lose out to mmW, in spite of the advantages of more mature technology and better propagation channels afforded in these lower frequency bands.The intellectual merit of this proposal is to establish a foundation for the development of reconfigurable communication nodes, which could be implemented as a System-On-Package (SOP) platform and could serve as a foundation for the reconfigurable sensor networks of the future. Sensor networks that can be reconfigured for different functions (chemical/explosive/bio-detection, secure emergency communications for different frequency bands, surveillance sensors in airports and stations)are critical for national anti-terrorism efforts and offer the promise of a significantly improved national security and prevention, as well as a quick reaction time in emergency situations. Last, but not least, the proposed vertical integration and miniaturization coupled with the power efficiency in a cost efficient way may provide a path to the deployment of very large sensor networks."