CAREER: Waveguide-Based Power Combining Architectures Scalable to Submillimeter-Wave Frequencies

曾经只属于天文学和遥感领域的部分电磁频谱现在越来越受到科学界、军事界和商业界的关注。例如，正在考虑各种宽带通信平台和紧凑型生物和化学检测设备，以便在亚毫米波范围内工作。部署这种高频系统的最大障碍可能是缺乏紧凑、低成本的电源。由于单个固态设备的功率在接近亚毫米波范围的频率上并不高，因此在构建电源时，将多个单独设备的功率组合在一起通常是必要的。这项拟议的研究通过研究新型的基于波导的功率合成结构来解决建立这种功率源的问题，这种结构可以使用低成本的微机械加工技术很容易地扩展到亚毫米波频率。与这一职业项目相关的教育活动满足以下需要：在蒙大拿州招收和留住电气和计算机工程专业的多样化学生群体，提供能够培养高频电子学的强大背景的课程，激励本科生在研究生院继续深造，并为学生提供参与有意义的研究的机会。将通过以下活动部分实现这些目标：重新编写蒙大拿州立大学的电气工程入门课程，开发射频电子学高级课程，资助强调高频电子学的高级设计项目。作为一种让潜在的大学生熟悉蒙大拿州电气和计算机工程系的手段，电气工程入门课程的结构将允许将其作为远程学习课程提供给高中高年级学生和社区大学学生。该课程还将被用来与蒙大拿州内的部落学院萨利什·库特奈学院合作，努力在两年制部落学院与蒙大拿州四年制电气和计算机工程项目之间架起一座桥梁。

0347469Portions of the electromagnetic spectrum that were once the domain to only astronomy and remote sensing efforts are of growing interest to the scientific, military, and commercial communities. For example, various wideband communication platforms and compact biological and chemical detection devices are being considered for operation at frequencies into the submillimeter-wave range. Perhaps the most formidable obstacle to deploying such high- frequency systems is the lack of compact, low-cost power sources. As the power from a single solid-state device is modest at frequencies approaching the submillimeter-wave range, combining the power from many individual devices often becomes necessary when building sources. The proposed research addresses the issue of establishing such power sources through investigation of novel waveguide-based power combining architectures that can be readily scaled to submillimeter-wave frequencies using low-cost micromachining techniques. The educational activities associated with this CAREER project address the need to: recruit and retain a diverse student population in electrical and computer engineering at Montana State, provide a curriculum that fosters a strong background in high-frequency electronics, inspire undergraduates to pursue further study in graduate school, and provide an opportunity for students to be involved in meaningful research. These goals will be addressed in part through activities that include re-working the introductory electrical engineering course at Montana State, developing an advanced course in radio frequency electronics and sponsoring senior design projects that emphasize high-frequency electronics. As a means to familiarize potential university students with the electrical and computer engineering department at Montana State, the introductory electrical engineering course will be structured to allow for its offering as a distance learning course to high school seniors and community college students. The course will also be used as a vehicle to collaborate with Salish Kootenai College, a tribal college within the state of Montana, in an effort to provide a bridge between two-year tribal colleges and the four-year electrical and computer engineering program at Montana State.