SGER: High Performance Tunable RF Devices and Antenna Arrays Based on the Ferroelectric Materials and CTS Technologies

PI要求NSF资助夏威夷大学马诺阿分校的夏威夷高级通信中心和夏威夷考艾岛的Trex企业公司之间拟议的合作研究。该项目涉及基础研究、创新设计、制造和测试一种开发高性能可调谐射频器件和相控天线阵列的独特方法。具体来说，他建议使用新型多层介质材料来设计可调谐射频器件，如移相器和滤波器，并将这些多层介质设计与连续横向存根（CTS）技术相结合，开发具有波束转向能力的高性能，低成本相控天线阵列。多层介电设计包括在两层无损或低损耗（SiO2）材料之间夹一层薄的铁电材料（例如BSTO）。利用厚度（0.5um）将共面导体与铁电材料分离，克服了铁电材料技术长期以来经常遇到的问题。它显著减少了插入损耗，同时保持了其他预期的高系统性能参数（如可调性）的很大一部分。移相器设计和CTS相控天线阵列领域的初步仿真结果表明，该多层介质布置具有显著的优势，包括降低了通常难以接受的高插入损耗，改善了阻抗匹配特性，并提供了诸如每dB相移（在10GHz共面波导下超过300 /dB）等优点数值的实用价值。CTS天线阵列的波束转向能力（-35°到+35°，铁电材料可调性为20%）。然而，在共面导体和铁电材料之间插入低损耗介电层，在某种程度上创造了新的、重要的设计、模拟和实现挑战。例如，在模拟领域，计算上很难模拟包含电非常薄的高介电材料层的完整结构。同样具有挑战性的是，在铁电层与共面导体分离的情况下，设计有效的直流偏置机制。在铁电材料表面或内部阻挡偏置导体是可能的，但需要仔细考虑材料兼容性，以及可能的射频屏蔽和干扰。拟议工作的目标是与我们的合作伙伴Trex Enterprises一起解决这些挑战，Trex Enterprises将提供技术能力、专业知识和最先进的实验设施，以进行材料测试和制造责任。相信所提出的方法最终将利用铁电材料技术提供高性能射频器件的成功设计，这是人们期待已久但难以实现的优点。然而，仍需要大量的详细研究和基本理解，但初步的模拟结果非常令人鼓舞，预计回报将非常可观。智能影响：可调谐射频器件和相控阵天线为无线通信、雷达、空间探索和遥感的广泛应用提供了至关重要的技术。提出的新方法是基于使用多介电层，包括薄膜铁电材料，是新的，有望生产高性能的设备和系统。这提出了一种范式转变，可能最终实现铁电材料技术及其射频应用的预期收益。夏威夷大学和Trex企业之间的合作努力提供了集成的分析和工程设计工作，这将导致成功原型的制造和最终测试。教育部分包括一篇博士研究生论文，一名研究助理，以及将从事介电测量和铁电材料加工的本科生。更广泛的影响：这个项目的成功完成给我们带来了很大的期望。在技术方面，将进行射频和铁电材料技术的基础研究，并将有助于促进对有效实现该技术预期收益的途径的理解。在知识产权方面，将开发具有广泛商业和军事应用的新型高性能低成本可调谐设备和天线阵列。

0525270IskanderThe PI requests NSF funding for the proposed collaborative research between the Hawaii Center for Advanced Communication at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the Trex Enterprises Corporation in the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The proposed project involves fundamental research, innovative design, fabrication, and testing of a unique approach for developing high performance tunable RF devices and phased antenna arrays.Specifically, he proposes to use novel multilayer dielectric materials to design tunable RF devices such as phase shifters and filters, and integrate these multi-dielectric designs with the Continuous Transverse Stubs (CTS) technology to develop high performance, low cost phased antenna arrays with beam steering capabilities. The multilayer dielectric designs involve a thin layer of a Ferroelectric material (e.g. BSTO) sandwiched between two layers of lossless or low loss (SiO2) materials. The separation of the coplanar conductors and the Ferroelectric material using a thin (0.5um) resulted in overcoming a long standing problem that was often encountered when using the Ferroelectric material technology. It significantly reduces the insertion losses while maintaining a significant fraction of the other expected high system performance parameters such as tunability. Preliminary simulation results in both the phase shifters design and the CTS phased antenna array areas showed that this proposed multilayer dielectric arrangements provides significant advantages including reducing the often unacceptably high insertion losses, improving the impedance matching characteristics, and providing practical values of figures of merits such as phase shift per dB (over 30o/dB using coplanar waveguides at 10GHz), and beam steering capabilities (-35o to +35 o with 20% Ferroelectric material tunability) for the CTS antenna array case.The insertion of the low loss dielectric layer between the coplanar conductors and the Ferroelectric material, however, created new and in a way significant design, simulation, and implementation challenges. In the simulation area, for example, it is computationally very difficult to simulate complete structure that includes electrically very thin layers of high dielectric materials. Equally challenging, is to design an effective DC biasing mechanism now that the Ferroelectric layer is separated from the coplanar conductors. Impeding biasing conductors on the surface or within the Ferroelectric material may be possible but concerns regarding material compatibility, and the possible RF shielding and interference need to be carefully addressed. It is the objective of the proposed work to address these challenges together with our partner Trex Enterprises who will provide the technical competence, expertise, and the State-of-the-art experimental facilities for carrying out the material testing and the fabrication responsibilities. It is believed that the proposed approach will, at the long last, provide a successful design of high performance RF devices using the much anticipated benefits, but difficult to realize, Ferroelectric material technology. Significant amount of detailed research and fundamental understanding, however, are still needed but initial simulation results are very encouraging and the payoff is expected to be very significant.Intellectual Impact:Tunable RF devices and phased array antennas present critically important technologies for broad range of applications in wireless communication, radar, space exploration, and remote sensing. The proposed novel approach that is based on the use of multi-dielectric layers including a thin film Ferroelectric material is new and is expected to produce high performance devices and systems. This presents a paradigm shift that may ultimately realize the much anticipated benefits from the Ferroelectric material technology and its RF applications. The collaborative effort between the University of Hawaii and Trex Enterprises provides integrated analytical and engineering design effort that will lead to the fabrication and the ultimate testing of successful prototypes. Education component includes one PhD graduate dissertations, a research associate, and undergraduate students who will work on dielectric measurements and the Ferroelectric material processing.Broader Impact:Much is expected from the successful completion of this project. On the technical side, fundamental research in both the RF and ferroelectric material technology will be conducted and will help boost understanding of avenues to effectively realization the much anticipated benefits from this technology. On the intellectual property side, new high performance and low cost tunable devices and antenna arrays will be developed with broad commercial and military applications.