MRI: Acquisition of Microwave Measurement Facilities for RF/MMIC Research

ECCS-0723113周勇，德克萨斯大学BrownsvilleINTELLECTUCTUAL优点：具有竞争力的下一代雷达传感器在射频范围2-50 GHz应该最好是大带宽、高性能、低功耗、低成本、小尺寸和轻量化的解决方案。近年来半导体技术的发展催生了微波单片集成电路技术，使得直接在单片芯片上设计微波收发两用机成为可能，具有传统分立解决方案无法实现的优点。另一种满足上述性能要求的途径是开发和利用人工结构的超材料，其潜在的优势包括增加带宽和减小物理尺寸。基于这两种方法可以进行针对不同应用的研究。研究人员对矢量网络分析仪、信号发生器和微波设计/仿真软件提出了要求，以加强和启动微波传感器设计及其三个具体应用的研究：1)用于南部边境监视的低误警率射频传感器的开发；2)生物医学诊断中的超宽带微波成像技术；3)基于超材料衬底的高效微型贴片天线设计。更广泛的影响：拟议的仪器和研究项目可以直接促进和加强微波技术及其在国家安全、生物医学成像和无线通信中的应用。这将导致在南得克萨斯山谷地区建立第一个微波单片集成电路研究中心，并将对系、大学和整个社区的发展至关重要。研究活动的跨学科方面将使学生和研究人员接触到几个工程领域。该项目还将有助于为该地区代表性不足的拉美裔学生培育一个不断扩大的研究和教育环境。预计将有10到40名学生在他们的高中设计和实验室项目中使用建议的仪器。

ECCS-0723113Yong Zhou, University of Texas BrownsvilleINTELLECTUAL MERIT: Competitive next-generation radar sensors in radio frequency range 2-50GHz should preferably be a large bandwidth, high performance, low power consumption, low cost, small-sized and a light-weight solution. The development of semiconductor technology in recent years has led to the microwave monolithic integrated circuit technique, which made it possible to design the microwave transmitter/receiver directly on a single chip with the advantages that the traditional discrete solution can not achieve. Another approach to fulfill the above performance requirements is the development and utilization of artificially-structured metamaterial, whose potential advantages include increased bandwidth and the physical size reduction. Research aiming at different applications can be carried out based on the two approaches. The investigators request a vector network analyzer, a signal generator, and the microwave design/simulation software to enhance and initialize the research in microwave sensor design and its three specific applications: 1) the development of low false-alert-rate radio frequency sensors for south border surveillance, 2) the ultra-wideband microwave imaging technique in biomedical diagnosis, and 3) high-efficiency miniature patch antenna design with metamaterial substrate. BROADER IMPACTS: The proposed instrumentation and research projects can directly advance and enhance the microwave technology and its applications in national security, biomedical imaging, and wireless communication. It will lead to the first microwave monolithic integrated circuit research center in south Texas valley region and will be essential for the growth of the department, the university and the community as a whole. The interdisciplinary aspect of the research activities will allow students and researchers to be exposed to several engineering areas. The project will also help nurture an expanding research and education environment for the underrepresented Hispanic students in the region. Ten to forty students are expected to use the proposed instrumentation for their senior design and laboratory projects over