Memristors for Low-Power, Passive RF Devices

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AbstractIntellectual Merit: Adaptive impedance matching enables development of low cost hybrid antennas with dynamic beamforming capabilities that will improve the performance of wireless communication. However, there are several challenges with existing approaches including: (i) fixed impedance in hybrid antennas restricts flexibility and prevents dynamic beamforming, (ii) employment of semiconductors for impedance switching has several drawbacks. These include: (a) requirement of ?holding? a transistor in a specific state by maintaining a minimum activation voltage leading to an increase in its energy consumption, and (b) nonlinearity of transistors and semiconductors introduce a bias, which changes the effective impedance between strong and weak signals received by an antenna. In contrast, the goal of this project is to study and design a novel approach to RF front-end design with memristors replacing traditional CMOS-based impedance switching. In particular, the memristor-based RF front ends will be employed in a passive RFID technology and hybrid antenna design. The expected contributions include understanding the performance of memristors in radio frequency (RF) applications, and more flexible design of impedance matching networks for antennas. The end result of this effort could lead to a transformative paradigm in designing antennas and RF front-end devices.Broader Impact: The main proposal outcomes are a new knowledge and understanding of how different type of memristors could be applied to RF systems such as adaptive antenna arrays for weak signals, and a simplified design of impedance matching networks and their tuning. This will enable new designs of cheaper and simpler beamforming hybrid antennas in passive radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. The benefits will apply to other communication systems such as cognitive networks and radar systems. A set of outreach activities include engagement of women and students from under-represented minorities through the Missouri S&T Student Diversity Programs office and K-12 outreach that engages high school students through the Missouri S&T Summer Research Academy (SRA) program. In the long term, the outcomes will support a number of memristor based technology applications in communication systems including wearable antenna systems and sensors, and enhancing performance and coverage of wireless Internet access systems for rural, currently-not-serviced areas.