SBIR Phase I: Compact and Power Efficient Integrated Voltage Tunable RF Inductors and Transformers with Wide Tunable Inductance Range

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This Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new class of integrated voltage tunable RF inductors and transformers, which are based on the voltage control of magnetism in ferroelectric/magnetic composite materials. These integrated voltage tunable RF inductors and transformers are compact and power efficient, having a wide inductance tuning range, a significantly boosted operating frequency range at several GHz and enhanced quality factor over conventional integrated magnetic inductors. When combined with different commercially available varactor technologies, these tunable inductors and transformers will considerably extend the tunable frequency range of critical RF reconfigurable components and circuits such as tunable impedance matching networks, tunable filters, tunable power amplifiers, tunable low-noise amplifiers, and tunable phase shifters. Such tunable inductors and transformers will lead to transformative ultra-wideband reconfigurable communication systems that are of critical importance in today's highly crowded and complex electromagnetic environment. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes the development a new class of compact and power efficient voltage tunable inductors and transformers, which will enable novel adaptive RF components such as tunable impedance matching networks, tunable filters, tunable power amplifiers, tunable low-noise amplifiers with significantly enhanced tuning frequency ranges, and also create totally new markets for tunable RF components. Compared to integrated RF magnetic inductors which typically show low quality factors at GHz, the voltage tunable inductors and transformers will have significantly enhanced quality factor and extended operating frequency in addition to being efficiently tunable across a wide inductance range. These tunable RF inductors and transformers can nicely complement other commercially available varactor technologies and provide a significantly enhanced tuning frequency range for circuits such as tunable impedance matching networks, antenna tuners, tunable power amplifiers and tunable low noise amplifiers, which will enable new markets for reconfigurable RF components, circuits and communication systems, and have great impacts on different industries such as smart phones, laptops, tablets, E-readers, etc.