CAREER: Reconfigurable Traveling Wave Silicon Integrated Circuits for Millimeter-Wave Testing

本研究的目的是展示一种毫米波网络分析系统，该系统工作在100至300 GHz之间，现有的测试和测量解决方案既困难又昂贵。该方法是开发宽带，可重构的高频电路，采用最近发现的行波电路技术，称为构波放大。通过在单个传输线上引入局部反馈分流网络，可以通过改变反馈分流网络来改变行波的传播。在任何一个方向上传播的波都可以在很宽的频率范围内被放大。该项目的智力价值包括可重构毫米波电路的发明，它推动了最先进的毫米波电路设计和测试能力。构波放大是这项研究的一个革命性的方面，因为它放松了已知的高频晶体管的限制。研究工作包括对所提出的方法进行理论分析以及使用硅集成电路工艺进行实验验证。该项目的更广泛影响包括为毫米波频率的新科学、医学和工业应用开发使能技术。提出的高频电路的单片集成可以大大降低网络分析的成本。综合教学计划包括将毫米波电路设计和测量原理纳入本科和研究生课程。为了将研究成果带给更广泛的受众，首席研究员将制作一系列在线教学视频，向高中、本科和研究生阶段的学生介绍射频电路设计、测试和测量。

The objective of this research is to demonstrate a millimeter-wave network analysis system that operates at frequencies between 100 and 300 GHz where existing test and measurement solutions are difficult and costly. The approach is to develop wideband, reconfigurable high-frequency circuits that employ a recently discovered traveling wave circuit technique called constructive wave amplification. By introducing localized shunt feedback networks along a single transmission line, traveling wave propagation may be altered through changes to the shunt feedback network. Waves traveling in either direction may be amplified over a wide range of frequencies. The intellectual merit of this project includes the invention of reconfigurable, millimeter-wave circuits that advance both the state-of-the-art for millimeter-wave circuit design as well as test capabilities. Constructive wave amplification is a transformative aspect to this research because it relaxes known high-frequency transistor limitations. The research effort includes the theoretical analysis of the proposed approaches as well as experimental verification using silicon integrated circuit processes.The broader impacts of this project include the development of enabling technologies for new scientific, medical, and industrial applications at millimeter-wave frequencies. The proposed monolithic integration of high-frequency circuitry could lead to substantially reduced cost of network analysis. The integrated educational plan includes incorporation of principles of millimeter-wave circuit design and measurement into undergraduate and graduate level courses. To bring the research outcomes to a broader audience, the principal investigator will create a series of instructional videos available online that introduce students at the high-school, undergraduate, and graduate levels to radio frequency circuit design, test, and measurement.