MRI: Acquisition of a Wideband Continuous-Wave Characterization Platform

鉴于无线设备、传感器和计算机在我们的世界中的扩散，电磁频谱的有效利用至关重要。 该项目将支持在俄克拉荷马州州立大学购置一台连续波表征仪器，以解决电磁学和通信研究中毫米波和太赫兹频率波利用方面众所周知的长期空白。MRI仪器具有独特的功能，有可能解决阻碍高性能通信、传感和成像技术发展的基础研究问题。 MRI仪器将能够研究新型磁性材料背后的基础物理学，这种材料可以加速计算机内存并产生更节能的架构。 它还有可能为下一代无线通信研究带来新的想法，这些想法可能会在无人驾驶飞行器的空对空和空对地通信的速度和数据容量方面推动当前最先进的技术。 最后，它可能会推动紧凑型成像系统领域的发展，提供一种开发新的机器视觉技术的手段，这些技术在雷达、可见光和热红外线无法工作的情况下也能工作。 除了这些技术优势外，该仪器还将为下一代工程师和科学家提供独特的教育机会，包括通过OK-LSAMP（OK Louis Stokes少数民族参与联盟），OSU国家实验室日和OSU夏桥计划为高中，本科和研究生，教师和科学家提供培训和推广机会。该仪器还将支持OSU通信和微波课程的新实验室模块。由PI、行业和大学专家组成的志愿者咨询委员会将促进基于MRI仪器的技术转让和研究进展。MRI表征仪器将实现0.11-0.50 THz范围内的窄带透射/反射测量和宽带任意波形测量，频率分辨率低于500 kHz，动态范围为120 dB。 具体目标包括使用该仪器在以下领域做出研究贡献：·开发具有高品质因子电磁响应的人造材料，该电磁响应基于anapole和bound-in-the-continuum概念。 这些将通过高频率分辨率进行实验探索，从而设计出新的高性能毫米波和太赫兹化学/生物传感器。·手征与反铁磁材料中的高频准粒子动力学、自旋霍尔自动振荡器与共振自旋波谱学。 这些研究将推进对量子材料的基本理解，并导致更快，更节能的计算架构。·用于使用无人机（UAV）的5G及更高无线通信的传播信道仿真器。 这些研究将提供新的经验信道模型，为在不可预测的环境条件下基于无人机的通信网络提供工程基础。多通道发射机和有源雷达收发机阵列的实时性能。 这些测量将验证改进的性能、效率，和高带宽通信和主动成像的毫米波集成电路的可靠性。该仪器将利用现有的毫米波集成电路，波和太赫兹基础设施在俄克拉荷马州州立大学，并提供给内部和外部用户。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，

Given the proliferation of wireless devices, sensors, and computers in our world, the efficient utilization of the electromagnetic spectrum is of paramount importance. This project will support the acquisition of a continuous-wave characterization instrument at Oklahoma State University (OSU) to address the well-known and longstanding gap in electromagnetics and communications research of the utilization of millimeter-waves and terahertz frequency waves. The MRI instrument offers unique capabilities that have the potential to tackle the fundamental research problems blocking the development of high-performance communication, sensing, and imaging technologies. The MRI instrument will enable research on the fundamental physics behind novel magnetic materials which could speed up computer memory and produce more power-efficient architectures. It also has the potential to bring new ideas on next-generation wireless communication studies that may advance the current state-of-the-art in terms of speed and data capacity for air-to-air and air-to-ground communications with unmanned aerial vehicles. Finally, it will likely advance the field of compact imaging systems, providing a means of developing new machine vision techniques that work when radar, visible, and thermal infrared do not. Apart from these technological benefits, the instrument will enable unique educational opportunities for the next generation of engineers and scientists, including training and outreach opportunities for high-school, undergraduate, and graduate students, teachers, and scientists through the OK-LSAMP (OK Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation), the OSU National Lab Day, and the OSU Summer Bridge programs. The instrument will also underpin new lab modules in communication and microwave classes at OSU. Technology transfer and research progress based on the MRI instrument will be enhanced by a volunteer advisory committee consisting of the PIs and industry and university experts.The MRI characterization instrument will enable narrowband transmission/reflection measurements and wideband, arbitrary waveform measurements in the 0.11-0.50 THz range with sub-500 kHz frequency resolution and 120 dB dynamic range. Specific goals include the use of the instrument to develop research contributions in the following areas:• Development of artificial materials with high quality factor electromagnetic responses based on anapole and bound-in-the-continuum concepts. These will be experimentally explored with high frequency resolution leading to new and high-performance designs of mm-wave and terahertz chem/bio sensors.• The physics of high frequency quasiparticle dynamics in chiral and anti-ferromagnetic materials, spin-Hall auto-oscillators, and resonance spin-wave spectroscopy. These studies will advance fundamental understanding of quantum materials and lead to faster and more power efficient computing architectures. • Propagation channel emulators for 5G and beyond wireless communications using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). These studies will provide new empirical channel models, providing the engineering foundation for UAV-based communication networks in unpredictable environmental conditions.• Realtime behaviors of multichannel transmitters and active radar transceiver arrays. These measurements will validate the improved performance, efficiency, and reliability of mm-wave integrated circuits for high-bandwidth communications and active imaging.The instrument will be set up for a variety of different measurement types by leveraging the existing millimeter-wave and terahertz infrastructure at Oklahoma State University and made available to both internal and external users.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.