I-Corps: Acoustic Filters for Next Generation Wireless Handsets

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of technologies to improve bandwidth in the wireless infrastructure. Regulatory agencies world-wide are allocating new wireless spectrum to support increasing throughput demands. Radio systems will require wide bandwidth with low loss to meet the demanded data throughout. Currently available handset filter technology is not able to achieve such wide bandwidth with acceptable loss, resulting in sub-optimum system throughput. The proposed technology triples the bandwidth available in a radio’s front-end to serve the needs of the 5G filter market space. The thin-film technology enables a system that achieves wide bandwidths, low loss, may be manufactured with high yields in a cost-efficient manner at external foundries, and can be used in a form factor consistent with industry standards. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a radio frequency filter technology that uses thin-films of lithium niobate (LN) resonators. Of particular interest are the LTE 77-79 bands defined as part of the 5th generation cellular network deployment plan (5G), which serves the 3.3 GHz - 5 GHz spectrum. The proposed technology explores translation of a microfabrication process capable of manufacturing acoustic resonators using thin-films of LN. The main challenge for the LN technology is ensuring operation at the frequency of interest for 5G bands (3-6 GHz) in a low-cost manufacturing process.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.