CAREER: Frequency Agile Real-Time Reconfigurable RF Analog Co-Processor Design Leveraging Engineered Nanoparticle and 3D Printing

人们对高速、可靠和高数据速率传输的需求在不断增长，新兴的升级频谱和高效的频谱利用是支持这些迫切需求的关键方法。然而，具有宽瞬时带宽的新频谱给传统硬件系统中的滤波器设计、高性能模数转换器设计和数字信号处理器设计带来了前所未有的挑战。因此，本课题旨在研究低成本紧凑的可重构实时射频(RF)模拟协处理器，以降低数字域的处理负载，从而加快计算速度，节约能源消耗，降低整体系统成本。射频模拟协处理器将为开发未来的通信和计算硬件平台带来新的解决方案，研究成果可直接应用于雷达、5G/6G/下一代无线通信、自动驾驶、物联网(IoT)、量子计算、人工智能、机器学习、无线传感、智能城市、智能健康和智能生活。此外，利用先进的3D打印和相变纳米颗粒控制的复合墨水开发用于紧凑型可打印射频协处理器设计，将为射频/微波组件、电路和无线系统中具有新功能和高度灵活性、可调性和适应性的低成本快节奏设计方法铺平道路。该项目的教育和推广工作将扩大HBCU中代表性不足的少数族裔学生在地方和全国范围内参与工程领域的机会。此外，该项目中的研究和教育计划模型将成为极好的资源，帮助其他HBCU在K-12、本科和研究生教育中产生影响，扩大美国STEM劳动力发展的多样化和多学科人才库。该职业项目的总体目标是通过开发具有可配置介电特性的新型复合薄膜并结合3D打印技术，研究低成本紧凑型可重构实时射频模拟协处理器电路。具体地说：1)开发了一个射频模拟协处理器，直接在其电磁波形域进行可配置的数学运算，以减轻数字信号处理中的高运算量。2)通过控制载流子基质材料中相变纳米粒子的形状、大小和填充因子，开发出介电性能可配置的薄膜，实现频率可调的射频模拟协处理器。3)利用可打印的相变复合油墨，利用金属-介质同时3D打印技术，以低成本制造出3D紧凑型频率可配置的射频模拟协处理器。该射频实时可配置模拟信号协处理器具有以下优点：a)在将信号转换到数字域之前，直接在模拟域对信号进行射频处理，从而加快了计算速度。B)放宽了频谱感知、信号变换、数学运算、信号调制、频率变换、模数转换等处理要求，降低了数字信号处理的功耗。C)新颖的可打印复合材料和先进的3D打印技术使设计重量轻、尺寸小、成本低，这有助于将这些设计整合到复杂的系统中。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The demand for high speed, reliable, and high data rate transmission are continuously increasing, and emerging upscaled spectrum and efficient spectrum utilization are key methodologies to support those urgent needs. However, the new spectrum with wide instantaneous bands brings unprecedented challenges for filters design, high performance analog to digital converters design, and digital signal processors design in conventional hardware systems. Therefore, this project aims to investigate reconfigurable real-time radio frequency (RF) analog co-processor in low-cost compact form factor to reduce the processing load in digital domain, which can accelerate computation speed, save the energy consumption, and reduce the overall system cost. The RF analog co-processor will lead to new solutions for developing future communication and computing hardware platforms, and the research outcome can be directly applied to radar, 5G/6G/NextG wireless communications, autonomous driving, internet of things (IoT), quantum computing, AI, machine learning, wireless sensing, smart city, smart health, and smart living. In addition, leveraging advanced 3D printing and phase-changing nanoparticle-controlled composite ink development for compact printable RF co-processor design will pave the way towards novel low-cost fast-paced design methodology in RF/microwave components, circuit, and wireless system with new features and high degrees of flexibility, tunability and adaptability. The education and outreach effort in this project will broaden the participation of underrepresented minority students in HBCU in the engineering fields, both locally and across the nation. Furthermore, the model of research and education plan in this project will be excellent resource to help other HBCUs generate impacts in K-12, undergraduate, and graduate education, expanding the pool of diverse and multi-disciplinary talent for STEM workforce development in the U.S.The overarching goal of this CAREER project is to investigate reconfigurable real-time RF analog co-processor circuits in low-cost compact form factor by developing novel composite film with configurable dielectric characteristic and incorporating 3D printing technique. To be specific: 1) An RF analog co-processor will be developed to perform configurable mathematical operations directly at its electromagnetic waveform domain to relax high computational load in digital signal processing. 2) A film with configurable dielectric property will be developed by manipulating the shape, size, and filling factor of phase-changing nanoparticles in carrier matrix material to achieve frequency-tunable RF analog co-processor. 3) With the printable phase-changing composite ink, a simultaneous metal-dielectric 3D printing technique will be leveraged to fabricate the frequency-configurable RF analog co-processor in 3D compact form factor with low cost. The RF real-time configurable analog signal co-processor features the following advantages to cater the needs of high-date-rate transmission and high-speed computation with low energy consumption: a) It processes the signals directly at RF frequency in analog domain before converting them to digital domain, which accelerates the computing speed. b) It relaxes the processing demand of spectrum sensing, signal transformation, mathematical operation, signal modulation, frequency conversion, and analog/digital conversion, which reduces power consumption in digital signal processing. c) The novel printable composite material and the advanced 3D printing technique enable designs with light weight, compact size, and low cost, which facilitates the integration of these designs in complex systems.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.