Advanced Ultra-wideband (UWB) devices for wireless communications and radar

超宽带(UWB)技术是最新的射频(RF)设备技术之一。这项新技术对于未来的无线通信和成像雷达应用非常有前景，在这些应用中，可以实现高容量的多址接入和高达数百Mbps的超高速传输。UWB有潜力为英国经济做出重大贡献。然而，随着无线通信和服务的扩展，可用的射频频谱变得越来越稀缺。要充分发挥UWB的巨大潜力，必须解决与其他业务的干扰问题。滤波技术是控制射频信号频谱和解决干扰问题的关键。该方案旨在为未来的超宽带无线通信和雷达系统开发先进的超宽带滤波器。系统级封装(SOP)是未来超宽带射频前端的一种非常有吸引力的方法，它可以在实现高性能模块的同时实现成本和尺寸的降低。为此，拟议的研究将采用液晶聚合物(LCP)，这是最近出现的一种新的微波基板和封装材料。它在非常宽的频率范围内具有低损耗、接近密封性、多层容量和低成本，因此是SOP集成的理想选择。特别是，如果超宽带产品要在个人消费市场取得成功，这种低成本的解决方案是至关重要的。使用这种新材料，需要在设计和实施上付出大量努力。这项拟议的研究将探索新的设计理念。利用LCP多层能力的创新UWB过滤结构将在激光加工等使能制造技术的背景下实施。将开发可重构的超宽带滤波子系统，将有源和无源组件集成在一个LCP封装中。

Ultra wideband (UWB) technology is one of the latest radio-frequency (RF) device technologies to hit the news. The new technology is very promising for future wireless communications and imaging radar applications where high-capacity multiple access and ultra high speed transmission up to several hundreds of Mbps can be implemented. UWB has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the UK economy. However, with the expansion of wireless communications and services, the available RF spectrum is growing scarce. The problem of interference with other services is one which must be solved if the great potential of UWB is to be fully exploited. Filtering technologies are key to controlling the spectrum of RF signals and tackling interference issues. This proposal aims at developing advanced UWB filters for future UWB wireless communications and radar systems.System-on-package (SOP) is a very attractive approach for the development of future UWB RF front-ends, where a high-performance module can be implemented while simultaneously achieving cost and size reduction. To this end, the proposed research will deploy liquid crystal polymer (LCP) that has recently emerged as a new microwave substrate and package material. It has a low loss over a very wide frequency range, near hermetic nature, multilayer capability, and is low cost, and so is ideal for SOP integration. In particular, such a low-cost solution is vital if UWB products are to succeed in the personal consumer market.With this new material a great deal of effort is required on the design and implementation. The proposed research will investigate new design philosophies. Innovative UWB filtering structures that exploit multilayer capability of LCP will be implemented in the light of enabling manufacturing technologies such as laser machining. The reconfigurable UWB filtering sub-system integrating both active and passive components in a single LCP package will be developed.