Integrated Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Phase Change Material Devices

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Phase Change Materials (PCM) have been widely used in optical and non-volatile memory devices applications. Over the past recent years, there have been interest in exploiting the PCM technology, especially germanium telluride (GeTe) and its alloys, for Radio Frequency (RF) switch applications. The principle of operation of RF PCM-based devices is based on the ability of the material to transform from a high-resistivity sate (amorphous phase) to a low-resistivity state (crystalline phase) and vice versa with the application of short duration pulses that generate heat to switch between the two states. In addition to miniaturization, PCM GeTe based switches offer latching functionality and are amenable to integration with other microwave and millimeter-wave circuits such as reconfigurable filters, phase shifters and antenna matching networks. The research program will focus on monolithic integration of PCM technology with piezoelectric technology to develop reconfigurable acoustic filters for use in low frequency applications (1-6 GHz) applications. It will also focus on the integration of PCM technology with silicon micromachining technology to develop low-loss reconfigurable millimeter-wave components (60 GHz and up) for use in emerging wireless communication systems. This research program will contribute to the training of students at the PhD and Master levels with the skills to compete globally in the fields of RF engineering. It will also draw tremendous benefits to Canadian industries involved in wireless technologies.