CAREER: Waveguide-Based Power Combining Architectures Scalable to Submillimeter-Wave Frequencies

电磁频谱的一部分曾经是天文学和遥感工作的领域，现在科学界、军事界和商业界对它越来越感兴趣。例如，正在考虑各种宽带通信平台和小型生物和化学探测装置，以便在亚毫米波范围内的频率下工作。 也许部署这种高频系统的最大障碍是缺乏紧凑、低成本的电源。 由于单个固态设备的功率在接近亚毫米波范围的频率下是适度的，因此在构建源时，将来自许多单个设备的功率组合起来通常是必要的。 拟议的研究解决了建立这样的电源的问题，通过调查新的波导为基础的功率组合架构，可以很容易地扩展到亚毫米波频率，使用低成本的微机械加工技术。与此职业生涯项目相关的教育活动解决了以下需求：在蒙大拿州立大学招募和留住电气和计算机工程专业的多样化学生群体，提供一门课程，培养高频电子学的强大背景，激励本科生在研究生院继续深造，并为学生提供参与有意义研究的机会。 这些目标将部分通过以下活动来实现，包括重新编写蒙大拿州立大学的电气工程入门课程，开发无线电频率电子学高级课程，并赞助强调高频电子学的高级设计项目。 作为使潜在的大学生熟悉蒙大拿州电气和计算机工程系的一种手段，电气工程入门课程的结构将允许其作为远程学习课程提供给高中高年级学生和社区大学生。 该课程还将被用作与蒙大拿州部落学院Salish Kootenai学院合作的工具，以努力在两年制部落学院和蒙大拿州四年制电气和计算机工程项目之间架起桥梁。

0347469Portions of the electromagnetic spectrum that were once the domain to only astronomy and remote sensing efforts are of growing interest to the scientific, military, and commercial communities. For example, various wideband communication platforms and compact biological and chemical detection devices are being considered for operation at frequencies into the submillimeter-wave range. Perhaps the most formidable obstacle to deploying such high- frequency systems is the lack of compact, low-cost power sources. As the power from a single solid-state device is modest at frequencies approaching the submillimeter-wave range, combining the power from many individual devices often becomes necessary when building sources. The proposed research addresses the issue of establishing such power sources through investigation of novel waveguide-based power combining architectures that can be readily scaled to submillimeter-wave frequencies using low-cost micromachining techniques. The educational activities associated with this CAREER project address the need to: recruit and retain a diverse student population in electrical and computer engineering at Montana State, provide a curriculum that fosters a strong background in high-frequency electronics, inspire undergraduates to pursue further study in graduate school, and provide an opportunity for students to be involved in meaningful research. These goals will be addressed in part through activities that include re-working the introductory electrical engineering course at Montana State, developing an advanced course in radio frequency electronics and sponsoring senior design projects that emphasize high-frequency electronics. As a means to familiarize potential university students with the electrical and computer engineering department at Montana State, the introductory electrical engineering course will be structured to allow for its offering as a distance learning course to high school seniors and community college students. The course will also be used as a vehicle to collaborate with Salish Kootenai College, a tribal college within the state of Montana, in an effort to provide a bridge between two-year tribal colleges and the four-year electrical and computer engineering program at Montana State.