SBIR Phase I: Compact and Power Efficient Integrated Voltage Tunable RF Inductors and Transformers with Wide Tunable Inductance Range

这项小型企业创新研究计划(SBIR)第一阶段项目计划开发一种新型的集成电压可调射频电感和变压器，该电感和变压器基于铁电/磁性复合材料中的磁性电压控制。这些集成电压可调的射频电感和变压器结构紧凑、能效高、电感可调范围宽、工作频率范围在几GHz处显著提高、品质因数高于传统集成磁电感。当与不同的商用变容二极管技术相结合时，这些可调电感和变压器将极大地扩展关键射频可重构元件和电路的可调频率范围，如可调阻抗匹配网络、可调滤波器、可调功率放大器、可调低噪声放大器和可调移相器。这种可调电感和变压器将导致变革性的超宽带可重构通信系统，这在当今高度拥挤和复杂的电磁环境中至关重要。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括开发一种新型紧凑、节能的电压可调电感和变压器，将使新型自适应射频元件如可调谐阻抗匹配网络、可调滤波器、可调功率放大器、可调低噪声放大器、可调频率范围大大增强，并创造可调谐射频元件的全新市场。与通常在GHz显示低品质因数的集成射频磁电感相比，电压可调电感和变压器除了在较宽的电感范围内可有效调谐外，还将具有显著增强的品质因数和更高的工作频率。这些可调射频电感和变压器能够很好地补充其他商用变容二极管技术，并为可调阻抗匹配网络、天线调谐器、可调功率放大器和可调低噪声放大器等电路提供显著增强的调谐频率范围，从而为可重构射频元件、电路和通信系统开辟新的市场，并对智能手机、笔记本电脑、平板电脑、电子阅读器等不同行业产生重大影响。

This Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new class of integrated voltage tunable RF inductors and transformers, which are based on the voltage control of magnetism in ferroelectric/magnetic composite materials. These integrated voltage tunable RF inductors and transformers are compact and power efficient, having a wide inductance tuning range, a significantly boosted operating frequency range at several GHz and enhanced quality factor over conventional integrated magnetic inductors. When combined with different commercially available varactor technologies, these tunable inductors and transformers will considerably extend the tunable frequency range of critical RF reconfigurable components and circuits such as tunable impedance matching networks, tunable filters, tunable power amplifiers, tunable low-noise amplifiers, and tunable phase shifters. Such tunable inductors and transformers will lead to transformative ultra-wideband reconfigurable communication systems that are of critical importance in today's highly crowded and complex electromagnetic environment. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes the development a new class of compact and power efficient voltage tunable inductors and transformers, which will enable novel adaptive RF components such as tunable impedance matching networks, tunable filters, tunable power amplifiers, tunable low-noise amplifiers with significantly enhanced tuning frequency ranges, and also create totally new markets for tunable RF components. Compared to integrated RF magnetic inductors which typically show low quality factors at GHz, the voltage tunable inductors and transformers will have significantly enhanced quality factor and extended operating frequency in addition to being efficiently tunable across a wide inductance range. These tunable RF inductors and transformers can nicely complement other commercially available varactor technologies and provide a significantly enhanced tuning frequency range for circuits such as tunable impedance matching networks, antenna tuners, tunable power amplifiers and tunable low noise amplifiers, which will enable new markets for reconfigurable RF components, circuits and communication systems, and have great impacts on different industries such as smart phones, laptops, tablets, E-readers, etc.