Millimetre wave micromachined devices for communications and radar

最近，随着移动电话使用量的大幅增加，通信变得越来越受欢迎。手机和允许它们进行通信的基础设施都需要性能极高、尺寸非常小的电子元件。这项建议的目的是制造新的微型化电子元件。感兴趣的组件在微波频率范围内工作在非常高的频率（大于1GHz）。由于伯明翰大学正在开发两种相对较新的制造工艺，制造新的微型部件成为可能。制造过程能够以令人难以置信的精度加工材料，以生产非常小，非常精确的形状。这些形状的设计是为了在新设备中执行电子信号处理功能。机械加工不是通过机械手段，而是通过化学蚀刻，加工的材料是硅和环氧树脂。显然，使用这种新材料需要在新型微波电路的设计以及微加工工艺的持续发展上付出大量的努力。因此，项目的结果将是制造组件以及某些组件本身的新过程。虽然上文提到移动通信是这些组件可以使用的一个例子，但新组件还有更多的用途。极高频率（高达100GHz及以上）和雷达系统的通信是潜在用途的极好例子。

Communications has recently seen a surge in popularity with the vast increase in mobile phone usage. Both the phones and the infrastructure, which allows them to communicate, requires electronic components of extremely high performance which are very small in size. This proposal aims at making new miniaturised electronic components. The components of interest operate at very high frequencies (greater than 1GHz) in the microwave frequency regime. It is possible to build new miniature components because of two relatively new manufacturing processes being developed at Birmingham University. The manufacturing processes have the ability to machine materials to an incredible accuracy to produce very small, very precise shapes. These shapes are designed to perform the electronic signal processing function in the new devices. The machining is not by mechanical means but by chemical etching and the materials to be machined are silicon and an epoxy resin. Clearly with this new material a great deal of effort is required on the design of the new microwave circuits as well as continued development of the micromachining process. The outcome of the project will therefore be new processes to make the components as well as some components themselves. Although mobile communications was mentioned above as an example of where the components could be used, there are many more uses of the new components. Communications at extremely high frequencies (up to and above 100GHz) and radar systems are excellent examples of potential uses.