ANR - Development and Qualification of Miniature MEMS Switch Matrices for Space Applications

这是加拿大和法国联合提交的提案，以响应NSERC- anr在2009年1月宣布的第一次提案征集。本提案的参与者是：滑铁卢大学（安大略省滑铁卢），CEA-LETI（法国格勒诺布尔），IMEP（法国格勒诺布尔），COM DEV（安大略省剑桥）和NovaMEMS（法国图卢兹）。该提案涉及使用微机电系统（MEMS）技术来开发和鉴定用于空间应用的微型射频（RF）开关矩阵。加拿大的卫星通信工业是国家战略利益的一个领域。随着市场对多媒体服务的需求不断增加，它正在享受着惊人的增长。开关和开关矩阵是卫星有效载荷的关键和实质性部分。它们用于提供板载设备冗余和信号路由。MEMS技术不仅可以减少质量，尺寸和直流功耗，而且还可以提供比当前技术更优越的性能。该项目包括新型射频MEMS开关和开关矩阵的开发，重点是提高天基应用的可靠性。它建立在射频工程和MEMS制造和表征方面的学术团队成员的优势之上。加拿大工业合作伙伴COM DEV是世界上最大的空间应用开关矩阵供应商。法国工业合作伙伴NovaMEMS专门从事微纳米技术的失效分析和可靠性评估。研究团队拥有在这一努力中取得成功所需的所有专业知识和遗产。我们认为该项目对于展示MEMS技术的优势和可行性至关重要，并鼓励卫星主承包商在未来的商业卫星系统中采用这种新一代开关技术。

This is a joint Canadian-French proposal submitted in response to the first NSERC-ANR call for proposals announced by NSERC in January 2009. The participants of this proposal are: the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario), CEA-LETI (Grenoble, France), IMEP( Grenoble, France), COM DEV (Cambridge, Ontario) and NovaMEMS (Toulouse, France). The proposal deals with the use of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology to develop and qualify miniature radio frequency (RF) switch matrices for space applications. The satellite communication industry in Canada is an area of strategic national interest. It is enjoying phenomenal growth with a market that remains fueled by the increased demands for multi-media services. Switches and switch matrices represent a critical and substantive portion of a satellite payload. They are used to provide on-board equipment redundancy and for signal routing. The MEMS technology offers not only a reduction in mass, size and dc power consumption but also the promise of a superior performance to that of the current technologies. The project encompasses the development of novel RF MEMS switches and switch matrices with a focus on improving reliability for space-based applications. It builds on the strengths of the academic team members in RF engineering and MEMS fabrication and characterization. The Canadian industrial partner, COM DEV, is the world's largest supplier of switch matrices for space applications. The French industrial partner, NovaMEMS, specializes in failure analysis and reliability assessment of micro and nano technologies. The research team has all the expertise and heritage needed to succeed in this endeavor. We regard this project as critical for showcasing the benefits and viability of the MEMS technology and encouraging satellite prime contractors to adopt this new generation of switch technology in future commercial satellite systems.