Polymer resonator antenna arrays (I2I Phase I)

在加拿大，无线设备代表着价值数十亿美元的产业，并以前所未有的方式推动着我们的生活和经济，人们对微型通信、传感器设备和网络的渴望正在改变我们彼此互动的方式，并收集有关我们周围环境的数据。一种制造商用无线天线的新方法是使用基于聚合物的材料。聚合物可以与多种填料混合，以产生独特的性能。聚合物的天然柔软性极大地简化了制造，并允许使用微制造技术将厚材料层塑造成具有精细特征的复杂几何形状和阵列。

Wireless devices represent multi-billion dollar industries in Canada, and drive our lives and economy like never before with a desire for miniature communication and sensor devices and networks that are changing the very way we interact with each other and gather data about the environment around us. A new approach to fabricate antennas for commercial wireless applications is to use polymer-based materials. Polymers can be mixed with a wide variety of fillers to produce unique performance capabilities. The natural softness of polymers dramatically simplifies the fabrication, and allows the use of microfabrication techniques to shape thick material layers into complicated geometries and arrays with fine features. Pre-commercial prototype array antennas based on University of Saskatchewan "Polymer-based Resonator Antenna (PRA) technology" will be developed. The PRA antenna array prototypes will be developed specifically for emerging millimeter-wave applications, for instance in high data rate fixed cellular wireless backhaul, and wireless automotive driver assist systems. Several prototypes will be developed to demonstrate different performance characteristics. The prototypes will demonstrate various performance and fabrication advantages for adoption into commercial applications, using novel materials and a polymer-based microfabrication approach.