"Integrated LTCC/MEMS Circuits for Small-Size, Light-Weight and Power-Efficient Intelligent RF Front-Ends"

近年来，École de techngie supimrieure （ÉTS）在加拿大经济发展部的支持下，投入了大量资金，建造并装备了两个位于同一地点的洁净室设施，其中一个用于低温共烧陶瓷（LTCC）制造工艺，另一个用于微机电系统（MEMS）制造工艺。LTCC设施是加拿大首个此类设施，包括世界级的工业级制造链，而MEMS设施则拥有最先进的微系统制造设备。LTCC允许以三维方式制造电路，使得电路可以做得更小更轻。另一方面，MEMS可以使电路重新配置，这样一个电路可以服务于多个频率和多个标准，从而减少了智能手机等无线终端所需的组件数量。本建议的目的是利用这些设施进行研究，以开发通常用于无线和卫星通信的新颖射频电路和设备。通过结合LTCC和MEMS，我们计划开发新的更智能，更小，更轻重量和更节能的电路，可以降低成本，同时提供更高的性能。将在该计划下接受培训的人员将被要求通过在这些新电路的设计、制造和测试中取得一系列科学和技术进步并发展广泛的新技能来实现这一目标。许多加拿大公司、联邦实验室和大学对ÉTS的新设施表示了极大的兴趣。提出的研究计划的结果将有助于推进现有的原型工艺技术和开发新的。这反过来将有助于满足工业需求，并将使与它们的合作更容易，并大大提高生产力。

In recent years, École de technolgie supérieure (ÉTS), with support from Economic Development Canada, invested significant amounts of money to build and equip two co-located clean room facilities that house a Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics (LTCC) fabrication process, in one, and a Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) fabrication process, in the other. The LTCC facility, a first of its kind in Canada, includes a world class industrial grade fabrication chain while the MEMS facility houses state of the art microsystems fabrication equipment. LTCC allows the fabrication of circuits in a 3-dimensional fashion such that circuits can be made smaller and lighter. MEMS on the other hand can make circuits reconfigurable such that one circuit can serve multiple frequencies and multiple standards thus reducing the number or components needed in wireless terminals such as a smart phone. The present proposal aims at carrying out research using these facilities to develop new innovative radiofrequency circuits and devices commonly used in wireless and satellite communications. By combining LTCC and MEMS, we plan to develop new smarter, smaller, lighter weight and more power efficient circuits that can drive down cost while offering more performance. The personnel who will be trained under this program will be called upon to meet this objective by making a number of scientific and technological advancements and by developing a wide range of new skills in the design, fabrication and testing of these new circuits. A number of Canadian companies, federal laboratories and universities have expressed great interest in ÉTS's new facilities. The results of the proposed research program will help advance the existing prototyping processes techniques and develop new ones. This will in turn help meet industrial needs and will make collaborations with them easier and substantially more productive.