Integrated Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Phase Change Material Devices

相变材料在光学和非易失性存储器件中得到了广泛的应用。在过去的几年里，人们对开发PCM技术，特别是用于射频(RF)开关应用的碲化锗(Gete)及其合金感兴趣。基于射频PCM的器件的工作原理是基于材料从高阻状态(非晶相)转换到低阻状态(晶相)的能力，通过应用产生热量的短脉冲来在这两种状态之间切换，反之亦然。除了小型化，基于PCM Gete的开关还提供锁存功能，并可与其他微波和毫米波电路集成，如可重新配置的滤波器、移相器和天线匹配网络。该研究计划将重点放在PCM技术与压电技术的单片集成上，以开发用于低频(1-6 GHz)应用的可重新配置的声学滤波器。它还将专注于将PCM技术与硅微机械加工技术相结合，开发用于新兴无线通信系统的低损耗可重构毫米波组件(60 GHz及以上)。这一研究计划将有助于培养博士和硕士水平的学生，使他们具备在射频工程领域进行全球竞争的技能。它还将为加拿大涉及无线技术的行业带来巨大好处。

Phase Change Materials (PCM) have been widely used in optical and non-volatile memory devices applications. Over the past recent years, there have been interest in exploiting the PCM technology, especially germanium telluride (GeTe) and its alloys, for Radio Frequency (RF) switch applications. The principle of operation of RF PCM-based devices is based on the ability of the material to transform from a high-resistivity sate (amorphous phase) to a low-resistivity state (crystalline phase) and vice versa with the application of short duration pulses that generate heat to switch between the two states. In addition to miniaturization, PCM GeTe based switches offer latching functionality and are amenable to integration with other microwave and millimeter-wave circuits such as reconfigurable filters, phase shifters and antenna matching networks. The research program will focus on monolithic integration of PCM technology with piezoelectric technology to develop reconfigurable acoustic filters for use in low frequency applications (1-6 GHz) applications. It will also focus on the integration of PCM technology with silicon micromachining technology to develop low-loss reconfigurable millimeter-wave components (60 GHz and up) for use in emerging wireless communication systems. This research program will contribute to the training of students at the PhD and Master levels with the skills to compete globally in the fields of RF engineering. It will also draw tremendous benefits to Canadian industries involved in wireless technologies.