Numerous organisms produce ornately detailed inorganic structures (often known as shells) with features on length scales from the nanoscale to the microscale. One organism, commonly referred to as a diatom, originates from algae and is found throughout the oceans on Earth. These diatoms possess skeletal structures, frustules, made from silicon dioxide. This chemical makeup limits the number of possible applications for which these structures can be used. Using a series of gas displacement reactions, these frustules can be converted to other useful materials, such as magnesium oxide and titanium dioxide, while maintaining the features of the frustule template. In the current research, silicon dioxide frustules were converted to titanium dioxide replicas using method previously devised by our group. The titanium dioxide replicas were subjected to a hydrothermal reaction by exposing the replicas to an aqueous basic solution containing barium hydroxide to form barium titanate and barium strontium titanate replicas. The effects of reaction temperature, time, and solution composition on extent of conversion were examined. The conventional method of converting titanium dioxide to barium titanate, using a convection heating oven, was compared with a microwave assisted heating method to study the advantages of using microwave heating over convection heating.

With the digital systems moving towards higher frequencies, lower operating voltages and higher power, supplying the required current at the right voltage and at the right time to facilitate timely switching of the CMOS circuits becomes increasingly challenging. The board level power supply cannot meet these requirements directly due to the high inductance of the package interconnections. To overcome this problem, several thin film decoupling capacitors have to be placed on the IC or close to the IC in the package. Two approaches were pursued for high-k thin film decoupling capacitors. 1) Low cost sol-gel based thin film capacitors on organic board compatible Cu-foils 2) RF-sputtered thin film capacitors on silicon substrate for silicon compatible processes While sol-gel provides cost effective technology, sputtered ferroelectric devices are more compatible from manufacturing stand point with the existing technology. Nano-crystalline barium titanate and barium strontium titanate film capacitor devices were fabricated and characterized for organic and silicon substrates respectively. Sol-gel barium titanate films were fabricated first on a bare Cu-foil and then transferred to organic board through a standard lamination process. With process optimization and film doping, a capacitance density of 3 µF/cm2 was demonstrated with breakdown voltage greater than 12V. Leakage current characteristics, breakdown voltages, and electrical reliability of the devices were significantly improved through doping of the barium titanate films and modified film chemistry. Films and interfaces were characterized with high resolution electron microscopy, SEM, XRD, and DC leakage measurements. RF sputtering was selected for ferroelectric thin film integration on silicon substrate. Barium strontium titanate (BST) films were deposited on various electrodes sputtered on silicon substrates. The main focus was to improve interface stabilities for high-k thin films on Si to yield large-area defect-free devices. Effect of bottom electrode selection and barrier layers on device yield and performance were investigated carefully. High yield and high device performance was observed for certain electrode and barrier layer combination. A capacitance density up to 1 µF/cm2 was demonstrated with a breakdown voltage above 15 V on large area, 7 mm2, devices. These two techniques can potentially meet mid-high frequency future decoupling requirements.

The advances in modern communication systems have brought about devices with more functionality, better performance, smaller size, lighter weight and lower cost. Meanwhile, the requirement for newer devices has become more demanding than ever. Tunability and flexibility are both long-desired features. Tunable devices are ‘smart’ in the sense that they can adapt to the dynamic environment or varying user demand as well as correct the minor deviations due to manufacturing fluctuations, therefore making it possible to reduce system complexity and overall cost. It is also desired that electronics be flexible to provide conformability and portability. Previously, tunable devices on flexible substrates have been realized mainly by dicing and assembling. This approach is straightforward and easy to carry out. However, it will become a “mission impossible” when it comes to assembling a large amount of rigid devices on a flexible substrate. Moreover, the operating frequency is often limited by the parasitic effect of the interconnection between the diced device and the rest of the circuit on the flexible substrate. A recent effort utilized a strain-sharing Si/SiGe/Si nanomembrane to transfer a device onto a flexible substrate. This approach works very well for silicon based devices with small dimensions, such as transistors and varactor diodes. Large-scale fabrication capability is still under investigation. A new transfer technique is proposed and studied in this research. Tunable BST (Barium Strontium Titanate) IDCs (inter-digital capacitors) are first fabricated on a silicon substrate. The devices are then transferred onto a flexible LCP (liquid crystalline polymer) substrate using iv wafer bonding of the silicon substrate to the LCP substrate, followed by silicon etching. This approach allows for monolithic fabrication so that the transferred devices can operate in millimeter wave frequency. The tunability, capacitance, Q factor and equivalent circuit are studied. The simulated and measured performances are compared. BST capacitors on LCP substrates are also compared with those on sapphire substrates to prove that this transfer process does not impair the performance. A primary study of a reflectarray antenna unit cell is also conducted for loss and phase swing performance. The BST thin film layout and bias line positions are studied in order to reduce the total loss. Transferring a full-size BST-based reflectarray antenna onto an LCP substrate is the ultimate goal, and this work is ongoing at the University of Central Florida (UCF). HFSS is used to simulate the devices and to prove the concept. All of the devices are fabricated in the clean room at UCF. Probe station measurements and waveguide measurements are performed on the capacitors and reflectarray antenna unit cells respectively. This work is the first comprehensive demonstration of this novel transfer technique.

Communication and reconnaissance systems are requiring increasing flexibility concerning functionality and efficiency for multiband and broadband frequency applications. Circuit-based reconfiguration mechanisms continue to promote radio frequency (RF) application flexibility; however, increasing limitations have resulted in hindering performance. Therefore, the implementation of a "wireless" reconfiguration mechanism provides the required agility and amicability for microwave circuits and antennas without local overhead. The wireless reconfiguration mechanism in this thesis integrates dynamic, fluidic-based material systems to achieve electromagnetic agility and reduce the need for "wired" reconfiguration technologies. The dynamic material system component has become known as electromagnetically functionalized colloidal dispersions (EFCDs). In a microfluidic reconfiguration system, they provide electromagnetic agility by altering the colloidal volume fraction of EFCDs - their name highlights the special considerations we give to material systems in applied electromagnetics towards lowering loss and reducing system complexity. Utilizing EFCDs at the RF device-level produced the first circuit-type integration of this reconfiguration system; this is identified as the coaxial stub microfluidic impedance transformer (COSMIX). The COSMIX is a small hollowed segment of transmission line with results showing a full reactive loop (capacitive to inductive tuning) around the Smith chart over a 1.2 GHz bandwidth. A second microfluidic application demonstrates a novel antenna reconfiguration mechanism for a 3 GHz microstrip patch antenna. Results showed a 300 MHz downward frequency shift by dielectric colloidal dispersions. Magnetic material produced a 40 MHz frequency shift. The final application demonstrates the dynamically altering microfluidic system for a 3 GHz 1x2 array of linearly polarized microstrip patch antennas. The parallel microfluidic capillaries were imbedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Both E- and H-plane designs showed a 250 MHz frequency shift by dielectric colloidal dispersions. Results showed a strong correlation between decreasing electrical length of the elements and an increase of the volume fraction, causing frequency to decrease and mutual coupling to increase. Measured, modeled, and analytical results for impedance, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), and radiation behavior (where applicable) are provided.

Communication and reconnaissance systems are requiring increasing flexibility concerning functionality and efficiency for multiband and broadband frequency applications. Circuit-based reconfiguration mechanisms continue to promote radio frequency (RF) application flexibility; however, increasing limitations have resulted in hindering performance. Therefore, the implementation of a "wireless" reconfiguration mechanism provides the required agility and amicability for microwave circuits and antennas without local overhead. The wireless reconfiguration mechanism in this thesis integrates dynamic, fluidic-based material systems to achieve electromagnetic agility and reduce the need for "wired" reconfiguration technologies. The dynamic material system component has become known as electromagnetically functionalized colloidal dispersions (EFCDs). In a microfluidic reconfiguration system, they provide electromagnetic agility by altering the colloidal volume fraction of EFCDs - their name highlights the special considerations we give to material systems in applied electromagnetics towards lowering loss and reducing system complexity. Utilizing EFCDs at the RF device-level produced the first circuit-type integration of this reconfiguration system; this is identified as the coaxial stub microfluidic impedance transformer (COSMIX). The COSMIX is a small hollowed segment of transmission line with results showing a full reactive loop (capacitive to inductive tuning) around the Smith chart over a 1.2 GHz bandwidth. A second microfluidic application demonstrates a novel antenna reconfiguration mechanism for a 3 GHz microstrip patch antenna. Results showed a 300 MHz downward frequency shift by dielectric colloidal dispersions. Magnetic material produced a 40 MHz frequency shift. The final application demonstrates the dynamically altering microfluidic system for a 3 GHz 1x2 array of linearly polarized microstrip patch antennas. The parallel microfluidic capillaries were imbedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Both E- and H-plane designs showed a 250 MHz frequency shift by dielectric colloidal dispersions. Results showed a strong correlation between decreasing electrical length of the elements and an increase of the volume fraction, causing frequency to decrease and mutual coupling to increase. Measured, modeled, and analytical results for impedance, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), and radiation behavior (where applicable) are provided.

Frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) provide a variety of spatial filtering functions, such as band-pass or band-stop properties in a radome or other multilayer structure. This filtering is typically achieved through closely-spaced periodic arrangements of metallic shapes on top of a dielectric substrate (or within a stack of dielectric materials). In most cases, the unit cell size, its shape, the substrate parameters, and the inter-element spacing collectively impact the response of the FSS. Expanding this design space to include reconfigurable FSSs provides opportunities for applications requiring frequency agility and/or other properties. Tuning can also enable operation over a potentially wider range of frequencies and can in some cases be used as a loading mechanism or quasi-ground plane. Many technologies have been considered for this type of agility (RF MEMS, PIN diodes, etc.). This includes the recent use of microfluidics and dispersions of nanoparticles, or fluids with controllable dielectrics, which have entered the design space of numerous other EM applications including stub-tuners, antennas, and filters. In this work they provide a material based approach to reconfiguring an FSS. An FSS based on a four-arm spiral with tunable band-stop characteristics is presented in this work. A thin colloidal dispersion above each element provides this tuning capability. The radial expansion and contraction of this dispersion, as well as the variable permittivity of the dispersion, are used to load each element individually. This design incorporates thin fluidic channels within a PDMS layer below the substrate leading to individual unit cells that provide a closed pressure-driven subsystem that contains the dispersion. With the capability to individually control each cell, groups of cells can be locally altered (individually or in groups) to create gratings and other electromagnetically agile features across the surface or within the volume of a radome or other covering. Simulations and measurements of an S-band tunable design using colloidal Barium Strontium Titanate dispersed Silicone oil are provided to demonstrate the capability to adjust the stop-band characteristics of the FSS across the S-band.

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