This thesis represents one phase of a joint effort of research on the properties of liquids and solids. This work is concerned primarily with the microwave properties of solids. In this investigation the properties exhibited by conductor and semiconductor materials when they are subjected to electromagnetic radiation of microwave frequency are studied. The method utilized in this experiment is the perturbation of a resonant cavity produced by introduction of a cylindrically shaped sample into it.

With the end of Si based Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor scaling paradigm approaching fast as predicted by the Moore’s Law, and the technological advancements as well as human needs in many ways pushing for faster devices, graphene has emerged as a powerful alternative solution. This is so because of its very special properties like high charge carrier mobility, highly linear dispersion relation, high current carrying capacity and so on. However, since we have a finite resistance at Dirac point, the on/off ratio in graphene devices is sufficiently low, making graphene devices not so suitable for logical applications. At the same time, the 1/f noise, which is understood till now to originate from surface disorders like those observed in a two-dimensional electron gas system like graphene and is a major unwanted outcome in mesoscopic regime devices, reduces very much at high frequencies, making these devices good candidates for high frequency analogue applications. Motivated by these observations, this work explores fabrication and characterization of graphene field effect transistors operating at microwave frequencies, and compares a double gated device performance to a mono-gated device having the same geometry, dielectric layer thickness and gate length. A simple electrostatic finite element simulation model has also been developed to support our experimental observations by fitting simulated gate coupling capacitance values to the measured data. The model helps us in understanding the level of interface trap charge densities introduced into the device channel during fabrication, and the effect of quantum capacitance on device performance, and is in line with the experimental observations. Our results show that a double gated graphene FET has superior performance compared to a mono-gated FET.

The thesis contains two separate projects: Part A and Part B. / Part A: No abstract provided. Part B: A method for measuring the complex permittivity of insulator materials at microwave frequencies is described in detail. Results of dielectric measurements using this technique are in good agreement with data from other sources. MKS units are used in this report. / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Contemporary wireless systems have advanced toward smart and multifunctional radios such as software-defined or cognitive radios which access a wideband or multiband spectrum dynamically. It is desirable for the wireless systems to have high frequency selectivity early in the receiver chain at RF to relax the dynamic range requirements of subsequent stages. However, integration of high selectivity RF band-pass filters (BPF), or band-stop filters (BSF) is challenging because of limited quality factor (Q) of passive components in integrated circuit (IC) technology [1]. This proposed research achieves the followings: 1. Developing, and demonstrating innovative integrated band-pass filter that relaxes the performance tradeoffs in conventional LC filters to maximally increase filter reconfigurability in frequency tuning range (2-18 GHz), selectivity (Q=5~100) with superior dynamic range (DR>100 dB) at RF to microwave frequency range [2]. 2. Implementing active notch filter system comprised of a Q-enhancement band-pass filter (BPF) and an all-pass amplifier. The notch response is synthesized by subtracting the BPF output from the all-pass output. In the proposed synthetic notch filters, the BPF is responsible for defining selectivity while stop-band attenuation is primarily dependent on the gain matching between the BPF and all-pass amplifier. Therefore, notch attenuation is controllable independently from the bandwidth tuning, providing more operational flexibility. Further, the filter dynamic range is optimized in the all-pass amplifier independently from the selectivity control in the BPF, resolving entrenched tradeoff between selectivity and dynamic range in active filters [3]. 3. Demonstrating the mode reconfigurable LC filter that works in either BPF or BSF for a flexible blocker filtering adaptive to the dynamic blocker environments. 4. Implementing a novel feedback-based interference rejection system to improving the linearity of the BPF for high Q cases, in which the BPF Q is set to a specific value and further increase in Q is achieved using feedback gain. And finally, the second LC tank is added to increase the out of band rejection in band-pass characteristics. / Ph. D.

Because of the great difficulty of obtaining exact numerical values of cross-section, and because of the inherent uncertainties in interpreting and evaluating the approximate methods, accurate experimental cross-section data would be extremely useful to the radar engineer. It was with this purpose in mind that the present long-range research program in microwave scattering was undertaken. Of immediate interest were the scattering properties of the prolate spheroid, the ogive (formed by rotating the minor segment of a circle around the chord), and, for comparison, the long cylinder.

No description available.

L'intégration d'oxydes ferroélectriques permet la réduction des dimensions de dispositifs électroniques pour des applications en télécommunications, tout en leur apportant la reconfigurabilité. Parmi ces matériaux multifonctionnels, KxNa1-xNbO3 (KNN) se présente comme un candidat oxyde sans plomb prometteur pour un grand nombre d'applications. L'objectif de cette thèse est l'élaboration de couches minces de KNN et l'étude de leurs propriétés diélectriques en hyperfréquences en vue de leur intégration dans des antennes miniatures et reconfigurables. La permittivité εr, les pertes tanδ et l'agilité seront caractérisées à partir de couches minces de KNN déposées par la technique d'ablation laser. De plus, les avancements sur les dépôts par pulvérisation cathodique seront présentés. Après une étude sur la composition du matériau, l'influence des propriétés structurales sur les propriété diélectriques à travers l'utilisation de deux types de substrats a permis l'obtention d'une agilité de 20% sous un champ Ebias de 90 kV/cm. Une caractérisation diélectrique en température aura permis d'observer, à 10 GHz, une augmentation de la permittivité de 360 à 20°C jusqu'à 1000 à 240°C au niveau de la transition de phase polymorphique. Lors de ces travaux, la phase bronze de tungstène tétragonale (TTB), encore très peu étudiée dans le système K-Na-Nb-O a été préparée en couches minces fortement orientées et une permittivité élevée a été obtenue à basses (~200 à 10 kHz) et hautes fréquences (~130 à 10 GHz). Enfin la conception, la réalisation et la mesure d'antennes miniatures intégrant du KNN ont été effectuées. / Ferroelectric materials are a solution for reducing the size of electronic devices for telecommunication applications while also enabling reconfigurability. Among the multifunctional materials, KxNa1-xNbO3 (KNN) is a promising lead-free oxide for a large number of applications. The main goal of this work is the elaboration of KNN thin films and their dielectric characterisations in order to integrate the thin film to obtain miniature reconfigurable antennas. The permittivity εr, the loss tanδ and the tunability, at microwave frequencies, of the KNN were retrieved from thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition. Also, the progress on the deposition of KNN thin films by RF magnetron sputtering will be presented. After the investigation of the effect of the composition and the structural properties of the KNN thin films on their dielectric properties, the tunability has been increased up to 20% under a 90 kV/cm electric field for x = 0.5. A dielectric characterisation of depending on the temperature, at 10 GHz, has shown an increase of the permittivity value from 360 at 20°C up to 1000 at 240°C, indicating the polymorphic phase transition. The tetragonal tungsten bronze phase (TTB), barely studied in the K-Na-Nb-O system, has been prepared in thin film and exhibiting high values of permittivity at both low and microwave frequencies (~200 à 10 kHz and ~130 à 10 GHz). Finally the design, realisation and measurements of miniature antennas integrating KNN has been done.

Le nombre d’appareils électroniques et de systèmes de communication sans fil a considérablement augmenté au cours des 20 dernières années. Les boîtiers de blindage utilisés pour protéger les appareils électroniques contre les radiations externes, mais aussi pour limiter leurs émissions sont généralement conçus en alliages d’aluminium. Mais la nécessité de réduire le poids des aéronefs incite l’industrie aéronautique à l’utilisation de matériaux composites.La modélisation de boîtiers de blindage composés de matériaux homogènes est possible par l’utilisation d’outils numériques tels que la méthode des éléments finis. Mais la discrétisation de boîtiers constitués de matériaux composites impliquerait un nombre d’éléments trop important rendant impossible toute modélisation numérique. Le recours à l’homogénéisation semi-analytique est une possibilité pour s’affranchir de cette restriction. Les milieux homogènes équivalents obtenus avec ces méthodes peuvent être insérés dans des outils numériques pour simuler le comportement électromagnétique de boîtiers de blindage complexes. Les modèles d’homogénéisation existants, tel que le modèle de Maxwell-Garnett, sont toutefois limités a des applications quasi-statiques.La définition des propriétés effectives de matériaux composites illuminés par des ondes électromagnétiques est l’objectif principal de ce travail. Il en résulte deux méthodes d’homogénéisation dynamiques. La première introduit un effet de taille entre les fibres et la longueur d'onde. Elle permet ainsi d’étendre une méthode basée sur des problèmes d'inclusion aux micro-ondes. Mais elle reste limitée par l’apparition de l’effet de peau dans les renforts conducteurs. La seconde est basée sur la définition des pertes par effet Joule dans les fibres, permettant ainsi d’étendre la première méthode après l’apparition de l’effet de peau. Cette dernière est enfin utilisée pour modéliser le comportement électromagnétique d’un boîtier de blindage réaliste. / The number of electronic devices and wireless communication systems has significantly increased over the past 20 years. Shielding enclosures used to protect electronic devices against radiated waves and to limit their emissions are usually designed in aluminum alloys. But the need to reduce the weight of aircraft incites the aerospace industry to the use of composite materials.Modeling shielding enclosures composed of homogeneous materials is possible by the use of numerical tools such as the finite element method. But considering every details of the microstructure would involve a excessive number of unknowns preventing numerical modelings. The use of semi-analytical homogenization methods is a possibility to overcome this restriction. The equivalent homogeneous mediums obtained with these methods can be inserted into numerical tools to simulate the electromagnetic behavior of complex shielding enclosures. But classical homogenization models such as Maxwell-Garnett model, are limited to quasi-static applications.Calculating the effective properties of composite materials illuminated by electromagnetic waves is the main objective of this work. This leads to two dynamic homogenization methods. The first one introduces a size effect between the fibers and the wavelength. It allows to extend a method based on inclusion problems to microwave frequencies. However it is limited by the occurrence of the skin effect in conductive inclusions. The second consider Joule losses and extends the first method after the occurrence of the skin effect. This second homogenization method is finally used to model the behavior of a realistic shielding enclosure.