Antenna-coupled detectors provide uncooled, cost-effective solutions for infrared and millimeter-wave imaging. This work describes the design, fabrication, measurement, and optimization of several types of antenna-coupled detectors for LWIR (8 - 12 µm) and 94 GHz radiation. Two types of millimeter-wave antenna-coupled detectors were fabricated and tested: a slot antenna coupled to a bolometer, and a patch antenna coupled to a SiC Schottky diode. Electromagnetic modeling of the antennas helped guide the design of antennas with better impedance matching to the detectors. Schottky diodes are discussed as detectors for millimeter-wave and infrared radiation, with the goal of increasing the cutoff frequency to allow infrared detection. The magnitude of response of antenna-coupled bolometric detectors to infrared radiation is affected by the thermal-conduction properties of the sensor structure. Two fabrication processes were developed to improve the thermal isolation of the antenna-coupled bolometer from its substrate. The first process creates a membrane beneath the device. Measured results show a factor of 100 increase in responsivity over an identical device without a membrane. The second process thermally isolates the device from its substrate by suspending the metallic structure in air. Several factors for optimization of infrared antenna-coupled detectors are investigated. The complex dielectric function of the metal from which the antenna is constructed can affect the performance of the device. The use of a ground plane and dielectric standoff layer beneath the antenna can increase the sensor responsivity. Dielectric material properties and thicknesses are considered, and incorporated in device simulations. Finally, a potential fabrication process is presented for via connections from the antenna-coupled detector through a ground plane to bond pads to mitigate the effect of bias lines on antenna behavior.

The far-infrared and millimeter wave (FIR/mmW) (wavelength 75 micrometer to 10 mm) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is fairly underdeveloped technologically, owing to the large amount of atmospheric attenuation in that range. At present, the FIR/mmW region is lacking in compact, high-brightness radiation sources and practical imaging systems. This dissertation focuses on development of two complementary technologies in this area - an active mmW imaging system and high-reflectivity Bragg mirrors for the FIR p-Ge laser. The imaging system uses a vector network analyzer in the frequency range of 90-140 GHz as the radiation source and receiver. Raster scanning is used to map a two-dimensional field of view, demonstrating the detection and imaging of buried plastic landmines. Principal components analysis is used for hyperspectral signal processing, where a series of images is taken at discrete frequencies. Results are obtained as a function of depth and disturbance of the soil surface. In support of this study, various types of soils were characterized for scattering loss across the mmW/FIR region, with measured results compared to theory. This mmW imaging system was also used to demonstrate imaging through walls and other obscuring materials, as well as for imaging of rocks beneath volcanic sand, simulating the conditions encountered by an imaging system on a Mars rover vehicle. Furthermore, a high-reflectivity Si-etalon FIR mirror design was developed and demonstrated as a cavity mirror for the p-Ge laser. These components stand to have a number of systems-level impacts on FIR imagers. In the context of an active illuminator, they may allow narrowband selection from the broad emission spectrum of the p-Ge laser source. These mirrors can also be used in a Fabry-Perot FIR scanning spectrometer, where the resulting high finesse would give discrimination advantages in chemical sensing and astrophysical spectroscopy applications.

No description available.

A “millimeter wave” (MMW) is an electromagnetic oscillation with a wavelength between 1 and 10 mm, and a corresponding frequency of 30 to 300 GHz. In the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, this band falls above the frequencies of radio waves and microwaves, and below that of infrared radiation. Since the 1950s, frequencies in this regime have been used for short range communications and beginning in the 1970s, a form of therapy known as “millimeter wave therapy” (MWT) , or microwave resonance therapy, in some publications. This form of therapy has been widely used in the republics of the former Soviet Union (FSU). As of 1995, it is estimated that more than one thousand medical centers in the FSU have performed MWT and more than three million patients have received this method of treatment. Despite the abundant use of this form of medicine, very little is known about the mechanisms by which it works. Early accounts of use are limited to Soviet government documents, largely unavailable to the scientific public, and limited translations and oral accounts from FSU scientists and literature reviews . This anecdotal body of evidence lacks the scrutiny of peer-reviewed journal publications. In order to gain more widespread acceptance in Western medicine, the pathway through which this regime of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum affects the human body must be rigorously mapped and quantified. Despite the anecdotal nature of a large portion of the existing research on biological MMW effects, a common link is the idea of an interaction occurring at the skin level, which is transduced into a signal used at a remote location in the body. This study explores a possible mechanism for the generation of this signal. The effects of therapeutic frequency MMW on the ionic currents through two different types of ion transport channels were studied, and the results are discussed with emphasis on how they relate to possible changes in nerve signals used by the body for communication between tissues in remote locations. / Mechanical Engineering

Thanks to a small wavelength (large bandwidth) combined with a low loss transmission window around 94 GHz and 120 GHz, the 75-120 GHz frequency band in millimeter wave (mm-wave) provides a promising opportunity for high data rate long range wireless communications and high-resolution imaging systems. Large-scale phased arrays have been exploited in such application for their beam forming and null steering capabilities, resulting in high directivity and improved SNR. But growing DC power consumption (Pdiss) in such large scale arrays has become an on-going concern along with noise, linearity and phase resolution trade-offs in current phased array architectures. To address these issues, we propose a power efficient phase shifter (PS) architecture based on quadrature hybrid coupler, which leverages the benefits of conventional active and passive PSs at mm-wave. The phase shifter has low loss, resulting in low power dissipation and the power domain phase interpolation by the quadrature hybrid gives low phase error and high linearity. We design W-band (90-100 GHz) phased array transmit and receive (T/R) modules in 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology based on the proposed PS and our measurements show high power efficiency with the lowest power consumption at W-band to our knowledge (18mW and 26mW power dissipations at receiver (Rx) and transmitter (Tx) front-ends respectively). Rx shows 23 to 25 dB peak gain, 6 to 9.3 dB NF and Tx can deliver upto 7 dBm output power with 18% power efficiency. Moreover, our PS can achieve 5-bit phase resolution with <2 degrees RMS phase error and provides 0 dBm saturated output power at 94 GHz. The phase shifter (PS) is also scalable beyond W-band without significant loss. We demonstrate this with a 120 GHz two channel phased array receiver (Rx), where a single channel shows 15.6 dB peak gain with Pdiss=53 mW which shows one of the highest gain efficiency (gain/Pdiss) among D-band phased arrays. We can further reduce the power consumption by leveraging the bidirectional signal processing at the phased array front-end. To achieve this, we designed a W-band bidirectional variable gain amplifier with gain variation ranging from 6 to -1 dB at 94 GHz which can be used along with bidirectional PS. The amplifier will replace the lossy SPDT switch in the conventional bidirectional approach, reducing the overall power consumption. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Gee-Kung Chang; Committee Co-Chair: Jianjun Yu; Committee Member: John A. Buck; Committee Member: Joy Laskar; Committee Member: Umakishore Ramachandran; Committee Member: Ye Li

Three 40/60-GHz optical-wireless bidirectional architectures are designed with a centralized light source in the central office based on wavelength reuse. Three super-broadband access networks are proposed and experimentally demonstrated for simultaneously delivering wired and wireless services over an optical fiber and an air link in a single transport platform. The transport feasibility in metro and wide-area access networks with multiple reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs) nodes is explored for 40-GHz and 60-GHz optical millimeter-wave signals. Additionally, the optical-wireless systems using the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation format are analytically and experimentally demonstrated to mitigate the chromatic dispersion in optical fiber. This thesis also successfully implements the testbed trial for the delivery of uncompressed 270-Mb/s standard-definition television (SDTV) and 1.485-Gb/s high-definition television (HDTV) video signals over optical fiber and air links. The demonstration represents the first ever reported real applications over hybrid wired and wireless access networks, showing that our developed up-conversion schemes and designed architectures are highly suitable for super-broadband applications in next-generation optical-wireless access networks.

O substrato de nanofios (MnM) é uma nova tecnologia de interposers visando aplicações em ondas-mm que vêm recebendo atenção devido à facilidade de se fabricar vias de interconexão e estruturas de onda lenta de alto desempenho com resultados no estado-da-arte. Entretanto, embora as estruturas de interconexão, como vias e linhas de transmissão, já estejam bem definidas, ainda não se verificou a viabilidade de se usar essa tecnologia como base para antenas planares, uma parte vital de qualquer aplicação de transmissão de dados sem fio. Esse trabalho visa preencher essa lacuna, apresentando métodos para se realizar a caracterização elétrica do substrato através da extração de sua constante dielétrica relativa e tangente de perdas, e para se projetar antenas de uso frequente em aplicações de ondas-mm através de softwares de simulação eletromagnética. Esse trabalho apresenta também as etapas de fabricação da tecnologia numa visão geral e aplicada às estruturas desenvolvidas, seguida da caracterização das estruturas até 110 GHz. Os resultados mostraram um substrato com constante dielétrica relativa de 7 ± 0,2 e com tangente de perdas de 0,03 ± 0,005. Simulações das antenas projetadas mostraram que o substrato MnM é um candidato viável para antenas do tipo end-fire, cuja irradiação acontece paralela ao plano do substrato, devido ao fato dos parâmetros do substrato não interferirem demasiadamente na eficiência de irradiação desse tipo de antena. Entretanto, as simulações também mostraram que esse substrato é um candidato ruim para antenas tipo back-fire, com irradiação perpendicular ao plano do substrato, devido às baixas figuras de eficiência de irradiação e ganho. / The nanowire substrate (MnM) is a novel interposer technology for mm-waves applications that has been receiving more and more attention thanks to the ease of fabricating high performance interconnection vias and slow-wave structures, whose results are in the state-of-the-art. However, even though the interconnection structures, such as transmission lines and vias, are already well-defined, no one has analyzed the potential of the MnM substrate as a planar antenna substrate, a core component of any wireless communications application. This work aims to fill this gap by presenting substrate characterization methods, that involves determining its dielectric constant and loss tangent, and by presenting planar antenna design methods using electromagnetic simulation softwares. This work presents also a general overview of the manufacturing processes being developed, followed by structure measurement up until 110 GHz. The results showed a substrate with a dielectric constant of 7 ± 0.2 and with a loss tangent of 0.03 ± 0.005. Simulations of the designed antennas indicated that this substrate is a viable choice for end-fire antennas, whose radiation is parallel to the plane of the substrate, because the substrate parameters doesn\'t seem to degrade the radiation efficiency of this kind of antenna. However, simulations also showed that the MnM substrate is a poor candidate for back-fire antennas, whose radiation is perpendicular to the plane of the substrate, given the low figures of radiation efficiency and gain.

O substrato de nanofios (MnM) é uma nova tecnologia de interposers visando aplicações em ondas-mm que vêm recebendo atenção devido à facilidade de se fabricar vias de interconexão e estruturas de onda lenta de alto desempenho com resultados no estado-da-arte. Entretanto, embora as estruturas de interconexão, como vias e linhas de transmissão, já estejam bem definidas, ainda não se verificou a viabilidade de se usar essa tecnologia como base para antenas planares, uma parte vital de qualquer aplicação de transmissão de dados sem fio. Esse trabalho visa preencher essa lacuna, apresentando métodos para se realizar a caracterização elétrica do substrato através da extração de sua constante dielétrica relativa e tangente de perdas, e para se projetar antenas de uso frequente em aplicações de ondas-mm através de softwares de simulação eletromagnética. Esse trabalho apresenta também as etapas de fabricação da tecnologia numa visão geral e aplicada às estruturas desenvolvidas, seguida da caracterização das estruturas até 110 GHz. Os resultados mostraram um substrato com constante dielétrica relativa de 7 ± 0,2 e com tangente de perdas de 0,03 ± 0,005. Simulações das antenas projetadas mostraram que o substrato MnM é um candidato viável para antenas do tipo end-fire, cuja irradiação acontece paralela ao plano do substrato, devido ao fato dos parâmetros do substrato não interferirem demasiadamente na eficiência de irradiação desse tipo de antena. Entretanto, as simulações também mostraram que esse substrato é um candidato ruim para antenas tipo back-fire, com irradiação perpendicular ao plano do substrato, devido às baixas figuras de eficiência de irradiação e ganho. / The nanowire substrate (MnM) is a novel interposer technology for mm-waves applications that has been receiving more and more attention thanks to the ease of fabricating high performance interconnection vias and slow-wave structures, whose results are in the state-of-the-art. However, even though the interconnection structures, such as transmission lines and vias, are already well-defined, no one has analyzed the potential of the MnM substrate as a planar antenna substrate, a core component of any wireless communications application. This work aims to fill this gap by presenting substrate characterization methods, that involves determining its dielectric constant and loss tangent, and by presenting planar antenna design methods using electromagnetic simulation softwares. This work presents also a general overview of the manufacturing processes being developed, followed by structure measurement up until 110 GHz. The results showed a substrate with a dielectric constant of 7 ± 0.2 and with a loss tangent of 0.03 ± 0.005. Simulations of the designed antennas indicated that this substrate is a viable choice for end-fire antennas, whose radiation is parallel to the plane of the substrate, because the substrate parameters doesn\'t seem to degrade the radiation efficiency of this kind of antenna. However, simulations also showed that the MnM substrate is a poor candidate for back-fire antennas, whose radiation is perpendicular to the plane of the substrate, given the low figures of radiation efficiency and gain.

Les radars millimétriques en bande W (75-110 GHz) sont en plein essor, grâce notamment aux progrès des circuits intégrés, permettant de réaliser des systèmes compacts à bas coût et haute résolution due à la courte longueur d’onde. Dans un premier temps, ces systèmes ont été utilisés à des fins de détection et de localisation, avec à terme, pour objectif l’identification. Ainsi, des systèmes d’imagerie radar ont été développés, notamment grâce à l’imagerie qualitative, basée par exemple sur l’imagerie radar par synthèse d’ouverture (SAR). Cependant, afin de reconstruire les propriétés électromagnétiques des objets pour une identification complète, il est nécessaire de développer des algorithmes de reconstruction quantitatifs. Le travail présenté dans ce manuscrit est de poser les bases d’un système d’imagerie qualitative et quantitative en gamme millimétrique pour la détection et l’identification des objets sur les pistes d’aéroport par tomographie, tenant compte de la polarisation de l’onde incidente. Au cours de cette thèse, un outil de simulation permettant de la résolution des problèmes direct et inverse, pour les deux types de polarisation à deux dimensions 2D-TE et 2D-TM, basé sur la méthode des moments (MoM) a été développé. La première étape a consisté en la validation du problème direct en effectuant des comparaisons numériques avec des solutions analytiques pour des cibles canoniques. Ensuite, des mesures expérimentales ont été effectuées et comparées aux résultats numériques. Enfin, les résultats des reconstructions obtenus ont permis de valider l’algorithme de reconstruction 2D développé pour l’imagerie quantitative. / Millimeter-wave radar systems in W-band (75-110 GHz) are booming, due to advances in integrated circuits, allowing the fabrication of low-cost and high-resolution compact systems, thanks to the short wavelength. First, these systems were used for detecting and localizing purposes, with the aim of identification. Thus, imaging radar systems have been developed, especially using qualitative imaging, based for example, on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Nevertheless, in order to reconstruct the electromagnetic properties of objects, for a complete identification, we must develop quantitative reconstruction algorithms. The work presented in this manuscript is to give the basis of a qualitative and quantitative millimeter wave imaging system for detecting and identifying foreign debris on airport runways using tomography, taking into account the polarization of the incident wave. In this thesis, a simulation tool for solving forward and inverse problems, for the two-dimensional polarization cases 2D-TM and 2D-TE, based on the method of moments (MoM) has been developed. The first step was to study the validation of the direct problem by comparing numerical results with analytical solutions for canonical targets. Then, experimental measurements have ben carried out and compared with numerical results. Finally, reconstruction results obtained have validated the reconstruction algorithm developed for quantitative imaging.