This work includes formulation of mechanically flexible magnetic composites and application to a quarter-wavelength microstrip patch antenna benchmarking structure operating in the lower UHF spectrum (~300-500 MHz) to investigate capability for miniaturization. A key challenge is to introduce sufficiently low magnetic loss for successful application. Particles of NiZn ferrite and BaCo ferrite, also known as Co2Z, were characterized. Flexible magnetic composites comprised of 40 vol% NiZn ferrite or BaCo ferrite particles in a silicone matrix were formulated. Effects of treating the particles with silane in the formulation process were not detectable, but larger particle size showed to increase complex permittivity and complex permeability. By comparing complex permittivity and complex permeability of the composites, BaCo ferrite was selected for the antenna application. Antennas on the developed magnetic composite and pure silicone substrates were electromagnetically modeled in a full-wave FEM EM solver. A prototype of the antenna on the magnetic composite was fabricated. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results was found. Comparison of the antennas on the magnetic composite versus the pure silicone substrate showed miniaturization capability of 2.4X and performance differences of increased bandwidth, reduced Q, and reduced gain. A key finding of this study is that a small amount of permeability (relative permeability ~2.5) can provide relatively substantial capability for miniaturization, while sufficiently low magnetic loss can be introduced for successful application at the targeted operating frequency. The magnetic composite showed the capability to fulfill this balance and to be a feasible option for RFID applications in the lower UHF spectrum.

This thesis discusses the design, fabrication, integration and characterization of millimeter wave passive components using polymer-core-conductor surface micromachining technologies. Several antennas, including a W-band broadband micromachined monopole antenna on a lossy glass substrate, and a Ka-band elevated patch antenna, and a V-band micromachined horn antenna, are presented. All antennas have advantages such as a broad operation band and high efficiency. A low-loss broadband coupler and a high-Q cavity for millimeter-wave applications, using surface micromachining technologies is reported using the same technology. Several low-loss all-pole band-pass filters and transmission-zero filters are developed, respectively. Superior simulation and measurement results show that polymer-core-conductor surface micromachining is a powerful technology for the integration of high-performance cavity, coupler and filters. Integration of high performance millimeter-wave transceiver front-end is also presented for the first time. By elevating a cavity-filter-based duplexer and a horn antenna on top of the substrate and using air as the filler, the dielectric loss can be eliminated. A full-duplex transceiver front-end integrated with amplifiers are designed, fabricated, and comprehensively characterized to demonstrate advantages brought by this surface micromachining technology. It is a low loss and substrate-independent solution for millimeter-wave transceiver integration.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-106).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 216-228.

Thesis (MEng (Electronic))-University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-131). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.E.-Res.)--University of Wollongong, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 119-123.

Thesis (M.Eng.Stud.)--University of Wollongong, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 84-95.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 1998. / Title from document title page. "Fall 1998." Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 28 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-28).