This dissertation presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of low-voltage capacitive RF MEMS switches. Although, RF MEMS switches have shown superior performance as compared to the existing solid-state semiconductor switches and are viable alternate to the present and the future communication systems, not been able to match the commercial standards due to their poor reliability. Dielectric charging due high actuation is one of the major concerns that limit the reliability of these switches. Hence, the focus of this thesis is on the development of low actuation voltage RF MEMS switches without compromising much on their RF and dynamic performances i.e., low insertion loss and high isolation. Four different switch topologies are studied and discussed. Electromechanical and electromagnetic modelling is presented to study the effect of various components that comprise a MEMS switch on the transient and the RF behaviour. The analytical expressions for switching and release times are established in order to estimate the switching and release times. An in-house developed surface micromachining process is adapted for the micro fabrication. This process eliminates the need for an extra mask used for the anchors and restricts the overall process to four-masks only. These switches are fabricated on 500 µm thick glass substrate. A 0.5 µm thick gold film is used as the structural material. For the final release of the switch, chemical wet etching technique is employed. The fabricated MEMS switches are characterized mechanically and electrically by measuring mechanical resonant frequency, quality factor, pull-in, and pull-up voltages. Since, low actuation voltage switches have slow response time. One of the key objectives of this thesis is to realize switches with fast response time at low actuation voltage. Measurements are performed to estimate the switching and release times. The measured Q-factors of switches are found to be in between 1.1 -1.4 which is the recommended value for Q in MEMS switches for a suppressed oscillation after the release. Furthermore, the effect of hole size on the switching dynamics is addressed. RF measurements are carried out to measure the S-parameters in order to quantify the RF performance. The measured results demonstrate that these switches need low actuation voltage in range of 4.5 V to 8.5 V for the actuation. The measured insertion loss less than -0.8 dB and isolation better than 30 dB up to 40 GHz is reported. In addition, the robustness of realized switches is tested using in-house developed Lab View-based automated measurement test set-up. The reliability test analysis shows no degradation in the RF performance even after 10 millions of switching cycles. Overall yield of 70 -80% is estimated in the present work. Finally, the experimentally measured results presented in this work prove the successful development of low actuation voltage capacitive RF MEMS switches and also offers that even with 0.5 µm thick gold film better reliability for MEMS switches can be achieved.

Le sujet de thèse abordé dans ce mémoire s'inscrit dans la thématique du LE²P sur l'autonomie énergétique des réseaux de capteurs. Ce travail est axé sur la partie réception et redressement du transfert de l'énergie sans fil pour l'apport d'énergie à des capteurs nomades. Ce procédé n'est pas nouveau et prend son origine dans les années 1950. Les connaissances dans l'appréhension de ce processus sont nombreuses pour certains guides d'onde tels que le microruban. Mais la nécessité de perçages dans ces structures de guide d'onde peut être contraignante et causer des disparités dans une chaîne de construction. Ceci a motivé les travaux présentés dans ce mémoire qui utilise une technologie de guide d'onde coplanaire (CPW) peu exploitée. Ainsi, la conception d'un tel dispositif passe par la maîtrise d'un point de vue conceptuel et expérimental de cette technologie. La démarche consiste à utiliser ce guide d'onde coplanaire en minimisant les effets négatifs que peut engendrer ce dernier, pour s'abroger du besoin de perçage et faciliter la réalisation des dispositifs de redressement en limitant le nombre d'interactions humaines. / The thesis subject dealt in this report lies in the LE²P framework on the energy sustainability of wireless sensor network. This work is dedicated to the reception and rectifying part of wireless power transfer to give energy sustainability to nodes in a sensor network. This process is not new and originate from the years 1950. The behavior of this process is since well-known in several waveguide such technology as microstrip. But the need of drill in those waveguide circuit may be inconvenient and lead to discrepancy from one circuit to another. This was the motivational keystone to the work address in this report which uses coplanar waveguide (CPW) over microstrip. The conception of such devices goes through a good conceptual and experimental understanding of the waveguide technology. The approach in this document consists of using coplanar waveguide while minimizing its drawbacks, in order to avoid drilling in the substrate and ease the realization of the rectifying part by limiting the human interaction.

The largest 21st century radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is now being planned, and the first phase of construction is estimated to commence in the year 2016. Phased array technology, the key feature of the SKA, requires the use of a tremendous number of receivers, estimated at approximately 37 million. Therefore, in the context of this project, the Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) located at the front end of the receiver chain remains the critical block. The demanding specifications in terms of bandwidth, low power consumption, low cost and low noise characteristics make the LNA topologies and their design methodologies one of the most challenging tasks for the realisation of the SKA. The LNA design is a compromise between the topology selection, wideband matching for a low noise figure, low power consumption and linearity. Considering these critical issues, this thesis describes the procedure for designing a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) LNA for operation in the mid frequency band (400 MHz to 1.4 GHz) of the SKA. The main focus of this work is to investigate the potential of MMIC LNA designs based on a novel InGaAs/InAlAs/InP pHEMT developed for 1 µm gate length transistors, fabricated at The University of Manchester. An accurate technique for the extraction of empirical linear and nonlinear models for the fabricated active devices has been developed. In addition to the linear and nonlinear model of the transistors, precise models for passive devices have also been obtained and incorporated in the design of the amplifiers. The models show excellent agreement between measured and modelled DC and RF data. These models have been used in designing single, double and differential stage MMIC LNAs. The LNAs were designed for a 50 Ω input and output impedance. The excellent fits between the measured and modelled S-parameters for single and double stage single-ended LNAs reflects the accurate models that have been developed. The single stage LNA achieved a gain ranging from 9 to 13 dB over the band of operation. The gain was increased between 27 dB and 36 dB for the double stage and differential LNA designs. The measured noise figures obtained were higher by ~0.3 to ~0.8 dB when compared to the simulated figures. This is due to several factors which are discussed in this thesis. The single stage design consumes only a third of the power (47 mW) of that required for the double stage design, when driven from a 3 V supply. All designs were unconditionally stable. The chip sizes of the fabricated MMIC LNAs were 1.5 x 1.5 mm2 and 1.6 x 2.5 mm2 for the single and double stage designs respectively. Significantly, a series of differential input to single-ended output LNAs became of interest for use in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), as it utilises differential output antennas in some of its configurations. The single-ended output is preferable for interfacing to the subsequent stages in the analogue chain. A noise figure of less than 0.9 dB with a power consumption of 180 mW is expected for these designs.

A uniplanar balun that transforms unbalanced coplanar waveguide (CPW) to balanced coplanar strip line (CPS) is characterised through simulation and measurement. By illustrating the effect of many of the critical design parameters, the operation of this balun is discussed and a set of design criteria is defined. The parameter study discusses the size and shape of the radial open, the type and length of the CPW taper and the thickness and type of the bond wires. Newly developed etched bond wires are implemented to provide better manufacturing repeatability and reliability. A complete balun testing procedure is developed and described, consisting of three separate tests. The balun is tested in the normal back-to-back configuration, as a terminated single balun, and the magnitude and phase imbalance is also determined by using a three-port test circuit connected to the balun. The advantages of implementing this full test procedure, and thus fully characterising the balun under test, are emphasised throughout. Results obtained by using this procedure show that the basic balun works well over the full operating band, except for the phase imbalance, which is usable but not optimal. A simple technique to correct the phase imbalance of the balun is introduced, and validated through measurements of the balun connected to the three-port test circuit. As a final validation the balun is connected as feed for an etched dipole antenna for which good impedance matching and pattern results are shown. AFRIKAANS : ’n Enkelvlak balon (BALans-na-ONbalans) wat van ongebalanseerde enkelvlak golfgeleier (CPW) na gebalanseerde enkelvlak strooklyn (CPS) transformeer, word gekarakteriseer deur simulasie en metings. Deur die effek van baie van die kritiese ontwerpsparameters te demonstreer, word die werking van die balon bespreek en ’n stel ontwerpskriteria opgestel. Die parameter studie bespreek die radiale ope struktuur se vorm en grote, die tipe en lengte van die CPW transformator and die dikte en tipe van die konneksie drade. Nuut ontwikkelde geëtste konneksie drade word geïmplementeer om beter vervaardigingsherhaalbaarheid en betroubaarheid te verseker. ’n Volledige balon toetsprosedure word ontwikkel en beskryf en bestaan uit drie aparte toetse. Die balon word getoets in die normale rug-aan-rug konfigurasie, as ’n enkel getermineerde balon en die grote asook fase van die wanbalans word bepaal deur die gebruik van ’n drie-poort toetsbaan wat aan die balon gekoppel word. Die voordele verbonde daaraan om hierdie volledige toetsprosedure toe te pas, en daardeur die balon volledig te karakteriseer, word deurlopend beklemtoon. Die resultate wat hierdie prosedure oplewer wys dat die basiese balon goed werk oor die volledige frekwensieband, behalwe vir die fase-wanbalans parameter, wat bruikbaar, maar nie ideaal is nie. ’n Eenvoudige tegniek om die fase-wanbalans van die balon te korrigeer word bekend gestel en getoets deur die drie-poort toetsbaan weer te gebruik. As ’n finale validasie word die balon aan ’n geëtste dipool gekoppel word, waarvan goeie impedansie aanpassings en patrone gewys word. Copyright / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

No description available.

Metamaterials are humanly engineered artificial electromagnetic materials which produce electromagnetic properties that are unusual, yet can be observed readily in nature. These unconventional properties are not a result of the material composition but rather of the structure formed. The objective of this thesis is to investigate and design smaller and wideband metamaterial-inspired antennas for personal communication applications, especially for WiMAX, lower band and higher band WLAN applications. These antennas have been simulated using HFSS Structure Simulator and CST Microwave Studio software. The first design to be analysed is a low-profile metamaterial-inspired CPW-Fed monopole antenna for WLAN applications. The antenna is based on a simple strip loaded with a rectangular patch incorporating a zigzag E-shape metamaterial-inspired unit cell to enable miniaturization effect. Secondly, a physically compact, CSRR loaded monopole antenna with DGS has been proposed for WiMAX/WLAN operations. The introduction of CSRR induces frequency at lower WLAN 2.45 GHz band while the DGS has provided bandwidth enhancement in WiMAX and upper WLAN frequency bands, keeping the radiation pattern stable. The next class of antenna is a compact cloud-shaped monopole antenna consisting of a staircase-shaped DGS has been proposed for UWB operation ranges from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz. The novel shaped antenna along with carefully designed DGS has resulted in a positive gain throughout the operational bandwidth. Finally, a quad-band, CPW-Fed metamaterial-inspired antenna with CRLH-TL and EBG is designed for multi-band: Satellite, LTE, WiMAX and WLAN.

No / A compact-size asymmetrical linearly tapered slot antenna required for portable ultra-wideband (UWB) imaging systems is presented. The total antenna size is reduced compared with the conventional linearly tapered slot antenna by using a triangular slot on the left-hand side of the tapered-shaped radiator, whereas introducing a corrugated pattern of cuts on the right side. The antenna operates over a wide bandwidth extending from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz with a maximum gain of 8.5 dBi. Stable radiation patterns are observed across the operational bandwidth, with cross-polarization levels below 20 dB. The realized antenna structure occupies a volume of 35 x 36 x 0.8 mm3, and possesses the essential time domain fidelity needed for UWB imaging applications. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2013.

La technologie MID (Molded Interconnect Device), fait de leur performance électrique, la flexibilitédans les circuits RF, le potentiel de réduire le nombre de composants, les étapes du processus et laminiaturisation du produit final, a conduit à de nouvelles contraintes à la RF (Radio Frequency) et ledomaine des micro-ondes. Composants moulés sont interconnectées avec des substratsthermoplastiques et les pistes conductrices sont injectés sur la surface. L'objectif de cette thèse estd'étudier la compatibilité de MID pour les applications RF. Les avantages de la technologie MID dansle domaine RF est exploitée pour les lignes de transmission, filtres passifs, coupleurs directionnels etantennes réalisation. La caractérisation RF de différents matériaux de substrat MID et l'étude de laperformance des composants RF ci-dessus sur la base de différentes technologies de fabrication MIDsont inclus dans la thèse. Enfin, le concept d'une étude d'amélioration de la permittivité de certainsthermoplastiques sont également étudiés. / MID (Molded Interconnect Devices) technology, owing to their electrical performance,flexibility in RF circuits, its potential to reduce the number of components, process steps andminiaturization of the final product, has led to some new constraints to the RF (RadioFrequency) and microwave domain. Molded components are interconnected withthermoplastic substrates and conductive traces are injected on the surface. The objective ofthis thesis is to study the compatibility of MIDs for RF applications. The advantages of MIDtechnology in the RF domain is exploited for transmission lines, passive filters, directionalcouplers and planar and 3D antennas realization. The RF characterization of various MIDsubstrate materials and the study of the performance of the above RF components based onvarious MID fabrication technologies are included in the thesis. Finally, an permittivityimprovement study of some thermoplastics are also studied.

La technologie MID (Molded Interconnect Device), fait de leur performance électrique, la flexibilitédans les circuits RF, le potentiel de réduire le nombre de composants, les étapes du processus et laminiaturisation du produit final, a conduit à de nouvelles contraintes à la RF (Radio Frequency) et ledomaine des micro-ondes. Composants moulés sont interconnectées avec des substratsthermoplastiques et les pistes conductrices sont injectés sur la surface. L'objectif de cette thèse estd'étudier la compatibilité de MID pour les applications RF. Les avantages de la technologie MID dansle domaine RF est exploitée pour les lignes de transmission, filtres passifs, coupleurs directionnels etantennes réalisation. La caractérisation RF de différents matériaux de substrat MID et l'étude de laperformance des composants RF ci-dessus sur la base de différentes technologies de fabrication MIDsont inclus dans la thèse. Enfin, le concept d'une étude d'amélioration de la permittivité de certainsthermoplastiques sont également étudiés. / MID (Molded Interconnect Devices) technology, owing to their electrical performance,flexibility in RF circuits, its potential to reduce the number of components, process steps andminiaturization of the final product, has led to some new constraints to the RF (RadioFrequency) and microwave domain. Molded components are interconnected withthermoplastic substrates and conductive traces are injected on the surface. The objective ofthis thesis is to study the compatibility of MIDs for RF applications. The advantages of MIDtechnology in the RF domain is exploited for transmission lines, passive filters, directionalcouplers and planar and 3D antennas realization. The RF characterization of various MIDsubstrate materials and the study of the performance of the above RF components based onvarious MID fabrication technologies are included in the thesis. Finally, an permittivityimprovement study of some thermoplastics are also studied.

La technologie planaire constitue une technologie attrayante pour la réalisation de filtres, en terme de coût, de volume, ainsi que des possibilités d'intégration. Dans ce contexte, le développement de filtres planaires sélectifs et peu encombrants est à l'heure actuelle un domaine d'activité d'un intérêt fondamental. Les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit s'inscrivent dans cet axe de recherche. Après un état de l'art sur les différentes familles de filtres planaires, une nouvelle topologie de filtre passe-bas compact, constituée d'une ligne de propagation périodiquement chargée par des capacités CMS, est développée. Une méthode rigoureuse de conception est développée et des démonstrateurs hybrides en technologie CPW à 1 GHz sont réalisés. Les mesures, en très bon accord avec les simulations, valident des propriétés intéressantes en terme de réjection, d'adaptation et de remontées parasites. La montée en fréquence est également explorée par la réalisation d'un filtre passe-bas en bande X. Les résultats montrent la nécessité d'une caractérisation fine des capacités. Ensuite, une méthode de caractérisation des capacités est mise en oeuvre. Il s'avère que l'insertion des capacités dans des filtres passe-bas à structure périodique constitue un moyen précis et fiable de modélisation. Une topologie de filtre passe-bande à Ultra Large Bande, basée sur une imbrication d'un filtre passe-haut à stubs dans un filtre passe-bas à lignes capacitivement chargées, est mise en place. Les mesures des prototypes en technologie micro-ruban, en bon accord avec les simulations, montrent des propriétés intéressantes de sélectivité, de miniaturisation et de rejet de lobes secondaires.