MRI - Acquisition of Test Equipment for Wireless Microsystems at RF/Microwave Frequencies

Rochester Institute Of Tech, Rochester NY

Investigators

Abstract

The instrumentation being requested would support five currently funded research projects and would establish test capabilities to support the upcoming Microsystems Ph.D. program in the College of Engineering at RIT. The previously stated scope will not change significantly. Additional funding will be obtained through RIT, the College of Engineering and industrial support. Following is the scope and justification for the revised equipment list. The Microwave and Antenna Lab, within the EE Department, does have excellent RF measurement capabilities. However the lab is short of some key instrumentation for higher frequency characterization and the testing of micro-scale structures. The probe measurement system for interfacing the circuitry in the chip and on the package to the network analyzer is not available. The deficiency of this very crucial accessory is currently being addressed by making measurements at Georgia Tech. This short-term solution is tedious and slow, and prevents graduate students from optimizing designs on their own. There is a critical need for a probe measurement system. The number of probes and accessories previously requested has been reduced, to match with the available funding. Also, software that was previously requested for theoretical modeling of RF circuitry has been removed and will be obtained through research funding and in conjunction with support from the Electrical Engineering Department. Network analyzers at frequencies up to 6 GHz are available in the Microwave lab, for measuring the reflection and transmission characteristics of RF components, for characterizing CMOS and SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT's) and for optimizing input characteristics of antenna arrays. However, for higher frequency microwave circuit characterization a network analyzer with capabilities extending to 40 GHz is required. Because of the reduced budget, some of the options requested previously have been removed. The most important ones, such as the time domain option, the TRL calibration and the frequency-offset mode have been retained. Accessories such as cables, the GPIB kit, repair and service will be provided, as needed, by the EE Department. The HP89441A vector signal analyzer required for optimizing the smart antenna system has been removed from the equipment list. At present, this instrument has been loaned by HP to the Electrical Engineering Department for classroom and research purposes. It is the intention to negotiate with HP, for acquiring this equipment as a donation. The chip and package fabrication would be done in the Semiconductor and Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory (SMFL) of RLT, which has a complete IC and MEMS fabrication capability. However, there is currently no Microwave and RF instrumentation in the facility for device characterization. It is critical that the test capability of the SMFL be strengthened in order to support the increased activity in RF-MEMS, and to support Ph.D. level research in Microsystems. Because of the reduced budget, some of the items that were originally requested were removed. Although an RF signal generator and a digital oscilloscope are needed for mixed-signal testing, other systems that are available from neighboring departments in the college (Electrical and Computer Engineering) should be adequate as a short-term solution. These systems may eventually be acquired through additional college funding. The semi-automated probe station, originally proposed, has been requested from Motorola. An equivalent model, the KLA 1201 probe station, has been recently committed by Motorola as a donation. The requested software packages for instrument control, data collection and parameter extraction will be obtained through research grants and industrial support.