ADVANCE Fellows Award: Materials Integration Concepts for Electronic and Photonic Devices

Pennsylvania State Univ University Park, University Park PA

Investigators

Abstract

It is anticipated that the ADVANCE Fellows award will not only advance the PI's career in academia, but also allow her to serve as a role model and mentor to women students who are pursuing careers in engineering and materials science. This research will integrate fundamental study of electromagnetic wave interaction with non-uniform media, approbation of new ideas in engineering hybrid ceramic materials, and development of innovative devices vital for advanced wireless communication systems. The goal of the research is to find new ways to enhance functionality and reduce size of microwave and mm-wave devices by affecting wave propagation processes in their circuitry through integration diverse dielectric and magnetic materials in the device design. Recent achievements in low-temperature co-fired ceramics technology open up the opportunities to co-process diverse ceramics, which makes the approaches feasible. The research will be based on full-wave electromagnetic analysis and include prototype fabrication and measurements. Significant advances in several related areas are expected, where the integration of diverse ceramics in the device design will be used, in particular, for: 1) local reactive loading in filters and antennas to reduce device size and optimize characteristics; 2) electromagnetic field redistribution in antenna chips to improve efficiency and directivity; 3) phase shifting in power supplying transmission lines in electro-optical modulators; 4) formation of ceramic meta-materials with exotic electromagnetic properties, including negative refractive index, in mm-wave range. The knowledge gained from the research activities will be incorporated into a new interdisciplinary course, in which materials science, solid-state physics, and electrical engineering concepts will be combined to tackle future problems in wireless communications. The results of this work are expected to motivate device designers to apply engineered substrates, to stimulate the development of integrated materials-based technology and to promote a wide variety of innovative compact microwave and mm-wave components. This ADVANCE Fellows award will be managed by two divisions, ECS and DMII.