A NEW PHONONIC CRYSTAL MATERIAL AND DEVICE PLATFORM FOR COMPACT AND RECONFIGURABLE RF SIGNAL PROCESSING

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

The main goal of this research is to address several main challenges in the realization of practical phononic crystal (PnC)-based devices for wireless signal processing at RF frequencies by 1) relaxing the extreme geometry and fabrication constrains, 2) developing practical PnC devices based on surface acoustic-waves that eliminate the need for thin film and undercutting, and with the broad impact of 3) developing efficient low-impedance electro-statically tunable PnC crystals devices that can potentially eliminate the need for piezoelectric materials. To achieve these goals we will develop a new PnC material platform based on an array of pillar structure on a thin slab material or on an infinite substrate (for surface waves) that also constitute the intellectual merits of this effort. The proposed material platform will be used to demonstrate chip-scale spectral analysis at the L band (i.e., 1 -2 GHz) frequencies.