A novel CMOS process compatible high performance parallel-stacked RF spiral inductor

In this study, a deep-submicron CMOS process compatible parallel-stacked inductor has been successfully developed. We use the mature CMOS compatible technology and air gap structure to reduce substrate losses and parallel-stacked structure to reduce the resistance, thus can promote the Q factor. Experimental results evidence that by using the parallel-stacked structure, the chip area can be reduced significantly for the issue of continuing reduction of the chip size. Furthermore, the resistance can be reduced by using the parallel-stacked structure and thus results in an obviously improving of the Q at low frequency. The measured peak Q and peak-Q frequency with the parallel metal layer of M8//M7//M6//M5 are 7.06 and 1.8 GHz, thus enhancing its applications for higher frequency RF IC. Therefore, the developed deep-submicron CMOS process compatible parallel-stacked inductor is suitable for CMOS RF integrated circuit applications.     

Surface micromachined high-performance RF MEMS inductors

High-performance three-dimensional (3-D) microinductors with air-core and polyimide-core were fabricated by using simple MEMS technology. Both inductors have electroplated copper coils to minimize resistance to obtain high quality factor. The measurement results show that both inductors have high Q-factors over wide range of operating frequency. The maximum Q-factor of the polyimide-core is 36.5 and the inductance is 1.42 nH at 4.5 GHz, while the maximum Q-factor of the air-core inductor is 22.9 and the inductance is 1.17 nH at 5.5 GHz. The series resistance/parasitic capacitance of the polyimide-core inductor and air-core inductor is 1.05 Ω/1.07 pF and 1.82 Ω/0.57 pF respectively at the peak-Q frequency.     

Modeling, optimization and performance of high-Q MEMS solenoid inductors

Modeling, optimization and performance of on-chip solenoid inductors is presented. MATLAB is used to get the π-equivalent circuit model parameters. The effects of the geometrical parameters on the inductance and quality factor (Q-factor) are different. Normally, the performance of the inductors can be improved by increasing the coil turns in a way and increasing the length of the conductor, but both of them will occupy more chip area, which is not good for the minimization of the on-chip system. It is desirable to improve the performance of inductor by increasing the height of the via. Of the three types of fabricated inductors covering the same area, the inductors with the height of via 15, 30 and 45 μm have high performance. The self-resonant frequency is up to 10 GHz. The inductances and Q-factors at peak-Q frequency (about 5.8 GHz) are 1.16, 1.35, 1.78 nH and 21.9, 27, 38, respectively.     

Metamaterial‐inspired miniaturized antenna loaded with IDC and meander line inductor using partial ground plane

In this article, a novel omnidirectional compact dual band metamaterial‐inspired antenna with CPW feed has been proposed for application of GSM 1800 (1.71‐1.785 GHz/1.805‐1.879 GHz), GSM 1900 (1.85‐1.91 GHz/1.93‐1.99 GHz), UMTS (1.92‐2.17 GHz), WLAN/Wi Fi (4.9, 5, 5.9 GHz), HiperLAN1 (5.15‐5.3 GHz), and HiperLAN2 (5.47‐5.72 GHz) using a combination of meander line inductor and interdigital capacitor (IDC). The antenna consists of complimentary right/left handed (CRLH) transmission line on both sides of patch to excite zeroth order mode (n = 0). The rectangular slotted stubs act as a virtual ground for the structure using a short circuit condition at the end of the IDC. The zeroth order resonance (ZOR) frequency is mainly controlled by IDC and partially with the meander line inductor. The designed antenna operates from 1.72 to 2.22 GHz and 4.25 to 5.88 GHz with radiating size of 0.56λ_o × 0.35λ_o (32 × 20 mm²), where λ_o is the free‐space wavelength at ZOR frequency of 5.27 GHz. The proposed antenna offers measured impedance bandwidth (|S₁₁| <?10 dB) of 25.3 and 18.7% at 1.95 and 5.28 GHz and covers the targeted frequency bands. The proposed structure offers omnidirectional radiation patterns are congruous throughout the working band.     

High performance suspended spiral inductor and band-pass filter by wafer level packaging technology

Suspended inductors and 2.45 GHz BPF with patterned ground shields on the lossy silicon substrate by using Cu/BCB based wafer level packaging and bulk Si etching technologies were fabricated. Thick BCB interlayer is used as the supporting dielectric and the backside cavity is easily removed by using a two-step back-etching process. The fabricated 2.7 nH inductor has a maximum Q factor 49 at 8.2 GHz and high Q factors more than 22 in the broadband frequency range from 1 to 10 GHz. And the realized 2.45 GHz BPF has the insertion loss of 3.0 dB and the return loss of more than 14 dB at the pass band. It is also featured by more than 48 and 25 dB attenuation at 0.9 and 1.8 GHz respectively, with the second harmonic rejection being 33 dB.

     

Design and performance analysis of double cantilever type capacitive shunt RF MEMS switch

This paper presents a novel structure of capacitance shunt type RF switch for 5G applications. The proposed RF MEMS switch is having Cantilever type designed with optimized dimensions to operate in V-band applications. The electromechanical analysis is done by using the COMSOL tool. The actuation voltage of the proposed switch is 10.5 V with the air gap of 1 µm and gold as a beam material. The proposed switch with the meanders and perforations show the scattering parameters in HFSS software such as insertion loss (S₁₂) of − 0.033 dB and return loss (S₁₁) less than − 48 dB and the isolation (S₂₁) calculated in off-state as − 62 dB at 50 GHz.

     

Design of active inductors in SiGe/SiGe:C processes for RF applications

Applicability of silicon‐based heterojunction bipolar processes is investigated for designing active inductors with high quality factors (Q). Results for grounded type one‐port active inductor incorporating frequency‐dependent as well as frequency‐independent negative resistances are examined. Later, the negative resistance aspect is extended from one‐port to two‐port active inductor circuit to ensure its use as a series element. The enhanced Q‐values of all the inductive circuits are observed in accordance with the theory. Moderately high‐Q values (～100) with considerable inductances (～0.2–1 nH) are obtained in the RF frequency ranges (～5–9 GHz). © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2007.     

The effect of a metal PGS on the Q‐factor of spiral inductors for RF and mm‐wave applications in a 28‐nm CMOS technology

In this paper, the effect of a metal patterned ground shield (PGS) on the performance of monolithic inductors is investigated. To this aim, three spiral inductors integrated in a 28‐nm fully depleted (FD) silicon‐on‐insulator (SOI) CMOS technology are analyzed by means of a 3‐D FEM‐based commercial software. The inductors have been designed at different operating frequencies in the RF and mm‐wave ranges to better explore the effect of the PGS. Extensive analysis revealed that the shield is able to improve the quality factor (Q‐factor) only of the inductor operated at the lowest frequency (ie, K‐band). On the contrary, it has a detrimental effect on the Q‐factor of the inductors working at higher frequencies. This is mainly due to induced losses in the PGS itself, which are so high to frustrate the substrate loss reduction. This result gives a different perspective to the adoption of the PGS for CMOS integrated inductors, which is largely recommended to improve inductor performance in the current state of the art.     

Design of a tunable omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna based on VO2

In this article, a VO₂‐based tunable omnidirectional circularly polarized (CP) antenna is designed. The proposed antenna combines copper and metamaterial VO₂. By utilizing the characteristics of insulator‐metal phase transition of VO₂, we can change the length of the resonant branches to achieve tunable working bandwidth. The proposed antenna is composed of a modified floor loaded with VO₂ and copper resonant branches, a top patch with slits, and 14 shorting vias connecting the top path and bottom floor. Different from the traditional electric controlled antennas, antennas based on metamaterial VO₂ do not need to design complicated circuit structures and can be easily tailored by the external temperature (T). The simulated results illustrate that when T ≥ 68°C (state I), the proposed antenna has a 10‐dB impedance bandwidth of 15.9% (2.09‐2.45 GHz), and a 3‐dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 23.4% (2.04‐2.58 GHz). When T < 68°C (state II), it has a bandwidth of 6.5% (2.38‐2.54 GHz) with S₁₁ below ?10 dB, and a bandwidth of 19.9% (2.39‐2.92 GHz) with AR below 3 dB.     

Modelling of probe‐fed cylindrical dielectric resonator antennas

Probe‐fed cylindrical dielectric resonator antennas (CDRAs), with dielectric constant ϵ_r=37 and supported by an infinite ground plane, are simulated using the finite element method. From this, closed form expressions are obtained for the resonant frequency, directivity, and unloaded Q‐factor, applicable to a wide range of antenna dimensions. The effects of (a) the finite circular ground plane, (b) the air gap between the CDRA and the ground plane, (c) the air gap between the CDRA and the feed probe, and (d) the length of the probe on these parameters are studied for a particular CDRA and appropriate correction factors are derived. The simulated results are compared with those obtained experimentally for various ground planes, probe lengths, and probe spacings. The closed form expressions provide good agreement with the experiments in resonant frequency, unloaded Q‐factor, and impedance bandwidth, but less accurate prediction in antenna directivity for the specified range of parameters. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 9: 2–13, 1999     

Algorithms for estimation of air-specific humidity using TMI data

We developed two empirical algorithms for estimating the surface air-specific humidity (Q _a) at 10 m over the ocean using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) brightness temperature data. We used the in situ data included in the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set for 2003–2006 as true values in this study. We estimated the Q _a using the developed regression formulae and validated the results by comparing with moored buoy data. The biases of our product were relatively small, i.e. 0.03 and 0.29 g kg^–1 for TMI_4CH and TMI_9CH, respectively, when compared with other Q _a retrievals. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between the brightness temperature observed by each channel and the in situ Q _a. We concluded that the use of the brightness temperature determined by the 85 GHz polarized radiation can considerably reduce the bias.     

Broadband radio frequency MEMS series contact switch with low insertion loss

A new radio frequency (RF) micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) single cantilever series contact switch is designed as a low-insertion-loss and low-power electronic component that is intended to provide integrated control of the opening and closing signals of other MEMS devices operating over a wide frequency range (DC–60 GHz). The MEMS switching element consists of an A-type top electrode that is fixed onto coplanar waveguide lines through anchor points to reduce the insertion loss in the on-state of the device. The air gap between the top electrode and the actuation electrode of the designed MEMS switch is optimized to improve the isolation characteristics of the switch. In addition, the switching voltage required is approximately 24 V. The simulation results presented here show that the insertion loss of the switch in the on-state is less than 0.71 dB, while the minimum isolation is 20.69 dB in the off-state at 60 GHz. The proposed RF MEMS switch will be useful for communication devices and test instruments used in broadband applications.

     

Scaling the formation of slug bubbles in microfluidic flow-focusing devices

The present study aims at scaling the formation of slug bubbles in flow-focusing microfluidic devices using a high-speed digital camera and a micro particle image velocimetry (μ-PIV) system. Experiments were conducted in two different polymethyl methacrylate square microchannels of respectively 600 × 600 and 400 × 400 μm. N₂ bubbles were generated in glycerol–water mixtures with several concentrations of surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate. The influence of gas and liquid flow rates, the viscosity of the liquid phase and the width of the microchannel on the bubble size were explored. The bubble size was correlated as a function of the width of the microchannel W _c, the ratio of the gas/liquid flow rates Q _g/Q _l and the liquid Reynolds number. During the pinch-off stage, the variation of the minimum width of the gaseous thread W _m with the remaining time could be scaled as _boxclose_boxclose ()^ - 0.15 (T - t)^1/3 . W_{\text{m}} \propto ({\frac{{Q_{\text{g}} }}{{Q_{\text{l}} }}})^{ - 0.15} (T - t)^{1/3} . The velocity fields in the liquid phase around the thread, determined by μ-PIV measurements, were obtained around a forming bubble to reveal the role of the liquid phase.     

A voltage source model on thermoelectric power sensor based on MEMS technology

In order to achieve monolithic integration of thermoelectric power sensor and its amplification system and improve the measurement accuracy of microwave power, a voltage source model is researched in this paper. And the thermoelectric power sensor is designed and fabricated using MEMS technology and GaAs MMIC process. It is measured in the X-band (8–12 GHz) with the input power in 100 mW range. When the input microwave power is at 10, 50 and 100 mW, respectively, the frequency dependent coefficient k₁ is −0.073, −0.39 and −0.82 mV/GHz, respectively. The sensitivity coefficient k₂ is 0.311, 0.303, 0.293, 0.284 and 0.279 mV/mW at 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 GHz, respectively, and has an excellent linearity. Based on the voltage source model, the feedback coefficient of its amplification system is set to 0.0078 × P_in to compensate the loss power caused by frequency dependent characteristic. In addition to miniaturization and low cost, an advantage using this model is significantly improved measurement accuracy.     

High quality factor copper inductors integrated in deep dry-etched quartz substrates

This paper reports on an inductor fabrication method capable to deliver high quality factor (Q) and high self-resonance frequency (SRF) devices using quartz insulating substrates and thick high-conductivity copper lines. Inductors are key devices in RF circuits that, when fabricated on traditional semiconductor substrates, suffer from poor RF performances due to thin metallization and substrate related losses. Many previous works revealed that RF performances are strongly dependent on the limited metallization thickness and on the conductivity of the substrate. In this paper we demonstrate a new fabrication process to improve the Q factor of spiral inductors by patterning thick high conductive metal layers directly in a dielectric substrate. Moreover, we develop and validate accurate equivalent circuit modeling and parameter extraction for the characterization of the fabricated devices.     

Analysis of high-Q,gallium nitride nanowire resonators in response to deposited thin films

Gallium nitride nanowires (GaN-NWs) are systems of interest for mechanical resonance-based sensors due to their small mass and, in the case of c-axis NWs, high mechanical quality (Q) factors of 10,000–100,000. We report on singly-clamped NW mechanical cantilevers of roughly 100 nm diameter and 15 μm length that resonate near 1 MHz and describe the behavior of GaN-NW resonant frequencies and Q factors following coating with various materials deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD), including alumina (Al₂O₃), ruthenium (Ru), and platinum (Pt). Changes in the GaN-NW resonant frequencies with ALD deposition clearly distinguish conformal film growth versus island film growth. Conformal films lead to a stiffening of the NW and typically increase resonant frequency, whereas island films simply increase the NW mass and cause decreased resonant frequencies. We find that conformal growth of ALD alumina leads to stiffening of ～4 kHz per nm of alumina, in agreement with previously measured material properties. Conformal growth of Ru and Pt, respectively, qualitatively confirm our analytical predictions of positive and negative resonant frequency shifts. Island growth of ALD Ru has demonstrated a decrease in resonant frequency consistent with mass loading of ～0.2 fg for a 150 ALD-cycle film, also consistent with analytical predictions. Resonant Q factors are found to decrease with ALD film growth, offering the additional possibility of studying mechanical dissipation processes associated with the ALD-NW composite structures.     

Miniature on-chip band pass filter for RF applications

Multilayer on-chip inductor and capacitor are proposed in this paper. These passive on-chip components are combined to form series LC on-chip band pass filter and are designed based on VLSI multilayer design concepts to operate at high frequency range applications. Development in RF-VLSI circuits demanded low size on-chip filters to operate at higher order frequency range with better tuning response. Design and simulation of on-chip passive components is carried out in high frequency structural simulator to obtain scattering parameters required for analysis. The designed filter model has good compromise between S ₁₁ and S ₂₁ parameters against frequency satisfying basic conditions of on-chip band pass filter. Proposed filter circuit has centre frequency at 39.5 GHz, bandwidth of 3.17 GHz, loaded Q value of 12.5, fractional bandwidth of 8 % which is suitable for narrow band operations and occupies an on-chip area of 0.0256 mm². This miniature on-chip band pass filter reduces the size and cost of the chip significantly at radio frequencies when compared with existing models.

     

适用于RF MEMS能量耦合传输的高Q值电感

利用MEMS微电镀工艺技术制作了一种新型的适用于RF MEMS能量耦合传输的高Q值电感,采用ANSOFT公司的HFSS优化平面螺旋电感的结构。在具有高电阻率的玻璃衬底上溅射0.5μm的铜层作为下电极;PECVD淀积厚度为1μmSiO2作为中间介质层;在介质层上结合厚胶光刻技术电镀厚为22μm的铜作为电感线圈。这套电感制作工艺流程简单、易于与IC制备工艺集成。本文制备的微机械电感在微型植入系统中具有广阔的应用前景。测量结果表明:当工作频率在1GHz左右时,微电感的电感值达到55nH,Q值最大可达到25。     

Circularly polarized rectangular dielectric resonator antenna fed by a cross aperture coupled spiral microstrip line

In this article, a circularly polarized rectangular dielectric resonator antenna fed by a cross‐aperture coupled spiral microstrip line is investigated. A quarter wavelength section of microstrip line is positioned between each arm of the cross slot in a spiral form to generate the circular polarization. The prototype of proposed antenna is fabricated and tested. The measured |S₁₁| and 3‐dB axial ratio frequency range is 31.74%, (2.65–3.65) GHz and 20%, (3.12–3.74) GHz, respectively and the measured total gain and left handed circularly polarized gain are 4.5 and 3.1 dB, respectively. The proposed antenna may be suitable for WiMAX applications.     

Numerical simulation of cloud droplet formation in a tank

Using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT 6 together with the fine particle model (FPM), numerical simulations of droplet dynamics in a 12.4 m³ cloud tank were conducted. The coupled fields of water vapor, temperature, flow velocity, particle number concentration, and particle mass concentration inside the cloud tank were computed.The system responses to changes of the wall's temperature and mass fraction of water vapor, respectively, were investigated. Typical times for mixing the cloud tank's contents are in the range of some tens of seconds. The maximum volume-averaged deviations from the mean of temperature and mass fraction of water vapor are around 5% of the respective parameter changes applied to the wall.Time-dependent simulations were performed in order to study the growth of ammonium-sulfate particles in humid air at around room temperature. Supersaturation up to (S_w–1)=8.2×10⁻³ was achieved by the expansion of the gas. The particles were activated and grew rapidly to a maximum diameter of 5.2×10⁻⁶ m after critical supersaturation was reached. After S_w fell again below the equilibrium value, the particles shrank quickly and deactivated roughly 60 s after activation.The spatial inhomogeneities of temperature and water-vapor concentration cause volume-averaged deviations of the particle number N and diameter d_g of up to 2.3% and 36%, respectively.