Characterization and Modeling of Continuously Tunable MEMS Varactor

Lourandakis, Errikos; Fischer, Georg; Weigel, Robert

doi:10.1109/gemic.2009.4815912

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…These requirements are critical in the field of PA design. Competing technologies like micro-electromechanical-systems (MEMS) [8] are usually limited in power and tuning speed but highly linear. In contrast varactor diodes are fast [9] and available for high power applications but inherently nonlinear.…”

Section: Bst Mim Thick-film Varactor Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

VSWR protection of power amplifiers using BST components

Ferretti

Preis

Heinrich

et al. 2016

2016 German Microwave Conference (GeMiC)

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A VSWR-protected ISM-band PA was realized using a BST based varactor for detuning of the input matching. Output VSWR levels of 30:1 can be tolerated by applying a varactor bias voltage of up to 20 V. The PA delivers 47.4 dBm output power at a maximum PAE of 49.5%. In case of high VSWR conditions the output power can be limited by detuning the varactor. It is shown that the concept protects the transistor efficiently with very low additional circuit complexity.

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Section: Bst Mim Thick-film Varactor Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

VSWR protection of power amplifiers using BST components

Ferretti

Preis

Heinrich

et al. 2016

2016 German Microwave Conference (GeMiC)

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“…In terms of tuning speed, size and cost, electronic tuning outperforms mechanical concepts by far. Micro‐electro‐mechanical systems are small and linear, but limited regarding tuning speed and power handling capability [3]. When using semiconductor varactor diodes as in [2], their inherent non‐linearity must be kept in mind.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconfigurable package integrated 20 W RF power GaN HEMT with discrete thick‐film MIM BST varactors

et al. 2016

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A novel package integrated solution for gallium nitride high‐electron‐mobility transistors with an electronically two‐dimensional reconfigurable L‐section matching network is presented. Thick‐film barium‐strontium‐titanate (BST) varactors are used to realise a tunability of the load impedance of 1:2 in resistive and 1:1.5 in reactive parts, respectively, applying tuning voltages of up to 200 V. The tuneable module achieves a peak output power of 43.2 dBm (20.9 W). Comparison with simulated results using field simulations and a large‐signal model shows good agreement in terms of output power and power added efficiency and thus proves the concept of using metal–insulator–metal BST varactors for reconfigurability.

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“…MEMS devices such as switches [13][14][15] and varactors [16,17] are fabricated on a variety of materials including silicon, gallium arsenide, silicon dioxide, LTCC, and ceramic.…”

Section: Mems Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Field Programmable Microwave Substrate

Jess¹

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This thesis describes a research project to create a programmable microwave circuit having a similar level of programmability as that of a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The result of the thesis is the realization of the first ever practical low-loss programmable microwave waveguides. Since waveguides are a key component in any microwave circuit, this allows for the realization of a broad range of microwave functions with a single circuit. The programmable waveguides are implemented in what is referred to as a field programmable microwave substrate. The programmable substrate is implemented using metamaterials between two parallel metal plates. Between the metal plates are electrically small unit cells that consist of metal structuring that connects with active components not contained between the metal plates (i.e. above or below the metal plates). Each of these unit cells can be programmed to have a range of positive dielectric constants or a negative dielectric constant. Programming a positive dielectric constant core and negative dielectric constant sidewall yields a structure that can be described using the slab waveguide equations. This allows for waveguides to be dynamically programmed within the field programmable microwave substrate.The theory required to design low-loss metamaterials is presented and used to realize two prototype circuits. The first implementation is on an FR4 substrate and is used to demonstrate low-loss waveguides, amplifiers and oscillators from 0.9 − ii 3GH z. The other field programmable microwave substrate is implemented in low temperature co-fired ceramic and uses custom designed CMOS chips. This version is used to demonstrate miniaturization. The losses of the waveguides are high, but this is mainly due to manufacturing capabilities of the process used. Low-loss small field programmable microwave substrates should be possible to implement with the use of higher performance components and more sophisticated manufacturing processes.iii First, I would like to thank my thesis supervisors Barry Syrett and Langis Roy for their support and allowing me the freedom to pursue my own interests and curiosities. I would also like to thank the support staff in the department of electronics;notably, Nagui Mikhail, Scott Bruce, Blazenka Power, Anna Lee, and Sylvie Beekmans. I would also like to thank Professor Steve McGarry for many practical conversations and assistance. There are numerous fellow grad students that I would like to thank. Tyler Ross and Che Knisely were excellent for chatting with on technical issues and great for helping solve problems. Thomas Pepler provided a significant amount of assistance implementing the digital CMOS circuit for one of my designs.Ryan Griffin helped debug some circuits during testing. A general thanks goes out to the graduate students in the blue room who have made doing a PhD a pleasant experience. Finally, I would like to thank my family and wonderful girlfriend Jessica Lynch for all their support over the years.iv

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Characterization and Modeling of Continuously Tunable MEMS Varactor

Cited by 5 publications

References 7 publications

VSWR protection of power amplifiers using BST components

VSWR protection of power amplifiers using BST components

Reconfigurable package integrated 20 W RF power GaN HEMT with discrete thick‐film MIM BST varactors

The Field Programmable Microwave Substrate

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