Grant: Alliance Grants

Millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequencies (30 GHz to 300 GHz) offer the large bandwidth required for applications like high-definition video streaming, virtual reality, 5G/6G communication, and high-resolution radar systems. However, as mm-wave signals experience higher path losses, phased array beamforming is used to concentrate transmitted power in the desired direction, compensating for this path loss and extending the communication range. Convectional beamformers utilizing continuous phase shifters can not generate the required beamforming signals with high energy efficiency often experiencing high insertion loss because of the limited quality factor of the required tuning elements. This proves one of the main obstacles in developing low-cost energy-efficient beamformers for widespread deployment in next-generation wireless communication and radar systems. The project aims to develop mm-wave energy-efficient phased array beamforming systems for the aforementioned applications. Our approach is to combine low-cost CMOS integrated circuits for the generation of the mm-wave signals developed by the university research team with low-loss light-activated waveguide switches constructed based on the technology developed by the industrial partner (Jones Microwave Inc.) to provide an integrated, cost-effective solution for phased-array systems with significantly higher energy efficiency than conventional beamformers. These energy-efficient mm-wave/ sub-THz phased array beamforming systems will enable Alberta/Canada to lead the development of the next generation of wireless/satellite communication and radar systems. Potential impacts of this project include technical advancement in these highly advanced technological fields that increases our global competitiveness in strategically important sectors, social advancement and parity by enabling wireless data access to rural/indigenous communities, training of highly qualified personnel with expertise in integrated microwave circuits and systems, and finally all economic benefits created by developing such technology locally here in Alberta and Canada.