Development of Integrated Resistors for Millimeter Wave Applications

• Grant number: 24/07446-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Telecommunications
• Principal Investigator: Gustavo Pamplona Rehder
• Grantee: Otavio Müller Ferreira
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In millimeter waves (mmW), various unlicensed bands are being utilized for point-to-point communication links with very wide bandwidth. These multi-gigabit links will be crucial for the infrastructure of emerging RF, mmW, and THz applications targeting the high-speed telecommunications market (future generations of mobile communication, 6G and beyond), automotive radars at 77 GHz/120 GHz, high-sensitivity radar imaging and sensors. In this context, this project proposes the development of integrated resistors in millimeter waves on an interposer. The proposed interposer is based on a revolutionary MnM (metallic nanowires membrane) substrate with low cost and inherent slow-wave effect. This new technology is based on nanoporous dielectric membranes filled with metallic nanowires obtained through simple manufacturing processes, even at frequencies as high as or higher than 100 GHz, where the critical dimensions of circuits face limitations even in the most advanced commercial technologies (such as CMOS), making their design unfeasible. This undergraduate research project aims to develop resistors of up to 200 © integrated on the MnM interposer. To achieve this goal, it will be necessary to develop thin films with appropriate resistivity. Additionally, the development of a manufacturing process enabling resistor fabrication on the MnM interposer and the design of resistors operating up to 220 GHz will also be required.