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ATHENS, GREECE - June 5, 2003: A consortium of European companies and universities promises significant advances in the state-of-the-art of RF MEMS integration, modeling and design tools. The partners of the WIDE-RF project, funded by the European Commission's IST program, are now in the midst of their 36-month efforts to develop CMOS-compatible RF MEMS processes and devices, along with efficient electromechanical models and simulation methodologies. The project targets to ease the penetration of highly-integrated micro-machined structures in wireless systems for commercial applications such as cellular telephony and WLAN, as well as aviation and satellite electronics.
The list of WIDE-RF partners includes Thales Airborne Systems (Paris, France), TRONIC'S Microsystems Grenoble, France), Helic S.A. (Athens, Greece), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne - EPFL (Switzerland), the University of Cambridge (UK) and the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble - LPCS (France). The consortium draws from a broad pool of expertise spanning MEMS fabrication (EPFL, TRONIC'S Microsystems), MEMS modeling (UoCambridge), RF IC modeling and design (Helic, EPFL), airborne and mission-critical microwave systems (Thales), device characterization and reliability (INPG-LPCS/IMEP).
The partners' efforts focus on developing design and fabrication methodologies for MEMS devices such as RF switches and tunable passive devices (inductors and capacitors) that can be applied in reconfigurable RFIC and microsystems architectures in the domain of 800 MHz to 10 GHz, a frequency range that encompasses most high-volume wireless applications today. The developed devices can readily be applied in a host of novel integrated circuits, such as tunable RF filters, wideband VCOs and delay-lines for smart antenna arrays. WIDE-RF's vision is to introduce disruptive technology means that will radically miniaturize, reduce costs and enhance functionality for mobile communications appliances, and - as a parallel target - for microwave systems in space and aviation applications.
To meet its ambitious roadmap, the WIDE-RF consortium identified early in its efforts two of the critical bottlenecks that have been impeding the broad adoption of RF MEMS technologies: Efficient modeling and device reliability; the project's program is heavy on both directions. An expected outcome is the WIDE-RF library of electronic models for MEMS devices (high-Q micro-machined inductors, capacitive switches, tunable elements) which will be compatible with commercial circuit simulators and EDA frameworks. On the reliability front, the consortium expects to deliver exhaustive studies on the environmental and operational limits of RF MEMS components, and resolve the severe reliability issues inherent in some of them.
Pierre Nicole, (Senior Staff Engineer) for Thales Airborne Systems, said in a statement: "In WIDE-RF, we are aiming at introducing RF MEMS components and functions in the next generation phased array antennas, which will impact from aeronautical systems down to future ground base stations for radio communications, active flat antennas for satellite communications and TV, and many other domains. The partners in the project have since an early stage clearly decided to commit to innovation, by targeting wideband applications in demanding operational environments. We are assessing problems not yet tackled by the mainstream, and devising new solutions by co-design in close cooperation with our partners".
Marjorie Trzmiel (RF MEMS project leader) from TRONIC'S Microsystems, said: "One of the biggest challenges with RF MEMS components is their packaging. A large effort in the WIDE-RF project is put on developing innovative wafer level packaging solutions inspired from TRONIC'S Microsystems patented technology used for custom accelerometers. Such packaging shall typically limit the creation of parasitic capacitance. As the MEMS manufacturing expert, TRONIC'S Microsystems will ensure the manufacturability of the solutions and is ready to industrialize and produce the future wideband RF devices that will be the outcome of this common work."
Helic's VP of Technology, Sotiris Bantas, added: "WIDE-RF partners are wisely investing on modeling and design tooling, before actual design with RF MEMS devices appears on the roadmap. This is the only way to overcome the roadblocks similar efforts are bumping into. Helic will be enhancing its RFIC inductance modeling platform with MEMS-specific options and act as the focal point for library build-up. We see significant long-term benefits in our multi-mode RFIC development activity, as well as our EDA activity which is now starting up."
The WIDE-RF consortium will present its goals and essential results in Toulouse, on June 30th and July 1st 2003, in the forthcoming IST RF-MEMS cluster meeting organized by the European Commission. The scientific results of the project will be presented through 2 posters in the Workshop on MEMS for millimeter-wave communication (MEMSWAVE) in Toulouse, on 2-4 July 2003 (http://www.laas.fr/MEMSWAVE/).
About EPFL About Helic About INPG-LPCS/IMEP About THALES Airborne Systems About the University of Cambridge About TRONIC'S Microsystems
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