QUB High Frequency Electronics Research Group
ECIT - SPACE TECHNOLOGY
Professor Vincent Fusco
FREng, IEEE Fellow
Director of High Frequency
Electronics Laboratories
Overview
September 2004
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The High Frequency Electronics Research Cluster
- Mission Statement:
To develop state of the art microwave through sub-millimetre wave technology and
techniques for application in electronic systems
Largest HFE group in the UK
- Personnel
Academics 6 ft, 1 pt world class researcher, 1 visiting professor
10 Post Doc, including 3 Marie Curie Fellows, 1 RAEng/EPSRC Fellow
2 Senior Engineers
17 PhDs
1 Technician
5 visiting graduate researchers
Main Facilities
Software
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ADS
HFSS
CST
OEM FSS and nonlinear analysis
NEC
Primary Hardware
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10m Far Field Antenna Anechoic Chamber
2mx2m NSI near Field Chamber
Reverberation Chamber
On-Wafer CW Probing to 110 GHz
Free Space quasi-optical measurement to 850GHz
Wire Bonding and hybrid fabrication
MEMS Fabrication and Modelling
Transceiver/ Antenna Technology
Microwave MM/SUB MM-Wave Systems
Novel
MEMS
FSS and Artificial EM Media
Advanced linear /non-linear
EM
simulation
Timeline
2001: The High Frequency Electronics Research Cluster
supported by Astrium UK and EPSRC initiate research on a
new dichroic technology based on precision Silicon
micromachining
2006: RAL Space deploys prototype dichroics on MARSCHALS
instrument and successfully demonstrates detection of ozone
in flight trials
2007: The European Space Agency (ESA), the UK Space Agency
and CEOI provides R&D funds to develop the technology for
future Earth Observation missions
2010: ESA awards major contract to prototype the critical
dichroic filter for the Meteorological Polar Satellite
System (METOP) mission
2012: ESA awards QUB preferred bidder status for the supply
of prototype dichroics for MWS METOP flight instruments
2017: Flight models to be delivered
2020/22/25: METOP launches
Tight integration
with UK Space
catapult centre
and CEOI
Related HF/Industry Collaborations
Space Related Academic Collaborators
Recent World Space Firsts Include:
• 2012 Worlds first mobile Sat Comm
terminal based on self steering
technology
• 2010 World lowest insertion
loss sub-mm wave FSS
-75
PIM3 (x) (dBm)
• 2008 Theory and experimental
mapping of distributed PIM
Near-field probing
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Simulation
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30
60
90
Distance from the line input x (cm)
Material EM Characterisation
Advanced PIMs and multipactor
Characterisation and Analysis
Fibre bundles
PTFE ~ 50µm
Cu trace
Liquid Crystal Characterisation
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X
Z
Biasing
connection
Example Space Relevant Grants
GRANT TITLE
GRANT TITLE
EPSRC EP/J013897/1 ´THE FLISH´ Flat Satellite Dish
ROYAL SOCIETY INTER JOINT PROJECT - NOVEL NANOSTRUCTURE MATERIALS
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ‘Innovative reconfigurable antenna systems based on
Liquid Crystals - contract Number A0/1 – 6419/10/NL/JD
EP/C00065X/01 “Mechanisms of Passive Intermodulation and means for mitigation on
printed and layered transmission lines ”
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ‘quasi-optical filter for Post EPS mission’ - contract
Number A0/1 – 6419/10/NL/JD
RAEng/EPSRC “Distributed Passive Intermodulation Phenomena in Microwave Circuits”
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ‘Innovative low –loss FSS structures’- contract Number
A0/1-4850/05/NL/JA
DSTL UK/FR PHD “Nonreciprocal metamaterials for high impedance surfaces and
conformal antenna applications
CEOI/NERC/ASTRIUM PhD Studentship ’Electronically scanned Rotman Lens with
Liquid Crystal phase shifters- contract NE/H527740
ECONAM-FP7-NMP-2007 “Electromagnetic Characterization of Nanostructured Materials”
CEOI ‘Frequency Selective Surface Filter Technology for Submillimetre Wave and THz
Radiometers’ – seedcorn contract
InvestNI ‘Advanced Wavefront Control Electronic Phase Technology’ POC 135
ASTRIUM FEASIBILITY STUDY U40/4500132681-1
ESA - SELF FOCUSING RETRO-REFLECTIVE Tx/R/x ANTENNAS FOR MOBILE
TERMINAL APPLICATIONS
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (ESA) CONTRACT NO 22938/09/NL/JA
Global Invacom PhD Studentship Satellite Multiband Feed structures
DEPT OF THE NAVY (US) Office Of Naval Research Global “METAMATERIALS”
Advanced Steered and Self Steered
Antenna Design
Millimetre Wave MMIC Technology
SiGe/GaAS
MMIC DEVICES FOR
Communications/Telemetry/
Radar/Imaging
Metamaterials and metasurfaces for conformal,
tunable, and frequency and polarisation
sensitive devices
Tunable NLC FSS/Polarisers
Interwoven spiral
arrays l/p~40
Broadband polarisers (C-band to
submm-waves)
Flat optics
Ultra-thin Artificial Magnetic
Surface Radar Absorber
Voltage controlled surface
Filter technology
Multipaction-free VHF/UHF helical
resonator filters
Surface integrated
waveguide technology
E-plane and ridge waveguide
low/band-pass filters
Facility Tour
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Demonstrations
- Retrodirective Self Steering Antenna
- Reconfigurable Liquid Crystal Based Antenna
- Frequency Selective and Anisotropic Surfaces (FSS)