Microwave engineering | EPFL Graph Search

Microwave engineering pertains to the study and design of microwave circuits, components, and systems. Fundamental principles are applied to analysis, design and measurement techniques in this field. The short wavelengths involved distinguish this discipline from electronic engineering. This is because there are different interactions with circuits, transmissions and propagation characteristics at microwave frequencies. Some theories and devices that pertain to this field are antennas, radar, transmission lines, space based systems (remote sensing), measurements, microwave radiation hazards and safety measures. During World War II, microwave engineering played a significant role in developing radar that could accurately locate enemy ships and planes with a focused beam of EM radiation. The foundations of this discipline are found in Maxwell's equations and the work of Heinrich Hertz, William Thomson's waveguide theory, J.C. Bose, the klystron from Russel and Varian Bross, as well as

Gigahertz free-space electro-optic modulators based on Mie resonances

Ileana-Cristina Benea-Chelmus

Electro-optic modulators are essential for sensing, metrology and telecommunications. Most target fiber applications. Instead, metasurface-based architectures that modulate free-space light at gigahertz (GHz) speeds can boost flat optics technology by microwave electronics for active optics, diffractive computing or optoelectronic control. Current realizations are bulky or have low modulation efficiencies. Here, we demonstrate a hybrid silicon-organic metasurface platform that leverages Mie resonances for efficient electro-optic modulation at GHz speeds. We exploit quasi bound states in the continuum (BIC) that provide narrow linewidth (Q = 550 at lambda(res) = 1594 nm), light confinement to the non-linear material, tunability by design and voltage and GHz-speed electrodes. Key to the achieved modulation of Delta T/T-max = 67% are molecules with r(33) = 100 pm/V and optical field optimization for low-loss. We demonstrate DC tuning of the resonant frequency of quasi-BIC by Delta lambda(res) = 11 nm, surpassing its linewidth, and modulation up to 5 GHz (f(EO,- 3dB) = 3 GHz). Guided mode resonances tune by Delta lambda(res) = 20 nm. Our hybrid platform may incorporate free-space nanostructures of any geometry or material, by application of the active layer post-fabrication.

NATURE PORTFOLIO2022

Magnonic crystals with reconfigurable magnetic defects for spin-based microwave electronics

Korbinian Baumgärtl

Collective spin excitations can propagate in magnetically ordered materials in the form of waves. These so-called spin waves (SWs) or magnons are promising for low-power beyond-CMOS information processing, which does not rely anymore on the lossy movement of electric charges. SWs in the few GHz frequency regime possess nanoscale wavelengths about five orders of magnitude smaller than electromagnetic waves of the same frequency. This property makes SWs ideally suited for application in microwave technology, essential for on-chip processing of wireless telecommunication signals. In this thesis, three crucial challenges relevant for the technological application of SWs are addressed: First, to functionalize SWs and exploit their small wavelengths, it is necessary to control them at the nanoscale. Here, periodically nanostructured materials, denoted magnonic crystals, are promising, as they allow to tailor the band structure of SWs. We report on SWs propagating in a prototypical one-dimensional magnonic crystal consisting of dipolarly coupled magnetic nanostripes. The remanent magnetization of individual stripes was designed to be bistable along the long axis. By magnetizing an individual stripe in opposite direction to the others, we created a magnetic defect. We measured by means of all-electrical spin wave spectroscopy and Brillouin light scattering microscopy phase and amplitude of SWs trespassing the defect. We found that SW phases and amplitudes were modified at the nanoscale, and phase shifts could be tuned by an applied bias magnetic field. Using micromagnetic simulations, we identified specific bias fields for which phase shifts of Pi are achieved without suppressing SW amplitudes. This result is highly relevant for the implementation of logic gates based on interference of phase-controlled SWs. We further measured propagation of short-waved SWs in an antiferromagnetically ordered one-dimensional magnonic crystal, where every second stripe was magnetized in opposite direction. We found a band gap closing at the Brillouin zone boundary when no magnetic bias field was applied. Our observations are promising for reprogrammable microwave filters capable of adjusting stop- and passband. Second, we address how long-waved electromagnetic waves can be coupled efficiently to nanoscale SWs. We demonstrate by space- and time-resolved scanning X-ray transmission measurements, that excited nanogratings allow to transfer their reciprocal lattice vector and multiple of it to an underlying magnetic thin film, in which nanoscale propagating SWs are launched. Additionally, we discovered a second method for short-waved SW generation based on magnetic microwave guides. This approach is easy to fabricate and relies on the adaption of the SW wavelength to a changing effective magnetic field. Efficient coupling of electromagnetic waves to nanoscale SWs promises an unprecedented miniaturization of microwave components. Third, we found that the magnetization direction of bistable nanomagnets can be switched by propagating SWs in an underlying magnetic thin film when a threshold amplitude is reached. This discovery is promising for the realization of a non-volatile magnonic memory, which stores SW amplitudes. A possible application are SW logic gates, which encode the outcome of a logic operation in the output SW amplitude. Magnonic memory would allow for storing these amplitudes directly, without requiring lossy conversion into the electrical domain.

EPFL2021

New Microwave Sensing System for Blade Tip Clearance Measurement in Gas Turbines

Michaël Hafner, Anja Skrivervik Favre, Maddalena Violetti

Real-time clearance control in turbine engines allows improving their efficiency and safety, by enabling prognostics and optimized condition-based maintenance in the turbine hot section. This paper presents a novel 24 GHz microwave sensing system for real-time blade tip clearance monitoring suitable for small-size turbines (aero-engines and aero-derivatives). The system principle of operation is similar to the short range radar technique and employs high temperature resistant circular waveguide resonator probes mounted into the shell of the turbine. Probes concept was proven through simulation and prototypes where built and tested, showing agreement of results. The system was validated in laboratory, where the harsh turbine environment was reproduced on dedicated test rigs. Finally, the system was tested on a real engine, showing its suitability for real-time blade tip measurement.

Ieee2012

Magnonic crystals with reconfigurable magnetic defects for spin-based microwave electronics

Korbinian Baumgärtl

EPFL2021