Brief syllabus

Detailed outline

Schedule

Instructor

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Course Material

Microwave engineering has been one of the major research areas in the department since its inception.  Over the years, courses offered within this area have evolved in such a way as to incorporate contemporary trends that could influence the advancement of our core research.  RF MEMS is one area of research that has come into existence during the past few years. 

Several research organizations around the globe have active programs in this area. In India, several national programs eagerly seek components made with these approaches.  At the Institute, RF MEMS is soon going to be one of the key research possibilities, as the new nano fabrication lab. comes into existence.  In this context, it is high time that we start a new course in this area, so that our students would be sufficiently exposed to this area of research. 

This topic emphasizes on developing components and systems that would significantly improve the performance of existing RF, microwave and millimeter wave components.  These new components are fabricated by a set of processes known as micromachining, primarily developed for conventional micro electromechanical systems (MEMS).  Hence design and fabrication approaches are of equal importance in gaining a proper understanding of the topic.  The course would be divided into threeparts: microwave engineering fundamentals, basic concepts of MEMS and RF MEMS, and design/fabrication examples and features of several RF MEMS components. 

Brief Syllabus

Review of fundamentals of microwave transmission lines and circuits; Conventional design of microwave components and subsystems.

Introduction to RF MEMS technologies: Need for RF MEMS components in communications, space and defense applications, Materials and fabrication technologies, Actuation methods in MEMS, Special considerations in RF MEMS design.

Examples of RF MEMS components and case studies: Micro-switches, Planar, on-chip components, Transmission lines and other components, Micromachined antennas, Micromachined phase shifters.