Low-Loss Commercial Deposition Technology for Thick Ferrites and Ferrite/Insulator Films on Printed Circuit Boards

The purpose of this proposal is to develop high quality nanocrystalline ferrite films for microwave components and antenna applications. In Phase-I of the proposal we are demonstrating the reliability, repeatability, and reproducibility of the spin-spray plating process by depositing high Snoeks Product nanocrystalline thin film ferrites on Printed Circuit Board material. In the 4-month Phase-I option we will be demonstrating that these nanocrystalline ferrites can be implemented in devices such as an isolator or circulator. The supporting technology is a wet chemistry low temperature spin-spray plating process, demonstrated by ASU and Rayn Innovations that yields materials with a Snoeks Product twenty times higher than conventional bulk ferrites. Our enabling technology would not only integrate microwave devices into the same circuit board stack, they would also enable the integration of wide-band conformal and low-profile antennas into the same system, from VHF to GHz range. At the end of this project we will have determined: a path towards large scale manufacturing and ability to reduce production cost 10X over current technology, the understanding of process parameters that control the key properties of the ferrite such as deposition rate, pH, processing temperature, rotation rate, and flow rate.