Improved Radio Frequency (RF) Polymer Substrates for Antennas

Leveraging Spectrum Magnetics’ expertise in large scale fabrication of nanomaterials by gas phase aerosol technologies, supported by University of Delaware’s leading edge research in magnetodielectric materials with simultaneously large permittivity and permeability in GHz, we propose to fabricate and optimize RF polymers that promise applications in antenna with much improved loss tangent, without sacrificing its benefit in impendence match, bandwidth and miniaturization. Other significant technology applications also exist such as microwave devices, filters, and DC/DC converters that have sizable market shares. Our on-going work confirmed our proposed concept that magnetic materials with low energy loss above 1 GHz must first be developed. Guide by the material physics behind high frequency materials; we choose and modify materials to achieve high magnetization, high resistivity, but work against high demagnetization factor; subsequently embedding the as developed low loss GHz magnetic core in suitable polymers will achieve RF polymers with desirable properties. Our approach will provide a convenient manufacturing route for making RF polymers at a lowered cost. In Phase I, we will demonstrate RF polymers with permittivity and permeability larger than 3 above 1 GHz frequencies with loss tangent less than 5x10-3.