Advanced High Frequency Tunable Filters for Wide-Band Arrays

The future military communication, sensing and electronic warfare systems such as the proposed national missile defense (NMD) system require increasing functionality and performance endurance in harsh space environments. There is a persistent need for reliable tunable filters with a wide bandwidth of operation. In response to this need, EMAG Technologies in collaboration with Purdue University proposes to develop a novel technique for creating tunable high-Q filters. A suspended microstrip resonator will be used for creating the filter, while the tuning mechanism will be provided by RF MEMS Varactors. The proposed architecture requires a number of novel technologies that permit excellent RF performance, limited power consumption, low size and cost, high reliability and space qualification. In addition to that, on-wafer packaging and three-dimensional integration will be utilized for the hermetic sealing of the filters. This packaging scheme will be based on EMAG’s already developed low-loss, hermetic package for single RF MEMS switches. A class of evanescent mode filters will also be investigated as an alternative in the later part of the project.