INTEGRATON OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR THIN FILMS WITH GAAS MONOLITHIC MICROWAVE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS (MMIC)

THE GREAT LIMITATION OF MICROWAVE IC DESIGN IS THE RESISTANCE OF NORMAL METALS. MONOLITHIC MICROWAVE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS (MMIC), NOW DOMINATED BY GAAS TECHNOLOGY, CAN BE REVOLUTIONIZED IF THE NORMAL-METAL COMPONENTS ARE REPLACED BY HTSC MATERIALS. THE INNOVATION FOR THE PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF FABRICATING A YBCO-BASED PASSIVE MICROWAVE DEVICE WITH GAAS ICS ON A SINGLE GAAS WAFER BY INSITU PULSED LASER DEPOSITION (PLD), CONVENTIONAL PHOTOLITHOGRAPHIC PATTERNING, AND METALIZATION TECHNIQUES. RESEARCHERS EVALUATE THE SUPERCONDUCTING PROPERTIES OF THE YBCO FILMS TO SELECT THE BEST BUFFER FILM MATERIAL AND FILM DEPOSITION PROCESS UNTIL HIGH QUALITY SUPERCONDUCTOR FILMS ARE OBTAINED. RESEARCHERS ARE INTEGRATING A SIMPLE SUPERCONDUCTOR STRIPLINE FILTER WITH A GAAS LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER, AND EVALUATING THE DEVICE PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF ITS GAIN AND NOISE FIGURE.