PROPOSAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING MICROWAVE DELAY LINES

BASED ON EXPERTISE IN ADVANCED SUPERCONDUCTING TECHNOLOGIES, MICROWAVE COMPONENTS AND THE HIGH TEMPERATURE CERAMIC SUPERCONDUCTORS,HYPRES PROPOSES TO DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE MINIATURIZED LOW-LOSS DELAY LINES BASED ON THIN FILMS OF HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS. WE WILL EXPLORE UTILIZATION OF SUPERCONDUCTING FILMS INCLUDING NIOBIUM ALLOYS AND COPPER OXIDE CERAMICS SUCH AS Y(2)BA(2)CU(3)O(7+O). THESE DELAY LINES IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER SUPERCONDUCTIVE OR SEMICONDUCTING MICROWAVE COMPONENTS AND MINIATURIZED CRYCOOLERS, FORM THE BASIS FOR COMPACT SIGNAL PROCESSING SYSTEMS IN THE 1-20 GHZ RANGE. PRODUCT GOALS INCLUDE 1-20 GHZ FREQUENCY RANGE AND OPERATING TEMPERATURES CONSISTENT WITH COMPACT CLOSED-CYCLE COOLERS UP TO 77 DEG K. HYPRES' UNIQUE APPROACH RELIES ON ESTABLISHED DESIGN, PROCESS AND CHARACTERIZATION FACILITIES FOR MICROWAVE COMPONENTS BASED ON SUPERCONDUCTING FILMS, TRANSMISSION LINES AND ACTIVE DEVICES. IN PHASE I, WE PROPOSE THE ANALYSIS, DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A MASK SET CONTAINING THIN FILM DELAY LINES. IN PHASE II, WE PROPOSE THE FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTIVE DELAY LINES FOR FREQUENCIES FROM 1-20 GHZ.