SBIR-STTR Award

The present trend in the packaging of advanced integrated circuit chip is toward various types of multi-chip modules (MCM). Of these, MCM-D employing film deposition is the one most capable of supporting which system performance. This proposal considers MCM-D as the basis for implementing a variety of thin-film layers which could integrate digital and analog functions into a single miniaturized system package. These layers might be conductive or superconductive, magnetic or ferro-electric, as well as dielectric insulating layers, deposited in a multilayer process. Having defined the material choices from general system requirements, the optimization of the system is then achieved by optimizing the performance of the components and assuring compatible communication between them. Voltage levels of operating temperatures are key adjustable variables for the system. The trend for CMOS fabrication is toward the continuing reduction of IC feature size. Toward this end, voltage reduction and the accompanying reduced thermal dissipation must be primary objectives. It is clear that these objectives can be achieved by lowering operating temperatures. The Phase I effort would examine a specific system of military interest - a microwave receiver, to assess the application of these principles to produce a conceptual optimization of the packaged system, namely, a cryocooler. Anticipated

Benefits:
All commercial high-performance electronics which comprise of digital and analog functions will benefit from this development. Work stations and higher level computers would have their central processing boards replaced by optimized cryoelectronic MCM-Ds, since a small refrigerator could easily be made as part of the chassis.

This proposal investigates the integration of high-temperature superconductors & electro-optic materials by epitaxial growth to develop agile monolithic microwave & millimeter wave receivers. Of primary interests are the device architectures & the performance improvements obtained when active & passive devices are integrated for operation at cryogenic temperatures. The expected system advantages are reduced system size, analog signal processing with wide bandwidth & higher signal-to-noise ratio. The front end of the receivers will be fabricated by using epitaxially grown heterostructures of superconducting oxide & electro-optic materials. Semiconductor amplifiers & mixers will be integrated into the system by epitaxial lift-off & grafting. The oxide films will be grown by using the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition technique. The objective of this Phase II research, development & assembly is to demonstrate the feasibility of monolithic microwave & millimeter wave receivers as a new generation of high performance based on the mate mixing high-Tc superconducting, electro-optic & semiconductor materials. The operation temperature range of the will be 30 - 50 K. This will allow the use of compact, commercially available, closed-cycle refrigerators as coolers. A superconducting tapped delay line with programmable electro-optic directional couplers for tap weight will be designed, fabricated & tested as the base of a class of new devices with bandwidths as large as 10 GHz. A systematic approach will be conducted into the design, fabrication & testing of epitaxially depositing YBa2Cu3O7-x & PbLaTiO3 thin films over large areas. Other devices such as programmable matched filters, correlators & spectrum analyzers will also be designed, assemble & tested. Both federal government & commercial concerns can benefit from the availability of these compact monolithic microwave & millimeter wave receivers planned in this Phase II Proposal. Many emerging technologies such as pulse-compression radars.