Multi-reconfiguration of microwave Antennas and Circuits with Independent Electrical and Optical controls – MACIEO

The MACIEO project aims to propose new solutions to increase the reconfiguration capacities of antennas and microwave circuits for future civil or military communication systems: xG, IoT, satellite constellations, etc. For that, 2 innovative solutions will be combined to make it possible to multiply the reconfiguration capacities and performances of a component while minimizing the associated design complexity. Such a hybridization of two reconfiguration solutions thus opens a new paradigm in terms of reconfigurability of microwave circuits and antennas.
The first solution is based on the electrical control of semiconductor junctions directly integrated into a substrate by localized doping. This eliminates some manufacturing constraints associated with traditional solutions (component transfer, interconnection, metallized vias, etc.) and offers great flexibility in terms of sizes or shapes of the junctions allowing the simultaneous control of several junctions from a single electrical control signal. In addition, co-design of active and passive elements is thus possible when designing reconfigurable circuits and antennas. The second solution is based on the optical control of the phase state (amorphous/crystalline) of phase change materials (PCM). Within the framework of the MACIEO project, these will be thin films of chalcogenides which offer a strong variation in their electrical conductivity (5 to 7 orders of magnitude). These materials also do not need a permanent power supply, only the phase change requiring a laser pulse of a few tens of nanoseconds. The first solution allowing the control of many junctions with a single electrical signal and the second using an optical signal from lasers, their combination in a hybrid structure multiplies the functionalities offered by a component by minimizing the number of bias and isolation circuits or of reported components.
The contribution of the MACIEO project will be made at several levels. Significant work on the study and optimization of chalcogenide thin films and on their laser optical control will be carried out with a view to the microwave reconfiguration applications targeted here. The hybridization of the two solutions will be implemented through the development of a complete manufacturing process ensuring the proper simultaneous operation of the two reconfiguration techniques. Several proofs of concept will also be developed with increasing complexity to highlight the advantages and interests of such a hybrid association of these two independent reconfiguration techniques. First, filters in planar technology and then in SIW (Substrate Integrated Waveguide) technology offering simultaneous and independent reconfiguration in central frequency and bandwidth will be designed, manufactured and measured. A more ambitious project of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) based on the hybridization of these two reconfiguration techniques will allow to simultaneously reconfigure the polarization and scan the beam. All of the prototypes will be developed at millimeter frequencies, around 30 GHz, given the many potential applications being developed there.
This multidisciplinary project will take place over 48 months and will bring together 4 academic partners from various and complementary fields: ISCR (study and optimization of thin films of chalcogenides), FOTON institute (micro- and nanofabrication, laser optical control), IETR (design of reconfigurable circuits and antennas), and Lab-STICC (co-design of passive circuits and semiconductor junctions).