RF Front End Based on MEMS Components for Miniaturized Digital EVA Radio

In this SBIR project, AlphaSense, Inc. and the Carnegie Mellon University propose to develop a RF receiver front end based on CMOS-MEMS components for miniaturized digital EVA radio applications. In Phase I, we have proven the feasibility of implementing a compact, low power and high performance S band receiver front end based on CMOS- MEMS components. Specifically, we conducted link budget analysis to define the radio requirements for different applications, including low data rate voice, data/telemetry and high data rate, high definition video transceiving. We also identified and optimized the receiver front end architecture (i.e. a low-IF architecture), and analyzed its electrical performance based on known properties of individual CMOS- MEMS components. Finally, we fabricated two key components, a high quality factor MEMS band pass filter and a mixer-filter, and validated their performances. Phase II will be focusing on performance improvements of individual device and the whole receiver front end. We will also implement a fully integrated receiver based on the radio- on- a-chip solution, and characterize its performance. More »