We propose a paradigm to realize nonreciprocal wavefront engineering using time-modulated gradient metasurfaces. The essential building block of these surfaces is a subwavelength unit-cell whose reflection coefficient oscillates at low frequency. We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that such modulation permits tailoring the phase and amplitude of any desired nonlinear harmonic and determines the behavior of all other emerging fields. By appropriately adjusting the phase-delay applied to the modulation of each unit-cell, we realize time-modulated gradient metasurfaces that provide efficient conversion between two desired frequencies and enable nonreciprocity by (i) imposing drastically different phase-gradients during the up/down conversion processes; and (ii) exploiting the interplay between the generation of certain nonlinear surface and propagative waves. To demonstrate the performance and broad reach of the proposed platform, we design and analyze metasurfaces able to implement various functionalities, including beam steering and focusing, while exhibiting strong and angle-insensitive nonreciprocal responses. Our findings open a new direction in the field of gradient metasurfaces, in which wavefront control and magnetic-free nonreciprocity are locally merged to manipulate the scattered fields.

A new class of wideband bandpass filters based on using thick metallic bars as microwave resonators, instead of common microstrip lines, is presented. These bars provide a series of advantages over fully planar printed technologies, including higher coupling levels between resonators, better unloaded quality factors Q U , and larger bandwidths, implemented with more compact structures. Moreover, thick bar resonators can easily be coupled to an additional resonance excited in a box used for shielding, allowing to realize transversal topologies able to implement transmission zeros at desired frequencies. To illustrate the capabilities of this technology, two microwave filters with different bandwidths and one transmission zero have been designed. One of the filters has been manufactured and tested using copper bars inside an aluminum housing partially filled with Teflon. Measured data demonstrates a fractional bandwidth about FBW = 32%, spurious free range SFR > 50%, unloaded quality factor of Q U = 1180 and return losses over 20 dB without requiring any post-tuning on the prototype, confirming the exciting performance of the proposed technology.Index Terms-Hybrid waveguide microstrip technology, microwave filters, resonator filters, transmission zeros, transversal filters, wideband filters.

Abstract-A monolithic piezoelectric MEMS-CMOS resonant transformer that can be used in ultra-low-power high-efficiency RF sensing applications is presented for the first time. The MEMS-CMOS resonant transformer is based on a 59 MHz 2-port Aluminum Nitride (AlN) Contour Mode Resonator (CMR) bonded to a 0.18 µm NMOS-based rectifier for voltage boosting and RF-to-DC conversion. The integrated device is fabricated in a foundry-based process by conductive eutectic wafer bonding. To amplify the voltage, the AlN CMR is designed to attain a large quality factor (Q=900) and a relatively low dielectric capacitance (C0=1.51 pF) in relation to the number of rectifier stages (n=20). As a result, a ten-fold voltage gain MEMS-CMOS resonant transformer is demonstrated in this work.

No abstract

This paper reports an approach to designing compact high efficiency millimeter-wave fundamental oscillators operating above the fmax/2 of the active device. The approach takes full consideration of the nonlinearity of the active device and the finite quality factor of the passive devices to provide an accurate and optimal oscillator design in terms of the output power and efficiency. The 213-GHz single-ended and differential fundamental oscillators in 65-nm CMOS technology are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Using a compact capacitive transformer design, the single-ended oscillator achieves 0.79-mW output power per transistor (16 µm) at 1.0-V supply and a peak dc-to-RF efficiency of 8.02% (VDD=0.80 V) within a core area of 0.0101 mm 2 , and the measured phase noise is −93.4 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset. The differential oscillator exhibits approximately the same performance. A 213-GHz fundamental voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with bulk tuning method is also developed in this work. The measured peak efficiency of the VCO is 6.02% with a tuning rang of 2.3% at 0.6-V supply.

This paper reports an approach to designing compact high efficiency millimeter-wave fundamental oscillators operating above the fmax/2 of the active device. The approach takes full consideration of the nonlinearity of the active device and the finite quality factor of the passive devices to provide an accurate and optimal oscillator design in terms of the output power and efficiency. The 213-GHz single-ended and differential fundamental oscillators in 65-nm CMOS technology are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Using a compact capacitive transformer design, the single-ended oscillator achieves 0.79-mW output power per transistor (16 µm) at 1.0-V supply and a peak dc-to-RF efficiency of 8.02% (VDD=0.80 V) within a core area of 0.0101 mm 2 , and the measured phase noise is −93.4 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset. The differential oscillator exhibits approximately the same performance. A 213-GHz fundamental voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with bulk tuning method is also developed in this work. The measured peak efficiency of the VCO is 6.02% with a tuning rang of 2.3% at 0.6-V supply.

In this paper, we propose and demonstrate time-modulated patch antennas able to exhibit opposite polarization ellipticity when operated in transmission or reception, effectively leading to nonreciprocal polarization responses. To this purpose, we merge a patch antenna fed from four symmetrical sides with a low-frequency time-modulation scheme. This configuration exploits the photonic Aharonov Bohm effect to individually manipulate the phase of surface currents flowing along orthogonal directions on the antenna with the phase of the modulation signals. Experimental results at 2.2 GHz demonstrate high conversion efficiency in the time-modulation process (loss 3 dB), isolation levels over 40 dB in transmission/reception mode, and tunability to generate/receive electromagnetic waves with arbitrary polarization ellipticity. Our findings may enable exciting applications in full-duplex communications as well as in polarimetric radar, sensing and imaging systems.

Abstract-A monolithic piezoelectric MEMS-CMOS resonant transformer that can be used in ultra-low-power high-efficiency RF sensing applications is presented for the first time. The MEMS-CMOS resonant transformer is based on a 59 MHz 2-port Aluminum Nitride (AlN) Contour Mode Resonator (CMR) bonded to a 0.18 µm NMOS-based rectifier for voltage boosting and RF-to-DC conversion. The integrated device is fabricated in a foundry-based process by conductive eutectic wafer bonding. To amplify the voltage, the AlN CMR is designed to attain a large quality factor (Q=900) and a relatively low dielectric capacitance (C0=1.51 pF) in relation to the number of rectifier stages (n=20). As a result, a ten-fold voltage gain MEMS-CMOS resonant transformer is demonstrated in this work.