Development of RF circuits Using Additive Manufacturing Technologies For Wireless Communication Systems and Sensors

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Topic: 
Development of RF circuits Using Additive Manufacturing Technologies For Wireless Communication Systems and Sensors
Monday, December 5, 2016 - 4:30pm to 5:30pm
Venue: 
Allen Extension Building: 101X Auditorium
Speaker: 
Professor John Papapolymerou, Michigan State University
Abstract / Description: 

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and three dimensional (3-D) printing have recently received increased interest as they enable the development of cost effective, fast production cycle, environmental friendly and complex components. Following broad applications in the areas of bio-engineering, medicine, mechanical parts and tools, consumer goods and so on, additive manufacturing technologies have been progressively expanded into high frequency applications over the last few years. AM technologies have shown great potential in the fabrication of lightweight, flexible low-cost passive RF circuits while avoiding the use of conventional higher cost microfabrication and cleanroom facilities. Also, they enable the design and development of novel circuits that are difficult to achieve using conventional microlithography approaches and micro-machining.

In this presentation, we will discuss some recent advancements and challenges of utilizing Polyjet and Aerosol Jet 3D printing technologies for the development of microwave and mm-wave components that could pave the way for the mass fabrication of low cost wireless communication systems and sensors. Examples include a complete 3D printed RF line,  3D interconnects and transmission lines up to D-band (110-170 GHz), 3D packaging of an X-band low-noise amplifier, Ka-band 3D printed antennas and 3D printed cavity resonators and filters.

Bio: 

John Papapolymerou received the B.S.E.E. degree from the National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece, in 1993, the M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1994 and 1999, respectively. From 1999-2001 he was an Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Arizona, Tucson and during the summers of 2000 and 2003 he was a visiting professor at The University of Limoges, France. From 2001-2005, 2005-2009 and 2009-2013 he was an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor, respectively, at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the Georgia Institute of Technology. From 2013-2015 he was the Ken Byers Professor at the School of ECE at Georgia Tech; he was also the Associate Director of the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC) from 2011-2015. As of August 2015 he is the MSU Foundation Professor and Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Michigan State University. He has graduated 24 PhD students and has advised more than 50 post-doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students throughout his career. He has authored or coauthored over 380 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conferences and holds 5 US patents. His research interests include the implementation of micromachining techniques and MEMS devices in microwave, millimeter-wave and THz circuits and the development of both passive and active planar circuits and antennas on semiconductor (Si/SiGe, GaAs) and organic substrates (liquid crystal polymer-LCP, LTCC) for  System-on-a-Chip (SOC)/ System-on-a-Package (SOP) RF front ends.

Dr. Papapolymerou served as Editor-in-Chief for IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters (MWCL) from 2012-2015. He has also served as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques from 2010-2012, and as Chair for Commission D of the US National Committee of URSI from 2009-2011. He was also Associate Editor for IEEE MWCL (2004-2007), and IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (2004-2010). During 2004, he was the Chair of the IEEE MTT/AP Atlanta Chapter. He was the recipient of the 2012 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) H.A. Wheeler Prize Paper Award, the 2010 IEEE AP-S John Kraus Antenna Award, the 2009 IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques-Society (MTT-S) Outstanding Young Engineer Award, the 2009 Georgia Tech School of ECE Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, the 2004 Army Research Office (ARO) Young Investigator Award, the 2002 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, the best paper award at the 3rd IEEE International Conference on Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Technology (ICMMT2002), Beijing, China and the 1997 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructional Assistant Award presented by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), The University of Michigan Chapter.