Sarnoff Corporation

Rca Inc.

Gordon C Taylor

Arye Rosen

Aly Eid Fathy

Stewart Mark Perlow

Pradyumna Kumar Swain

Sridhar Kanamaluru

Ayre Rosen

Daniel Bechtle

Moniem Esherbiny

A surface PIN (SPIN) device and a method of fabricating such a SPIN device. The SPIN device, when activated, confines carrier injection to a small volume near the surface of the device such that the device is sufficiently conductive to simulate a planar conductor. The SPIN device comprises a P&plus; region and an N&plus; region formed in an intrinsic (I) layer. The P&plus; and N&plus; regions are separated by a lateral length of intrinsic material of length L. The length L is approximately the carrier diffusion length. When DC bias is applied across the N&plus; and P&plus; regions carriers are injected into the intrinsic region at a density exceeding 10 carriers per cubic cm. The intrinsic region is sufficiently thin to confine the carriers near the surface of the intrinsic region. As such, in the &ldquo;on&rdquo; state, the SPIN device simulates a conductive material. In the &ldquo;off&rdquo; state, the SPIN device is no longer conductive. Consequently, a planar array of SPIN devices can be fabricated and selectively activated to form a dynamic, reconfigurable antenna.

Surface PIN device

A reconfigurable antenna capable of dynamic reconfigurability of several antenna parameters. Specifically, the present invention is an antenna comprising a plurality of surface PIN devices arranged in a gridlike array. Each of the SPIN devices can be individually activated or deactivated. When a SPIN device is activated, the surface of the device is injected with carriers such that a plasma is produced within the intrinsic region of the device. The plasma can be sufficiently conductive to produce conductor or metal like characteristics at the surface of the device. Various ones of the SPIN devices can be activated to electronically paint a conductive pattern upon the substrate supporting the PIN devices. Through selective activation of the SPIN devices various surface antenna patterns can be produced upon the substrate including dipoles, cross dipoles, loop antennas, Yagi-Uda type antennas, log periodic antennas, and the like. Additionally, the SPIN device grid may be selectively activated to produce holographic antennas. In a holographic antenna the SPIN devices are activated to produce a simulated metallization pattern that is excited by a surface RF wave transmitted onto the substrate from a surface mounted dipole antenna. The surface wave excites a particular antenna pattern depending upon the shape of the activated SPIN devices. Changing the pattern of the holographic antenna elements causes a beam steering and/or frequency adjustments of the antenna.

Reconfigurable antenna

A microelectronic mechanical systems (MEMS) switch includes a vane formed over a substrate for electrically coupling an input line to an output line formed on the substrate. The vane includes flexible hinges, which support the vane from the input line and allow the vane to rotate about a pivot axis. The substrate includes pull-down and pull-back electrodes to actuate the MEMS switch. The pull-back electrode allows the present invention to overcome stiction effects.

Microelectronic mechanical systems (MEMS) switch and method of fabrication

A method of forming metal lines is described for semiconductor processing wherein a line mask is initially ion milled to provide a mask contour which promotes the onset of chemical etching at the base of the mask. This produces a metal line that has a tapered cross-sectional dimension wherein the base of the line is narrower than the top.

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Princeton, NJ, United States of America

Gordon C Taylor