Paratek Microwave Incorporated

Blackberry Corporation

US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Research in Motion Corporation

Luna H Chiu

Louise C Sengupta

Xubai Zhang

Somnath Sengupta

Yongfei Zhu

Steven C Stowell

Andrey Kozyrev

John E King

Chen J Zhang

Barry Treadway

George Kang

Marion Edmond Ellis

Steven Stowell

Steven Wesley Winn

Jennifer Synowczynski

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method of applying patterned metallization to a ceramic block comprising applying a photodefinable ink to said ceramic block; drying said ink; exposing said photodefinable ink to UV radiation through a predefined mask according to the thickness of the film to form a pattern; developing said pattern in a developer solution thereby forming a patterned ceramic block; and rinsing, drying and firing said patterned ceramic block.

Method of applying patterned metallization to block filter resonators

Electronically tunable dielectric materials having favorable properties are disclosed. The electronically tunable materials include an electronically tunable dielectric phase such as barium strontium titanate in combination with at least two additional metal oxide phases. The additional metal oxide phases may include, for example, oxides of Mg, Si, Ca, Zr, Ti and Al. The electronically tunable materials may be provided in bulk, thin film and thick film forms for use in devices such as phased array antennas, tunable filters and the like. The materials are useful in many applications, including the area of radio frequency engineering and design.

Electronically tunable, low-loss ceramic materials including a tunable dielectric phase and multiple metal oxide phases

The production of low-loss, tunable composite ceramic materials with improved breakdown strengths is disclosed. The composite materials comprise ferroelectric perovskites such as barium strontium titanate or other ferroelectric perovskites combined with other phases such as low-loss silicate materials and/or other low-loss oxides. The composite materials are produced in sheet or tape form by methods such as tape casting. The composite tapes exhibit favorable tunability, low loss and tailorable dielectric properties, and can be used in various microwave devices.

Method for producing low-loss tunable ceramic composites with improved breakdown strengths

This invention provides a voltage tunable filter comprising an input connection point, an output connection point, and at least one circuit branch electrically coupled to the input connection point and the output connection point and including a voltage tunable dielectric varactor electrically connected to an inductor. The voltage tunable filter can be one of a low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, or band-stop filter. The varactor can include built-in DC blocking capacitors.

Electrically tunable filters with dielectric varactors

A tunable dielectric chip, and method of manufacture therefore, that comprises a dielectric substrate, the dielectric substrate patterned to a critical dimension, a metallized portion integral to the dielectric substrate, and an encapsulant covering an any portion of the dielectric substrate not covered by the metallized portion. A thin titanium layer can be deposited in between the metallized portion and the dielectric substrate to promote adhesion. The dielectric substrate can be a dielectric thick film. The thickness of the titanium can vary from 200A to 500A and the metallized portion integral to the dielectric substrate in a preferred embodiment is gold and varies in thickness from 3 um to several microns depending on the application. Further, in the present preferred embodiment, the encapsulant is a photo-definable encapsulant. The present invention also provides solder pads integral to the metallized portion enabling maximan protection from moisture and other contaminants. The metallized portion discussed above in a preferred embodiment is formed by cleaning the surface of the thick film tunable dielectric, applying a photoresist coating of a thin film metal to the thick film tunable dielectric, soft baking the thick film tunable dielectric with the thin film metal coated thereon, exposing the thick film tunable dielectric with the thin film metal coated thereon, post exposure baking the thick film tunable dielectric with the thin film metal coated thereon; and developing the thick film tunable dielectric with the thin film metal coated thereon.

Fabrication of Parascan tunable dielectric chips

Tunable dielectric materials including an electronically tunable dielectric ceramic and a low loss glass additive are disclosed. The tunable dielectric may comprise a ferroelectric perskovite material such as barium strontium titanate. The glass additive may comprise boron, barium, calcium, lithium, manganese, silicon, zinc and/or aluminum-containing glasses having dielectric losses of less than 0.003 at 2 GHz. The materials may further include other additives such as non-tunable metal oxides and silicates. The low loss glass additive enables the materials to be sintered at relatively low temperatures while providing improved properties such as low microwave losses and high breakdown strengths.

Tunable dielectric compositions including low loss glass

A tunable dielectric structure includes a first layer of dielectric material, a second layer of dielectric material positioned adjacent to the first layer of dielectric material, with the second layer of dielectric material having a dielectric constant that is less than the dielectric constant of the first layer of dielectric material, and electrodes for applying a controllable voltage across the first dielectric material, thereby controlling a dielectric constant of the first dielectric material, wherein at least one of the electrodes is positioned between the first and second layers of dielectric material. The dielectric materials can be formed in various shapes and assembled in various orientations with respect to each other. The tunable dielectric structure is used in various devices including coaxial cables, cavity antennas, microstrip lines, coplanar lines, and waveguides.

Voltage tunable laminated dielectric materials for a coplanor waveguide

Voltage tunable laminated dielectric materials for microwave waveguide applications

A voltage tunable dielectric varactor includes a substrate having a low dielectric constant and having generally planar surface, a tunable ferroelectric layer positioned on the generally planar surface of the substrate, and first and second electrodes positioned on a surface of the tunable ferroelectric layer opposite the generally planar surface of the substrate. The first and second electrodes are separated to form a gap therebetween. The varactor includes an input for receiving a radio frequency signal and an output for delivering the radio frequency signal. A bias voltage applied to the electrodes changes the capacitance of the varactor between the input and output thereof. Phase shifters and filters that include the varactor are also described.

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Abingdon, MD, United States of America

Luna H Chiu