Silicon-micromachined THz systems - enabling the large-scale exploitation of the THz frequency spectrum?

The sub-THz frequency spectrum, though already exploited primarily for scientific applications for several decades, is still lacking technology solutions in particular for system integration, high-performance passive components and interfaces including antennas. Furthermore, for a large-scale exploitation of these sub-THz frequency bands, different fabrication technologies are needed which also are volume-manufacturable. This talk shows the state of the art in micromachining fabrication techniques, which offer outstanding performance, proven high-volume manufacturability and system integration capability. Several technology demonstrators based on very low loss micromachined waveguides will be presented, including filters (telecommunication diplexers from D-band frequencies up to 750 GHz with Q-factors of 900 to 1600), steerable and corporate-fed antenna arrays with 39-DBi gain in different bands up to 400 GHz, phase shifters with best phase-shift to loss performance in any technology, micro-electromechanical waveguide switches in several bands up to 750 GHz, and also some system level solutions including a D-band communication link, and a beam-steering/beam-shape switched micromachined car-radar front-end.