An investigation into the use of large area silicon semiconductors in microwave systems

Semiconductor microwave devices are usually manufactured using micron or sub-micron geometries. The equipment needed for these techniques has a high capital cost and demands high overheads. The material traditionally processed for microwave applications is gallium arsenide but during the period of this investigation a move towards the use of silicon and silicon germanium has emerged. This study, which is essentially practical, covers a range of new ideas for components using large area silicon devices. In the course of the study considerable progress has also been made in the understanding of the behaviour of silicon at microwave frequencies, and some of the initial Concepts were shown to be invalid. An accurate determination of the dielectric constant of silicon has been made using quasi optical techniques at microwave frequencies. The fabrication techniques described originate from methods used at Q-par Angus to manufacture large area silicon nuclear radiation detectors. Developed at the University of Birmingham, these are 'wet chemistry' methods that preclude the need for diffusion or other conventional semiconductor processing techniques. Novel microwave components have been developed using these techniques. These include an optically controlled attenuator with multioctave bandwidth and good dynamic range; window devices to reduce the radar cross section of microwave antennas; and microwave cavity devices including a variable-Q cavity. Concepts for millimeter wave filters are discussed, as are areas for further research. During the attenuator study Wheeler's equations have been extended to cover truncated microstrip. It was observed at an early stage in the work that optical excitation was very effective as a method of controlling the devices. This fits well with current trends in electro-optical devices. The piezo resistance effect in silicon has been briefly investigated and a mechanical attenuator exploiting this effect has been developed. (author)