This award will support collaborative research between Dr. Robert Caverly, Southeastern Massachusetts University and Drs. Christopher Snowden and Michael Howes, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Leeds, England. The objective of this project is a study of nonlinearities in microwave control devices. Semiconductor devices are presently being used to control and switch power and energy signals in a variety of applications. Ideally, these devices switch the energy without introducing distortion (caused by nonlinear operation of the devices) into the circuit or system. In practice, however, distortion is produced which is directly related to the signal that is controlled. The research work proposed is an investigation of the device and circuit parameters that will affect the generation of this signal distortion. Dr. Caverly has carried out extensive theoretical modeling of solid state devices. The Leeds Microwave Solid State Group has considerable experience not only in this area, but also in modeling and fabricating circuits and systems. The joining of these complementary skills will provide improved understanding of the performance of passive and active field effect transistor circuits, especially those in monolithic microwave integrated circuit applications.
