PROJECT TITLE: Advanced dielectric materials for terahertz space applications and technology — DITERSAT 

Coordinator: National Institute of Materials Physics (NIMP)

Partners: Institute of Space Science (ISS)

Period: 29 November 2013 – 28 November 2015

Project director: Dr. Liviu Nedelcu

Project team: The teams involved in the project include 10 experienced researchers, 8 post-doctoral researchers, 1 PhD student, 2 students, and 3 engineers.

Key persons of the NIMP team – Dr. Liviu NEDELCU – project manager, THz-TDS; Dr. Marian Gabriel BANCIU – electromagnetic modeling; Dr. Gheorghe Virgil ALDICA – conventional synthesis; Dr. Marin CERNEA – unconventional synthesis; Dr. Iuliana PASUK – structural characterization.

Key persons of the ISS team – Dr. Veta GHENESCU – team leader, ionizing radiations; Dr. Ion Sorin ZGURA – high energy physics, data computing; Dr. Catalin CUCU-DUMITRESCU – mathematical modeling; Dr. George MOGILDEA – terahertz spectroscopy; Dr. Marian MOGILDEA – terahertz imaging.

Description: Continuous evolution of the wireless communications emphasizes the jamming issues due to the scarcity of the electromagnetic spectrum used in both terrestrial and space infrastructures. According to the “Yearbook on Space Policy 2009/2010 – Space for Society” book, “We need to think about sophisticated procedures to manage the available frequency slots and/or to extend the usable frequency range using new technologies and transmission techniques”. As a consequence, microwave (MW) links tend to expand toward millimeter-waves (MMWs) and submillimeter-waves (SMMWs).

Materials with high dielectric constant, low-losses, and controlled temperature coefficient of the permittivity are very effective for size and weight reduction of the equipment and reliability improvement.

DITERSAT project moves forward terrestrial applications and employs concept from low-loss MW dielectrics for development of the cost-effective materials with appropriate parameters in MMW and SMMW domain.

Dielectric properties of Mg4Nb2O9, Mg2SiO4, and Zn2SiO4 ceramics will be investigated in order to provide the basis for developing a new generation of competitive terahertz components that meet the requirements of integration and thermal stability.

Project objectives:

• Synthesis of multifunctional ceramics with low-losses in MMWs and SMMWs.
• Reduction of extrinsic dielectric loss through the optimizing of the technological parameters, the microstructure control and adjustment of chemical composition.
• Control of thermal drift of relative dielectric permittivity through substitutions and / or formation of solid solutions, composites , and multi-phase compounds.
• Modeling of passive components with a high miniaturization degree, in agreement with space standards.

Activities:

• WP1 – Space environment and modeling
• WP2 – Dielectric material synthesis
• WP3 – Complex characterization
• WP4 – Management and dissemination

Contributions to the STAR programme objectives:

Through the proposed objectives, the DITERSAT project is within the Subdomain “S1 – Research” of the STAR program, research thematic “Telecommunications and integrated space applications”.

DITERSAT aims to solve “synthesis – microstructure – dielectric properties – applications” cycle in order to design pasive components based on low-loss dielectrics for THz space applications and technology.

Homepage: DITERSAT