Impedance Matching Between a Waveguide and a Transmission Line Using a Flexible Conductive Membrane Micro-actuator for Beyond 5G/6G Communication

Abstract

Beyond 5G/6G technology uses terahertz waves to achieve high-speed and low-latency communications. However, due to the short wavelength, the mechanical errors of the waveguide and the transmission line on an integrated circuit significantly affect their impedance matching. We propose integrating a membrane micro-actuator as a tunable back short to tune the waveguide’s impedance. The micro-actuator consists of a flexible conductive membrane (FCM) and a piezoelectric impact drive actuator (PIDA). The FCM is a bi-layer composite material with Ag-based conductive and flexible polymer layers. The PIDA changes the FCM’s deformation, finally leading to impedance tuning. The micro-actuator consumes zero power to keep the membrane deformation due to the PIDA’s self-locking mechanism. A reversible 100 μm stroke with a resolution of 2 μm for the FCM is achieved. The measured return loss from the transmission line to the waveguide from 220 to 330 GHz indirectly shows the waveguide’s impedance can be tuned by deforming FCM.