Loughborough University has been awarded £3.9million to develop a new way of designing and fabricating high frequency communications circuitry. The funding from the EPSRC will be used to establish the SYMETA – SYnthesizing 3D METAmaterials for RF, microwave and THz applications – research programme.
Current conventional printed circuit board manufacturing and assembly processes involve harsh chemicals, etching, high volumes of water and high temperatures. SYMETA’s aim is to employ metamaterial technology to construct the circuits and reduce both the number of processes involved in the circuit manufacture and the components soldered onto the boards.
Metamaterials are engineered composite materials that have certain electromagnetic properties not normally found in nature, and can therefore be designed to create high frequency circuitry like that found in mobile phones
Industries that could benefit from the research include aviation, space, healthcare and the military.Employing the advanced manufacturing techniques that the consortium will develop will also remove the need for the harsh chemicals typically used in the manufacture of traditional circuit boards, offering significant environmental benefits.
The SYMETA team will be led by Professor Yiannis Vardaxoglou from Loughborough University. The other research partners include the Universities of Exeter, Oxford, Sheffield and Queen Mary, University of London.
Prof Vardaxoglou said: “Introducing these novel structures into the complex world of electronic design will offer a radical new way of designing and manufacturing electronics at low cost. We are grateful to EPSRC for supporting such an innovative and timely project.”
The funding for SYMETA was announced by Science Minister Jo Johnson, as part of a £21m investment by the EPSRC into research that aims to tackle some of the major challenges facing science and engineering.
Pic: Professor Yiannis Vardaxoglou, Loughborough University
Author
Tom Austin-Morgan
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk