5G Advanced Microwave Materials for Millimeter-wave Devices
This grant seeks to develop new microwave materials, characterization methods, and high-throughput screening techniques for advanced 5G millimeter-wave devices.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
NRC Research Associateship Programs has archived this opportunity.
Funder: NRC Research Associateship Programs
Due Dates: February 1, 2025 | August 1, 2025
Funding Amounts: $82,764 stipend plus $3,000 travel allowance; typical appointment duration is 2 years.
Summary: Supports postdoctoral research to develop advanced microwave materials, characterization methods, and high-throughput screening techniques for 5G millimeter-wave telecommunications devices.
Key Information: Open to U.S. citizens with a doctoral degree earned within the last 5 years; research conducted onsite at NIST in Boulder, CO; application requires prior contact with a Research Adviser.
Description
This fellowship opportunity, offered through the NRC Research Associateship Programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), focuses on advancing microwave materials for millimeter-wave devices critical to 5G telecommunications. The rapid growth in mobile data demand and wireless device deployment has pushed telecommunications infrastructure to higher frequencies, where conventional materials and measurement techniques fall short. For example, current commercial tunable dielectrics used in band-pass filters and tunable antennas exhibit excessive electrical loss above 10 GHz.
The successful Associate will tackle a three-part challenge:
- Deepen understanding of the fundamental physics governing electromagnetic properties of materials.
- Develop metrology approaches to characterize materials and components at frequencies beyond current capabilities.
- Create high-throughput screening methods to identify new materials suitable for high-frequency performance.
Initial research emphasis will be on ferroelectric materials and transition metal dichalcogenides, which have potential applications ranging from neuromorphic computing to compact multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas. Achieving these goals will accelerate discovery and design of materials for advanced telecommunications and electronic devices.
The fellowship is based at NIST's Communications Technology Laboratory, Radio Frequency Technology Division, located in Boulder, Colorado.
