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Moradpour, Maryam

University of British Columbia

Electronic waste (e-waste) has been rapidly growing with the fusion of the Internet of Things (IoT), and the 5/6th-generation of wireless technologies. Metals accounting for a substantial proportion of e-waste have posed challenges to satisfying the requirements of emerging technologies in terms of cost, weight, and eco-friendliness. Tackling these challenges requires an interdisciplinary solution to address the limitations of metal-based electronics while offering comparable mechanical and electrical robustness. This thesis introduced split-ring resonators referred to as organic microwave resonators (OMRs), where the metallic microstrip lines were replaced by an organic conducting polymer, called PEDOT:PSS. The dimensions of the OMR structures were engineered to achieve microwave components operating at various frequencies ranging from 1 GHz to 5 GHz with a desired resonant amplitude. The OMRs were also investigated in electromagnetically coupled structures by implementing two SRRs which resulted in a profound resonant amplitude and quality-factor compared to a single SRR. Additionally, the performance of OMRs was validated for microwave sensing of materials in solid and gas states, which showed changes in their resonant response regarding changes in dielectric properties in their close environment. The performance of OMRs was studied in exposure to hazardous gas species where the PEDOT:PSS film acts as an embedded interface layer and translates its conductivity changes to microwave response change. The application of OMRs was extended to relative humidity detection by electromagnetically coupling a pair of OMRs and exposing them to water vapor. The proposed OMRs have demonstrated a relatively low quality-factor with respect to their metal-based counterparts, which consequently results in a lower-resolution device in sensing applications. To enhance the quality-factor of the response, the OMR was integrated with an active feedback system consisting of a low-noise amplifier and a phase shifter. This method not only demonstrated the capability of OMRs integrated with other microwave components but also resulted in a continuously tunable quality-factor from 1.5 to 600, a comparable quality-factor with their metal-based counterparts. The proposed technology provided a roadmap for the development of high-frequency organic electronics to shape future technologies in various applications, including wireless sensing, environmental monitoring, and wearable technologies.

Text; Still Image

2023-05-31

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/83556

Electrical Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/