NNDTC

Boosting the implementation of 5G technology.

The NNDTC project implements radio frequency (RF) devices that allow the tuning of the radio frequency heads of mobile terminals, responding to the 5G technology implementation challenges by means of electromechanical microstructure manufacturing technology (MEMS).

NNDTC proves, for the very first time, the feasibility of RF-MEMS in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) substrate with the appropriate performance to undertake the antenna tunning function. The technological challenge is to provide solutions to the problems of reliability, encapsulation and electrical performance in standard manufacturing processes of conventional integrated circuits.

A key aspect of NNDTC is the development of an innovative simulation platform capable of modelling the production process and predicting the viability of the CMOS RF-MEMS device.

In this sense, the combination of chemical reaction models for layer erosion of assembled silicon wafers coupled with fluid dynamics at the nanometric scale is one of the great technological challenges of the project.

To achieve this, it is necessary to determine the material’s properties and the fluodynamic parameters, using advanced characterisation techniques such as nanoindentation, in order to get a complete micromechanical characterisation of the devices that validate the simulation.

Eurecat participates in the NNDTC project through the Product Development & Multiphysics Simulation Unit, in charge of developing the numerical simulation platform, and the Metallic and Ceramic Materials Unit, responsible for the micromechanical characterization of the devices for the validation of the simulation.

The consortium is also formed by the company NANUSENS.