Poly-Grames

Poly-Grames (Groupe de Recherche Avancée en Micro-ondes et Électronique Spatiale) is created in 1992 following the evolution of a research team lead by prof. Renato G. Bosisio for about thirty years. In 1994, Poly-Grames acquires the status of Research Center within École Polytechnique, Montréal. At that time, the Center includes six professors active in several application fields of microwaves, such as: modeling, circuits and antennas design, characterization of active devices, electromagnetic compatibility, development of six-port reflectometers, measurement and heating of industrial materials. The technologies used during those years are conventional techniques of printed circuit boards (PCBs). The increasing demand in circuits of higher frequencies, such as millimeter-waves, progressively leads to more sophisticated fabrication techniques. At the beginning of the nineties, Researchers of the laboratory have begun to use MHMIC and MMIC technologies. The technologies require facilities non available at Poly-Grames and resorting to external foundries becomes necessary. From the beginning, students and researchers use MDS and HFSS of Hewlett Packard for their designs. Moreover, various numerical methods are developed, such as: frequency-domain TLM, time-domain TLM, spectral domain approach, contour integration method, filaments method, mode matching method, finite elements and finite differences, to model planar and non-planar NRD waveguide structures. Poly-Grames is designated by Hewlett Packard as reference site for Eastern Canada. In 1995, the Center Poly-Grames is granted a Synergie fund by government of Québec for the implementation of a new laboratory of feed-forward power amplifiers with the collaboration of an industrial partner. Following this project, un spin-off named Amplix Inc. is created. This spin-off shares the facilities of Poly-Grames for 3 year and is finally sold to Miteq Inc. In 2000, with a major grant from Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), government of Québec and industrial partners, Poly-Grames creates a new infrastructure in millimeter-waves name FAME (Facility for Advanced Millimeter-Wave Engineering). The area of the laboratories and number students double, and fabrication and measurement equipments bring Poly-Grames to an international level. Nowadays, many technologies, such as MHMIC, MMIC and LTCC, are available at the Center, and on-wafer measurements under controlled atmosphere up to 110 GHz can be performed. Moreover, a load-pull system for nonlinear and noise characterization up to 110 GHz is available. A compact range system with spherical near-field for antenna measurement up to 110 GHz and the most modern software tools for modeling planar and 3D structure is also available. Numerous collaborations with several high-rank universities around the world have been developed. Currently, 7 professors supervise more than 70 graduate students at Poly-Grames.