Gabriel Rebeiz

Professor Rebeiz is a leader in research and development of the technology used in ultrasmall radio frequency and micro-electro-mechanical systems (RF MEMS). These virtually zero-power consumption and low-loss switches, varactors, phase shifters, tunable filters, and reconfigurable networks have immense commercial and defense potential, and are being developed by dozens of companies for use in a variety of telecommunications and wireless devices. Rebeiz has focused his research in the 900 MHz 300 GHz range, with particular emphasis on the 0.5 35 GHz range. Rebeiz led a team at the University of Michigan that demonstrated extremely low-loss RF MEMS switches and phase shifters from 1 110 GHz, low-loss tunable RF MEMS filters at 3 22 GHz, reconfigurable RF MEMS networks at 4 18 GHz for 1-watt power amplifiers, reconfigurable tuners for 20 60 GHz for transistor characterization, very high-Q micromachined resonators and low-loss filters from 15 GHz to 60 GHz, and high-Q MEMS varactors at 2 100 GHz. Rebeiz also has developed a detailed dynamic mechanical model of the switching mechanism of MEMS devices, accurate non-linear models for MEMS switches and varactors, intermodulation distortion in MEMS networks, and a thermal/power analysis of MEMS switches for high reliability applications. His current research interests on RF MEMS are in low-loss tunable filters from 2 18 GHz, tunable networks for reconfigurable systems, and pushing RF MEMS technology to over 100 GHz and less than 20 K for radio astronomy and science applications. Rebeiz also is active in planar antenna design, and recent projects include wide scan-angle antennas at 24 and 77 GHz for automotive applications, multi-directional antennas at 6 24 GHz for wireless applications, and 6 30 GHz antennas for electronic intelligence. He is also working on a focusing/imaging antenna system at 100 GHz. The group is actively involved in microwave/millimeter-wave systems and related front-end analog electronic circuits, phased arrays, automotive radars and satellite communication systems..Rebeiz recently started an effort in CMOS/SiGe RFIC design for the 12 100 GHz region, with particular emphasis on very high performance systems for radar and instrumentation systems. He is currently developing miniature phase shifters using CMOS/SiGe technology at 12 and 44 GHz for phased-array applications, oscillators, and active multipliers at 12 80 GHz, and sub-0.1 ns switches at 10 40 GHz for millimeter-wave ultrawideband radar and communication systems..

Professor Rebeiz received a B.S. in electrical engineering with distinction from the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1982, and an M.S. and PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 1983 and 1988, respectively. He joined the University of Michigan's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 1991 he was the recipient of the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, and the 1993 URSI Isaac Koga Gold Medal Award for outstanding international research. The IEEE gave Rebeiz its IEEE Microwave Prize in 2000 and its Outstanding Young Engineer Award in 2003. A Fellow of the IEEE and a consultant to Intel, Agilent, Hitachi, and Samsung, Rebeiz has published extensively in the fields of microwave technology, planar antennas, and RF MEMS. He has given more than 20 distinguished and plenary invited presentations in the past 10 years. His book, RF MEMS: Theory, Design, and Technology, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2003, has received wide acclaim. Rebeiz has won a variety of teaching awards at the University of Michigan, including the university's Amoco Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1998, and the Eta Kappa Nu 1998 Professor of the Year Award given by a confidential vote of electrical engineering students.