Oct. 9, 2003 – The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency gave a $1.2 million grant to a University of California, Irvine, professor to make light and low-cost antennas based on radio frequency (RF) MEMS that could provide direct TV in a car.

Electrical engineering professor Franco De Flaviis will create the antennas using technology he developed at UC Irvine. The approach involves simultaneously making an array of antennas and a phase shifter, which adjusts and directs the antennas. The system saves money by fabricating the parts on a plastic printed circuit board, instead of expensive semiconductor materials, and eliminating the need to connect pieces later in the process.

De Flaviis said in a written release that the antenna array delivers a stronger, more focused signal than a single antenna, but the size and cost of such integrated systems prevented their use outside of the military. The technology could allow industry to incorporate the antenna array in laptops, televisions and other commercial products.

The three-year project also includes G.P. Li, electrical and computer engineering professor and director of the university’s Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility (INRF); and Mark Bachman, INRF’s assistant director.