Rüdiger Vahldieck

Characterization of the Propagation Properties of the Half-Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide

The propagation properties of the half-mode substrate integrated waveguide (HMSIW) are studied theoretically and experimentally in this paper. Two equivalent models of the HMSIW are introduced. With the first model, equations are derived to approximate the field distribution inside and outside the HMSIW. Using the second model, an approximate closed-form expression is deduced for calculating the equivalent width of an HMSIW that takes into account the effect of the fringing fields. The obtained design formulas are validated by simulations and experiments. Furthermore, the attenuation characteristics of the HMSIW are studied using the multiline method in the frequency range of 20-60 GHz. A numerical investigation is carried out to distinguish between the contributions of the conductive, dielectric, and radiation losses. As a validation, the measured attenuation constant of a fabricated HMSIW prototype is presented and compared with that of a microstrip (MS) line and a substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). The SIW is designed with the same cutoff frequency and fabricated on the same substrate as the HMSIW. The experimental results show that the HMSIW can be less lossy than the MS line and the SIW at frequencies above 40 GHz.

A reconfigurable slot antenna with switchable polarization

A novel reconfigurable slot antenna architecture allowing polarization switching is presented. The antenna shape consists of a slot-ring with perturbations which are switched on and off using pin-diodes. Two antennas allowing switching either between linear and circular polarization or between two circular polarizations are demonstrated. The antenna architecture is interesting for commercial wireless applications because it is compatible with modern fabrication processes and can be realized on low cost dielectric materials.

Optimized Waveguide E-plane Metal Insert Filters For Millimeter-wave Applications

A design theory is described for rectangular waveguide metal insert filters that includes both higher order mode interaction and finite thickness of the inserts. Optimized design data for three- to five-resonator type filters with severaf insert thicknesses suitable for metal stamping and etching techniques are given for midband frequencies of about 15, 33, 63, and 75 GHz. Measured passband insertion losses of prototypes for mid-band frequencies of 15, 33, and 76 GHz are 0.2, 0.6, and 0.7 dB, respectively.

Multiple multipole method with automatic multipole setting applied to the simulation of surface plasmons in metallic nanostructures

Highly accurate computations of surface plasmons in metallic nanostructures with various geometries are presented. Calculations for cylinders with irregular cross section, coupled structures, and periodic gratings are shown. These systems exhibit a resonant behavior with complex field distribution and strong field enhancement, and therefore their computation requires a very accurate numerical method. It is shown that the multiple multipole (MMP) method, together with an automatic multipole setting (AMS) procedure, is well suited for these computations. An AMS technique for the two-dimensional MMP method is presented. It relies on the global topology of each domain boundary to generate a distribution of numerically independent multipole expansions. This technique greatly facilitates the MMP modeling.

Automated filter tuning using generalized low-pass prototype networks and gradient-based parameter extraction

A novel technique for automated filter tuning is introduced. The filter to be tuned is represented by a generalized filter low-pass prototype model rather than a specialized equivalent network. The prototype model is based on the minimum number of characteristic filter parameters to represent the filter transfer function correctly. The parameter values are found from a gradient-based parameter-extraction process using measured S-parameters. Automated filter tuning is performed as a two-step procedure. First, the parameter sensitivities with respect to the tuning elements are determined by a series of S-parameter measurements. Second, the parameter values of the filter are compared to the values of the ideal filter prototype found from a filter synthesis, thus yielding the optimal screw positions. This novel tuning technique has been tested successfully with direct coupled three-resonator and cross-coupled four- and six-resonator filters.

A generalized local time-step scheme for efficient FVTD simulations in strongly inhomogeneous meshes

A new generalized local time-step scheme is introduced to improve the computational efficiency of the finite-volume time-domain (FVTD) method. The flexibility of unstructured FVTD meshes is fully exploited by avoiding the disadvantage of a single short time step in the entire mesh. The great potential of this scheme is fully revealed in the FVTD simulation of electromagnetic (EM) problems with both large and fine structures in close proximity. The scheme is based on an automatic partition of the computational domain in subdomains where local time steps of the type 2/sup /spl lscr/-1//spl Delta/t(/spl lscr/=1,2,3,...) can be applied without violating the stability condition. Interfaces between subdomains are reduced to a generic two-level system which requires a very limited number of time interpolations during the FVTD iteration, therefore resulting in a very simple and robust technique. The application of local time stepping to three-dimensional EM problems demonstrates a significant speed-up of the computation without compromising the accuracy of the results.

Theory and Design of Low-Insertion Loss Fin-Line Filters

A design theory is described for low-insertion loss fin-line filters that includes both higher order mode propagation and finite thickness of the dielectric substrate and the metallic fins. Design data for three-resonator type fin-line filters with several substrate thicknesses are given for midband frequencies of about 15, 34, and 66 GHz. The measured insertion losses in the passband are 0.25, 0.5, and 1.3 dB, respectively, for these three frequencies.

60 GHz Aperture-Coupled Dielectric Resonator Antennas Fed by a Half-Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide

Dielectric resonator antennas (DRAs) fed by a halfmode substrate integrated waveguide (HMSIW) are proposed and studied in this paper. The investigated antenna configuration consists of a dielectric resonator (DR) mounted on the conducting back plane of an HMSIW. Energy is coupled from the interior HMSIW to the DR through an aperture between them. Using this excitation scheme, a 60 GHz linearly polarized HMSIW-fed DRA is first designed by applying a transverse rectangular slot to feed a dielectric cylinder. This design experimentally exhibits a bandwidth of 24.2% for S11 < -10 dB. In particular, a gain higher than 5.5 dB and a radiation efficiency between 80% and 92% are obtained over the whole operation band, indicating that the HMSIW can be an efficient feed for DRAs operating around 60 GHz. In addition to this linearly polarized example, a DRA of circular polarization, coupled through a pair of cross slots, is also designed, presenting a measured 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth of 4.0%.

The meshless radial point interpolation method for time-domain electromagnetics

A meshless numerical technique based on radial point interpolation is introduced for electromagnetic simulations in time domain. The general class of meshless methods presents very attractive properties for addressing future challenges of electromagnetic modeling. Among the interesting aspects, the ability to handle arbitrary node distributions for conformal and multi-scale modeling can be mentioned first. Furthermore, the possibility of modifying the node distribution dynamically opens new perspectives for adaptive computations and optimization. The mathematical background of the radial point interpolation method and a two-dimensional implementation are presented here. The advantages of this meshless method are discussed and applied to a model consisting of a 90 degree H-plane waveguide bend. It is shown that solutions converge much faster using the ability of conformal modeling compared to a similar analysis in rectangular grids.

A Semi-Analytical Approach for System-Level Electrical Modeling of Electronic Packages With Large Number of Vias

This paper presents a semi-analytical approach for electrical performance modeling of complex electronic packages with multiple power/ground planes and large number of vias. The method is based on the modal expansion technique and the method of moments. For the inner package domain with multiple power/ground planes and many vias, the modal expansion method is employed to compute the electromagnetic fields from which the multiport network parameters, e.g., the admittance matrix can be easily obtained. For the top/bottom domain of signal layers, the moment method is used to extract the equivalent resistance, inductance, capacitance, and conductance (RLCG) parameters. The equivalent circuit for the entire package is then generated by combining the results for both package domains. The equivalent circuit can be used in a SPICE-like simulator to study the signal and power integrity of an electronic package. Numerical examples demonstrate that the new approach is able to provide fast yet accurate signal and power integrity analysis of multilayered electronic packages.