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An adjustable rf tuning element for microwave, millimeter wave, and submillimeter wave integrated circuits
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Rutledge, David B. McGrath, William R. Lubecke, Victor M. |
| Copyright Year | 1991 |
| Description | Planar RF circuits are used in a wide range of applications from 1 GHz to 300 GHz, including radar, communications, commercial RF test instruments, and remote sensing radiometers. These circuits, however, provide only fixed tuning elements. This lack of adjustability puts severe demands on circuit design procedures and materials parameters. We have developed a novel tuning element which can be incorporated into the design of a planar circuit in order to allow active, post-fabrication tuning by varying the electrical length of a coplanar strip transmission line. It consists of a series of thin plates which can slide in unison along the transmission line, and the size and spacing of the plates are designed to provide a large reflection of RF power over a useful frequency bandwidth. Tests of this structure at 1 GHz to 3 Ghz showed that it produced a reflection coefficient greater than 0.90 over a 20 percent bandwidth. A 2 GHz circuit incorporating this tuning element was also tested to demonstrate practical tuning ranges. This structure can be fabricated for frequencies as high as 1000 GHz using existing micromachining techniques. Many commercial applications can benefit from this micromechanical RF tuning element, as it will aid in extending microwave integrated circuit technology into the high millimeter wave and submillimeter wave bands by easing constraints on circuit technology. |
| File Size | 400076 |
| Page Count | 9 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19920013461 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t40s4pd2z |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1991-12-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Electronics And Electrical Engineering Radiometers Strip Transmission Lines Planar Structures Spacing Frequencies Design Analysis Remote Sensing Tuning Adjusting Integrated Circuits Micromechanics Fabrication Radio Frequencies Millimeter Waves Bandwidth Microwave Circuits Thin Plates Microwaves Reflectance Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
