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At least 235 records · Page 13

An experimental study of high Tc superconducting microstrip transmission lines at 35 GHz and the effect of film morphology

Microstrip transmission lines in the form of ring resonators were fabricated from a number of in-situ grown laser ablated films and post-annealed co-sputtered YBa2Cu3O(7-x) films. The properties of these resonators were measured at 35 GHz and the observed performance is examined in light of the critical temperature (Tc) and film thickness, and also the film morphology, which is different for the two deposition techniques. It is found that Tc is a major indicator of the film performance for each growth type, with film thickness becoming important as it decreases towards 1000 A. It is also found that the films with a mixed grain orientation (both a-axis and c-axis oriented grains) have poorer microwave properties as compared with the primarily c-axis oriented material. This is probably due to the significant number of grain boundaries between the different crystallites, which may act as superconducting weak links and contribute to the surface resistance.

Chorey, C. M.↗

Ka-band MMIC microstrip array for high rate communications

In a recent technology assessment of alternative communication systems for the space exploration initiative (SEI), Ka-band (18 to 40 GHz) communication technology was identified to meet the mission requirements of telecommunication, navigation, and information management. Compared to the lower frequency bands, Ka-band antennas offer higher gain and broader bandwidths; thus, they are more suitable for high data rate communications. Over the years, NASA has played an important role in monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) phased array technology development, and currently, has an ongoing contract with Texas Instrument (TI) to develop a modular Ka-band MMIC microstrip subarray (NAS3-25718). The TI contract emphasizes MMIC integration technology development and stipulates using existing MMIC devices to minimize the array development cost. The objective of this paper is to present array component technologies and integration techniques used to construct the subarray modules.

Lee, R. Q.↗

Microstrip Reflectarray Antenna

Proposed microstrip reflectarray antenna provides two or more beams in different directions, without power-dividing circuitry. Because antenna flat, mass and cost of fabrication less than paraboloidal reflector with aperture of equal size, and mounted easier with less supporting structure. Designed to be mounted on ground or surfaces of ships, land vehicles, and buildings.

Huang, John↗

Nonplanar linearly tapered slot antenna with balanced microstrip feed

A nonplanar linearly tapered slot antenna (LTSA) has been fabricated and tested at frequencies from 8 to 32 giga-Hz. The LTSA is excited by a broadband balanced microstrip transformer. The measured results include the input term return loss as well as the radiation pattern of the antenna.

Simons, Rainee N.↗

Broadband vertical interconnects using slot-coupled shielded microstrip lines

A full-wave space-domain integral equation analysis of aperture coupled shielded microstrip lines is presented based on the Equivalence Principle. The formulation includes the capability to model multilayered substrates through the derivation of the associated dyadic Green's functions which represent the layers through impedance boundary conditions. The method of moments is used to solve for the line currents and slot voltage with even and odd mode excitations which are then interpreted through transmission line analysis to determine the two-port scattering parameters. A parametric study together with experimental data is presented which demonstrates the behavior of the coupler and the accuracy of the technique.

Vandenberg, Norman L.↗

Coplanar waveguide aperture-coupled microstrip patch antenna

The performance characteristics of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) aperture-coupled microstrip patch antenna was investigated experimentally. A grounded CPW with a series gap in the center strip conductor was used to couple microwave power to the antenna through an aperture in the common ground plane. Results indicate good coupling efficiency and confirms the feasibility of this feeding technique.

Lee, Richard Q.↗

Performance of a four-element Ka-band high-temperature superconducting microstrip antenna

Superconducting four-element microstrip array antennas operating at 30 GHz have been designed and fabricated on a lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3) substrates. The experimental performance of these thin film Y-Ba-Cu-O superconducting antennas is compared with that of identical antenna patterned with evaporated gold. Efficiency measurements of these antennas show an improvement of 2 dB at 70 K and as much as 3.5 dB at 40 K in the superconducting antenna over the gold antenna.

Richard, M. A.↗

Mutual coupling between rectangular microstrip patch antennas

The paper presents a comprehensive study of the mutual coupling between two rectangular microstrip patch antennas. The cavity model is employed to give numerical results for both mutual impedance and mutual coupling parameters for the E-plane, H-plane, diagonal, and perpendicular orientations. The effects of substrate thickness, substrate permittivity, and feed positions are discussed.

Huynh, Tan↗

Microstrip-Transmission-Line Shock-Front Sensor

Microstrip-transmission-line sensor measures velocities of low-overpressure shock fronts and offers dynamic range needed for measurements both far from and near explosions. Fabricated easily, relatively inexpensive, and repaired in field. In addition, basic geometry modified easily, as needed.

Leiweke, Robert J.↗

Scattering from arbitrarily shaped microstrip patch antennas

The scattering properties of arbitrarily shaped microstrip patch antennas are examined. The electric field integral equation for a current element on a grounded dielectric slab is developed for a rectangular geometry based on Galerkin's technique with subdomain rooftop basis functions. A shape function is introduced that allows a rectangular grid approximation to the arbitrarily shaped patch. The incident field on the patch is expressed as a function of incidence angle theta(i), phi(i). The resulting system of equations is then solved for the unknown current modes on the patch, and the electromagnetic scattering is calculated for a given angle. Comparisons are made with other calculated results as well as with measurements.

Shively, David G.↗

Onset of dispersion in Nb microstrip transmission lines at submillimeter wave frequencies

We have measured the dispersion in phase velocity of a Nb-SiO(x)-Nb microstrip transmission line resonator over a frequency range from 50 GHz to 800 GHz. A submicron Nb/Al-AlO(x)/Nb Josephson junction was used as a voltage-controlled oscillator to excite the high order modes in the resonator. The same junction is used as a direct detector resulting in a series of step-like structures in the DC current-voltage characteristic at the position of each mode frequency. The transmission line is dispersionless up to about 500 GHz where the phase velocity begins to decrease. This is well below the gap frequency f(sub g) approx. equals 700 GHz. Results agree qualitatively with the expected theoretical behavior near f(sub g). This onset of dispersion and loss in Nb transmission lines will have a significant impact on the design of submillimeter wave RF circuits.

Javadi, H. H. S.↗

Dispersion in Nb microstrip transmission lines at submillimeter wave frequencies

We have measured the effects of dispersion on the resonant mode frequencies of open-ended Nb-SiO(x)-Nb microstrip transmission lines over a frequency range from 50 to 800 GHz. Submicron Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb Josephson junctions were used as both voltage-controlled oscillators and detectors to sample the high order modes of the resonators. The resonator modes are equally spaced up to about 550 GHz where the mode spacing start to decrease gradually to a minimum above the gap frequency of about 700 GHz and then increases. Results are in good agreement with the expected theoretical behavior based on the Mattis-Bardeen conductivity of the superconductor line.

Javadi, H. H. S.↗

Coplanar waveguide feed for microstrip patch antennas

A coplanar waveguide (CPW) loop is shown to be an effective low VSWR feed for microstrip antennas. The low VSWR transition between the CPW and the antenna is obtained without the use of a matching circuit, and it is relatively insensitive to the position of the antenna and the feed.

Smith, R. L.↗

Spectral-domain moment-method analysis of coplanar microstrip parasitic subarrays

Basic characteristics of several configurations of coplanar microstrip parasitic subarrays consisting of one fed patch and two or more parasitic patches were investigated by means of a spectral-domain full-wave analysis and the moment method analysis. Results are presented for radiating- and nonradiating edge-coupled three-element linear subarrays and for a five-patch cross. A comparison of the theoretical input impedance results obtained by the analysis of a three-element linear array showed a reasonable agreement between computed and measured R and X values.

Chen, Wei↗

Parallel/Series-Fed Microstrip Array Antenna

Characteristics include low cross-polarization and high efficiency. Microstrip array antenna fabricated on two rectangular dielectric substrates. Produces fan-shaped beam polarized parallel to its short axis. Mounted conformally on outside surface of aircraft for use in synthetic-aperture radar. Other antennas of similar design mounted on roofs or sides of buildings, ships, or land vehicles for use in radar or communications.

Huang, John↗

Analysis of microstrip patch antennas with nonzero surface resistance

The scattering properties of a microstrip patch antenna with nonzero surface impedance are examined. The electric field integral equation for a current element on a grounded dielectric slab is developed for a rectangular geometry by using Galerkin's technique with subdomain piecewise linear basis functions. The integral equation includes a resistive boundary condition on the surface of the patch. The incident field on the patch is expressed as a function of incidence angle. The resulting system of equations is then solved for the unknown current modes on the patch, and the radar cross section is calculated for a given scattering angle. Theoretical results in the form of radar cross section as a function of frequency are compared with results measured at the NASA Langley Research Center.

Shively, David G.↗

Time-domain analysis of planar microstrip devices using a generalized Yee-algorithm based on unstructured grids

The generalized Yee-algorithm is presented for the temporal full-wave analysis of planar microstrip devices. This algorithm has the significant advantage over the traditional Yee-algorithm in that it is based on unstructured and irregular grids. The robustness of the generalized Yee-algorithm is that structures that contain curved conductors or complex three-dimensional geometries can be more accurately, and much more conveniently modeled using standard automatic grid generation techniques. This generalized Yee-algorithm is based on the the time-marching solution of the discrete form of Maxwell's equations in their integral form. To this end, the electric and magnetic fields are discretized over a dual, irregular, and unstructured grid. The primary grid is assumed to be composed of general fitted polyhedra distributed throughout the volume. The secondary grid (or dual grid) is built up of the closed polyhedra whose edges connect the centroid's of adjacent primary cells, penetrating shared faces. Faraday's law and Ampere's law are used to update the fields normal to the primary and secondary grid faces, respectively. Subsequently, a correction scheme is introduced to project the normal fields onto the grid edges. It is shown that this scheme is stable, maintains second-order accuracy, and preserves the divergenceless nature of the flux densities. Finally, for computational efficiency the algorithm is structured as a series of sparse matrix-vector multiplications. Based on this scheme, the generalized Yee-algorithm has been implemented on vector and parallel high performance computers in a highly efficient manner.

Gedney, Stephen D.↗

TlCaBaCuO high Tc superconducting microstrip ring resonators designed for 12 GHz

Microwave properties of sputtered Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O thin films were investigated by designing, fabricating, and testing microstrip ring resonators. Ring resonators designed for 12 GHz fundamental resonance frequency, were fabricated and tested. From the unloaded Q values for the resonators, the surface resistance was calculated by separating the conductor losses from the total losses. The penetration depth was obtained from the temperature dependence of resonance frequency, assuming that the shift in resonance frequency is mainly due to the temperature dependence of penetration depth. The effective surface resistance at 12 GHz and 77 K was determined to be between 1.5 and 2.75 mOmega, almost an order lower than Cu at the same temperature and frequency. The effective penetration depth at 0 K is approximately 7000 A.

Subramanyam, G.↗