Analysis of Millimeter and Microwave Integrated Circuits

Abstract

The design and measurement of millimeter and microwave integrated circuits encompasses a diverse spectrum of interesting disciplines. A number of contrasting approaches used for theoretically and experimentally characterizing circuits in this frequency range will be presented. Rigorous methods for calculating antenna patterns and impedances of the planar bow-tie antenna used in millimeter wave receiver systems have been developed. A 94 GHz antenna measurement system and microwave scale models were constructed to confirm these theoretical predictions. Pattern measurements were also made on a linear array of bow-tie antennas, a long strip antenna, and a log-periodic antenna. In modified form, these techniques were applied to the investigation of planar array structures. An equivalent circuit model for an array of squares joined at the corners by discrete devices was formulated. This model was verified with impedance and pattern measurements. Finally, a set of analysis tools that have been assembled into an interactive computer-aided design program, called Puff, is discussed. Puff has been used in microwave laboratory classes at the California Institute of Technology, Cornell University and the University of California, Los Angeles.