Robust Microstrip to Empty Substrate-Integrated Waveguide Transition Using Tapered Artificial Dielectric Slab Matrix

Abstract

In this letter, a novel transition from microstrip (MS) line to empty substrate-integrated waveguide (ESIW) with tapered artificial dielectric slab matrix in compact size is proposed. ESIW exhibits effective characteristics for energy transmission, especially in the millimeter waveband, due to the loss of dielectric. Recently, an MS to ESIW transition without sharp dielectric taper is achieved through an expanded ESIW width. Manufacturing and assembling difficulties can be overcome in this kind of transition, especially for a small thickness. In this letter, in order to apply in thin substrate with a compact size, especially in millimeter waveband, a novel robust transition from MS line to ESIW (with the tapered artificial dielectric slab matrix) is designed, fabricated, and measured in back-to-back configuration. In Ka-band, the return loss and insertion loss for one transition are better than 14.7 and - 0.46 ± 0.17 dB, respectively.