Thin Dielectric Membrane Research Articles

Micromachined W-band filters

Results are presented for high performance planar W-band filters based on silicon micromachining techniques common in microsensor fabrication. Two types of micromachined planar transmission lines are studied: microshield line and shielded membrane microstrip (SMM) line. In both of these structures, the conducting lines are suspended on thin dielectric membranes. These transmission lines are essentially "floating" in air, possess negligible levels of dielectric loss, and do not suffer from the parasitic effects of radiation and dispersion. A 90 GHz low pass filter and several 95 GHz bandpass filters are tested and display excellent performance which cannot be achieved with traditional substrate supported circuits in CPW or microstrip configurations. A full-wave finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique verifies the measured performance of the W-band circuits and provides a basis for comparison between the performances of membrane supported circuits and equivalent substrate supported circuits.

Conductor-loss limited stripline resonator and filters

We report on stripline resonators on thin dielectric membranes that show dispersion-free, conductor-loss limited performance at 13.5 GHz, 27.3 GHz, and 39.6 GHz. The unloaded-Q (Q/sub u/) of the resonators increases as /spl radic/f with frequency and is measured to be 386 at 27 GHz. The measured results agree well with a new conformal mapping analysis. The stripline resonators are used in a micromachined state-of-the-art planar interdigitated bandpass filter at K-band frequencies. Excellent agreement has been achieved between the microwave model at 850 MHz and the 20 GHz filter. The micromachined filter exhibits a passband return loss better than -15 dB and a conductor-loss limited 1.7 dB port-to-port insertion loss (including input/output CPW line loss) at 20.3 GHz.

Quasioptical superconducting hot electron bolometer for submillmeter waves

We report on a superconducting hot electron bolometer coupled to radiation via a broadband antenna. The bolometer, a structured NbN film, was patterned on a thin dielectric membrane between terminals of a gold slotline antenna. We investigated the response to submillimeter radiation (wave-lengths ∼ 0.1 mm to 0.7 mm) in the fundamental Gaussian mode. We found that the directivity of the antenna was constant within a factor of 2.5 through the whole experimental range. The noise equivalent power of the bolometer at 119 µm was ∼ 3 · 10−13 W/Hz1/2; a time constant of ∼ 160 ps was estimated.

Fast thin-film isothermal ac-dc converter with radiometric sensing

A dual heater isothermal converter for precise ac-dc transfer is realized by using thin-film heaters on a thin dielectric membrane, and by sensing their temperature with an infrared pyrometer or a thin-film infrared sensor. This reduces diversion of thermal energy from the heaters, as well as reducing the thermal time constant and the ac-dc transfer differences due to thermoelectric effects, shunt capacitances and dielectric losses. >

Planar microwave and millimeter-wave lumped elements and coupled-line filters using micro-machining techniques

Planar microwave and millimeter-wave inductors and capacitors have been fabricated on high-resistivity silicon substrates using micro-machining techniques. The inductors and capacitors are suspended on a thin dielectric membrane to reduce the parasitic capacitance to ground. The resonant frequencies of a 1.2 nH and a 1.7-nH inductor have been increased from 22 GHz and 17 GHz to around 70 GHz and 50 GHz, respectively. We also report on the design and measurement of a new class of stripline filters suspended on a thin dielectric membrane. Interdigitated filters with 43% and 5% bandwidth have been fabricated and exhibit a port-to-port 0.7 dB and 2.0 dB loss, respectively, at 14-15 GHz. The micro-machining fabrication technique can be used with silicon and GaAs substrates in microstrip or coplanar-waveguide configurations to result in planar low-loss lumped elements and filters suitable for monolithic integration or surface mount devices up to 100 GHz. >

High performance microshield line components

Several millimeter-wave passive components have been fabricated using the microshield transmission line geometry, and their performance is presented herein. Microshield is a quasi-planar, half-shielded design which uses a thin dielectric membrane (1.5 /spl mu/m) to support the conducting lines. This approach provides a nearly homogeneous, air-filled environment and thus allows extremely broad-band TEM operation. This paper examines the conductor loss and effective dielectric constant of microshield lines and presents results on transitions to conventional coplanar waveguide, right-angle bends, different stub configurations, and lowpass and bandpass filters. Experimental data is provided along with numerical results derived from an integral equation method. The microshield line is shown to be very suitable for high performance millimeter and submillimeter-wave applications.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Large area bolometers for THz power measurements

This paper describes measurements to determine the performance and suitability of large-area bolometers on thin dielectric membranes for use as wideband THz power meters. A Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) was used to measure the transmission spectra of the bolometers from 0.6 THz to 10 THz. A linear array of bolometers was then fabricated and used to characterized the beam produces by a FIR laser at 802 GHz and 2.54 THz. The total power generated by the laser is determined by measuring the beam's profile and peak power density. >

A 250 GHz planar low noise Schottky receiver

A planar quasi-optical Schottky receiver based on the quasi-integrated horn antenna has been developed and tested over the 230–280GHz bandwidth. The receiver consists of a planar GaAs Schottky diode placed at the feed of a dipole-probe suspended on a thin dielectric membrane in an etched-pyramidal horn cavity. The diode has a 1.2Μm anode diameter and a low parasitic capacitance due to the use of an etched surface channel. The antenna-mixer results in a measured DSB conversion loss and noise temperature at 258GHz of 7.2dB±0.5dB and 1310K±70K, respectively, at room temperature. The design is compatible with SIS mixers, and the low cost of fabrication and simplicity makes it ideal for submillimeter-wave imaging arrays requiring a 10–20% bandwidth.

Millimeter-wave double-dipole antennas for high-gain integrated reflector illumination

A double-dipole antenna backed by a ground plane has been fabricated for submillimeter wavelengths. The double-dipole antenna is integrated on a thin dielectric membrane with a planar detector at its center. Measured feed patterns at 246 GHz agree well with theory and demonstrate a rotationally symmetric pattern with high coupling efficiency to Gaussian beams. The input impedance is around 50 Omega and will match well to a Schottky diode or SIS detector. The double-dipole antenna served as the feed for a small machined parabolic reflector. The integrated reflector had a measured gain of 37 dB at 119 mu m. This makes the double-dipole antenna ideally suited as a feed for high-resolution tracking or for long-focal-length Cassegrain antenna systems. >

Integrated horn antennas for millimeter-wave applications

The development of integrated horn antennas since their introduction in 1987 is reviewed. The integrated horn is fabricated by suspending a dipole antenna, on a thin dielectric membrane, in a pyramidal cavity etched in silicon. Recent progress has resulted in optimized low- and high-gain designs, with single and double polarization for remote-sensing and communication applications. A full-wave analysis technique has resulted in an integrated antenna with performance comparable to that of waveguide-fed corrugated-horn antennas. The integrated horn design can be extended to large arrays, for imaging and phased-array applications, while leaving plenty of room for the RF and IF processing circuitry. Theoretical and experimental results at microwave frequencies and at 90 GHz, 240 GHz, and 802 GHz are presented. >

Integrated horn antennas for millimeter-wave applications

This paper reviews the development of integrated horn antennas since their introduction in 1987. The integrated horn is fabricated by suspending a dipole antenna on a thin dielectric membrane in a pyramidal cavity etched in silicon. Recent progress resulted in optimized low and high-gain designs with single and double-polarizations for remote-sensing and communication applications. A fullwave analysis technique have resulted in an integrated antenna with performance comparable to that of waveguide-fed corrugated horn antennas. The integrated horn design can be easily extended to large arrays for imaging and phased array applications while still leaving plenty of room for the rf and w processing circuitry. Theoretical and experimental results at microwave frequencies and at 90, 240 and 802 GHz will be presented.

Thermal fluctuation and 1/f noise in oriented and unoriented Y1Ba2Cu3O7−x films

We report on electrical noise measurements made on YBCO (Y1 Ba2 Cu3 O7−x ) films on SrTiO3, on bulk silicon with a ZrO2 buffer layer, and on thin dielectric membranes. We have found that 1/f noise predominates in the unoriented films and that thermal fluctuation noise is the chief source of noise in good films on SrTiO3 .

Optical thickness measurement of very thin films with a Fabry-Perot interferometer

It is proposed here that the Fabry-Perot interferometer be used for optical thickness measurements of very thin (&amp;lt;100 Å) dielectric films and membranes. It is also pointed out that a Fabry-Perot might be able to detect the small change in the refractive index of a live axon during the passage of an action potential in biophysical studies.