Waveguide Components Research Articles

Past, present, and future of hybrid plasmonic waveguides for photonics integrated circuits

This article addresses the past, present, and future status of hybrid plasmonic waveguides (HPWs). It presents a comprehensive review of HPW-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs), covering both passive and active devices, as well as potential application of on-chip HPW-based devices. HPW-based integrated circuits (HPWICs) are compatible with complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology, and their matched refractive indices enables the adaptation of existing fabrication processes for silicon-on-insulator designs. HPWs combine plasmonic and photonic waveguide components to provide strong confinement with longer propagation length Lp of HP modes with nominal losses. These HPWs are able to make a trade-off between low loss and longer Lp, which is not possible with independent plasmonic and photonic waveguide components owing to their inability to simultaneously achieve low propagation loss with rapid and effective all-optical functionality. With HPWs, it is possible to overcome challenges such as high Ohmic losses and enhance the functional performance of PICs through the use of multiple discrete components. HPWs have been employed not only to guide transverse magnetic modes but also for optical beam manipulation, wireless optical communication, filtering, computation, sensing of bending, optical signal emission, and splitting. They also have the potential to play a pivotal role in optical communication systems for quantum computing and within data centers. At present, HPW-based PICs are poised to transform wireless chip-to-chip communication, a number of areas of biomedical science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, as well as enabling the creation of densely integrated circuits and highly compact photonic devices.

Low-Cost Method for Internal Surface Roughness Reduction of Additively Manufactured All-Metal Waveguide Components

Low-Cost Method for Internal Surface Roughness Reduction of Additively Manufactured All-Metal Waveguide Components

SIW MIMO antenna with high gain and isolation for fifth generation wireless communication systems

Abstract The possibilities for further development of mmWave fifth-generation wireless systems and their deployment in our lives are immense and will make human life simpler and faster. Fifth-generation wireless communication is opening up new possibilities for development in the near future. High data rates, low latency, and enormous bandwidth are the most essential factors. These factors are at the heart of making quality healthcare, smart education systems, and the fast and efficient distribution of energy. In account of the aforementioned benefits, 5G wireless systems are primarily made possible by high gain MIMO antenna with minimal coupling. The integration of traditional wave-guide components with planar circuits, on the other hand, is a difficult issue. SIW solves this problem by providing planar alternatives for waveguide-based devices like filters, antennas, and couplers. The SIW antenna has less interference, low radiation loss, excellent isolation, and outstanding shielding properties as compared with the conventional microstrip antenna. The proposed SISO SIW antenna has gain of 9.05 dBi with 87.54 % radiation efficiency. The −10 dB impedance bandwidth is 27.79–28.19 GHz. The SIW MIMO antenna has gain of 9.05 dBi with 81 % radiation efficiency. The antenna has an isolation 52 dB, and an ECC is 0.65 × 10−7 at 28 GHz. The proposed SIW MIMO antenna’s MEG lies below −3 to −5 dB for Gaussian and isotropic medium. The CCL for the proposed MIMO antenna is 0.29–0.36 bits/s/Hz in the operating band. This article presents a high-gain and high-isolation substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) MIMO antenna using orthogonal diversity for increasing isolation between the radiating elements. The designed MIMO antenna is operating in the 28 GHz band (27.42–28.79 GHz), which comes under the n261 (FR2 5G-New Radio frequency band) band used for 5G wireless communication.

3D-printed x-band 1-port TM01 circular waveguide to 4-port TE10 rectangular waveguide mode converter & power splitter

ABSTRACT This paper investigates a novel waveguide component design with dual functionality of mode conversion and power splitting. Because of its complex internal geometry which conventional fabrication methods cannot realize, additive manufacturing was explored, specifically selective laser melting. The end-to-end process of design, simulation, fabrication, and measurement will be discussed in detail. The said waveguide component converts between 4 rectangular waveguide TE10 mode and 1 circular waveguide TM01 mode. The 1 to 4 splitter was done while achieving low power splitting losses and mode conversion losses with low return losses. This allows for waveguide connections to be made between circular waveguides and rectangular waveguides at X-Band, which can be used for radars or satellite communication applications. The novelty of this component design comes from impedance matching between 4 rectangular waveguides operating in the fundamental mode and 1 single highly over-moded circular waveguide by means of coaxial rod and matching fins. All these are done while keeping the overall size small, compact, and lightweight.

FP-LAPW calculations of the structural, and optoelectronic properties of vanadium silicide compound for optoelectronic applications

Optoelectronic devices play an essential part in our daily lives by seamlessly integrating optics and electronics, leading to technologies such as smartphones, solar cells, and optical communication. In this study, the structural and optoelectronic characteristics of the hexagonal vanadium silicide are determined using the density functional theory (DFT). The structural parameters such as the zero-pressure bulk modulus B0, its pressure derivative B0′; equilibrium energy, and the volume of the primitive cell at equilibrium V0 are compared with experiment results. The metallic character of VSi2 is confirmed by calculating the density of states and band structure. Moreover, the optical properties like the dielectric function, reflectivity, energy loss function, refractive index, absorption coefficient, and optical conductivity are studied deeply, using the Drude model, within the energy interval from 0 to 14 eV and they are compared with experiment results of a polycrystalline and single crystal. However, the phonon dispersion spectrum shows the presence of imaginary modes, which indicates instability in the structure of vanadium silicide. The results indicate that the VSi2 material has the potential to be used in many applications, including mirrors, glass coatings, optoelectronic devices, optical networks, electronics, optical communications, and waveguide components.

Effect of thermal treatments on the surface electrical conductivity of AlSi7Mg produced by laser powder bed fusion

In the last years, the production of hypoeutectic Al-Si waveguide components by metal additive manufacturing has gained increasing attention in the telecommunications industry. The performances of waveguide components are influenced primarily by dimensional tolerances, surface electrical conductivity, surface roughness, and dimensional accuracy. Among these properties, electrical conductivity is known to be strongly influenced by the structural and microstructural characteristics of the alloys.In this work, microstructural and structural properties of an hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy, namely the AlSi7Mg alloy, were studied using FESEM, DSC, and XRD to understand how different thermal treatments (stress relieving, T5, and T6) affect the surface electrical conductivity. In the end, the most suitable thermal treatment to be applied to this alloy to maximize its electrical conductivity and, therefore, its appeal for microwave waveguide components is identified.

Design of the Monopulse Feeding Network for a Slotted Waveguide Array on an Annular Disk

Design of a monopulse feeding network including a compact power distribution network and a monopulse comparator for a dual polarization slotted waveguide array fabricated on an annular disk is presented in this paper. As the slotted waveguide array is arranged on an annular disk, the feeding network is more complicated than that of a regular array such as a rectangular array. The design details of some key waveguide components, such as the compact assembly of H-plane T-junctions and E-plane elbows used to connect power distribution networks and radiation waveguides, are provided. Quasiplanar magic tees are designed and used to construct the compact sum and difference comparator. The antenna system contains two comparators, which are used to generate sum and difference beams for horizontal polarization and vertical polarization, respectively. Finally, the monopulse slotted waveguide array antenna is divided into two modules, a comparator module and an antenna module (including power distribution network), and fabricated with the layered processing and bonding process. The comparator module is measured using a network analyzer to verify its amplitude-frequency characteristics and phase-frequency characteristics. Screwing the comparator module and the antenna module together, a monopulse slotted waveguide array antenna is obtained, and the sum beam and difference beam characteristics of the antenna are measured in a microwave chamber and presented.

Demonstration of bound states in the continuum in substrate integrated waveguides.

Substrate integrated waveguides (SIWs) components play a crucial role in microwave devices fabricated by printed circuit board (PCB) technology. Bound states in the continuum (BICs) have high-quality factors that approach infinity. So far, there is little research on BICs in SIWs. Therefore, we studied a symmetry-protected BIC generated by the coupling between SIW and SIW resonators to fill this gap. Using the revised coupled mode theory (CMT), we explored the mechanism of resonance generation in this system. In addition, the effect of the geometrical parameters on the resonance is also investigated and higher Q3dB factors are obtained. The findings offer new insights into the design of BIC devices by traditional PCB technology, thus contributing to future applications in the integrated circuits field.

Metal-Only Additive Manufacturing of $V$-Band Lightweight Waveguide and Horn Components

Metal-Only Additive Manufacturing of $V$-Band Lightweight Waveguide and Horn Components

ВЛАСНІ КОЛИВАННЯ В ПЛАНАРНО-КІРАЛЬНИХ ДВОШАРОВИХ ОБ’ЄКТАХ ПОРОДЖУЮТЬ ШТУЧНУ ОПТИЧНУ АКТИВНІСТЬ

Subject and Purpose. The research focuses on how the resonance frequencies, the Q-factor of resonances, and the polarization plane rotation ability are influenced by the topology of individual components of a planar-chiral double-layer object consisting of a pair of con- jugated irises having rectangular slots and accommodated in a circular waveguide. Methods and Methodology. All the numerical results are obtained by the mode-matching technique (MMT) and the transverse reso- nance method on the basis of our own proprietary MWD-03 software package. Results. By the waveguide example, it has been shown that the internal structure of individual components and dihedral symmetry of the conjugated bilayer allow all the conclusions of the spectral theory (theory of eigen-oscillations) to be carried over to all the objects of the type. On the other hand, these objects behave as symmetric two-port waveguide components with conventionally "symmetric" and "antisymmetric" eigen-oscillations. The mutual coupling of these eigen-oscillations depends on the bilayer parameters. Where the frequen- cies of these eigen-oscillations are close enough, the polarization plane rotation and the transmission bandwidth reach their highest. It has been demonstrated that as a slot number increases, the resonance frequency decreases. The theoretical results have been confirmed by the measurements at the X range of frequencies for pairs of conjugated irises with various numbers of rectangular slots. Conclusions. A pair of conjugated chiral irises can rotate the polarization plane. The iris topology, iris spacing, and the mutual ro- tation angle alter resonance frequencies. The resonance frequencies can be reduced by increasing the rectangular slot length and/or slot number. Even though they have not longitudinal symmetry, such objects have properties of two-port waveguide components. In particular, the phase shift of their reflection and transmission coefficients is modulo 90. Besides, a possibility exists to divide eigen-oscillations into conventionally "symmetric" and "antisymmetric" based on the proximity of their fields to those whose type of symmetry is known before- hand. This makes it possible to approximate the reflection and transmission coefficients through corresponding eigenfrequencies.

Microwave Frequency Offset Induced by Subsurface Damage in Abrasive-Machined Semiconductor Ceramic Waveguide

Ceramic waveguide components play a critical role in modern microwave semiconductor systems. For the first time, this work reports experimental results obtained when dielectric ceramics are abrasive-machined into waveguide components. This process will cause subsurface damage (SSD), resulting in a deviation in their working frequency which can degrade the performance of the system. For a substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) resonator working at 10.1 GHz, SSD with a depth of 89 um can cause a maximum frequency offset of 20.2%. For a mm wave component working at 70 GHz, the corresponding frequency offset could increase to 169%. Three resonator SIW filters with SSD are studied, and the results demonstrate that the frequency offset induced by SSD can reduce the pass rate of the filters from 95.4% to 0%. A theoretical analysis is performed to reveal the mechanism and to offer a quantitative estimation of the limiting range of the offset caused by SSD. Feasible methods for reducing the offset caused by SSD, such as structure design, processing optimization, and material reinforcement, are discussed.

Additively manufactured rectangular waveguides for the electromagnetic characterization of materials using the transmission/reflection line method

PurposeRadio frequency (RF) technology relies on the electromagnetic properties of the materials used, which includes their complex permittivities and loss tangents. To measure these properties, techniques for material characterization such as the transmission/reflection method are used in conjunction with conversion techniques to calculate these values from scattering parameters. Unfortunately, these techniques rely on relatively expensive rectangular waveguide adaptors and components, especially if testing over large frequency ranges. This paper aims to overcome this challenge by developing a more affordable test equipment solution based on additively manufactured waveguide sections.Design/methodology/approachTo evaluate the effectiveness of using additively manufactured waveguides to perform electromagnetic characterization with the transmission/reflection method, samples of PLA Tough with varying infill percentages and samples made from several Formlabs photopolymer resins are fabricated and analyzed.FindingsResults show that the method yielded permittivity and loss tangent values for the measured materials that generally agree with those found in the literature, supporting its credibility.Originality/valueThe accessibility of this measurement technique will ideally allow for more electromagnetic material characterization to occur and expand the possible use of additive manufacturing in future RF designs. This work also provides characterization of several Formlabs photopolymer resins, which have not been widely analyzed in the current literature.

Cascaded anti-resonant reflecting waveguides for simultaneous measurement of temperature and curvature

An optical fiber sensor based on combined anti-resonant reflecting (ARR) mechanism is experimentally demonstrated for simultaneous measurement of temperature and curvature. The sensor head consists of a section of liquid infiltrated simplified hollow core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) spliced to a section of silica capillary. Two types of ARR mechanisms are involved in the sensor structure: the double-layer ARR guidance in the infiltrated PCF, and the single-layer ARR guidance in the silica capillary, which result in two sets of ARR fringes in the transmission spectrum. Due to the difference in the guiding mechanism and waveguide components, the two ARR fringes exhibit different responses to temperature and curvature. By measuring the wavelength shift of the double-layer ARR fringe and the intensity variation of the single-layer ARR fringe, temperature and curvature can be determined simultaneously.

Computer-aided design of quadra-ridged waveguide transformers for full-band matching of half-height rectangular waveguides

A quadra-ridged waveguide transformer (QRWT) is proposed for full-band matching between a standard waveguide and a half-height waveguide, which meets the need for compact waveguide components and the need for multiple sections of irregular transmission lines for better matching in wider operation bands. Unlike conventional matching circuits with monotonically changing impedances, QRWTs form abrupt cross-section changes between transmission line steps. The initial configuration of QRWT is built by CST MICROWAVE STUDIO, a system-level electromagnetic compatibility and general high frequency passive device simulation software, according to the basic electromagnetic (EM) concept and then is optimized by optimization functions from an advanced EM simulator, during the optimization, releasing restrictions as many as possible. To explain the concept, a sample QRWT is designed to match a standard rectangular waveguide WR34 to a half-height waveguide. The reflection coefficient is less than −24 dB in the full operation bandwidth, from 21.7 to 33 GHz. The optimized QRWT has a length of 3.088 mm, 0.218 times the waveguide wavelength at its center operation frequency of 27.35 GHz. For comparison, a two-stage quarter-wave transformer matching circuit is optimized. For similar reflection coefficients in the same bandwidth, the QRWT has a length 57% shorter than the conventional one, and it has an easier manufacturing method using wire-electrode cutting. To verify the design, a back-to-back matching circuit was fabricated using brass material without extra dielectric material. Its measured reflections are less than −16.6 dB, and the insertion loss is less than 0.2 dB.

Novel circulator design using substrate integrated coaxial line

AbstractThe contribution of this work is to propose a novel circulator design using the substrate‐integrated coaxial line (SICL) structure. Conventionally, the circulator is composed of three‐dimensional waveguide components, and, in contrast, the proposed SICL circulator allows the 3‐D waveguide circulator to be built in a planar form using the printed circuit board (PCB) technology. The proposed SICL circulator is composed of three substrates with two parallel signal strips embedded in the central SICL tunnel. For better impedance matching, a widened section is inserted in each uniform feedline, and the Y‐junction joint on the bottom surface of the middle substrate is connected with three stubs and is loaded with a circular disk on the top surface of the middle substrate. A bandpass filter (BPF) can be embedded in each circulator's branch to improve signal selectivity and the out‐of‐band isolation. Experiments are conducted to verify the circuit design. Agreements are observed between the measured and simulated data.

Mesh Morphing-Embedded Space Mapping Optimization for Waveguide Components With Arc Structures

Coarse-and fine-mesh space mapping (SM) using the mesh morphing technique has proved its efficiency in designing waveguide components with rectangle structures. This letter proposes an improved mesh morphing technique for more practically used waveguide components with arc structures. Two constraint points are defined for an arc with any angle to guide the morphing of curve nodes with respect to the change of geometrical parameters. New formulations are proposed for calculating the 3-D coordinates of morphed mesh nodes on arcs. With the new formulations, mesh elements around arc structures can morph smoothly, speeding up the overall SM process. The proposed technique is demonstrated by two waveguide examples.

Ka-band cryogenic low-noise receiver of the Misasa 54 m antenna for deep-space communications and radio astronomy

Abstract We built a Ka-band dual-circular-polarization low-noise receiver for the Misasa 54 m parabola antenna in Misasa, Japan. The antenna is designed to be combined with a transmitter and receiver system at the X band (around 8 GHz) and simultaneously with a receiver system at the Ka band. The Ka band is the frequency band around 30 GHz, which is important for deep-space communications and radio astronomy. The receiver comprises some waveguide components including a feed horn, a circular polarizer, and low-noise amplifiers. The components are installed in a vacuum vessel and are cooled to 4 K with a Gifford–McMahon refrigerator, providing low-noise performance. The receiver is capable of simultaneously handling the left- and right-hand circular-polarization (LHCP and RHCP) channels. The receiver-noise temperature was measured to be TRX ≃ 14 K in both the LHCP and RHCP channels. The system-noise temperature, including the antenna loss and atmospheric attenuation at the zenith, was measured to be Tsys = 36–37 K in both the LHCP and RHCP channels on a clear day in September at Misasa. When the receiver is used with the X-band transmitter, the system-noise temperature is maintained at Tsys ≃ 42 K in the RHCP channel. The degradation in the system-noise temperature is attributed to a frequency-selective reflector, which divides the signals in the X and Ka bands. There is no contamination from the transmitter to damage the receiver. The receiver has already been in use for deep-space communications and radio-astronomy observations. Our team in the radio-astronomy laboratory of ISAS/JAXA is responsible for the development of the receiver and the measurements of its performance.

Evaluation of 3-D Printed Monolithic G-Band Waveguide Components

This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of 3D-printed monolithic waveguide components fabricated by a high-precision micro laser sintering (MLS) process. The investigated devices are two 180 GHz bandpass filters and a straight G-band (140-220 GHz) waveguide section. All were made of stainless steel, which was later gold coated using an electroless process. One of the filter samples was characterized using X-ray micro-CT to inspect the printing quality as well as measure the internal dimensions. The sample was then sectioned to allow measurement of the surface roughness of the inner surfaces and inspect the gold coating quality. The as-manufactured stainless steel components showed high insertion losses: over 3 dB in the filter passbands and between 4.7 dB and 7 dB for the waveguide section, increasing with frequency over the G-band. This loss is due to the electrical conductivity of stainless steel as well as the surface roughness. Gold plating significantly reduced the insertion losses, to 0.5 dB for the filters and to between 0.6 dB and 1 dB for the waveguide section. The investigative study showed the high dimensional accuracy and good printing quality achieved by MLS, demonstrating the value of the technique in producing monolithic metal waveguide components with fine geometrics.

SLA-Printed K-Band Waveguide Components Using Tollens Reaction Silver Plating

Dielectric printed and plated waveguide components offer cost and weight benefits over metal printed equivalents, with silver plating using Tollens reagents holding significant advantages over electroplating. This work extends on previous demonstrations of this process in plating stereolithography (SLA) printed resin waveguide parts by investigating number of plating rounds, reaction temperature and plastic base. It is found that less than 1.5 dB/m attenuation is achievable in WR42 waveguide using white SLA plastic and silver plating, comparing favourably with the 10 dB/m achieved by printing the same part using Ti64 powder bed fusion. This process improvement is further demonstrated using waveguide power dividers, slow-wave delay sections and rectangular horn antennas.

Polymer-Based 3-D Printed 140 to 220 GHz Metal Waveguide Thru Lines, Twist and Filters

This paper demonstrates the current state-of-the-art in low-cost, low loss ruggedized polymer-based 3-D printed G-band (140 to 220 GHz) metal-pipe rectangular waveguide (MPRWG) components. From a unique and exhaustive up-to-date literature review, the main limitations for G-band split-block MPRWGs are identified as electromagnetic (EM) radiation leakage, assembly part alignment and manufacturing accuracy. To mitigate against leakage and misalignment, we investigate a ‘trough-and-lid’ split-block solution. This approach is successfully employed in proof-of-concept thru lines, and in the first polymer-based 3-D printed 90° twist and symmetrical diaphragm inductive iris-coupled bandpass filters (BPFs) operating above 110 GHz. An inexpensive desktop masked stereolithography apparatus 3-D printer and a commercial copper electroplating service are used. Surface roughness losses are calculated and applied to EM (re-)simulations, using two modifications of the Hemispherical model. The 7.4 mm thru line exhibits a measured average dissipative attenuation of only 12.7 dB/m, with rectangular-to-trapezoidal cross-sectional distortion being the main contributor to loss. The 90° twist exhibits commensurate measured performance to its commercial counterpart, despite the much lower manufacturing costs. A detailed time-domain reflectometry analysis of flange quality for the thru lines and 90° twists has also been included. Finally, a new systematic iris corner rounding compensation technique, to correct passband frequency down-shifting is applied to two BPFs. Here, the 175 GHz exemplar exhibits only 0.5% center frequency up-shifting. The trough-and-lid assembly is now a viable solution for new upper-mm-wave MPRWG components. With this technology becoming less expensive and more accurate, higher frequencies and/or more demanding specifications can be implemented.