Dielectric waveguides at submillimeter wavelengths

Abstract

A flexible waveguide system has been simulated using the field calculation program MAFIA, for the first time realised for frequencies up t o 150 GHz and operated in two applications. The flexible waveguide system consists of a rectangular, dielectric fibre made of polyethylene combined with optimised tapers and waveguide adapters, which makes the flexible waveguide easy to use in combination with conventional waveguides.A minimum attenuation of 4dB/m at 140 GHz has been obtained with the dielectric waveguides, which is about 6dB less than the measured attenuation of D-band waveguides operated at the same frequency. Additionally the phase shift of the flexible waveguides for different bending radii as well as the influence of different tapered fibre terminations was measured and is reported.

A dielectric lens antenna fed by a flexible dielectric waveguide at 160 GHz

“…Dielectric waveguides have been known for a long time [1] and they are used in different applications like in flexible measurement setups for field scanning [2]. The flexibility in bending, low attenuation, and low costs in fabrication make the dielectric waveguide suited for the submillimetre wave range with some advantages over the rectangular waveguide.…”

A flexible dielectric leaky-wave antenna at 160 GHz

“…For measurement setups in the millimeter and submillimeter wave range dielectric waveguides are used also [4]. The low attenuation, low fabrication costs, and high flexibility of dielectric waveguides offer new prospects.…”

Millimeter wave planar transition from plastic rectangular waveguide to 1 mm coax

“…DWG made from inexpensive plastics such as polyethylene or polystyrene have been proposed by a number of authors [5][6][7]. Transitions from RWG to DWG using a pyramidal horn wave launcher were demonstrated in [5,6] for frequencies up to 300 GHz.…”

“…Transitions from RWG to DWG using a pyramidal horn wave launcher were demonstrated in [5,6] for frequencies up to 300 GHz. Transitions from microstrip and slotline to DWG for E-band were discussed in [7].…”