A Recent Approach towards Fluidic Microstrip Devices and Gas Sensors: A Review

This paper aims to review some of the available tunable devices with emphasis on the techniques employed, fabrications, merits, and demerits of each technique. In the era of fluidic microstrip communication devices, versatility and stability have become key features of microfluidic devices. These fluidic devices allow advanced fabrication techniques such as 3D printing, spraying, or injecting the conductive fluid on the flexible/rigid substrate. Fluidic techniques are used either in the form of loading components, switching, or as the radiating/conducting path of a microwave component such as liquid metals. The major benefits and drawbacks of each technology are also emphasized. In this review, there is a brief discussion of the most widely used microfluidic materials, their novel fabrication/patterning methods.

Micromachined Waveguide Interposer for the Characterization of Multi-port Sub-THz Devices

This paper reports for the first time on a micromachined interposer platform for characterizing highly miniaturized multi-port sub-THz waveguide components. The reduced size of such devices does often not allow to connect them to conventional waveguide flanges. We demonstrate the micromachined interposer concept by characterizing a miniaturized, three-port, 220–330-GHz turnstile orthomode transducer. The interposer contains low-loss micromachined waveguides for routing the ports of the device under test to standard waveguide flanges and integrated micromachined matched loads for terminating the unused ports. In addition to the interposer, the measurement setup consists of a micromachined square-to-rectangular waveguide transition. These two devices enable the characterization of such a complex microwave component in four different configurations with a standard two-port measurement setup. In addition, the design of the interposer allows for independent characterization of its sub-components and, thus, for accurate de-embedding from the measured data, as demonstrated in this paper. The measurement setup can be custom-designed for each silicon micromachined device under test and co-fabricated in the same wafer due to the batch nature of this process. The solution presented here avoids the need of CNC-milled test-fixtures or waveguide pieces that deteriorate the performance of the device under test and reduce the measurement accuracy.

Simulation of Wave Propagation in Waveguide Tee Junctions

In order to understand the behaviour of any microwave component, knowledge of electromagnetic (EM) field distribution inside the component is necessary. In this paper simulation of wave propagation in waveguide tees at X- band is presented in dominant mode. Pattern of electric field from front view, side view, and front and top view of magnetic field for dominant mode in rectangular waveguide is presented. Configuration of electric, magnetic field and power distribution at different time instants in microwave tees is explained. Power distribution and isolation property in E-H plane tee are also described.