Adjustable tuning for planar millimeter-wave circuits

Published

August 12, 1986

Author(s)

Dylan F. Williams, S E. Schwarz, J. A. Sedlacek, D J. Ehrlich

Abstract

At millimeter wavelengths uncontrollable parasitics are of ten large enough to significantly degrade circuit performance when they are not compensated by adjustable elements. It is difficult to add adjustable elements to planar millimeter-wave circuits without increasing their size, weight, and cost. In this paper we investigate three adjustable elements, all involving movement of a short along a section of coplanar waveguide (CPW). These tuners are incorporated in a planar detector circuit for purposes of demonstration and characterization. Their losses are determined. The precision with which they can be adjusted is also considered. Of the three, a tuner based on the laser-assisted etching of molybdenum is shown to have the highest performance at millimeter wavelengths. This tuner employs laser direct write etching1 with a recently developed photochemical reaction for trimming molybdenum.

Citation

International Journal of Infrared and Millimeter Waves

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Integrated circuit, laser etching, coplanar waveguide, adjustable backshort

Citation

Williams, D. , Schwarz, S. , Sedlacek, J. and Ehrlich, D. (1986), Adjustable tuning for planar millimeter-wave circuits, International Journal of Infrared and Millimeter Waves, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=921686 (Accessed October 10, 2025)