Fabrication of Millimeter Wave Integrated Circuits Using Photonic Band Gap Confinement

This project is aimed at the design and eventual fabrication (in Phase II) of microwave and millimeter-wave components utilizing Photonic Band Gap Structures. Current trends in device miniaturization and integration, especially in the development of microwave monolithic integrated circuits, calls for flexible, arbitrarily shaped and curved interconnects. Standard dielectric waveguides and microstrip lines, when bent, are subject to prohibitive losses. To address this problem, WaveBand Corporation proposes to confine the wave guiding path in a substrate with a Photonic Band Gap structure in a manner that will result in the guided mode being localized within the band gap. The Phase I research will center on theoretical investigation of the smallest attainable losses in a bent waveguide with Photonic Band Gap Confinement as compared to a standard waveguide. The best suitable structure will be analyzed and preliminary waveguide confinement experiments will be conducted at a millimeter wave (MMW) frequency in order to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed approach.