Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

There is an urgent need for new transmission lines and measurements techniques in order to explore and exploit the frequency range from 30 GHz up to Terahertz (THz). At such frequencies, conventional transmission lines become either too lossy or too expensive to manufacture. The aim of the proposed research program is to investigate a new transmission line referred to as gap waveguide that will resolve the losses issue of transmission of millimeter wave frequencies to potentially THz. Efficient numerical methods tailored for these specific applications will be developed and used in the analysis and design of microwave circuits and radiators based on this technology. The basic geometry of the new gap waveguide comprises two parallel conducting metal plates, which are separated by a small gap which is typically smaller than 0.25 guided wavelengths. This gap can be filled with air or fully or partly filled with a dielectric. Local waves appear in the gap between the two plates. These waves are controllable by surrounding the two metal plates by textures from both sides that forces the waves to decay rabidly away from the two metal plates. The proposed technology will adapt the concept of an artificial magnetic conductor and develop techniques to enhance its design process and its operating bandwidth. So far a 2:1 bandwidth can be achieved with simple structures and we aim to further improve and enhance this bandwidth. Another application for the concept of an artificial magnetic conductor is in packaging, where it would eliminate the need for lossy resistive sheets in the packaging cavity as it is currently practiced. The proposed research program will have tremendous impact on the use of higher frequencies in radio astronomy, satellite communications, and imaging for medical as well as for security applications in terms of higher efficiency as compared with the currently achieved with conventional guiding structures.