The University of Texas System

Trw Limited

Rst Scientific Research, Inc.

Kai Chang

Raghbir S Tahim

Henry F Taylor

Albert J Grote

George M Hayashibara

Tae-Yeoul Yun

Yong H Shu

Julio A Navarro

An apparatus for introducing electromagnetic perturbation into a target device includes a piezoelectric transducer configured to deflect in response to an applied voltage and a perturber configured to deflect in response to deflection of the piezoelectric transducer. The deflection of the perturber causes electromagnetic perturbation, and in some cases a phase shift, in the target device. The electromagnetic perturbation may also be used to tune microwave devices such as filters, resonators, and oscillators.

Electromagnetic phase shifter using perturbation controlled by piezoelectric transducer and pha array antenna formed therefrom

Microwave and millmeter-wave system components are fabricated by using slotlines extending from the periphery of CPW resonators. This technique permits the degree of electrical coupling between the CPW and and the slotlines to be adjusted for matching, and the CPW resonators and slotlines behave as if they were relatively independent circuit elements, permitting transmission line models to be useful design tools and predicting the behavior of the system components. The system components are fully planar and allow easy integration of active and passive semiconductor devices in series with the CPW, and in shunt across the slotlines in hybrid and monolithic circuit forms. This technique also enables the conductive plane to be split for biasing semiconductor devices coupled to the CPW resonators for microwave and millimeter-wave power generation, tuning, mixing, filtering, frequency multiplication and switching. Integration with a notch antenna and slot-to-microstrip transitions are also described which permit a direct radiation/reception or a coaxial connector output.

Planar active endfire radiating elements and coplanar waveguide filters

An electromagnetic signal processor is disclosed comprising an input waveguide, an intermediate waveguide, and an output waveguide. The intermediate waveguide comprises two portions having substantially equal electromagnetic impedances. The two portions of the intermediate waveguide are coupled to each other at a first and a second junction. The input and output waveguides are electromagnetically coupled to the intermediate waveguide at the first and the second junctions, respectively. Electrically coupled to the intermediate waveguide is a semiconductor device responsible for processing input electromagnetic signals. The input waveguide functions to receive and direct an input electromagnetic signal to the first junction of the intermediate waveguide. At the first junction, the intermediate waveguide separates the input signal into two signals having substantially equal amplitudes. Each of the separate signals propagates along one of the two portions of the intermediate waveguide and as they propagate, the separate signals are processed by the semiconductor device. At the second junction, the separate signals recombine to form a single output signal and this output signal is transmitted via the output waveguide.

Circular ring resonator distributive electromagnetic signal processor

A radio-frequency mixer and a local oscillator integrated into a single housing, and including a Gunn-type oscillator coupled to the mixer by a section of microstrip transmission line and a section of suspended stripline. A broadside coupler in the suspended stripline provides dc and intermediate-frequency isolation for the mixer, and a block of dielectric material on the microstrip provides improved temperature compensation for the diode oscillator. The entire compact assembly has good conversion loss performance over a relatively wide frequency band, and is relatively insensitive to temperature changes.

Local oscillator and mixer assembly

Improved output power performance is obtained in a millimeter-wave integrated-circuit (MIC) voltage-controlled oscillator by forming an output circuit and a bias input circuit in a suspended stripline configuration, which is subject to relatively low losses compared with microstrip designs. A Gunn diode and a varactor diode are mounted in alignment and in close proximity to each other. The suspended microstrip configuration includes a suspended substrate with a Gunn diode output circuit and a bias input circuit on one side, and a varactor diode grounding pad on the other face of the substrate. A sliding short-circuit device aligned with the Gunn diode output circuit provides tuning of the oscillator over a relatively wide range, and avoids having to trim the Gunn diode circuit components for final adjustment of the frequency.

Growing community of inventors

College Station, TX, United States of America

Kai Chang