Accurate and Efficient Design of Double Post Substrate Integrated Waveguide Filters Using Simulators Based on Open Space Modal Expansions

© 2012 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.An Agressive Space Mapping (ASM) strategy for efficiently and accurately designing passive filters in substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology is presented and successfully validated for the double post topology. Full-wave simulators based on open space modal expansions are used in both the coarse and fine models of this strategy.Díaz Caballero, E.; Morro, JV.; Esteban González, H.; Boria Esbert, VE.; Belenguer Martínez, Á. (2012). Accurate and Efficient Design of Double Post Substrate Integrated Waveguide Filters Using Simulators Based on Open Space Modal Expansions. IEEE. doi:10.1109/APS.2012.6348982

Radio-frequency performance comparison of several H-plane rectangular waveguide filters loaded with circular dielectric posts

This paper is a postprint of a paper submitted to and accepted for publication in IET Microwaves Antennas and Propagation and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. The copy of record is available at IET Digital LibraryThe study presents a radio-frequency performance comparison between several H-plane geometry filters based on rectangular waveguide technology. The basic all-metal filter of resonant cavities is compared with filters loaded with circular dielectric resonators, either in propagative or evanescent mode. The use of these resonators is claimed to reduce the length of the filter, increase the rejection band until the first spurious frequency and to improve the voltage magnification factor (VMF), at the cost of increasing the losses. Therefore, in order to properly assess and quantify the possible advantages of these filters, an accurate analysis of six of them has been developed. All the filters have been designed to have the same electrical response, and the length, losses, rejection band, VMF, and fabrication cost for all the filters are compared.Our acknowledgement to the Val Space Consortium for its contribution - Laboratories co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund - A way of making Europe.Bachiller Martin, MC.; Esteban González, H.; Diaz, F.; Morro, JV.; Boria Esbert, VE. (2016). Radio-frequency performance comparison of several H-plane rectangular waveguide filters loaded with circular dielectric posts. IET Microwaves Antennas and Propagation. 10(5):536-545. doi:10.1049/iet-map.2014.0738S53654510

Implementation of Waveguide Terminations With Low-Passive Intermodulation for Conducted Test Beds in Backward Configuration

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permissíon from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertisíng or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.[EN] This letter proposes a simple procedure to implement low-passive intermodulation (PIM) terminations in waveguide technology to measure conducted backward PIM. The procedure consists in inserting a filter before the waveguide termination of the test bench. This approach reduces the PIM contribution from the load and, consequently, lowers the residual PIM noise floor of the test bench. To validate the procedure, a conducted backward low-PIM setup working in K-band has been assembled and tested. The PIM performance improvement obtained fully confirms the validity of the proposed solution.This work was supported in part by the European Space Agency through several research and development contracts, in part by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (Spanish Government) under Project TEC2016-75934-C4-1-R, and in part by the ESA-VSC High Power RF Space Laboratory.Smacchia, D.; Soto Pacheco, P.; Guglielmi, M.; Morro, JV.; Boria Esbert, VE.; Raboso, D. (2019). Implementation of Waveguide Terminations With Low-Passive Intermodulation for Conducted Test Beds in Backward Configuration. IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters. 29(10):659-661. https://doi.org/10.1109/LMWC.2019.2933600S659661291

Multilevel transition in empty substrate integrated waveguide

This paper is a postprint of a paper submitted to and accepted for publication in Electronics Letters and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. The copy of record is available at the IET Digital Library.Empty substrate integrated waveguide (ESIW) is an improvement of the well-known substrate integrated waveguide. While maintaining the low cost, easy manufacturing, small size, and integration with other circuits in the same substrate, ESIW decreases the related losses by removing the dielectric substrate, thus rendering it more interesting for practical applications. A wide band transition has been already developed to connect ESIW to microstrip lines. Filters, couplers, and antennas have also been developed in ESIW. For multilevel configurations, where different ESIW devices are implemented in different stacked substrates, a transition is needed that connects ESIW lines in different substrate levels. A low reflection wideband transition is presented for connecting two stacked ESIW lines.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spanish Goverment, under Research Projects TEC2013-47037-C05-3-R and TEC2013-47037-C05-1-R.Morro, JV.; Rodríguez Pérez, AM.; Belenguer Martínez, Á.; Esteban González, H.; Boria Esbert, VE. (2016). Multilevel transition in empty substrate integrated waveguide. Electronics Letters. 52(18):1543-1544. doi:10.1049/el.2016.2558S15431544521

Evaluación de las prestaciones de filtros de orden elevado implementados con la nueva guía vacía integrada en sustrato

In the last years a great number of substrate integrated circuits has been developed. These new circuits are a compromise between the advantages of classical waveguide technologies, such as high quality factor and low losses, and the advantages of planar circuits, such as low cost and easy compact integration. Although their quality factor and losses are better than for planar circuits, these characteristics are worse than in the case of waveguides, mainly due to the presence of the dielectric substrate. In order to improve the performance of the integrated circuits, a new methodology for manufacturing empty waveguides, without dielectric substrate, but at the same time completely integrated in a planar substrate has been recently proposed. A wide band transition with return losses greater than 20 dB in the whole bandwith of the waveguide allows the integration of the empty waveguide into the planar substrate, so that the waveguide can be directly accessed with a microstrip line. Therefore a microwave circuit integrated in a planar substrate, but at the same time with a very high quality factor (measured quality factor is 4.5 times higher than for the same filter in SIW) and very low losses was successfully achieved. In this work the performance of this new technology is tested through the simulation and measurement of high order filters (8 and 9 cavities filters).Belenguer Martínez, Á.; Esteban González, H.; Boria Esbert, VE.; Morro, JV. (2014). Evaluación de las prestaciones de filtros de orden elevado implementados con la nueva guía vacía integrada en sustrato. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/78478

Practical Characterization of the Effect of the Transmission Carrier Phases in Passive Intermodulation

[EN] The effect of the phase of the input carriers has been traditionally neglected in the characterization of passive intermodulation (PIM) since standard two-tone PIM tests seem to be unaffected by phase variations of the excitation signals. However, the phase of the input carriers can be of relevance in many practical applications. This article is aimed at filling this gap in the technical literature. First, the existing theory explaining why the phases do not affect the measured PIM contribution for a two-carrier excitation but can be of relevance for generic multicarrier scenarios is summarized. PIM measurements for complex signals composed of several carriers with varying phases are then reported, enabling the practical characterization of this effect for the first time. Experimental results of the test campaigns are fully aligned with theoretical predictions, thus allowing us to identify those PIM contributions that can be affected by the carrier phases and assess the expected variation range in their amplitude level.This work was supported in part by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, Spanish Government, under Research and Development under Grant PID2022- 136590OB-C41 and Grant TED2021-129196B-C41; and in part by European Space Agency (ESA) through several Research and Development activities.Smacchia, D.; Soto Pacheco, P.; Boria Esbert, VE.; Monerris Belda, Ó.; Ossorio-García, J.; Raboso García-Baquero, D.; Morro, JV.... (2024). Practical Characterization of the Effect of the Transmission Carrier Phases in Passive Intermodulation. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. 72(10):5888-5895. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMTT.2024.338946158885895721

A New Reference Sample for High-Frequency Multipactor Testing

[EN] Multipactor (MP) is a high-power effect severely limiting the performance of satellite communication links. A reference sample is normally used in the experimental setups for MP testing in order to verify its correct operation. However, the low gaps required for high frequencies jeopardize the manufacturability of the devices traditionally used for this purpose. A new reference sample, based on a stepped-impedance resonator (SIR), is proposed in this letter. The key design considerations are also outlined. A prototype operating between 17 and 18 GHz has been manufactured and tested, proving the novel structure allows higher gaps, and is, thus, suitable for higher frequency bands.This work was supported in part by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (Spanish Government) under Research and Development Project PID2019-103982RB-C41, in part by the European Space Agency(ESA) through several research and development activities, and in part by the ESA-VSC European High Power RF and Space Materials Laboratories for contributing with its installations through the European Regional Development Fund. The work of Pablo Gonzalez was supported by the FPU Fellowship ofthe Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte under Grant FPU17/02901.González-Santatecla, P.; Smacchia, D.; Alcaide-Guillén, C.; Soto Pacheco, P.; Rodríguez Pérez, AM.; Morro, JV.; Mata-Sanz, R.... (2023). A New Reference Sample for High-Frequency Multipactor Testing. IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters. 33(6):675-678. https://doi.org/10.1109/LMWT.2023.323941967567833

Multipactor Threshold Estimation Techniques Based on Circuit Models, Electromagnetic Fields and Particle Simulators

[EN] Multipactor has become a keylimiting factor of the final performance of satellite communication systems, due to the increase in power levels and/or operating frequency bands. As a result, the critical components of these systems must meet demanding multipactor specifications which should be considered during the design process. This paper describes the different techniques available to predict the multipactor threshold power for radio frequency (RF) and microwave passive hardware under continuous wave (CW) excitation, from cumbersome particle simulations to fast approximate methods based on circuit models. All these techniques have been described and compared together for the first time, including also a detailed description of the configuration issues of commercial particle simulators required to obtain accurate multipactor threshold predictions. The techniques are applied to both wideband and narrowband application examples. The predictions have been compared with measured thresholds of manufactured samples obtained with a novel multipactor test bed, thus allowing to highlight the advantages and limitations of each technique and particle simulator. From this paper, it will be possible to choose the most suitable procedure (and an appropriate simulator, if needed) to obtain multipactor threshold prediction of passive hardware.The work of Pablo González was supported by the FPU Fellowship of the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Spanish Government, with Ref. FPU17/02901. This work was supported in part by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICIN, Spanish Government) under R&D Project PID2019-103982RB-C41 (funded by MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), and in part by the European Space Agency (ESA) under Project H2020-ESA-007 (funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program).González-Santatecla, P.; Alcaide, C.; Cervera, R.; Rodríguez, M.; Monerris, Ó.; Petit, J.; Rodríguez Pérez, AM.... (2022). Multipactor Threshold Estimation Techniques Based on Circuit Models, Electromagnetic Fields and Particle Simulators. IEEE Journal of Microwaves. 2(1):57-77. https://doi.org/10.1109/JMW.2021.313228457772

Compensation of the impact of low-cost manufacturing techniques in the design of E-plane multiport waveguide junctions

In this work, a full-wave tool for the accurate analysis and design of compensated E-plane multiport junctions is proposed. The implemented tool is capable of evaluating the undesired effects related to the use of low-cost manufacturing techniques, which are mostly due to the introduction of rounded corners in the cross section of the rectangular waveguides of the device. The obtained results show that, although stringent mechanical effects are imposed, it is possible to compensate for the impact of the cited low-cost manufacturing techniques by redesigning the matching elements considered in the original device. Several new designs concerning a great variety of E-plane components (such as right-angled bends, T-junctions and magic-Ts) are presented, and useful design guidelines are provided. The implemented tool, which is mainly based on the boundary integral-resonant mode expansion technique, has been successfully validated by comparing the obtained results to simulated data provided by a commercial software based on the finite element method.All the data necessary to understand, evaluate, replicate, and generate the figures and results presented in this paper have been included in the present manuscript. A full-wave custom code and the commercial software Ansys HFSS have been used to generate the simulated results provided by the authors. This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spanish Government, under the Research Projects TEC2013-47037-C5-1-R and TEC2013-47037-C5-4-R.San Blas Oltra, ÁA.; Roca, JM.; Cogollos Borras, S.; Morro, JV.; Boria Esbert, VE.; Gimeno Martinez, B. (2016). Compensation of the impact of low-cost manufacturing techniques in the design of E-plane multiport waveguide junctions. Radio Science. 51(6):619-628. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016RS006027S61962851

First demonstration of multi-vendor and multi-domain EON with S-BVT and control interoperability over Pan-European testbed

The operation of multi-domain and multi-vendor EONs can be achieved by interoperable Sliceable Bandwidth Variable Transponders, a GMPLS / BGP-LS-based control plane and a planning tool. This paper reports the first full demonstration and validation this end-to-end architecture