US3796976A - Microwave stripling circuits with selectively bondable micro-sized switches for in-situ tuning and impedance matching - Google Patents

Microwave stripling circuits with selectively bondable micro-sized switches for in-situ tuning and impedance matching Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US3796976A
US3796976A US00163367A US3796976DA US3796976A US 3796976 A US3796976 A US 3796976A US 00163367 A US00163367 A US 00163367A US 3796976D A US3796976D A US 3796976DA US 3796976 A US3796976 A US 3796976A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
sections
section
stripline
cantilever
adjacent
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00163367A
Inventor
T Heng
H Nathanson
J Davis
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
CBS Corp
Original Assignee
Westinghouse Electric Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Westinghouse Electric Corp filed Critical Westinghouse Electric Corp
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3796976A publication Critical patent/US3796976A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01PWAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
    • H01P7/00Resonators of the waveguide type
    • H01P7/08Strip line resonators
    • H01P7/084Triplate line resonators
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01PWAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
    • H01P1/00Auxiliary devices
    • H01P1/10Auxiliary devices for switching or interrupting
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01PWAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
    • H01P5/00Coupling devices of the waveguide type
    • H01P5/04Coupling devices of the waveguide type with variable factor of coupling

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to microstrip v circuits and more particularly relates to microwave striplines capable of in-situ tuning.
  • tuning techniques which fall into two broad categories: (i) active tuning, and (ii) mechanical tuning.
  • active tuning and (ii) mechanical tuning.
  • YIG spheres as tunable inductive elements
  • Mechanical tuning by screw and movable magnetic slugs have also been used, in addition to the simple technique of line scraping by laser or other means. With the exception of the latter, all these techniques involve the introduction of an external element into the circuit. As such, the electrical and mechanical stabilities of these elements are of concern in a large number of applications.
  • the present invention allows in-situ tuning and impedance matching of microstrip circuits by providing a microwave stripline of a length related to the wavelength of the desired operating frequency, which stripline is divided into' a plurality of sections, each of a length chosen to be a selected fraction of the wavelength.
  • a plurality of cantilever switches of material similar to the sections are positioned to interconnect sections.
  • Each cantilever switch has a first portion affixed to its associated section and a second portion extending over but spaced from an adjacent section. The over extending portion can be selectively permanently bonded to the adjacent section.
  • the cantilevers are selected to be sufficiently flexible to allow temporary electrical contact to be made for tuning and impedance matching.
  • the number-of sections so connected together determines the amount of phase shift imparted to energy propagating along the stripline.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cantilever switch utilized in the inventive embodiment
  • FIG. 2 is an elevational view of such a cantilever switch
  • FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a graphical illustration of the performance of the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 3;
  • FIGS. 5 through 8 are partial sectional views of a structure at successive stages in fabrication in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 9 is a plan view of microwave circuitry embodying the present invention.
  • FIG. 10 is a plan view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
  • Simple in-situ trimming of a microwave strip is accomplished by dividing the line into a number of short sections, each capacitively coupled to its neighbor by a cantilever switch as shown in FIG. 1. Sections 2 and 4 are spaced apart a certain distance l A cantilever switch 6 has a first part 8 secured to section 2 and a second portion 10 extending over but spaced from the adjacent section 4. The part 10 is based a distance I from the section 4; The coupling of each switch depends on the dimensions 1,, and 1, for a given line and substrate, and can be approximated by C3 z C CD d 60 W 6 u)/ d where:
  • C; and C are capacitances illustrated in FIG. 2 s is permittivity of free space and C, is approximately equal to o z w (n) where K(m) is a complete elliptical integral of the first kind of modulus m.
  • the modulus constants m and n are m (b a /b and n 5 all; (4)
  • the theoretical capacitance is of the order of 0.9 lfarads, corresponding to a reactance of 2.94 kilohms at 6 GHZ or a reflection coefficient of 0.945.
  • the measured value was 0.9.
  • the lower measured value is due to the fringing fields at the gap which have been ignored in the calculation, and finite losses of the line and connector sections.
  • a low capacitance can be obtained by increasing the switch height L and gap separation 1,, and decreasing the cantilever length for a given line.
  • the center line section 20 consisted of an 85 ohm (0.002 inch).line of one wavelength at 6 Gl-lz, which was divided into 5/8 sections interconnected by seven switches. Matching at both ends of the .line to 50 ohm miniature connectors was achieved by quarter-wave (65 ohm) transformers 22. The relative phase-shift introduced by the closing of each switch is shown in FIG; 4. When all the switches were closed, the input voltage standing wave ratio was measured to be 1.4 and the insertion loss was 1.9 db at 6 Gl-iz, of which at least 1.2 db is attributed to line and connector losses at this frequency. The average loss is therefore less than 0.1 db per switch for the dimensions given which are by no means optimized.
  • the stripline may be divided into a plurality of sections of any chosen number to provide incremental phase shift and impedance matchings as may be desired.
  • the cantilever switches are sufficiently flexible to allow temporary contact between sections without permanently bonding by the application of a slight pressure with the bonder. On removal of this pressure, the cantilever springs back to its original position without deterioration of electrical characteristics. Thus, it is possible to effect atest contact without bonding to determine optimum matching. Calculations have also been made to determine the stability of the switches under external stress. Suffice it to say, for the dimensions stated, an external acceleration of 20,000 Gs would be required to cause contact to be made by a cantilever switch 'to an adjacent section.
  • FIGS. 5 through 8 show steps in the fabrication process.
  • a first continuous interfacial bonding material 30 is deposited upon a suitable substrate 32 such as sap-' phire, alumina, quartz to name a few.
  • the interfacial bonding material 30 may be a metallization layer such as titanium 30a and gold 306.
  • a pattern of sections 34 of another metal layer is deposited upon the layer 30 to define the switch gaps with the rest of the circuitry.
  • Sections 34 andcantilevers 38 may be of a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, copper, silver, cadmium, gold, tin, palladium, aluminum and nickel-iron alloys.
  • switches as illustrated in FIG. 8. Because the steps involved are the same for one or a number of switches, batch fabrication is therefore possible. For a total switch length L, a lower limit on the separation between adjacent switches would probably be twice that length. Using the 0.010 inch switches fabricated above, line length trimming in steps 0.020 inch, or 8.6 for an 85 ohm line at 6 GHz, is possible. The resolution could be improved further with smaller switches of lengths say one-half of those previously stated.
  • strip lines 40, 42 and 44 may be lengthened for desired tuning of the microstrip IMPATT oscillator circuit by closing selected cantilever switches. More particularly, the solid state IMPATT diode is mounted in position 46 on a heat sink and dc. is brought in by the bias pad 48. Connection to the diode is made by wire bonding from pad 48. Tuning of the IMPATT diode is achieved by varying lines'42 and 44, and impedance matching of the oscillator to load line 50 is provided by line 40.
  • FIG. 10 An alternate embodiment of the present invention is as illustrated in FIG. 10. As shown therein, a center line conductor 52 may be increased in width by the addition of adjacent lying conductors 54, 56, 58 and 60. By simply permanently bonding the cantilever switch 62 disand modifications within the spirit and scope of the It will, therefore, be apparent that there has been disclosed a reliable method of tuning microwave integrated circuit line connection which has a potential up to the expand.
  • the advantages of this concept are: (1) high open circuit impedance, VSWR greater than 20, (2) low short-circuit insertion loss,'le ss than 0.1 db, (3)
  • a stripline conductor for tuning and impedance matching of microwave circuitry comprising, in combination; a plurality of line sections, each of a length chosen to be a selected fraction of a wavelength; a plurality of cantilever switches each associated with their respective one of said sections and having a first portion affixed thereto and a second section extending over but spaced from an adjacent section but which second section can be selectively permanently bonded to said adjacent section whereby the phase shift along said stripline is a function of the number of switches which are bonded closed.
  • a microwave stripline of substantially one wavelength at the desired frequency of operation comprising, in combination; a plurality of sections, each of a length chosen to be a selected fraction of said wavelength; a plurality of cantilever switches each associated with a respective one of said sections and capacitively coupling said one of said sections to an adjacent section; each said cantilever switch having a first portion affixed to said one of said sections and a second portion extending over but spaced from its adjacent section; the capacitive coupling between sectionsbeing related to the separation between adjacent sections and the space between the overhanging second portion and said associated adjacent section as well as the extent to which said second section extends over said associated adjacent section; said plurality of cantilever switches being sufficiently flexible to effect a test contact between adjacent portions upon application of slight pressure thereupon; each of said plurality of cantilever swithces being selectively, permanently bondable to its associated adjacent section whereby the capacitative coupling between adjacent sections is electrically shorted and the energy propagating along said stripline is shifted in phase in accordance with the
  • said impedance matching means includes quarter-wave transformers.
  • a microelectronic component comprising, in combination; a substrate; a first pattern of conductors on a surface of said substrate; a plurality of cantilever switches each associated with a respective one of said conductors and having a first portion affixed thereto and a second portion extending over but spaced from an adjacent conductor; each of said cantilever switches being sufficiently flexible to effect a test contact between adjacent conductors; each of said flexible switches being selectively, permanently bondable to its associated adjacent conductor to widen the current path whereby adjacent conductors are selectively connected in parallel circuit relationship whereby the' width of the resultant electrical path is increased.
  • a method of making a microwave stripline with selectively cold-flow bondable micro-sized switches for in-situ tuning on a substrate comprising the steps of; depositing a first continuous metal layer on a surface of said substrate; depositing a pattern of conductive sections of a second metal layer on said first layer to define switch gaps between said sections; depositing a layer of spacing material in the gaps between said sections and onto a portion of each said section; depositing a third metal layer over a portion of each said section and a part of said spacing material to an extent that the third metal layer overlaps a part of said second metal layer; removing the spacers and excess metalizations by successive etchings to form the cantilever switches.
  • said substrate is a member selected from the group consisting of sapphire, alumina and quartz.
  • said second and third metals are the members selected from the group consisting of nickel, copper, silver, cadmium, gold, tin, palladium, aluminum and nickel-iron alloys.
  • a microwave stripline switch arrangement for use at an operating wavelength, comprising: a first stripline section, at least a second stripline section spaced from said first section, a cantilever switch section connected to said first stripline section and extending over and spaced from said second stripline section and connectable therewith, said sections being of a combined length to effect phase shifting of microwave energy of said wavelength when contact is effected between said cantilever switch section and said second stripline section.

Abstract

A microstrip line is divided into a number of short sections, each capacitively coupled to its neighbor by a cantilever switch. The coupling of each switch depends on the separation between sections and the spacing between the catilever switch and an adjoining section. The cantilever switches are sufficiently flexible to allow test contact between adjacent sections and is permanently bondable where desired. In such a manner sections having lengths chosen to be predetermined fractions of a desired wavelength are connected together to shift the phase of energy propagating therealong to provide tuning and impedance matching of microstrip circuits.

Description

Unite States Patent [191 Heng et al. Mar. 12, 1974 [54] MICROWAVE STRIPLING CIRCUITS WITH 2,814,022 11/1957 Furlow, Jr. et al.., 333/234 M SELECTIVELY BONDABLE MICROSIZED 2,819,452 l/1958 Arditi et a1. 333/73 S SWITCHES FOR INSITU TUNING AND 3,582,833 6/1971 Kordos 333/84 IMPEDANCE MATCHING FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 75 Inventors; Terrence M Hang; Harvey 0 159,667 11/1954 Australia 333/84 M Nathanson; John R. Davis, Jr., all of Pittsburgh, Pa.
Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation,
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Filed: July 16, 1971 Appl. No.2 163,367
US. Cl 333/84 M, 333/7, 333/73 S,
333/81 A [51] Int. Cl. H01p 3/00, HOlp 3/08 [58] Field of Search 333/11, 73 S, 81 A, 84 M, 333/7 [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,859,417 11/1958 Arditi .l 333/84 M 2,751,558 6/1956 Grieg et al 333/73 S 3,413,573 11/1968 Nathanson et al. 332/31 T 2,773,242 12/1956 Grieg 333/97 S Primary Examiner-Rudolph V. Rolinec Assistant Examiner-Saxfield Chatmon, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-D. Schron 5 7] ABSTRACT mined fractions of a desired wavelength are connected together to shift the phase of energy propagating therealong to provide tuning and impedance matching of microstrip circuits.
11 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures rah/965L976 PATENTEU MAR 12 I974 SHEET 1 BF 3 WITNESSES INVENTORS Terrence M.S. Heng ,Harvey C. Nothonson and John R. Davis Jr. BY
DEM/L, VLOIA ATTORNEY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention A The present invention relates generally to microstrip v circuits and more particularly relates to microwave striplines capable of in-situ tuning.
2. Description of the Prior Art The lack of an efficient and reliable means for tuning has always been a major problem in microwave integrated circuit technology. For passive circuits this problem has been eliminated to some degree by imposing a high degree of tolerance and fabrication, usually at an increased cost. The situation becomes even more serious, however, for active circuits, in both monolithic and hybrid configurationsln the former case, the effective impedance of the active device is generally different from theoretical design and the need for matching is evident. The common practice in hybrid circuits is to characterize the active device prior to insertion of the device into the circuit. In this way the range of device parameters can be accommodated by sequence of circuit designs. This involves the availability of costly high quality, sophisticated test equipment and computer facilities, and a full understanding of devicecircuit interaction. In short, the approach is not economically feasible for small production runs.
At present, a limited number of tuning techniques exist which fall into two broad categories: (i) active tuning, and (ii) mechanical tuning. The use of varactor and pi-n diodes as tunable capacitive elements, and YIG spheres as tunable inductive elements, fall into the first category. Mechanical tuning by screw and movable magnetic slugs have also been used, in addition to the simple technique of line scraping by laser or other means. With the exception of the latter, all these techniques involve the introduction of an external element into the circuit. As such, the electrical and mechanical stabilities of these elements are of concern in a large number of applications.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PATENTS U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,705, entitled Microelectronic Conductor Configuration and Method of Making the Same by Harvey C. Nathanson and John R. Davis, and assigned to the present assignee, discloses and claims a microelectronic conductor configuration wherein two conductive layers are spaced apart, the second layer including a plurality of projecting paths that can be selectively, permanently bonded to the first layer to effect electrical connection therewith.
In patent application Ser. No. 40,627 which is a divisional application of the aforementioned patent the method of forming such configurations is described and claimed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,573 issued Nov. 26, 1968, entitled Microelectronic Frequency Selective Apparatus with Vibratory Member and Means Responsive Thereto by Harvey C. Nathanson and Robert A. Wickstrom, and assigned to the present assignee, there is described and claimed structures and methods of making such structures involving spaced metal members on integrated circuits, such as for cantilever beams and resonant gate transistors and for conductive crossovers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, the present invention allows in-situ tuning and impedance matching of microstrip circuits by providing a microwave stripline of a length related to the wavelength of the desired operating frequency, which stripline is divided into' a plurality of sections, each of a length chosen to be a selected fraction of the wavelength. A plurality of cantilever switches of material similar to the sections are positioned to interconnect sections. Each cantilever switch has a first portion affixed to its associated section and a second portion extending over but spaced from an adjacent section. The over extending portion can be selectively permanently bonded to the adjacent section. The cantilevers are selected to be sufficiently flexible to allow temporary electrical contact to be made for tuning and impedance matching. The number-of sections so connected together determines the amount of phase shift imparted to energy propagating along the stripline.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding-of the invention, reference may be had to the preferred embodiment, exemplary of the invention, shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cantilever switch utilized in the inventive embodiment;
FIG. 2 is an elevational view of such a cantilever switch;
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a graphical illustration of the performance of the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 3;
FIGS. 5 through 8 are partial sectional views of a structure at successive stages in fabrication in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a plan view of microwave circuitry embodying the present invention; and
FIG. 10 is a plan view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Simple in-situ trimming of a microwave strip is accomplished by dividing the line into a number of short sections, each capacitively coupled to its neighbor by a cantilever switch as shown in FIG. 1. Sections 2 and 4 are spaced apart a certain distance l A cantilever switch 6 has a first part 8 secured to section 2 and a second portion 10 extending over but spaced from the adjacent section 4. The part 10 is based a distance I from the section 4; The coupling of each switch depends on the dimensions 1,, and 1, for a given line and substrate, and can be approximated by C3 z C CD d 60 W 6 u)/ d where:
C; and C, are capacitances illustrated in FIG. 2 s is permittivity of free space and C, is approximately equal to o z w (n) where K(m) is a complete elliptical integral of the first kind of modulus m. The modulus constants m and n are m (b a /b and n 5 all; (4)
where:
h thickness on dielectric substrate ed dielectric constant of substrate q Wheeler filling factor.
For a 0.020 inch wide microstrip line of a 0.020 inch substrate having a dielectric constant of 8.875 such as sapphire for example, the calculated value of C is 0.0146 pf, which agrees very closely with the measured results set forth in Microwave Engineers Handbook and Buyers Guide, Horizon House inc. 1967 by H. Stinehelfer.
For a switch of dimensions: I 0.004 inch, 1, 0.0002 inch, a width W of 0.002 inch, .a length 1, of 0.007 inch and a dielectric constant e d 10, the theoretical capacitance is of the order of 0.9 lfarads, corresponding to a reactance of 2.94 kilohms at 6 GHZ or a reflection coefficient of 0.945. The measured value was 0.9. The lower measured value is due to the fringing fields at the gap which have been ignored in the calculation, and finite losses of the line and connector sections. A low capacitance can be obtained by increasing the switch height L and gap separation 1,, and decreasing the cantilever length for a given line.
To investigate the loss and reflection properties of a number of such switches, a simple circuit was constructed as shown in FIG. 3. The center line section 20 consisted of an 85 ohm (0.002 inch).line of one wavelength at 6 Gl-lz, which was divided into 5/8 sections interconnected by seven switches. Matching at both ends of the .line to 50 ohm miniature connectors was achieved by quarter-wave (65 ohm) transformers 22. The relative phase-shift introduced by the closing of each switch is shown in FIG; 4. When all the switches were closed, the input voltage standing wave ratio was measured to be 1.4 and the insertion loss was 1.9 db at 6 Gl-iz, of which at least 1.2 db is attributed to line and connector losses at this frequency. The average loss is therefore less than 0.1 db per switch for the dimensions given which are by no means optimized.
More particularly, referring to FIG. 4 it can be seen that as each switch is closed the energy propagating along the line is shifted in phase the desired 45. Of course, the stripline may be divided into a plurality of sections of any chosen number to provide incremental phase shift and impedance matchings as may be desired.
When the switches are fabricated of gold, bonding is readily achieved with a wedge bonder at room temperature. The cantilever switches are sufficiently flexible to allow temporary contact between sections without permanently bonding by the application of a slight pressure with the bonder. On removal of this pressure, the cantilever springs back to its original position without deterioration of electrical characteristics. Thus, it is possible to effect atest contact without bonding to determine optimum matching. Calculations have also been made to determine the stability of the switches under external stress. Suffice it to say, for the dimensions stated, an external acceleration of 20,000 Gs would be required to cause contact to be made by a cantilever switch 'to an adjacent section.
A further understanding of the invention on the flexibility with which it may be used will be aided by consideration of the following description of preferred methods for carrying out the present invention. FIGS. 5 through 8 show steps in the fabrication process. In FIG. 5 a first continuous interfacial bonding material 30 is deposited upon a suitable substrate 32 such as sap-' phire, alumina, quartz to name a few. The interfacial bonding material 30 may be a metallization layer such as titanium 30a and gold 306. A pattern of sections 34 of another metal layer is deposited upon the layer 30 to define the switch gaps with the rest of the circuitry.
In FIG. 6 spacing material 36 is then placed in the gaps and onto a portion of each section 34. This is followed by the plating of metal cantilevers 3 as shown in FIG. 7. Sections 34 andcantilevers 38 may be of a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, copper, silver, cadmium, gold, tin, palladium, aluminum and nickel-iron alloys.
The spacers and excess metalization are then removed by successive etching to form the switches as illustrated in FIG. 8. Because the steps involved are the same for one or a number of switches, batch fabrication is therefore possible. For a total switch length L, a lower limit on the separation between adjacent switches would probably be twice that length. Using the 0.010 inch switches fabricated above, line length trimming in steps 0.020 inch, or 8.6 for an 85 ohm line at 6 GHz, is possible. The resolution could be improved further with smaller switches of lengths say one-half of those previously stated.
The present invention has application in tuning and impedance matching of microstrip circuits. For example, in FIG. 9, strip lines 40, 42 and 44 may be lengthened for desired tuning of the microstrip IMPATT oscillator circuit by closing selected cantilever switches. More particularly, the solid state IMPATT diode is mounted in position 46 on a heat sink and dc. is brought in by the bias pad 48. Connection to the diode is made by wire bonding from pad 48. Tuning of the IMPATT diode is achieved by varying lines'42 and 44, and impedance matching of the oscillator to load line 50 is provided by line 40.
An alternate embodiment of the present invention is as illustrated in FIG. 10. As shown therein, a center line conductor 52 may be increased in width by the addition of adjacent lying conductors 54, 56, 58 and 60. By simply permanently bonding the cantilever switch 62 disand modifications within the spirit and scope of the It will, therefore, be apparent that there has been disclosed a reliable method of tuning microwave integrated circuit line connection which has a potential up to the expand. The advantages of this concept are: (1) high open circuit impedance, VSWR greater than 20, (2) low short-circuit insertion loss,'le ss than 0.1 db, (3)
high trim resolution, approximately 8 or lower at 6GHZ, (4) low line perturbations, (5) high stability under mechanical stress, and (6) in-situ fabrication with the rest of the microwave integrated circuitry.
We claim as our invention:
1. A stripline conductor for tuning and impedance matching of microwave circuitry comprising, in combination; a plurality of line sections, each of a length chosen to be a selected fraction of a wavelength; a plurality of cantilever switches each associated with their respective one of said sections and having a first portion affixed thereto and a second section extending over but spaced from an adjacent section but which second section can be selectively permanently bonded to said adjacent section whereby the phase shift along said stripline is a function of the number of switches which are bonded closed.
2. A microwave stripline of substantially one wavelength at the desired frequency of operation comprising, in combination; a plurality of sections, each of a length chosen to be a selected fraction of said wavelength; a plurality of cantilever switches each associated with a respective one of said sections and capacitively coupling said one of said sections to an adjacent section; each said cantilever switch having a first portion affixed to said one of said sections and a second portion extending over but spaced from its adjacent section; the capacitive coupling between sectionsbeing related to the separation between adjacent sections and the space between the overhanging second portion and said associated adjacent section as well as the extent to which said second section extends over said associated adjacent section; said plurality of cantilever switches being sufficiently flexible to effect a test contact between adjacent portions upon application of slight pressure thereupon; each of said plurality of cantilever swithces being selectively, permanently bondable to its associated adjacent section whereby the capacitative coupling between adjacent sections is electrically shorted and the energy propagating along said stripline is shifted in phase in accordance with the number of sections so connected to accomplish tuning and impedance matching.
3. The subject matter of claim 2 including impedance matching means at each end of said stripline.
4. The subject matter of claim 3 wherein said impedance matching means includes quarter-wave transformers.
5. The subject matter of claim 2 wherein the neighboring sections are at least twice the length of their associated cantilever switch length.
6. A microelectronic component comprising, in combination; a substrate; a first pattern of conductors on a surface of said substrate; a plurality of cantilever switches each associated with a respective one of said conductors and having a first portion affixed thereto and a second portion extending over but spaced from an adjacent conductor; each of said cantilever switches being sufficiently flexible to effect a test contact between adjacent conductors; each of said flexible switches being selectively, permanently bondable to its associated adjacent conductor to widen the current path whereby adjacent conductors are selectively connected in parallel circuit relationship whereby the' width of the resultant electrical path is increased.
7. A method of making a microwave stripline with selectively cold-flow bondable micro-sized switches for in-situ tuning on a substrate comprising the steps of; depositing a first continuous metal layer on a surface of said substrate; depositing a pattern of conductive sections of a second metal layer on said first layer to define switch gaps between said sections; depositing a layer of spacing material in the gaps between said sections and onto a portion of each said section; depositing a third metal layer over a portion of each said section and a part of said spacing material to an extent that the third metal layer overlaps a part of said second metal layer; removing the spacers and excess metalizations by successive etchings to form the cantilever switches.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein; said substrate is a member selected from the group consisting of sapphire, alumina and quartz.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the second and third layers are of gold.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein said second and third metals are the members selected from the group consisting of nickel, copper, silver, cadmium, gold, tin, palladium, aluminum and nickel-iron alloys.
11. A microwave stripline switch arrangement for use at an operating wavelength, comprising: a first stripline section, at least a second stripline section spaced from said first section, a cantilever switch section connected to said first stripline section and extending over and spaced from said second stripline section and connectable therewith, said sections being of a combined length to effect phase shifting of microwave energy of said wavelength when contact is effected between said cantilever switch section and said second stripline section.

Claims (11)

1. A stripline conductor for tuning and impedance matching of microwave circuitry comprising, in combination; a plurality of line sections, each of a length chosen to be a selected fraction of a wavelength; a plurality of cantilever switches each associated with their respective one of said sections and Having a first portion affixed thereto and a second section extending over but spaced from an adjacent section but which second section can be selectively permanently bonded to said adjacent section whereby the phase shift along said stripline is a function of the number of switches which are bonded closed.
2. A microwave stripline of substantially one wavelength at the desired frequency of operation comprising, in combination; a plurality of sections, each of a length chosen to be a selected fraction of said wavelength; a plurality of cantilever switches each associated with a respective one of said sections and capacitively coupling said one of said sections to an adjacent section; each said cantilever switch having a first portion affixed to said one of said sections and a second portion extending over but spaced from its adjacent section; the capacitive coupling between sections being related to the separation between adjacent sections and the space between the overhanging second portion and said associated adjacent section as well as the extent to which said second section extends over said associated adjacent section; said plurality of cantilever switches being sufficiently flexible to effect a test contact between adjacent portions upon application of slight pressure thereupon; each of said plurality of cantilever swithces being selectively, permanently bondable to its associated adjacent section whereby the capacitative coupling between adjacent sections is electrically shorted and the energy propagating along said stripline is shifted in phase in accordance with the number of sections so connected to accomplish tuning and impedance matching.
3. The subject matter of claim 2 including impedance matching means at each end of said stripline.
4. The subject matter of claim 3 wherein said impedance matching means includes quarter-wave transformers.
5. The subject matter of claim 2 wherein the neighboring sections are at least twice the length of their associated cantilever switch length.
6. A microelectronic component comprising, in combination; a substrate; a first pattern of conductors on a surface of said substrate; a plurality of cantilever switches each associated with a respective one of said conductors and having a first portion affixed thereto and a second portion extending over but spaced from an adjacent conductor; each of said cantilever switches being sufficiently flexible to effect a test contact between adjacent conductors; each of said flexible switches being selectively, permanently bondable to its associated adjacent conductor to widen the current path whereby adjacent conductors are selectively connected in parallel circuit relationship whereby the width of the resultant electrical path is increased.
7. A method of making a microwave stripline with selectively cold-flow bondable micro-sized switches for in-situ tuning on a substrate comprising the steps of; depositing a first continuous metal layer on a surface of said substrate; depositing a pattern of conductive sections of a second metal layer on said first layer to define switch gaps between said sections; depositing a layer of spacing material in the gaps between said sections and onto a portion of each said section; depositing a third metal layer over a portion of each said section and a part of said spacing material to an extent that the third metal layer overlaps a part of said second metal layer; removing the spacers and excess metalizations by successive etchings to form the cantilever switches.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein; said substrate is a member selected from the group consisting of sapphire, alumina and quartz.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the second and third layers are of gold.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein said second and third metals are the members selected from the group consisting of nickel, copper, silver, cadmium, gold, tin, palladium, aluminum and nickel-iron alloys.
11. A microwave stripline switch arrangement for use at an operating wavelenGth, comprising: a first stripline section, at least a second stripline section spaced from said first section, a cantilever switch section connected to said first stripline section and extending over and spaced from said second stripline section and connectable therewith, said sections being of a combined length to effect phase shifting of microwave energy of said wavelength when contact is effected between said cantilever switch section and said second stripline section.
US00163367A 1971-07-16 1971-07-16 Microwave stripling circuits with selectively bondable micro-sized switches for in-situ tuning and impedance matching Expired - Lifetime US3796976A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US16336771A 1971-07-16 1971-07-16

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3796976A true US3796976A (en) 1974-03-12

Family

ID=22589731

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00163367A Expired - Lifetime US3796976A (en) 1971-07-16 1971-07-16 Microwave stripling circuits with selectively bondable micro-sized switches for in-situ tuning and impedance matching

Country Status (1)

Country Link
US (1) US3796976A (en)

Cited By (38)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3999142A (en) * 1975-11-12 1976-12-21 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army Variable tuning and feedback on high power microwave transistor carrier amplifier
US4267532A (en) * 1979-10-11 1981-05-12 W. L. Keefauver, Bell Laboratories Adjustable microstrip and stripline tuners
US4516091A (en) * 1983-12-19 1985-05-07 Motorola, Inc. Low RCS RF switch and phase shifter using such a switch
EP0154496A2 (en) * 1984-02-27 1985-09-11 Sony Corporation Microstrip circuits
WO1988006351A1 (en) * 1987-02-11 1988-08-25 Westinghouse Electric Corporation A transmit-receive means for phased-array active antenna system
EP0281781A1 (en) * 1987-02-13 1988-09-14 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Lower-noise microwave amplifying circuit
US4906956A (en) * 1987-10-05 1990-03-06 Menlo Industries, Inc. On-chip tuning for integrated circuit using heat responsive element
US4922253A (en) * 1989-01-03 1990-05-01 Westinghouse Electric Corp. High attenuation broadband high speed RF shutter and method of making same
FR2639769A1 (en) * 1988-11-25 1990-06-01 Thomson Csf Microwave filtering element of the core interrupt line type
US4959515A (en) * 1984-05-01 1990-09-25 The Foxboro Company Micromechanical electric shunt and encoding devices made therefrom
US5073755A (en) * 1990-03-19 1991-12-17 Mpr Teltech Ltd. Method and apparatus for measuring the electrical properties of dielectric film in the gigahertz range
US5258591A (en) * 1991-10-18 1993-11-02 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Low inductance cantilever switch
US5367136A (en) * 1993-07-26 1994-11-22 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Non-contact two position microeletronic cantilever switch
US5439552A (en) * 1992-11-04 1995-08-08 Csem - Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa Process of fabricating an enlongated microstructure element on a substrate
US5459633A (en) * 1992-08-07 1995-10-17 Daimler-Benz Ag Interdigital capacitor and method for making the same
US5479042A (en) * 1993-02-01 1995-12-26 Brooktree Corporation Micromachined relay and method of forming the relay
US5666093A (en) * 1995-08-11 1997-09-09 D'ostilio; James Phillip Mechanically tunable ceramic bandpass filter having moveable tabs
EP0849820A2 (en) * 1996-12-21 1998-06-24 HE HOLDINGS, INC. dba HUGHES ELECTRONICS Tunable microwave network using microelectromechanical switches
US6043727A (en) * 1998-05-15 2000-03-28 Hughes Electronics Corporation Reconfigurable millimeterwave filter using stubs and stub extensions selectively coupled using voltage actuated micro-electro-mechanical switches
US6127908A (en) * 1997-11-17 2000-10-03 Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Microelectro-mechanical system actuator device and reconfigurable circuits utilizing same
EP1049191A2 (en) * 1999-04-03 2000-11-02 Philips Corporate Intellectual Property GmbH Procedure for the production of electronical elements with strip lines
WO2001022525A1 (en) * 1999-09-23 2001-03-29 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Device for impedance transformation with broadband tuning
US6215644B1 (en) 1999-09-09 2001-04-10 Jds Uniphase Inc. High frequency tunable capacitors
US6229684B1 (en) 1999-12-15 2001-05-08 Jds Uniphase Inc. Variable capacitor and associated fabrication method
US6252470B1 (en) * 1998-08-19 2001-06-26 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Microwave oscillating circuit and remotely controllable “Kotatsu” using the same
US6373682B1 (en) 1999-12-15 2002-04-16 Mcnc Electrostatically controlled variable capacitor
US6377438B1 (en) 2000-10-23 2002-04-23 Mcnc Hybrid microelectromechanical system tunable capacitor and associated fabrication methods
EP1227534A1 (en) * 1999-09-30 2002-07-31 NEC Corporation Small-sized phase shifter and method of manufacture thereof
US6485273B1 (en) 2000-09-01 2002-11-26 Mcnc Distributed MEMS electrostatic pumping devices
US6496351B2 (en) 1999-12-15 2002-12-17 Jds Uniphase Inc. MEMS device members having portions that contact a substrate and associated methods of operating
US6535722B1 (en) 1998-07-09 2003-03-18 Sarnoff Corporation Television tuner employing micro-electro-mechanically-switched tuning matrix
US6590267B1 (en) 2000-09-14 2003-07-08 Mcnc Microelectromechanical flexible membrane electrostatic valve device and related fabrication methods
US20060016486A1 (en) * 2004-07-23 2006-01-26 Teach William O Microvalve assemblies and related structures and related methods
US20070145523A1 (en) * 2005-12-28 2007-06-28 Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated Integrateable capacitors and microcoils and methods of making thereof
EP1842286A1 (en) * 2005-01-28 2007-10-10 Northrop Grumman Corporation Monolithically integrated switchable circuits with mems
US20120043598A1 (en) * 2010-08-23 2012-02-23 De Rochemont L Pierre Power fet with a resonant transistor gate
US20130299328A1 (en) * 2012-05-14 2013-11-14 Raytheon Company Micro electro mechanical system (mems) microwave switch structures
US20140266517A1 (en) * 2013-03-13 2014-09-18 The Penn State Research Foundation Radio frequency switch and processes of selectively regulating radio frequency energy transmission

Cited By (61)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3999142A (en) * 1975-11-12 1976-12-21 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army Variable tuning and feedback on high power microwave transistor carrier amplifier
US4267532A (en) * 1979-10-11 1981-05-12 W. L. Keefauver, Bell Laboratories Adjustable microstrip and stripline tuners
US4516091A (en) * 1983-12-19 1985-05-07 Motorola, Inc. Low RCS RF switch and phase shifter using such a switch
EP0154496A2 (en) * 1984-02-27 1985-09-11 Sony Corporation Microstrip circuits
EP0154496A3 (en) * 1984-02-27 1988-01-27 Sony Corporation Microstrip circuits
US4959515A (en) * 1984-05-01 1990-09-25 The Foxboro Company Micromechanical electric shunt and encoding devices made therefrom
WO1988006351A1 (en) * 1987-02-11 1988-08-25 Westinghouse Electric Corporation A transmit-receive means for phased-array active antenna system
US4823136A (en) * 1987-02-11 1989-04-18 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Transmit-receive means for phased-array active antenna system using rf redundancy
EP0281781A1 (en) * 1987-02-13 1988-09-14 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Lower-noise microwave amplifying circuit
US4837524A (en) * 1987-02-13 1989-06-06 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Lower-noise microwave amplifying circuit
US4906956A (en) * 1987-10-05 1990-03-06 Menlo Industries, Inc. On-chip tuning for integrated circuit using heat responsive element
FR2639769A1 (en) * 1988-11-25 1990-06-01 Thomson Csf Microwave filtering element of the core interrupt line type
US4922253A (en) * 1989-01-03 1990-05-01 Westinghouse Electric Corp. High attenuation broadband high speed RF shutter and method of making same
US5073755A (en) * 1990-03-19 1991-12-17 Mpr Teltech Ltd. Method and apparatus for measuring the electrical properties of dielectric film in the gigahertz range
US5258591A (en) * 1991-10-18 1993-11-02 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Low inductance cantilever switch
US5459633A (en) * 1992-08-07 1995-10-17 Daimler-Benz Ag Interdigital capacitor and method for making the same
US5439552A (en) * 1992-11-04 1995-08-08 Csem - Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa Process of fabricating an enlongated microstructure element on a substrate
US5479042A (en) * 1993-02-01 1995-12-26 Brooktree Corporation Micromachined relay and method of forming the relay
US5367136A (en) * 1993-07-26 1994-11-22 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Non-contact two position microeletronic cantilever switch
US5666093A (en) * 1995-08-11 1997-09-09 D'ostilio; James Phillip Mechanically tunable ceramic bandpass filter having moveable tabs
US5808527A (en) * 1996-12-21 1998-09-15 Hughes Electronics Corporation Tunable microwave network using microelectromechanical switches
EP0849820A2 (en) * 1996-12-21 1998-06-24 HE HOLDINGS, INC. dba HUGHES ELECTRONICS Tunable microwave network using microelectromechanical switches
EP0849820A3 (en) * 1996-12-21 1999-03-17 Hughes Electronics Corporation Tunable microwave network using microelectromechanical switches
US6127908A (en) * 1997-11-17 2000-10-03 Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Microelectro-mechanical system actuator device and reconfigurable circuits utilizing same
US6646525B2 (en) 1997-11-17 2003-11-11 Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Microelectro-mechanical system actuator device and reconfigurable circuits utilizing same
US6043727A (en) * 1998-05-15 2000-03-28 Hughes Electronics Corporation Reconfigurable millimeterwave filter using stubs and stub extensions selectively coupled using voltage actuated micro-electro-mechanical switches
US6535722B1 (en) 1998-07-09 2003-03-18 Sarnoff Corporation Television tuner employing micro-electro-mechanically-switched tuning matrix
US6252470B1 (en) * 1998-08-19 2001-06-26 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Microwave oscillating circuit and remotely controllable “Kotatsu” using the same
EP1049191A3 (en) * 1999-04-03 2001-05-23 Philips Corporate Intellectual Property GmbH Procedure for the production of electronical elements with strip lines
US6420096B1 (en) 1999-04-03 2002-07-16 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Method of manufacturing electronic stripline components
EP1049191A2 (en) * 1999-04-03 2000-11-02 Philips Corporate Intellectual Property GmbH Procedure for the production of electronical elements with strip lines
US6215644B1 (en) 1999-09-09 2001-04-10 Jds Uniphase Inc. High frequency tunable capacitors
WO2001022525A1 (en) * 1999-09-23 2001-03-29 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Device for impedance transformation with broadband tuning
EP1227534A4 (en) * 1999-09-30 2006-11-29 Nec Corp Small-sized phase shifter and method of manufacture thereof
EP1227534A1 (en) * 1999-09-30 2002-07-31 NEC Corporation Small-sized phase shifter and method of manufacture thereof
US6373682B1 (en) 1999-12-15 2002-04-16 Mcnc Electrostatically controlled variable capacitor
US6496351B2 (en) 1999-12-15 2002-12-17 Jds Uniphase Inc. MEMS device members having portions that contact a substrate and associated methods of operating
US6229684B1 (en) 1999-12-15 2001-05-08 Jds Uniphase Inc. Variable capacitor and associated fabrication method
US6485273B1 (en) 2000-09-01 2002-11-26 Mcnc Distributed MEMS electrostatic pumping devices
US6590267B1 (en) 2000-09-14 2003-07-08 Mcnc Microelectromechanical flexible membrane electrostatic valve device and related fabrication methods
US6377438B1 (en) 2000-10-23 2002-04-23 Mcnc Hybrid microelectromechanical system tunable capacitor and associated fabrication methods
US7448412B2 (en) 2004-07-23 2008-11-11 Afa Controls Llc Microvalve assemblies and related structures and related methods
US20110132484A1 (en) * 2004-07-23 2011-06-09 Teach William O Valve Assemblies Including Electrically Actuated Valves
US20060016481A1 (en) * 2004-07-23 2006-01-26 Douglas Kevin R Methods of operating microvalve assemblies and related structures and related devices
US7946308B2 (en) 2004-07-23 2011-05-24 Afa Controls Llc Methods of packaging valve chips and related valve assemblies
US20060016486A1 (en) * 2004-07-23 2006-01-26 Teach William O Microvalve assemblies and related structures and related methods
US20090032112A1 (en) * 2004-07-23 2009-02-05 Afa Controls Llc Methods of Packaging Valve Chips and Related Valve Assemblies
US7753072B2 (en) 2004-07-23 2010-07-13 Afa Controls Llc Valve assemblies including at least three chambers and related methods
US20100236644A1 (en) * 2004-07-23 2010-09-23 Douglas Kevin R Methods of Operating Microvalve Assemblies and Related Structures and Related Devices
EP1842286A1 (en) * 2005-01-28 2007-10-10 Northrop Grumman Corporation Monolithically integrated switchable circuits with mems
US20070145523A1 (en) * 2005-12-28 2007-06-28 Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated Integrateable capacitors and microcoils and methods of making thereof
US20120043598A1 (en) * 2010-08-23 2012-02-23 De Rochemont L Pierre Power fet with a resonant transistor gate
US8779489B2 (en) * 2010-08-23 2014-07-15 L. Pierre de Rochemont Power FET with a resonant transistor gate
US20150097221A1 (en) * 2010-08-23 2015-04-09 L. Pierre de Rochemont Power fet with a resonant transistor gate
US9153532B2 (en) * 2010-08-23 2015-10-06 L. Pierre de Rochemont Power FET with a resonant transistor gate
US20160225759A1 (en) * 2010-08-23 2016-08-04 L. Pierre de Rochemont Power fet with a resonant transistor gate
US9881915B2 (en) * 2010-08-23 2018-01-30 L. Pierre de Rochemont Power FET with a resonant transistor gate
US10651167B2 (en) * 2010-08-23 2020-05-12 L. Pierre de Rochemont Power FET with a resonant transistor gate
US20130299328A1 (en) * 2012-05-14 2013-11-14 Raytheon Company Micro electro mechanical system (mems) microwave switch structures
US20140266517A1 (en) * 2013-03-13 2014-09-18 The Penn State Research Foundation Radio frequency switch and processes of selectively regulating radio frequency energy transmission
US9472834B2 (en) * 2013-03-13 2016-10-18 The Penn State Research Foundation Radio frequency switch and processes of selectively regulating radio frequency energy transmission

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US3796976A (en) Microwave stripling circuits with selectively bondable micro-sized switches for in-situ tuning and impedance matching
Yang et al. A novel low-loss slow-wave microstrip structure
US7583168B2 (en) Resonator
US4673904A (en) Micro-coaxial substrate
Chen et al. Synthetic quasi-TEM meandered transmission lines for compacted microwave integrated circuits
US5408053A (en) Layered planar transmission lines
US5194833A (en) Airbridge compensated microwave conductors
US9035719B2 (en) Three dimensional branchline coupler using through silicon vias and design structures
CA2403046A1 (en) Integrated broadside coupled transmission line element
US5652157A (en) Forming a gate electrode on a semiconductor substrate by using a T-shaped dummy gate
EP0138369A2 (en) Variable delay line
US20070217122A1 (en) Capacitor
US3965445A (en) Microstrip or stripline coupled-transmission-line impedance transformer
JPH0685510A (en) Multi-chip module
US5012321A (en) Interconnection device between the cells of a pre-implanted hyperfrequency integrated circuit
JP3129506B2 (en) Microwave slow wave circuit
US3142808A (en) Transmission line filter having coupling extending quarter wave length between strip line resonators
US6437658B1 (en) Three-level semiconductor balun and method for creating the same
US7403080B2 (en) Transmission line apparatus having conductive strips coupled by at least one additional capacitance element
US7190244B2 (en) Reduced size transmission line using capacitive loading
Jones et al. The microfabrication of monolithic miniaturized ridged half-mode waveguides for 5G millimeter-wave communication systems
Heng Trimming of Microstrip Circuits Utilizing Microcantilever Air Gaps (Correspondence)
EP0814532B1 (en) Monolithic Semiconductor Component
CN114747087A (en) Dielectric waveguide resonator and dielectric waveguide filter
JP4526713B2 (en) High frequency circuit