A Compact In-Line Waveguide-to-Microstrip Transition in the Q-Band for Radio Astronomy Applications
Marco Simone ; Alessandro Fanti ; Giuseppe Valente ; et al.
Feb - 2018
DOI: 10.3390/electronics7020024

journal : Electronics

Volume : 7(2) ; Issue : 24
type: Article Journal

Abstract
A microstrip-to-waveguide transition has been realized for radio astronomy applications, designed to operate in the Q-band (33–50 GHz). As part of an array radio frequency (RF) receiver, the main requirement of such a transition is the reduction of transverse space occupation for the integration in the entire receiver chain, so an in-line configuration has been developed. Moreover, the high frequency band implies that an easy fabrication is a critical requirement if a good match between the two guiding structures is to be obtained in the desired band (with a relative bandwidth of 40%). The combination of CAD software and an optimization tool allows the device to achieve a good return loss over the entire band.

keywords : transition; end-launcher; waveguide; microstrip; optimization; PSO