We report on a channel drop filter with a mode gap in the propagating mode of a photonic crystal slab that was fabricated on silicon on an insulator wafer. The results, simulated with the 3-dimensional finite-difference time-domain and plane-wave methods, demonstrated that an index-guiding mode for the line defect waveguide of a photonic crystal slab has a band gap at wave vector k = 0.5 for a mainly TM-like light-wave. The mode gap works as a distributed Bragg grating reflector that propagates the light-wave through the line defect waveguide, and can be used as an optical filter. The filter bandwidth was varied from 1-8 nm with an r/a (r: hole radius, a: lattice constant) variation around the wavelength range of 1550-1600 nm. We fabricated a Bragg reflector with a photonic crystal line-defect waveguide and Si-channel waveguides and by measuring the transmittance spectrum found that the Bragg reflector caused abrupt dips in transmittance. These experimental results are consistent with the results of the theoretical analysis described above. Utilizing the Bragg reflector, we fabricated channel dropping filters with photonic crystal slabs connected between channel waveguides and demonstrated their transmittance characteristics. They were highly drop efficient, with a flat-top drop-out spectrum at a wavelength of 1.56 µm and a drop bandwidth of 5.8 nm. Results showed that an optical add-drop multiplexer with a 2-D photonic crystal will be available for application in WDM devices for photonic networks and for LSIs in the near future.

A waveguide-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor with an adsorbed layer is analyzed using the beam-propagation method. For two-dimensional (2-D) models, numerical results show that the change in thickness of the adsorbed layer placed on the metal leads to a significant shift of the maximum absorption wavelength. Through eigenmode analysis, the maximum absorption wavelength is found to be consistent with the cutoff wavelength of the second-order surface plasmon mode. The designed 2-D sensor shows an absorption wavelength shift from 0.595 to 0.603 µm, when the analyte refractive index is increased from 1.330 to 1.334. After a basic investigation using the 2-D models, we next study 3-D models. When the metal with the absorbed layer is wide enough to cover the core region, the 3-D results are similar to the 2-D results. However, as the metal width is reduced, the absorption wavelength shifts toward a shorter wavelength and the sensitivity to the refractive index change degrades gradually. The degradation of the sensitivity is considerable when the metal width is narrower than the core width. As a result, the metal width of the practical SPR sensor should be slightly wider than the core width so as to maintain the sensitivity corresponding to that obtained for the 2-D model.

In situ observation of the adsorption process and reduction behavior of hemoglobin adsorbed on a bare glass surface was studied using slab optical waveguide (SOWG) spectroscopy. The peak position of the absorption band of hemoglobin adsorbed on the glass surface was almost the same as that of hemoglobin in solution. This result agrees with results previously reported by our group. The adsorbed hemoglobin molecules were also reduced by sodium dithionite solution. The adsorbed hemoglobin molecules still maintained their function in this experimental condition.

We examined a Ti-diffused optical waveguide formed on a thin X-cut LiNbO3 substrate for a lower-drive-voltage modulator. Under the single-mode condition, optical mode-size decreases with LiNbO3 substrate thickness below 10 µm. A thin-sheet LiNbO3 modulator could achieve a low-drive-voltage of 1.3 V with a bandwidth of 15 GHz by adopting a narrow electrode-gap.

In situ observations were mainly performed by using slab optical waveguide (SOWG) spectroscopy synchronized with potential step measurements to investigate the time dependent spectral change of the adsorbed heptyl viologen cation radicals (HV+) in thin deposition layer on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrodes. Several absorption bands, which indicated a monomer and dimer of HV+ were co-adsorbed on ITO electrode surface with a monolayer or a few layers deposition, were observed in UV-visible region. The time dependent spectra yielded some important molecular information for the adsorption phenomena of HV+ on the electrode surface. All observed absorption bands disappeared completely when the electrode potential of -200 mV vs. Ag/AgCl was applied, which indicated the adsorbed HV+ species were electrochemically reoxidized on the ITO electrode.

This paper describes optimization of H10-to- E01 mode converter by way of a right-angle E-plane junction (RAJ) between a rectangular waveguide and a circular waveguide in a waveguide rotary joint. Requirements for the optimized mode converter are formulated to provide the conjugate matching condition and analytical formulas for the rotary joint. A novel design procedure of the mode converter is proposed. An excellent performance of the mode converter fabricated for the Ka-band rotary joint is proved by computer simulation and the experimental results. The return loss and the insertion loss rotational effect are less than -25 dB and 0.02 dB in the 10% bandwidth, respectively.

This letter presents mutual coupling reduction in an E-plane arranged microstrip patch array fed by a triplate waveguide. Five mushroom-like electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) elements arranged in one column are embedded both between two radiating patches and between the feeding lines for suppression of the surface wave and the parallel plate mode, respectively. Validity of the proposed EBG elements is confirmed by the measurement.

Electromagnetic crystals formed by vertical full posts stacked in a rectangular waveguide are analyzed using the image theory and the lattice sums technique. It is shown that the frequency response of the crystals consisting of circular posts can be obtained by a simpler matrix calculus based on the one-dimensional lattice sums, the T-matrix of a circular cylinder in free space, and the generalized reflection and transmission matrices.

The authors propose a single-layer hollow-waveguide 8-way Butler matrix. All components of the Butler matrix are in a single layer which contributes to low-cost fabrication. To reduce the length of the couplers, a step structure is installed in the coupled region. 50% length reduction is obtained in comparison with the conventional design using reflection-suppressing posts in the coupled region. The total size of the matrix is 17.1λg6.0λg. The full structure of the matrix is fabricated by hollow waveguides at 22 GHz band and the total measured loss is only 0.25 dB.

We fabricate a 763-nm laser module based on second-harmonic generation using a direct-bonded quasi-phase-matched LiNbO3 ridge waveguide. We obtained a 0.84-mW output of 763 nm light using a 1526-nm distributed-feedback laser diode. We also demonstrate O2 gas detection using the module output.

For V-band applications, this paper presents a fully embedded multi-layer dielectric waveguide filter (DWGF) with very low insertion loss and small size, which does not need any more assemblies such as flip-chip bonding and bond wires. The top and bottom plane are grounded, and therefore, although we make a metal housing, there will be no resonance occurrences. Especially, the proposed structure is very suitable for MMICs interconnection because the in/output pads consist of conductor backed co-planar waveguide (CBCPW). The filter is formed incorporating metallized through holes in low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrates with relative dielectric constant of 7.05. The total volume of the filter including transitions is 4.5 mm2.65 mm0.4 mm. A fabricated DWGF with four transitions shows an insertion loss and a return loss of 2.95 dB and less than 15 dB at the center frequency of 62.17 GHz, respectively. According to the authors' knowledge, the proposed filter shows the lowest insertion loss among the embedded multi-layer millimeter-wave filters ever reported for 60 GHz applications.

The authors have proposed a 1 m2 single-layer slotted waveguide array consisting of conducting baffles and quartz glass strips positioned in front of the slot aperture, which is referred to as a vacuum window, for microwave plasma excitation. The effect of the complicated outer vacuum window hinders the realization of uniform distribution. In this paper, a unit-cell of the alternating-phase fed single-layer slotted waveguide array with the vacuum window is analyzed by generalized scattering matrix method (GSM)-method of moments (MoM) hybridization analysis, and the array is designed to realize uniform aperture electromagnetic field distribution, where the plasma and the chamber is neglected. The GSM-MoM analysis gives reliable numerical results while the MoM has numerical errors due to singularities of Green's function for a long cavity. Uniform aperture EM field distribution outside of the vacuum window is observed in near field measurements using a 1/5 scale model antenna, and the validity of the analysis and design is verified.

Interfaces between a coaxial structure and a post-wall waveguide are proposed as the essential components for cost-effective millimeter-wave modules. PTFE substrate is selected in terms of loss and manufacturability. The reflection and the transmission characteristics are investigated. The short-stepped and the short-taper-stepped feeding structures provide 14.7% and 13.2% bandwidths for the reflection smaller than -15 dB, respectively. The 4640 mm2 size antenna fed by the short-stepped structure in PTFE substrate gives 27.3 dBi with 58.2% efficiency at 60.0 GHz. Feeding structures in PTFE substrate fulfill electrical and manufacturing demands in millimeter-wave bands.

A mode-matching technique in conjunction with the Floquet theorem is proposed to analyze the propagation characteristics of periodic circular surface waveguides. The circular waveguides are coated outside with a multilayered dielectric and have a ground plane with periodic corrugation of arbitrary profile. Three different ground corrugation profiles are examined to demonstrate the influences of the corrugation shape, depth, and width, dielectric thickness, and relative permittivity on bandstop characteristics.

We propose a design theory of the miniaturized high temperature superconducting (HTS) coplanar waveguide (CPW) bandpass filter (BPF), which is composed of meanderline quarter-wavelength resonator, J- and K-inverters. The J- and K-inverters are realized by using interdigital gap and meander-shape inductor. To evaluate the kinetic inductance of the K-inverter, we fabricate the YBCO resonator connected with K-inverters and redesigned the YBCO filter parameters. Finally, we designed and fabricated the YBCO CPW quarter-wavelength resonator BPF by taking account of the kinetic inductance of the K-inverter. The experimental results are in agreement with the design parameters.

A novel high temperature superconducting interdigital bandpass filter is proposed by using coplanar waveguide quarter-wavelength resonators. The CPW resonators are arranged in parallel, and consequently the filter becomes very compact. The filter is a 5-pole Chebyshev BPF with a midband frequency of 5.0 GHz and an equal-ripple fractional bandwidth of 3.2%. It is fabricated using a YBCO film deposited on an MgO substrate. The measured filtering characteristics agree well with EM simulations and show a low insertion loss in spite of the small size of the filter.

We present a design procedure of a leaky-wave antenna with low sidelobes based on the stub-loaded ridge-rectangular waveguide. As a typical example, we desig the antenna with the Taylor distribution of -30 dB sidelobes and fabricated it. The agreement between the measured and the numerical results validate the proposed antenna.

This paper describes the first experimental results for a waveguide-type all-NbN superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) heterodyne mixer on an MgO substrate designed to operate over the gap frequency of Nb. The mixer consists of an NbN/MgO/NbN junction, which has a length of one wavelength at 880 GHz as a tuning circuit, an NbN/MgO/NbN microstrip as a λ/4 impedance transformer, and an RF choke filter. The mixer chip was designed using a high-frequency-structure simulator. Its return-loss and embedding-impedance characteristics were examined using a 180-times-scaled mixer model. By optimizing the cutting and polishing processes for the MgO substrate, we were able to fabricate the mixer chip with an accuracy of less than 5 µm. We succeeded in mounting the chip on a mixer block and in estimating the receiver noise temperature. The uncorrected minimum double-sideband receiver noise temperature was 740 K at 824 GHz. A comparison of the receiver noise temperature in a quasi-optical SIS mixer fabricated on the same wafer as the waveguide mixer showed that input noise was the major contributor to receiver noise in the waveguide mixer.

This paper proposes a non-destructive dielectric measurement method for a solid lossy dielectric material with sufficiently large dimensions compared to the wavelength. The proposed non-destructive measurement method employs an open-ended waveguide infilled with a low-loss dielectric material at the end of the waveguide. A numerical model of the open-ended waveguide attached to the surface of a solid dielectric material is simulated using the FDTD method. The reflection coefficient is calculated while the complex permittivity of the solid lossy dielectric material is varied. A permittivity estimation chart representing the relationship between the complex permittivity and the reflection coefficient is derived at 2 GHz. The measured reflection coefficient is plotted on the permittivity estimation chart. The chart indicates that the reflection coefficient varies drastically according to the variation in the complex permittivity of the solid dielectric material if a low-loss dielectric material is used. As a result, it became possible to estimate the complex permittivity of the solid lossy dielectric material by measuring the reflective coefficient. The estimated complex permittivity using the proposed method is comparable to the measured complex permittivity using the S-parameter method employing a coaxial line.

In this paper, we presented a beam adjustable antenna made up of a slit waveguide and a dielectric slab. In order to change the radiation main-beam angle, we changed the phase constant of the waveguide mode by inserting a dielectric slab for perturbing its field distribution. The direction of radiation main-beam can be steered by dynamically changing the position of the dielectric slab. For the theoretical analysis, the dispersion relation, including the phase and attenuation constants, was determined by solving the transverse resonance equation. An agreement between the theoretical and experimental radiation pattern verifies the beam-steering mechanism. Up to 23beam-steering angle can be achieved using this approach.