This paper is devoted to the modelling of microwave heating applicators using time domain vector finite elements. To reduce the discretisation error due to the dielectric losses of the materials analyzed, first and second order interpolatory and non-interpolatory vector finite element bases are studied. The modes of a resonant applicator used for microwave heating are numerically computed and compared with analytical solutions. The movement of a dielectric load in 45-degree intervals in a multimode applicator is numerically simulated and the results compared experimentally through measuring the return loss using a network analyzer. This paper reveals the relative merits of first and second order bases and shows the effectiveness of finite elements for simulating microwave heating processes.

Recently, millimeter-wave energy has attracted much attention as a new and novel energy source for materials processing. In the present paper, several unique features of millimeter-wave heating in materials processing are reviewed briefly and development of materials processing machines by mm-wave radiation is also described. In the application of mm-wave heating, sintering of high quality alumina ceramics having a high bending strength of about 800 MPa are first demonstrated and followed by preparation of aluminum nitride with a high thermal conductivity over 200 W/(mK) at a sintering temperature lower by 473-573 K than the conventional method, by which this processing can be expected to be one of the environment-conscious energy saving processes. A newly developed post-annealing process with mm-wave radiation is described, in which crystallization of amorphous perovskite oxide films prepared by plasma sputtering was attained at temperatures lower than that by the conventional heating and the dielectric constant of post-annealed SrTiO₃ (STO) films by mm-wave radiation were drastically improved.

Effects of the sample insertion holes of the TM₀₁₀ mode cylindrical cavity are analyzed on the basis of rigorous analysis by the Ritz-Galerkin method. The measurement accuracy of complex permittivity is examined by comparing the values by the perturbation method with ones by the rigorous analysis. Charts of relative errors Δ ε/ε_p and Δ tan δ/tan δ_p are presented, which are useful to measure the complex permittivity accurately by the perturbation method. The present analysis extends the validity of the conventional perturbation method.

In this paper, we present a numerical analysis for resonant characteristics of the TM₀₁₀ mode of a cylindrical cavity containing a dielectric rod and a conductive layer on its metal walls. This analysis uses the mode matching method for calculation. Error in complex permittivity of a loaded dielectric rod measured using a layered cavity is evaluated as a function of thickness and layered conductor conductivity. A thick layered cavity is necessary for precise measurement of material properties using the cavity resonator method at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies.

In this paper, we calculated resonant frequency and unloaded Q-factor for the TM_0i0 resonant mode excited in a cylindrical cavity composed of walls with finite conductivity and with a dielectric rod loaded coaxially along the central axis. Formulation for the calculation is made using the mode-matching method. Convergence of the calculation is checked. Values calculated by the present method for various combinations of dimensions, permittivity, and conductivity of the inner-components of cavity are compared with those calculated by a conventional method formulated using loss-less electromagnetic fields of cavity. Although the difference between the values calculated by those two methods is usually small, it is found that the difference increases as permittivity of dielectric rod increases and becomes about 10^-6 in reciprocal of unloaded Q-factor of the loaded cavity in a presented case.

This paper focuses on the realization of low spurious responses by various bandpass filters (BPFs) using open-ended λ/2 resonators. The first part of this paper gives the resonance characteristics of the open-ended λ/2 resonators when the excitation methods are chosen. Secondly, various BPFs obtained with our methodology are provided. For constructing the BPF, (1) point-coupled resonators, (2) comb-line resonators, (3) quasi comb-line resonators and (4) parallel-coupled resonators are used. It is verified that the presented BPFs can be used to obtain low spurious responses both theoretically and experimentally.

In this paper, the method of locating multiple transmission zeros by the tap-coupling technique is described for bandpass filters (BPFs), using short-ended λ/2 resonators and its application to a duplexer. First, the method of locating the transmission zero using the short-ended λ/2 resonators is examined with various excitation methods. We focus on four types of short-ended λ/2 resonators: the end-coupling type, tap-coupling type, capacitive tap-coupling type and inductive tap-coupling type. Secondly, the BPFs based on the basic characteristics of the respective resonators are proposed and designed on the basis of a general filter theory with narrow band approximation. Lastly, we propose and design new duplexers consisting of the proposed BPFs. The results lead to the conclusion that the basic characteristics of the short-ended λ/2 resonators are useful for realizing a BPF with multiple transmission zeros and a high-performance duplexer fabricated without increasing the number of elements.

A conventional waveguide filter is usually composed of a waveguide which is set with irises and posts inside. When dielectric material is not loaded inside the filter, the filter is too large to mount it on a planar circuit even if the frequency band is as high as the millimeter-wave band. In this paper, we propose a dielectric waveguide filter using LTCC (Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramics) which can be mounted on a planar circuit. The dielectric waveguide filter using LTCC is composed of a dielectric-loaded waveguide including posts (via holes) and TEM-TE₁₀ converters. The design method of the filter is shown and comparison of the simulated and the experimental results in the 6 GHz band is demonstrated. The simulated results agreed well with the experimental ones. To improve the attenuation characteristics, particularly at the above pass-band frequencies, an attenuation pole is added using a cross patch set inside the LTCC filter in the 25 GHz band. The effect of the cross patch is confirmed using the same simulation method as used for the 6 GHz band. As a result, it is confirmed that the cross patch is very useful for improving the attenuation characteristics at the above pass-band frequencies.

This paper reports the design and fabrication of a miniaturized superconducting microstrip line filter using YBCO film on MgO. The filter's resonators are shaped in a double spiral, and the size of the resonators is optimized from the standpoint of the unloaded Q-factor. The 15-pole bandpass filter that has the center frequency of 1.95 GHz and the bandwidth of 20 MHz is designed in the size of 9.7 44 mm. The simulated S-parameter characteristics of the filter is corresponding to the initial design parameters. We fabricated the filter on an MgO substrate with a diameter of 2 inches. The filter had very sharp cutoff and a very low insertion loss of 0.14 dB.

An NRD guide transmitter and a receiver were developed for a wireless multi-channel TV-signal distribution system at 60 GHz. The main emphasis was placed on a band-widening technique of the NRD guide beam-lead diode mount based on an electromagnetic field simulator, where each dimension of the beam lead diode mount was optimized. The agreement between the simulation and measurement is quite satisfactory. The up-converter fabricated by assembling a band-pass filter and a Schottky barrier diode mount has a good linearity as well as a flat output power of 2 dBm on the average over a bandwidth of at least 2 GHz. Moreover, the down-converter has a flat conversion loss performance of less than 7 dB in the same bandwidth. An NRD guide transmitter and a receiver characterized by small size and high performance were fabricated and successfully employed for the wireless distribution of TV signals for more than 100 channels.

A C-Ku band 5-bit MMIC phase shifter using optimized reflective series/parallel LC circuits is presented. The proposed circuit has frequency independent characteristics in the case of 180 phase shift, ideally. Also, an ultra-broad-band circuit design theory for the 180 optimized reflective circuit has derived, which gives optimum characteristics compromising between loss and phase shift error. The fabricated 5-bit MMIC phase shifter with SPDT switch has successfully demonstrated a typical insertion loss of 9.4 dB 1.4 dB, and a maximum RMS phase shift error of 7 over the 6 to 18 GHz band. The measured results validate the proposed design theory of the phase shifter.

A compact Ku-band 5-bit monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) phase shifter has been demonstrated. The total gate width of switching FETs and the total inductance of spiral inductors are proposed as the figures of merit for compactness. The phase shifter uses the T-type and PI-type high-pass filter (HPF)/band-pass filter (BPF) circuits in which FET "off"-state capacitances are incorporated as the filter elements. According to the figures of merit, the T-type is selected for 90-degree phase shift circuit and the PI-type is selected for the 45-degree phase shift circuit. The fabricated 5-bit phase shifter performs average insertion loss of 5.6 dB and RMS phase shift error of 3.77 degrees with die size of 1.65 mm 0.76 mm (1.25 mm²) in Ku-band.

A novel design method for wideband low-noise multi-stage amplifiers is presented. It utilizes a RL-SFC (esistive oaded eries eedback ircuit) comprised of a series feedback circuit with additional lossy match stubs to achieve low noise figure, low VSWRs, flat gain, and high stability simultaneously. In addition, each stage amplifier employs a different approach for designing the RL-SFC to achieve the best compromise between noise figure, VSWR, gain, and stability as a multi-stage amplifier. With the use of this novel design method, the 3-stage amplifier has demonstrated the state-of-the-art wideband low-noise performance of 2.3 dB over 6 to 18 GHz.

A GaAs HEMT with flip-chip interconnections using a suitable transmission line has been developed. The underfill resin, which was not used for the conventional flip-chip interconnection structure, was adopted between GaAs chip and assembly substrate to obtain high reliability. The underfill resin is effective in relaxing the thermal stress between the chip and the substrate and in encapsulating the chip. There are various possible ground current paths for the GaAs chip in the structure with flip-chip interconnections. An actual ground current path is determined depending on the transmission line type for the chip. For an active device, it is important to utilize an assembly structure capable of realizing excellent high-frequency characteristics. In addition, each transmission line for the chip has its own transmission characterizations such as characteristic impedance. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a suitable transmission line for the chip. We evaluated the high-frequency characteristics of the HEMT test element groups (TEGs) with flip-chip interconnection for three types of transmission lines: with a microstrip line (MSL), with a coplanar waveguide (CPW), and with an inverted microstrip line (IMSL). All three types of TEGs had similar values of a maximum available power gain (MAG) at 30 GHz. However, it was found that the IMSL-type TEG, which had superior characteristics in high-frequency ranges of more than 30 GHz, is the most suitable type. The IMSL-type TEG had an MAG of 10.02 dB and a Rollett stability factor K of 1.20 at 30 GHz.

Using various rare earth sesquioxides as additives, silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) samples were sintered at 1700 for 4 h by millimeter-wave heating performed in an applicator fed by a 28 GHz Gyrotron source under a nitrogen pressure of 0.1 MPa. A comparative study of densification, grain growth behavior and mechanical properties of silicon nitride fabricated by millimeter-wave and conventional sintering was carried out. Bulk densities were measured by Archimedes' technique. Except for the Eu₂O₃ containing sample, all samples were densified to relative densities of above 97.0%. Microstructure of the specimens was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To investigate quantitatively the effect of millimeter-wave heating on grain growth, image analysis was carried out for grains in the specimens. Fracture toughness was determined by the indentation-fracture method (IF method) in accordance with Japan Industrial Standards (JIS). Fully dense millimeter-wave sintered silicon nitride presenting a bimodal microstructure exhibited higher values of fracture toughness than materials processed by conventional heating techniques. Results indicate that millimeter-wave sintering is more effective in enhancing the grain growth and in producing the bimodal microstructure than conventional heating. It was also confirmed that localized runaway in temperature, depending upon the sintering additives, can occur under millimeter-wave heating.

Both Cr₂O₃ and NiO absorb 28 GHz milli-meter-wave energy well and this strong coupling with millimeter-waves can be used to promote a chemical reaction with La₂O₃ to form perovskite-type LaCrO₃ or LaNiO₃ ceramics. In La₂O₃-Cr₂O₃ system, the reaction proceeded rapidly and single phase LaCrO₃ could be synthesized within 15 min even at lower temperature (400) as compared to conventional synthesis (T > 800). In the case of LaNiO₃, the reaction proceeded rapidly in the early stage of heating (t < 15 min), but not completed even after prolonged millimeter-wave irradiation. The results suggest an importance of millimeter-wave penetration depth, especially for processing of conductive materials.

We succeeded in detoxification of hexachloro-benzene adsorbed on artificially produced fly ash in air by irradiating microwave (2.45 GHz) in the presence of activated carbon powder. Hexachlorobenzene was decomposed by 50-90% at 200-300 by MW irradiation of 1-1.5 min when the ash contained activated carbon by 12 wt% and water by 10 wt%. Chlorinated benzene derivatives are dechlorinated through substitution of chloride anion with hydroxylation produced by basic CaO in the co-presence of activated carbon effectively heated by MW. This method using microwave irradiation enables us to treat the contaminated fly ash in a shorter time and decompose hexachlorobenzene more efficiently than the conventional heating.

Based on an experimental fact that surface wave plasmas excited by strongly coupled microwave through thin dielectric windows show nearly perfect absorption of microwave and, after diffusion, form a widely uniform dense plasma. A plasma with an uniformity of 5% over an area of 50 cm 60 cm was produced. The plasma produced by application of 2400 W total microwave power gives 1 10¹¹ cm^-3 in density and 1.5 eV in electron temperature.

Hyperthermia is one of the modalities for cancer treatment, utilizing the difference of thermal sensitivity between tumor and normal tissue. In this treatment, the tumor or target cancer cell is heated up to the therapeutic temperature between 42 and 45 without overheating the surrounding normal tissues. Particularly, the authors have been studying the coaxial-slot antenna for interstitial microwave hyperthermia. At that time, we analyzed the heating characteristics of the coaxial-slot antenna under the assumption that the human body is a homogeneous medium. In this paper, we analyzed the heating characteristics of the coaxial-slot antenna inside an actual neck tumor by using numerical calculations. The models of calculations consist of MRI tomograms of an actual patient. As a result of the calculations, we observed almost uniform temperature distributions inside the human body including the actual neck tumor, which are similar to the results obtained for a homogeneous medium.

Development of non-invasive techniques to measure blood sugar level is strongly required. The application of millimeter waves has a great potentiality to realize the measuring technique. Nevertheless, the practical method of the technique is not yet reported. In this paper, a new technique is proposed to measure blood sugar level using millimeter waves. The technique proposed here is very rapid and safety way to obtain blood sugar level.

In this paper, the absorbing property of the discrete Green's function ABC, which was based on a powerful concept of the TLM method, has been improved by relocating loss process from the time domain to the space domain. The proposed scheme simply adds a loss matrix to the connection matrix in the basic TLM algorithm to make the formulation of the ABC more efficient. Various lengths of absorbing layers discretized for a WR-90 empty waveguide have been tested in terms of reflection property. An expression for an optimum absorbing property has been also derived with respect to the length of the layer. Comparison of the layer with the discrete Green's function ABC shows that the layer in this study has improved reflection property better than approximately 3 and 6 dB, respectively, when 50Δ and 60Δ absorbing layers have been adopted for the WR-90 waveguide. Finally, the layer has been applied to a WR-75 metal insert filter as an example.

A negative thermal expansion ceramic substrate and an athermal fiber Bragg grating component with the substrate were subjected to reliability tests. We confirmed that the component has adequate durability for use as optical filters in the WDM system, under test conditions of damp heat, low temperature, mechanical shock and vibration. (50 words)

A novel double-image Green's function approach is proposed to compute the frequency- dependent capacitance and conductance for the general CMOS oriented transmission lines with one protective layer. The ε-algorithm of Pade approximation is adopted to reduce the time for establishing coefficient matrix in this letter. The parameters gained from this new approach are shown to be in good agreement with the data obtained by the full-wave method and the total charge Green's function method.

A new CMOS sense-amplifier type flip-flop (SAFF) is proposed. By reducing the discharging time and the loading condition, the setup/hold time is improved by 22%, the input data to clock skew by 46% and the clock to output delay by 4.4%.

We have developed a planarization method applicable to large-scale superconductive Nb device fabrication. A planarized multi-layer wiring structure is obtained independently of the wiring size (width, length, and density) by combining three steps for fabricating an SiO₂ insulator layer: bias-sputtering, chemical mechanical polishing, and etching with a reversal mask. Fabricated three-level wiring structures, consisting of 200- or 300-nm-thick Nb and SiO₂ layers, had excellent layer flatness, and the leakage current (< 0.1 µA/cm²) between the Nb layers was sufficiently low. Two hundred chains of stepwise and stacked contacts yielded a sufficiently large critical current, typically more than 10 mA at 4.2 K.