Layered anisotropic media modeled with equivalent coupled microstrip lines and related applications
Conference
Sertel, K, Volakis, JL, Loecker, C. (2006). Layered anisotropic media modeled with equivalent coupled microstrip lines and related applications
. 626 SP
Sertel, K, Volakis, JL, Loecker, C. (2006). Layered anisotropic media modeled with equivalent coupled microstrip lines and related applications
. 626 SP
Periodic assemblies of materials have been shown to have unique and useful properties for microwave applications. Examples of these are the bandgap structures, the left handed materials, and other related periodic assemblies. Among them, the magnetic photonic crystals (MFCs) and their related "cousins" degenerate band edge (DBE) structures have been shown to lead to significant wave slow down and amplitude increase within a small region. These crystals have therefore been found very attractive for miniature, high sensitivity antennas and possibly miniature microwave devices. However, their anisotropic nature makes their fabrication challenging. Being able to emulate the MPC or DBE properties using printed circuit technology will provide for a significant step in making low cost high performance devices based on MFCs and DBE crystals. In this paper, we propose a novel coupled microstrip line circuit which emulates propagation through an anisotropic medium such as the MPC or DBE crystal. The microstrip line model is formed from a pair of coupled and uncoupled lines (one line per field component, Ex and Ey) and is the first (to our knowledge) representation of propagation within an anisotropic layered medium. Using the standard scattering matrix representation for the three consecutive layer sections forming the DBE unit cell, we calculate the dispersion diagram and show that the periodic microstrip structure supports a DBE for a specific design that can be readily fabricated. It is particularly interesting to show that the small changes in the microstrip circuit can lead to various band diagrams emulating a variety of anisotropic media, including ferrites and thus allowing for the possibility to examine and introduce new phenomena leading to novel devices for RF applications.
