Theory and Applications of Multiconductor Transmission Line Analysis for Shielded Sievenpiper and Related Structures
This thesis focuses on the analytical modeling of periodic structures which contain bands with multiple modes of propagation. The work is motivated by several structures which exhibit dual-mode propagation bands. Initially, transmission line models are focused on. Transmission line models of periodic structures have been used extensively in a wide variety of applications due to their simplicity and the ease with which one can physically interpret the resulting wave propagation effects. These models, however, are fundamentally limited, as they are only capable of capturing a single mode of propagation. In this work multiconductor transmission line theory, which is the multi-mode generalization of transmission line theory, is shown to be an effective and accurate technique for the analytical modeling of periodically loaded structures which support multiple modes of propagation. Many results from standard periodic transmission line analysis are extended and generalized in the multiconductor line analysis, providing a familiar intuitive model of the propagation phenomena. The shielded Sievenpiper structure, a periodic multilayered geometry, is analyzed in depth, and provides a canonical example of the developed analytical method. The shielded Sievenpiper structure exhibits several interesting properties which the multiconductor transmission line analysis accurately captures. It is shown that under a continuous change of geometrical parameters, the dispersion curves for the shielded structure are transformed from dual-mode to single-mode. The structure supports a stop-band characterized by complex modes, which appear as pairs of frequency varying complex conjugate propagation constants. These modes are shown to arise even though the structure is modeled as lossless. In addition to the periodic analysis, the scattering properties of finite cascades of such structures are analyzed and related to the dispersion curves generated from the periodic analysis. Excellent correspondence with full wave finite element method simulations is demonstrated. In conclusion, a physical application is presented: a compact unidirectional ring-slot antenna utilizing the shielded Sievenpiper structure is constructed and tested.
Multiconductor transmission lines, Wave propagation in periodic structures
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