INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Microwave is the region in the electromagnetic (EM) wave spectrum in the frequency range of about
1 GHz (= 109 Hz) to 100 GHz (= 1011 Hz). This corresponds to a range of wavelengths from 30 cm to
0.3 cm in free space (λ = c/f). The free space is characterized by the electrical medium parameters:
permittivity , permeability μ0 = 4π × 10−7 H/m, conductivity σ0 = 10−14 S/m, intrinsic
impedance , and velocity of wave propagation (light) c = 2.9979 × 108 m/S.
During World War II, microwave engineering became a very essential consideration for the
development of high-resolution radars capable of detecting and locating enemy planes and ships
through a narrow beam of EM energy. Such a beam could be achieved by means of a paraboloid
antenna of large diameter compared to the wavelength of radiation. Therefore, size of the antenna to
be carried by an airplane on board could be reduced by using such short wavelengths of microwaves.
The microwave band is capable of making economic transmission of a large number of
communication channels or TV programmes by modulating all these channels or programmes into a
single microwave carrier and transmitting them over one communication link. This is possible
because the modulation sidebands are just a few per cent of the microwave carrier frequency.
Because of very short wavelengths, microwaves are capable of almost freely propagating through
the ionized layers in the atmosphere. This facilitates radio-astronomic research of space, and
communication between the ground stations and space vehicles.
According to the quantum theory, the quantum of energy at microwave frequencies becomes
comparable to the difference in energies between adjacent energy levels of atoms and molecules.
Moreover, molecular, atomic and nuclear systems exhibit resonances in the microwave range. These
lead microwaves to become a powerful tool in microwave radio spectroscopy for material analysis.
In more recent years, microwaves are being widely used in domestic microwave ovens for rapid
cooking, and also in industrial and medical uses for microwave heating.
Microwave engineering has a marked difference from conventional electronics engineering
because of the short wavelengths involved. Conventional low-frequency circuit analysis based on
Kirchhoff’s laws and voltage-current concepts of the distributed transmission line theory no longer
apply here. This is because the propagation time of electrical effects from one point in a circuit to
another point at microwave frequencies is comparable with the period of the oscillation of currents
and charges. Moreover, conventional circuits or lines radiate out the microwave energy as
electromagnetic waves resulting in high loss in signal transmission. Thus, microwave transmission
involves propagation of EM waves consisting of changing electric and magnetic fields in a medium.
These specific properties of microwaves steered engineers to develop techniques for microwave-
guided structures such as waveguides, coaxial lines, striplines, microstrip lines, slot lines and
microwave sources like klystrons, magnetrons, travelling-wave tubes, backward wave oscillators,
microwave solid-state devices, and other microwave circuit components like attenuators, phase-
shifters, isolators, circulators, directional couplers, detectors, mixers, etc.
Microwave frequencies are grouped into several smaller bands, which are designated and listed in
Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Microwave bands (IEEE and commercial designation)

High-frequency signals are used in wireless communication systems for the efficient transmission
of information because an antenna radiates efficiently if its size is comparable to the signal
wavelength. Since the signal frequency is inversely related to its wavelength, smaller size antennas
operating at RFs and microwaves have higher radiation efficiencies. Also the transmission of
broadband signals requires a high-frequency carrier signal to accommodate large number of channels.
In addition to the traditional applications in communication, such as radio and television, RF and
microwave signals are now used in cordless phones, cellular communication, local area networks,
wide area networks, and metropolitan area networks, personal communication service, radio-
frequency identification (RFID), cordless mouse or keyboards for computers. RF is superior to
infrared technology since any reasonable obstruction does not affect line-of-sight operation.
It is known that the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere affect the propagation of
electromagnetic signals. Unlike RF signals the ionosphere does not reflect microwaves, and the
signals propagate line of sight. Hence, curvature of the Earth limits the range of a microwave
communication link to less than 50 km. One way to increase the range is to place a human-made
satellite in the space to received LOS microwave signals through ionosphere and retransmit to the
earth through the transponders. This called satellite communication system. Another way to increase
the range of a microwave link is to place repeaters at periodic intervals of about 30-50 km. This is
known as a terrestrial communication system. Tables 1.2–1.4 list selected devices used at RF and
microwave frequencies and applications of microwaves.
Table 1.2 Microwave devices

Table 1.3 Solid-state devices used at RF and Microwave Frequencies

Table 1.4 Some applications of microwaves

1.2 HISTORICAL RESUME

There are some pioneers who have laid the foundations of microwave engineering. Some of them are
worth mentioning and are described as follows:
James C Maxwell, the founder of the electromagnetic theory of radiation, presented to the Royal
Society in 1864 a paper titled A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field, which described
the properties of electromagnetic fields in terms of 20 equations. The equations constitute the well-
known Maxwell’s equations. He had predicted theoretically the existence of electric and magnetic
fields associated with electromagnetic wave propagation and made the foundation of modern
electromagnetic theory in 1873. Oliver Heaviside gave a further modern form to Maxwell’s
formulation for practical applications of guided waves.
In 1893, Heinrich Hertz first conducted an experiment to show that a parabolic antenna fed by a
dipole, on excitation by a spark discharge, sends a signal by wave motion to a similar receiving
arrangement at a distance. He gave strong experimental support for the theoretical conclusions drawn
by Maxwell for electromagnetic fields.
William Thompson (1893) developed the waveguide theory for propagation of microwaves in a
guided structure. Later, Lodge (1897–1899) established the mode properties of propagation of EM
waves in free space and in a hollow metallic tube known as the waveguide.
Sir J C Bose (1895, 1897, 1898) generated millimetre waves using a circuit developed in his
laboratory and used these waves for communication, and developed microwave spectrometers,
diffraction gratings, polarimeters and detectors for conducting microwave experiments. He also
developed microwave horn antennas, which are still considered useful feeds for reflector antennas.
In 1937, the microwave vacuum-tube Klystron was developed by Russel and Varian Bross. J D
Kraus (1938) developed the corner reflector antenna for electromagnetic wave transmission. J T
Randall and H A H Boot first made the cavity magnetron as high-power microwave oscillator in
1940. Kompfner (1944) developed the microwave travelling wave tube. Percy Spencer (1946) built
the microwave oven for domestic cooking. Some modern devices were developed after 1950.
Deschamps (1953) developed the microstrip antenna. S B Cohn (1955), H A Wheeler (1964) and
followers advanced the microwave integrated circuits and applications. J B Gunn (1963) developed
the Gunn diode for microwave generation using solid-state material such as GaAs not mentioned here.
Interested readers may refer textbooks, journals and scientific magazines for further information.

1.3 MICROWAVE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Microwave integrated circuits can be made by hybrid or monolithic techniques on a variety of
substrate materials as described in Table 1.5.

Table 1.5 Properties of microwave substrates

1.3.1 Hybrid and Monolithic Integrated Circuits
In a hybrid integrated circuit, the circuit interconnections are made by metal lines deposited on an
insulating substrate. The active devices in the circuit are bonded to the substrate and these devices
may be made of different materials (e.g. Si, GaAs, InP); hence, the termhybrid. Hybrid circuits can
be thin-film or thick-film type. In thin-film hybrid circuits, the metallization is deposited by
evaporation and the desired circuit pattern is made by photolithographic techniques. In thick-film
hybrid circuits, the metallization is usually deposited by silk-screening, in which the desired pattern
is incorporated into the screen itself. In hybrid circuits, both active and passive components are
separately fabricated and bonded to the substrate by soldering, thermocompression bonding, or by
using a conductive adhesive. Sometimes capacitors, resistors and inductors may be fabricated using
the substrate metallization itself, along with deposited insulating films. But the component values
achievable by the latter method are usually somewhat limited.
In a monolithic integrated circuit, all components are formed together by various processes, such as
diffusion or ion implantation, which changes the physical properties of the same block of substrate
material. Inductors are not available at all in low-frequency monolithic ICs. Non-integrable external
components, such as piezoelectric crystals, can be used to establish circuit resonances. Circuit
interconnections are established by metallization in the same fashion as in thin-film hybrid ICs.
In microwave hybrid integrated circuits, interconnections are usually established by Quasi-TEM-
mode transmission lines such as microstrip lines. Table 1.5 shows the characteristics of the various
insulating substrates suitable for microwave integrated circuits. To minimize loss, thin-film is
preferred than thick-film techniques at microwave frequencies. Active devices, such as IMPATT,
Gunn diodes or transistors, are now commonly used in hybrid microwave integrated circuits.
In a monolithic microwave IC, active devices are fabricated in a single block of semiconductor
material and connected by metal lines. The metal lines are segments of microstrip lines and must be
designed with care.
For various reasons, gallium arsenide is preferred over silicon for microwave monolithic ICs.
Many of the microwave solid-state active devices achieve their optimum performance in GaAs. In
addition, the higher dielectric constant of GaAs permits narrower transmission lines, leading to
compactness in the design.
The two key elements of microwave circuits are transmission lines and active solid-state devices.
Both are described in this book in appropriate chapters.

REFERENCES
1. Historical Perspectives or Microwave Technology, Special Centennial Issue, IEEE Trans., Vol. MTT-32, September, 1984
2. Montgomery, C G: Technique of Microwave Measurements, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1947
3. Ginzton, E L: Microwave Measurements, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1957
4. Bailey, A E (Ed.): Microwave Power Engineering, Academic Press, New York, 1961
5. Frey, J and Bhasin, K B: Microwave Integrated Circuits, Artech House, Inc. 1985