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Communication at millimetre–submillimetre wavelengths using a ceramic ribbon

Nature volume 404, pages 584–588 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Following the discovery by Kao and Hockman1,2,3 that ultra-low-loss optical fibres could be made from pure silica through the elimination of impurities, the ability to guide signals effectively at optical wavelengths has been assured. But there remains an important region of the spectrum—from 30 to 3,000 GHz (the millimetre–submillimetre band)—where low-loss waveguides are unknown. The main problem here in finding low-loss solids is no longer one of eliminating impurities, but is due to the presence of intrinsic vibration absorption bands4,5,6. And the use of highly conducting materials is also precluded owing to high skin-depth losses7,8 in this part of the spectrum. Here we show that a combination of material and waveguide geometry can circumvent these difficulties. We adopt a ribbon-like structure with an aspect ratio of 10:1, fabricated from ceramic alumina (Coors' 998 Alumina), and the resulting waveguide has an attenuation factor of less than 10 dB km-1 in the millimetre–submillimetre band. This attenuation is more than 100 times smaller than that of a typical ceramic (or other dielectric) circular rod waveguide and is sufficient for immediate application.

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Figure 1: The geometrical loss factor ε1R as a function of the normalized cross-sectional area A(ε1-1)/λ20.
Figure 2: Ratios of QTM-like/QTE-like, vgTM-like/vgTE-like, vpTM-like/c, vgTM-like/c, vpTE-like/c and vgTE-like/c versus the frequency f (in GHz).
Figure 3: Attenuation constant α in dB m-1 for the low-loss dominant mode in various guiding structures versus frequency f (in GHz) in the Ka band (26.5–40 GHz).
Figure 4: Transmission by ceramic ribbon and its power distribution.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Stelzried, A. Bhanji, D. Rascoe and M. Gatti of JPL for their encouragement and support. Expert assistance from M. Ostrander in machining, R. Cirillo in experimental measurements and C. Copeland in graphic works is appreciated. The research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA.

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  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, 91109, California, USA

    C. Yeh, F. Shimabukuro, P. Stanton, V. Jamnejad, W. Imbriale & F. Manshadi

  2. The Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, 90009, California, USA

    F. Shimabukuro

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  1. C. Yeh
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Correspondence to C. Yeh.

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Yeh, C., Shimabukuro, F., Stanton, P. et al. Communication at millimetre–submillimetre wavelengths using a ceramic ribbon. Nature 404, 584–588 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35007036

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