Design of a Connector for Connecting a Dielectric Waveguide and a Rectangular Waveguide

Dielectric waveguides are transmission lines that have lower losses than coaxial cables at frequencies above millimeter waves. However, when connecting dielectric waveguides to network analyzers for experiments, mode conversion is required due to the different propagation modes between dielectric waveguides and coaxial connectors or rectangular waveguides. In this paper, we report the design of a connector that performs mode conversion to connect a dielectric waveguide and a rectangular waveguide.

I. Introduction

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for high-speed and high-capacity communication and radar systems operating at frequencies above millimeter waves. Coaxial connectors and waveguides are commonly used as transmission lines for millimeter-wave applications, but coaxial connectors suffer from high losses, and waveguides lack flexibility. Dielectric waveguides have been studied as low-loss and flexible transmission line at frequencies above millimeter waves [1]–[3]. However, connecting a dielectric waveguide to a measurement instruments such as a network analyzer requires conversion to a coaxial connector or a rectangular waveguide. In this study, a connector that converts a dielectric waveguide to a rectangular waveguide was developed. By using this connector, a low-loss and flexible transmission lines for frequencies above 28 GHz can be achieved. The transmission characteristics were analyzed by using CST studio, and the operating frequency was set to 28 GHz.