Microwave Devices and Circuits Third Edition SAMUEL Y. LIAO Professor of Electrical Engineering California State University, Fresno z= PRENTICE HALL, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632Contents Chapter 0 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 PREFACE INTRODUCTION 0-1 Microwave Frequencies 1 0-2 Microwave Devices 2 0-3. Microwave Systems 3 0-4 Microwave Units of Measure 4 INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ELECTRONS AND FIELDS 1-0 Introduction 6 Vl Electron Motion in an Electric Field 6 1-2 Electron Motion in a Magnetic Field 10 1-3 Electron Motion in an Electromagnetic Field Suggested Readings 15 Problems 15 ELECTROMAGNETIC PLANE WAVES 2-0 Introduction 16 2-1 Electric and Magnetic Wave Equations 17 12 16vi Chapter 3 Contents 2-2 Poynting Theorem 19 2-3. Uniform Plane Waves and Reflection 21 2-3-1 Uniform Plane Waves, 21 2:3-2. Boundary Conditions, 23 2-33 Uniform Plane-Wave Reflection, 24 2-4 Plane-Wave Propagation in Free Space and Lossless Dielectric 29 2-4-1 Plane-Wave Propagation in Free Space, 29 2-4-2 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Dielectric, 32 2-5 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossy Media 32 2-5-1 Plane Wave in Good Conductor, 33 2:5-2 Plane Wave in Poor Conductor, 35 2.5.3 Plane Wave in Lossy Dielectric, 36 2-6 Plane-Wave Propagation in Metallic-Film Coating on Plastic Substrate 41 2-6-1 Surface Resistance of Metallic Films, 42 2-6-2. Optical Constants of Plastic Substrates and Metallic Films, 42 2-63 Microwave Radiation Attenuation of Metallic-Film Coating on Plastic Substrate, 44 2-6-4. Light Transmittance of Metallic-Film Coating on Plastic Sub- strate, 46 2.65 Plane Wave in Gold-Film Coating on Plastic Glass, 47 2.6.6 Plane Wave in Silver-Film or Copper-Film Coating on Plastic Substrate, 52 References 57 Suggested Readings 57 Problems 58 MICROWAVE TRANSMISSION LINES 61 3-0 Introduction 61 3-1 Transmission-Line Equations and Solutions 61 3-1-1 Transmission-Line Equations, 61 3-1-2 Solutions of Transmission-Line Equations, 64 3-2 Reflection Coefficient and Transmission Coefficient 67 3-2-1 Reflection Coefficient, 67 3-2-2 Transmission Coefficient, 69 3-3 Standing Wave and Standing-Wave Ratio 71 3-3-1 Standing Wave, 71 3-3-2. Standing-Wave Ratio, 74 3-4 Line Impedance and Admittance 76 3-4-1 Line Impedance, 76 3-4-2. Line Admittance, 81Contents Chapter 4 3-5 3-6 3-7 vil Smith Chart 82 Impedance Matching 89 3-6-1 Single-Stub Matching, 90 3-6-2 Double-Stub Matching, 92 Microwave Coaxial Connectors 96 References 98 Suggested Readings 98 Problems 98 MICROWAVE WAVEGUIDES AND COMPONENTS 102 40 41 42 4-4 45 Introduction 102 Rectangular Waveguides 103 4-1-1 Solutions of Wave Equations in Rectangular Coordinates, 104 4-1-2. TE Modes in Rectangular Waveguides, 106 4-1-3 TM Modes in Rectangular Waveguides, 111 4-1-4 Power Transmission in Rectangular Waveguides, 113 4-1-5 Power Losses in Rectangular Waveguides, 113 4-1-6 Excitations of Modes in Rectangular Waveguides, 116 4-1-7 Characteristics of Standard Rectangular Waveguides, 117 Circular Waveguides 119 Solutions of Wave Equations in Cylindrical Coordinates, 119 TE Modes in Circular Waveguides, 122 TM Modes in Circular Waveguides, 127 TEM Modes in Circular Waveguides, 129 Power Transmission in Circular Waveguides or Coaxial Lines, 131 Power Losses in Circular Waveguides or Coaxial Lines, 133 Excitations of Modes in Circular Waveguides, 133 Characteristics of Standard Circular Waveguides, 135 Microwave Cavities 135 4-3-1 Rectangular-Cavity Resonator, 135 4-3-2 Circular-Cavity Resonator and Semicircular-Cavity Res- onator, 136 4-3-3 Q Factor of a Cavity Resonator, 139 Microwave Hybrid Circuits 141 Waveguide Tees, 144 Magic Tees (Hybrid Trees), 146 Hybrid Rings (Rat-Race Circuits), 147 Waveguide Corners, Bends, and Twis 148 Directional Couplers 149 4-5-1 Two-Hole Directional Couplers, 151 4-5-2. § Matrix of a Directional Coupler, 151 4-5-3 Hybrid Couplers, 154vill Chapter 5 Chapter 6 4-6 Contents Circulators and Isolators 156 4-6-1 Microwave Circulators, 158 4-6-2 Microwave Isolators, 160 References 161 Suggested Readings 161 Problems 161 MICROWAVE TRANSISTORS AND TUNNEL DIODES 166 5-0 oa. 5-2 5-3 Introduction 166 Microwave Bipolar Transistors 169 5-1-1 Physical Structures, 170 5-12 Bipolar Transistor Configurations, 173 5-1-3 Principles of Operation, 178 5-1-4 Amplification Phenomena, 187 5-1-5 Power-Frequency Limitations, 190 Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (HBTs) 193 5-2-1 Physical Structures, 193 5-2-2. Operational Mechanism, 194 5-2-3 Electronic Applications, 197 Microwave Tunnel Diodes, 198 5-3-1 Principles of Operation, 198 5-3-2. Microwave Characteristics, 201 References 204 Suggested Readings 205 Problems 205 MICROWAVE FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTORS 208 6-0 61 6-2 Introduction 208 Junction Field-Effect Transistors (JFETs) 209 6-1-1 Physical Structure, 209 6-1-2 Principles of Operation, 210 6-1-3 Current-Voltage (1-V) Characteristics, 211 Metal-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MESFETs) 216 6-2-1 Physical Structures, 217 6-2-2 Principles of Operation, 218 6-2-3 Small-Signal Equivalent Circuit, 221 6-2-4 Drain Current Iq, 223 6-2-5 Cutoff Frequency foo and Maximum Oscillation Frequency Smasy 228Contents Chapter 7 6-3 6-4 6-5 ix High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) 230 6-3-1 Physical Structure, 230 6-3-2 Operational Mechanism, 232 6-3-3 Performance Characteristics, 233 6-3-4 Electronic Applications, 236 Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) 237 6-4-1 Physical Structures, 237 6-4-2. Electronic Mechanism, 238 6-4-3 Modes of Operation, 238 6-4-4 Drain Current and Transconductance, 239 6-4-5 Maximum Operating Frequency, 243 6-4-6 Electronic Applications, 244 MOS Transistors and Memory Devices 245 6-5-1 NMOS Devices, 245 6-5-2 CMOS Devices, 248 6-5-3 Memory Devices, 252 Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) 254 6-6-1 Operational Mechanism, 255 6-6-2 Surface-Channel Charge-Coupled Devices (SCCDs), 258 6-6-3 Dynamic Characteristics, 259 References 261 Suggested Readings 262 Problems 263 TRANSFERRED ELECTRON DEVICES (TEDs) 269 7-0 71 7-2 73 7-4 15 Introduction 269 Gunn-Effect Diodes—GaAs Diode, 270 7-1-1 Background, 270 7-1-2 Gunn Effect, 271 Ridley-Watkins-Hilsum (RWH) Theory 273 7-2-1 Differential Negative Resistance, 273 7-2-2, Two-Valley Model Theory, 274 7-2-3 High-Field Domain, 280 Modes of Operation 284 7-3-1 Criterion for Classifying the Modes of Operation, 285 7-3-2 Gunn Oscillation Modes (10"icm? & (noL) < 10'*/em*), 287 7-3-3 Limited-Space-Charge Accumulation (LSA) Mode (fl > 2X 10” cm/s), 289 7-3-4. Stable Amplification Mode (nol < 10'/em?), 290 LSA Diodes 291 InP Diodes 2937-7 Contents. CdTe Diodes 296 Microwave Generation and Amplification 296 7-7-1 Microwave Generation, 296 7-7-2, Microwave Amplification, 298 References 300 Suggested Readings 301 Problems 302 Chapter 8 AVALANCHE TRANSIT-TIME DEVICES 303 8-0 8-1 8-4 8-5 Introduction 303 Read Diode 304 8-1-1 Physical Description, 304 8-1-2. Avalanche Multiplication, 305 8-1-3. Carrier Current I(t) and External Current 1.1), 306 8-1-4 Output Power and Quality Factor Q, 308 IMPATT Diodes 309 8-2-1 Physical Structures, 309 8-2-2 Negative Resistance, 309 8-2-3 Power Output and Efficiency, 311 TRAPATT Diodes 314 8-3-1 Physical Structures, 314 8-3-2 Principles of Operation, 314 8-3-3 Power Output and Efficiency, 316 BARITT Diodes 317 8-4-1 Physical Description, 317 8-4-2 Principles of Operation, 317 8-4-3 Microwave Performance, 319 Parametric Devices 320 8-5-1 Physical Structures, 320 8-5-2. Nonlinear Reactance and Manley-Rowe Power Relations, 321 8-5-3 Parametric Amplifiers, 326 8-5-4. Applications, 330 References 331 Suggested Readings 332 Problems 333 Chapter 9 | MICROWAVE LINEAR-BEAM TUBES (O TYPE) 335 9-0 9-1 Introduction 335 Conventional Vacuum Triodes, Tetrodes, and Pentodes 338 9-1-1 Lead-Inductance and Interelectrode-Capacitance Effects, 338Contents 9-4 9-5 9-6 xi 9-1-2. Transit-Angle Effects, 339 9-1-3 Gain-Bandwidth Product Limitation, 340 Klystrons 341 9-2-1 Reentrant Cavities, 342 9-2-2 Velocity-Modulation Process, 345 9-2-3 Bunching Process 9-2-4 Qutput Power and Beam Loading, 354 9-2-5 State of the Art, 360 Multicavity Klystron Amplifiers 362 9-3-1 Beam-Current Density, 363 9-3-2 Output Current and Output Power of Two-Cavity Klystron, 369 9-3-3 Output Power of Four-Cavity Kiystron, 371 Reflex Klystrons 373 9-4-1 Velocity Modulation 374 9-4-2 Power Output and Efficiency, 376 9-4-3 Electronic Admittance, 379 Helix Traveling-Wave Tubes (TWTs) 382 9-5-1 Slow-Wave Structures, 384 9-5-2. Amplification Process, 388 9-5-3 Convection Current, 391 9-5-4 Axial Electric Field, 392 9-5-5 Wave Modes, 394 9-5-6 Gain Consideration, 396 Coupled-Cavity Traveling-Wave Tubes 398 9-6-1 Physical Description, 398 9-6-2 Principles of Operation, 400 9-6-3 Microwave Characteristics, 402 High-Power and Gridded-Control Traveling-Wave Tubes 404 High Efficiency and Collector Voltage Depression, 406 Normal Depression and Overdepression of Collector Voltage, 407 9-7-3 Two-Stage Collector Voltage Depression Technique, 410 9-7-4 Stabilization of Cathode and Collector Voltages, 412 References 417 Suggested Readings 418 Problems 419 Chapter 10 | MICROWAVE CROSSED-FIELD TUBES (M TYPE) 425 10-0 10-1 Introduction 425 Magnetron Oscillators 427 10-I-1 Cylindrical Magnetron, 427 10-1-2 Linear Magnetron, 436xii Chapter 11 Chapter 12 10-2 10-3 10-4 Contents 10-1-3 Coaxial Magnetron, 442 10-1-4 Voltage-Tunable Magnetron, 443 10-1-5 Inverted Coaxial Magnetron, 444 10-1-6 Frequency-Agile Coaxial Magnetron, 447 Forward-Wave Crossed-Field Amplifier (FWCFA OR CFA) 450 10-21 Principles of Operation, 450 10-2-2. Microwave Characteristics 455 Backward-Wave Crossed-Field Amplifier (Amplitron) 457 Backward-Wave Crossed-Field Oscillator (Carcinotron) 461 References 466 Problems 467 STRIP LINES 472 et 1-1 11-2 11-3 11-4 Introduction 472 Microstrip Lines 473 II-I-l Characteristic Impedance of Microstrip Lines, 473 1-1-2 Losses in Microstrip Lines 477 1-1-3. Quality Factor Q of Microstrip Lines 484 Parallel Strip Lines 485 11-2-1 Distributed Parameters 486 11-2-2. Characteristic Impedance 486 1-2-3 Attenuation Losses 487 Coplanar Strip Lines 488 Shielded Strip Lines 489 References 491 Problems 492 MONOLITHIC MICROWAVE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 495 12-0 12-1 12-2 Introduction 495 Materials 497 12-1-1 Substrate Materials 498 12-1-2 Conductor Materials 498 12-1-3 | Dielectric Materials 500 12-1-4. Resistive Materials 500 Monolithic Microwave Integrated-Circuit Growth 501 12-2-]_ MMIC Fabrication Techniques, 502 12-2-2 Fabrication Example, 504Contents Ss 12-4 12-5 MOSFET Fabrication 504 12.3-1_ MOSFET Formation, 505 123-2 NMOS Growth, 506 CMOS Development, 508 Memory Construction, 510 Thin-Film Formation 514 12-4-1 Planar Resistor Film 514 12-4-2, Planar Inductor Film 516 124-3 Planar Capacitor Film 518 Hybrid Integrated-Circuit Fabrication 519 References 521 Suggested Readings 522 Problems 522 APPENDIX A 523 APPENDIX B 529 INDEX 535Preface This third revision has been designed, as have the first two editions, for use in a first course in microwave devices and circuits at the senior or beginning graduate level in electrical engineering. The objectives of this book are to present the basic principles, characteristics, and applications of commonly used microwave devices and to ex- plain the techniques for designing microwave circuits. It is assumed that readers of this text have had previous courses in electromagnetics and solid-state electronics. Because this book is self-contained to a large extent, it also serves as a convenient reference for electronics engineers working in the microwave field. ‘The format of this edition remains the same, but there are additions and expan- sions as well as some corrections and deletions. The problems section has been en- larged and includes new and very practical problems. The book is reorganized into twelve chapters. Chapter | discusses the interactions between electrons and fields. Chapter 2 deals with plane-wave propagation in different media Chapter 3 treats transmission lines. Chapter 4 analyzes microwave waveguides and components. Chapter 5 describes microwave transistors and tunnel diodes, and includes het- erojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). Chapter 6 treats microwave field-effect transistors such as JFETs, MESFETs, HEMTs, MOSFETs and the NMOS, CMOS, and the charged-coupled devices (CCDs). Chapter 7 discusses transferred electron devices (TEDs), including the Gunn, LSA, InP, and CdTe diodes. Chapter 8 describes avalanche transit-time devices such as the IMPATT, TRAPATT, and BARITT diodes and the parametric devices. xvxvi Preface Chapter 9 deals with microwave linear-beam tubes including klystrons, reflex klystron, and traveling-wave tubes (TWTs). Chapter 10 studies microwave crossed-field tubes such as magnetrons, for- ward-wave crossed-field amplifiers, and the backward-wave crossed-field am- plifiers—Amplitron and Carcinotron. Chapter 11 explains strip lines including microstrip, parallel, coplanar, and shielded strip lines. Chapter 12 analyzes monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) in- cluding MMIC growth, MOSFET fabrication, thin-film formation, and hybrid inte- grated-circuit fabrication ‘The arrangement of topics is flexible; an instructor may conveniently select or order the several topics to suit either a one-semester or a one-quarter course. Numer- ous problems for each chapter establish the reader's further understanding of the subjects discussed. Instructors who have adopted the book for their courses may ob- tain a solutions manual from the publisher. The author is grateful to the several anonymous reviewers; their many valuable comments and constructive suggestions helped to improve this edition. The author would also like to acknowledge his appreciation to the many instructors and students who used the first two editions and who have offered comments and suggestions. All of this help was vital in improving this revision, and this continuing group effort is sincerely invited. Finally, I wish to express my deep appreciation to my wife, Lucia Hsiao Chuang Lee, and our children: Grace in bioengineering, Kathy in electrical engineering, Gary in electronics engineering, and Jeannie in teachers education, for their valuable collective contributions. Therefore, this revision is dedicated to them. Samuel Y. LiaoChapter 0 Introduction The central theme of this book concerns the basic principles and applications of mi- crowave devices and circuits. Microwave techniques have been increasingly adopted in such diverse applications as radio astronomy, long-distance communications, space navigation, radar systems, medical equipment, and missile electronic systems. As a result of the accelerating rate of growth of microwave technology in research and industry, students who are preparing themselves for, and electronics engineers who are working in, the microwave area are faced with the need to understand the theoretical and experimental design and analysis of microwave devices and circuits. 0-1 MICROWAVE FREQUENCIES The term microwave frequencies is generally used for those wavelengths measured in centimeters, roughly from 30 cm to | mm (1 to 300 GHz). However, microwave re- ally indicates the wavelengths in the micron ranges. This means microwave frequen- cies are up to infrared and visible-light regions. In this revision, microwave frequen- cies refer to those from 1 GHz up to 10° GHz. The microwave band designation that derived from World War II radar security considerations has never been officially sanctioned by any industrial, professional, or government organization. In August 1969 the United States Department of Defense, Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff, by message to all services, directed the use of a new frequency band breakdown as shown in Table 0-1. On May 24, 1970, the Department of Defense adopted another band designation for microwave frequencies as listed in Table 0-2. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) recommended new microwave band designations as shown in Table 0-3 for comparison. 12 Introduction Chap. 0 TABLE 0-1 U.S. MILITARY MICROWAVE BANDS mall pec areata Designation Frequency range in gigahertz P band 0.225- 0.390 L band 0.390- 1.550 S band 1.550- 3.900 C band 3.900- 6.200 X band 6.200— 10.900 K band 10.900- 36.000 Q band 36.000- 46.000 V band 46,000- 56.000 W band 56.000—100.000 TABLE 0-2 U.S. NEW MILITARY MICROWAVE BANDS Designation Frequency range in gigahertz Designation _Frequency range in gigahertz A band 0.100-0.250 H band 6.000- 8.000 B band 0.250-0,500 T band 8.000- 10.000 C band 0.500-1.000 J band 10.000- 20.000 D band 1.000-2.000 K band 20.000- 40.000 E band 2.000-3.000 L band 40.000- 60.000 F band 3.000--4.000 M band 60.000-100.000 G band 4.000-6.000 TABLE 0-3 IEEE MICROWAVE FREQUENCY BANDS ee Designation Frequency range in gigahertz HF 0.003- 0.030 VHF 0.030- 0.300 UHF 0.300- 1.000 L band 1.000- 2.000 S band 2.000- 4.000 C band 4,000- 8.000 X band 8.000— 12.000 Ku band 12,000— 18.000 K band 18.000- 27.000 Ka band 27.000—_ 40,000 Millimeter 40.000-300.000 Submillimeter >300.000 a 0-2 MICROWAVE DEVICES In the late 1930s it became evident that as the wavelength approached the physical dimensions of the vacuum tubes, the electron transit angle, interelectrode capaci- tance, and lead inductance appeared to limit the operation of vacuum tubes in mi- crowave frequencies. In 1935 A. A. Heil and O. Heil suggested that microwave voltages be generated by using transit-time effects together with lumped tuned cir~