three different devices. Four straight lines have been fitted to the 2 DE LA RUE. R.M, and MARSH, J.H.
H, J.H.: 'Integration technology for III-V
four sets of data points by least squares and the average loss
obtained from their slopes is lOdB/cm. This is 7dB below our pre-
vious best result, itself the lowest reported propagation loss for
extended cavity laser fabrication by IFVD [8]. This reduction is
thought to be due to the better confinement provided by the rib
waveguide structure employed in the present lasers, together with
the use of high quality epitaxial material. The measured transpar-
ency current density (defined as the current density needed to
overcome all losses except mirror losses) and internal quantum
efficiency for the material used in these experiments are 330A/cm2
and 90%, respectively.
Fig. 3 Loss as function of extended cavity length for devices annealed at
900°Cfor30s
Slopes of straight line equations give average loss in dB/mm
• 60mA, a(L) = l.O97£ + 0.535
0 80mA, a(L) = 1.058L + 0.515
O 100mA, a(L) = 1.017Z. + 0.545
A 120mA, a(L) = 0.925Z. + 0.590
The fabrication process was repeated while performing IFVD at
the higher temperature of 950°C. By widening the bandgap fur-
ther, the residual absorption in the passive waveguide sections,
which causes the propagation losses, should decrease. Fabrication
problems were encountered in the removal of the SrF 2 after RTA
at such a high temperature, resulting in many non-working
devices. From those regions where the SrF 2 layer could be
removed completely, very low loss devices were obtained. The best
result was obtained from a laser in which the extended cavity
length L was 400pm and for which the loss was 3.6dB/cm. More
experiments are under way to produce extended cavity lasers on
DQW structures annealed at temperatures between 900 and
950°C.
In conclusion, the fabrication of very low loss extended cavity
lasers by IFVD has been demonstrated. Rib waveguide lasers
exhibited an average loss of lOdB/cm in the passive sections and
the lowest loss of 3.6dB/cm was obtained from a laser with an
extended cavity 400 um long, rapid thermal annealed at 950 °C for
30s. To the best of our knowledge, both the average and the best
results above are the lowest losses obtained from GAAs/AlGaAS
extended cavity lasers fabricated by either IFVD or IID.
Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the Science and
Engineering Research Council of the UK, under Grant Numbers
GR/H/82471 and GR/F/65248.
;/ November 1993
Electronics Letters Online No: 19940073
I. Gontijo, T. Krauss, R. M. De La Rue and J. H. Marsh (Department
of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, University of Glasgow
Glasgow G12 SQQ, United Kingdom)
J. S. Roberts (Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering
University of Sheffield, Sheffield SI 3JD, United Kingdom)
1 MARSH, J.H.: 'Quantum well intermixing", Semicond. Sci. Technol,
1993, 8, pp. 1136-1155
146 ELECTRONICS LETTERS 20th January 1994 Vol.30 No. 2
semiconductor optoelectronics based on quantum well waveguides',
in WONG. K.K., and RAZEGHi, M.: 'Integrated optics and
optoelectronics', CR45, (SPIE - The International Society for
Optical Engineering, LA, 1993), pp. 259-288
3 AOKI, M., SUZUKI, M., TAKAHASHI, M., SANO, H., IDO. T., KAWANO, T.,
and TAKAI, A.: 'High speed (lOGbit/s) and low-drive voltage (1
peak to peak) InGaAs/InGaAsP MQW electroabsorption
modulator integrated DFB laser with semi-insulating buried
heterostructure', Electwn.Lett., 1992, 28, (12), pp. 1157-1158
4 O'NEILL, M., BRYCE, A.C., MARSH, J.H., DE LA RUE, R.M., ROBERTS, J.S.,
and JEYNES, c: 'Multiple quantum well optical waveguides with
large absorption-edge blue shift produced by boron and fluorine
impurity-induced disordering', Appl. Phys. Lett., 1989, 55, (14), pp.
1373-1375
5 RALSTON, J.D., O'BRIEN, S., WICK, G.W., and EASTMAN, L.F.: 'Room-
temperature exciton transitions in partially intermixed GaAs/
AlGaAs superlattices', Appl. Phys. Leu., 1988, 52, (18), pp. 1511-
1513
6 BEAUVAIS, J., MARSH. J.H., KEAN, A.H., BRYCE, A C , and BUTTON, C:
'Suppression of bandgap shifts in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells
using strontium fluoride caps', Electron. Lett., 1992, 28, (17), pp.
1670-1672
7 GONTIJO, I., KRAUSS, T., MARSH. I.H., and DE LA RUE, R.M.: 'PoSt-
growth control of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well shapes by
impurity-free vancancy diffusion', IEEE J. Quantum Electron.
(Accepted for publication)
8 BEAUVAIS, j . , AYLINO, S.G., and MARSH, J.H.: 'Low-loss extended
cavity lasers by dielectric cap disordering with a novel masking
technique", IEEE Photonics. Technol. Lett., 1993, 4, (4), pp. 372-
373
9 WERNER, J., KAPON, E., STOFFEL, N.G., COLAS, E., SCHWARZ, S.A., and
ANDREAKIS, N.C: 'Integrated external cavity GaAs/AlGaAs lasers
using selective quantum well disordering', Appl. Phys. Lett., 1989,
55, (6), pp. 540-542
10 BARNSLEY, p E.: 'NRZ format all-optic clock extraction at 3.2Gbit/s
using two-contact semiconductor devices', Electron. Lett., 1992, 28,
(13), pp. 1253-1255
11 SMITH, K., and LUCEK, J.K.: 'All-optical clock recovery using a
mode-locked laser', Electron. Lett., 1992, 28, (19), pp. 1814-1816
Modes of a shielded conductor-backed
coplanar waveguide
R.R. Kumar, S. Aditya and D. Chadha
Indexing terms: Coplanar waveguide. Method of lines, Microwave
integrated circuits
The dispersion characteristics of conductor backed coplanar
waveguide (CBCPW) in a metal enclosure, including higher order
modes, are obtained by means of an efficient numerical technique,
namely the method of lines (MoL). Knowledge of higher order
modes is essential for estimating 'singlemode1 bandwidth and for
characterising discontinuities.
Introduction: CPW structures have attracted considerable attention
because of their features such as ease of incorporation of series
and shunt elements and suitability for monolithic microwave inte-
grated circuits. To obtain certain desirable features, the original
CPW [1] has been modified to include conductor backing [2], mul-
tilayers [3], conducting top cover [4], and shielding [5] etc. Some
recent studies have investigated the important phenomenon of
leakage of power from the dominant mode in conventional CPW
to the dielectric slab, conductor-backed dielectric slab, or parallel-
plate waveguide modes [6-8]. These phenomena place an upper
limit on the useful frequency range of the conventional structure.
Lateral confinement of the CPW has been suggested to control
such leakages and has been the subject of many recent studies [9].
Thus, to avoid leakage from the dominant mode and to provide
shielding and mechanical integrity, CBCPW in a metal enclosure
appears to be a very useful structure. As pointed out in [10], the
dispersion in such a structure can be controlled by adopting the
suspended substrate configuration.
For the CBCPW in a metal enclosure, only limited results based
on full-wave analysis have been reported [5, 10]. Information on
the various modes supported by such a structure is very important
in the design of various components from the points of view of
determining 'singlemode' bandwidth, characterising discontinuities
and transitions, and to avoid mode conversion. This Letter reports
the modal characteristics of a CBCPW in a metal enclosure. The
analysis is carried out using the method of lines, with non-equidis-
tant discretisation for numerical efficiency [11].
plane of symmetry
(electric/magnetic wall)

e0 y
i
i
i
i
1
1 1
1
i i 1
T I*

a
ii
•i "t
OT77T

Fig. 1 Conductor backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) in a metal

enclosure
Also shown are the non-equidistant discretisation lines for T|)e and ip*

10 10'
frequency, GH z
Analysis: The structure analysed is shown in Fig. 1. By virtue of
symmetry, either an electric wall or a magnetic wall can be placed
at x = all. The electric and magnetic fields of this structure are Fig. 2 Dispersion characteristics for first few modes of structure shown
given by in Fig. 1 with w = 0.14mm, a = 2mm, h, = 0.2mm, h2 = 2mm, s =
0.28mm, e, = 12.9
E = V x V x (il)ez)l(jws) - V x (ij)hz) (la)
magnetic wave
H = V x (ipez) + V x V x (x)ihz)l(jwii) (16) electric wave
where the scalar potentials tye and ip* satisfy the Helmholtz equa-
tion. By discretising ^>' and IJI* as shown in Fig. 1, and using the Conclusion: Dispersion characteristics for the dominant and higher
notation of [11], we obtain the following characteristic equation: order modes of conductor-backed CPW in a metal enclosure are
[[ill] [Yu]] \ EXS = 0 (2)
presented. Characteristics for the first few higher order modes
[[1-21] K J [ have been discussed in some detail. The dispersion in the quasi-
TEM CPW mode can be reduced, and the cutoff frequency of the
where £„ and Ea are the x and z electric field components in the higher order modes can be increased, by using the suspended-
slot region. Finally, the solutions are obtained by
CPW configuration.
det[y(/,ere//)]red = 0 (3)

Results: The eigenvalues of eqn. 3 for a GaAs substrate are plot-

ted in Figs. 2 and 3. The results in Fig. 2, V(ert/r) against fre-
quency, are computed up to 1000 GHz for the same dimensions as
in [10]. The fine structure of the first few higher order modes has
been brought out more clearly here. Curves 1 and 2 of this Figure
are obtained by placing a magnetic wall at x = a/2 whereas curve
3 corresponds to an electric wall. Curve B is obtained by removing
the centre strip and placing a magnetic wall at x=a/2. Curves 1
and B are identical to those reported in [10]. Curve 1, starting
from DC, corresponds to the CPW mode; a study of field configu-
ration at different frequencies shows that at high frequencies, the
fields for this mode strongly deviate from the quasi-TEM field
configuration and a strong j-directed electric field develops in the
dielectric layer. This feature, and to some extent the field distribu-
tion in the slot, are in common with mode 3, explaining the
marked dispersion of curve 1 and the merging of curves 1 and 3 at
high frequencies.
Fig. 3, E, ,ff against frequency, gives results for all the modes
supported by the structure up to 100 GHz for the dimensions
mentioned. Curves 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 are the various modes of per-
turbed dielectric filled waveguide (a x ft,) or finline with dielectric
substrate touching the waveguide wall (h x all), h = A, + h2. The
mode corresponding to curve 2 has the lowest cutoff frequency 50
and starts as a perturbed TEm mode of the dielectric-filled guide. frequency,GHz
I097/3I
In general, the behaviour of modes corresponding to the above
mentioned curves is dominated by the presence of high dielectric
constant material between conducting planes. The effect of the Fig. 3 Various modes up to 100 GHz for structure shown in Fig. 1, with
dielectric material can be reduced by adopting the 'suspended' dimensions w = 0.2mm, a = 2mm, A, = 0.2mm, h2 - 0.6mm, s =
0.1mm, e, = 12.9
geometry for the CPW. The remaining curve 6 corresponds to the
perturbed air filled guide (a x h2). In this frequency range, no com- magnetic wall
plex modes are found. electric wall

ELECTRONICS LETTERS 20th January 1994 Vol. 30 No. 2 147

 22 November 1993
Electronics Letters Online No: 19940093
R. R. Kumar, S. Aditya and D. Chadha (Electrical Engineering
Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi Hauz Khas, New
Delhi-110016, India)
References
1 WEN, C.P.: 'Coplanar waveguide: A surface strip transmission line
suitable for nonreciprocal gyromagnetic device applications', IEEE
Trans., 1969, MTT-17, pp. 1087-1090
2 SHIH, Y.H., and ITOH, T.: 'Analysis of conductor backed coplanar
waveguide', Electron. Lett., 1982, 18, (12), pp. 1450-1456
3 CHANG, c.-N., CHANG, w.-c, and CHEN, c.H.: 'Full-wave analysis of
multilayer coplanar lines', IEEE Trans., 1991, MTT-39, pp. 747-
750
4 GHIONE, G., and NALDI, c: 'Coplanar waveguides for MMIC
applications: Effect of upper shielding, conductor backing, finite
extent ground planes, and line-to-line coupling', IEEE Trans.,
1987, MTT-35, pp. 260-267
5 ALESSANDRI, F., GOEBEL, U., MELAI. F., and SORRENTINO, R.:
'Theoretical and experimental characterisation of non
symmetrically shielded coplanar waveguides for millimeter circuits',
IEEE Trans., 1989, MTT-37, pp. 2020-2027
6 TSUJI, M., SHIGESAWA, H., and OLINER, A.A.: 'New interesting leakage
behaviour on coplanar waveguides of finite anf infinite widths',
IEEE Trans., 1991, MTT-12, pp. 2130-2137
7 RIAZIAT, M., MAJIDI-AHY, R., and FENG, I.J.: 'Propagation modes and
dispersion characteristics of coplanar', IEEE Trans., 1990, MTT-
38, pp. 245-251
8 KE, J.-Y., TSAI. i.-s., and CHEN, c.H.: 'Dispersion and leakage
characteristics of coplanar waveguides', IEEE Trans., 1992, MTT-
40, pp. 1970-1973
9 TIEN, c.-c, TZUANG, c.-K.C, and MONROE, j . : 'Effect of lateral walls
on the propagation characteristics of finite width conductor-backed
coplanar waveguides', Electron. Lett.. 1993, 29, (15), pp. 1357-1358
10 QUIN, Y., YAMASHITA. E., and ATSUKI, K.: 'Modal dispersion control
and distortion suppression of picosecond pulses in suspended
coplanar waveguides', IEEE Trans., 1992, MTT-40, pp. 1903-1909
11 PREGLA, R., and PASCHER, w.: "The method of lines', in ITOH, T.
(Ed.): 'Numerical techniques for microwave and millimeter-wave
passive structures' (Wiley, New York, 1989), pp. 381-446
Novel excitation schemes for the microstrip
ring resonator with lower insertion loss
G.K. Gopalakrishnan and K. Chang
Indexing terms: Microwave resonantors, Microstrip
Perturbations not affecting the intrinsic resonance of a microstrip
ring are introduced to increase the coupling periphery between the
feediine and the resonator. Compared to conventional excitation,
the authors demonstrate an average improvement of ~6dB in the
insertion loss.
The microstrip ring resonator has emerged from being just a char-
is coupled. In this Letter we propose and demonstrate minimally
perturbing, passive coupling schemes with lower insertion loss, for
coupling into the ring resonator.
Coupling between the feediine and the resonator may be
increased by decreasing the size of the coupling gap (thereby
increasing the gap capacitance), by increasing the coupling periph-
ery and by a combination of the previous two. Whereas the first
approach is limited by the resolution of the lithographic equip-
ment, the other two approaches are attractive only if they mini-
mally perturb resonance in the ring. Wolff [7] first demonstrated
that perturbations could cause splitting of the two degenerate
modes of the microstrip ring. In later work [8] we found mode
splitting to be strongly dependent on the position of the perturba-
tion. When the ring was perturbed with a notch at an azimuthal
angle <>| of 0 or 180° there was no evidence of mode splitting.
However a notch at c> | = 45 or 135° caused odd modes to split. In
Fig. 1 we compare the resonance of the fundamental mode of a
ring perturbed with gaps at § = 0 and 180° with an unperturbed
ring. The positions of maximum electric field intensity are identi-
cal in both these structures indicating that physical perturbations
at <|) = 0 and 180° do not functionally alter ring [4]. The same is
also true if notches are employed in place of gaps. The excitation
schemes proposed in this Letter rely on the approach of perturb-
ing the ring at $ = 0 and 180° to increase the coupling periphery.
X = maximum electric field point
Fig. 1 Maximum electric field intensities of perturbed and unperturbed
rings
Illustrated in Fig. 2 are the four excitations schemes considered
here. Scheme A corresponds to conventional excitation, and
schemes B - D are newly proposed. In scheme B, to double the
coupling periphery compared to scheme A, two gaps were intro-
duced in the ring with the feedlines extending in between these
gaps. Here it is important to ensure that the physical lengths of
the two halves of the resonator are identical to avoid mode split-
ting. This scheme is particularly attractive for optoelectronic appli-
cations that require splitting of the resonator to facilitate DC
biasing [4]. Another approach to increasing the coupling periphery
is by employing scheme C. Here the feedlines were extended into
notches cut into the resonator to increase the coupling periphery.
Compared to scheme B, scheme C does not require the introduc-
tion of gaps in the resonator, and hence there is less radiation
from open ends. The third approach we considered was that of
scheme D. Here the feedlines were tapered and fed into 'V shaped
grooves etched into the ring. The tapers provided the necessary
high concentration of fields at the tip of the feedlines to couple
effectively into the resonator.

-O-O
acterisation tool for evaluating microstrip parameters [1], to the
realm of circuit applications. Ring resonator based tunable/switch-
able filters [2,3] and microwave-optoelectronic mixers [4] have
been demonstrated in the past. Recently, uniplanar resonators,
analogous to the microstrip ring, in the coplanar waveguide and
slotline configurations have also been reported [5], For the micro-
wave and optoelectronic circuit applications [4] of ring resonators,
a low insertion loss is desirable. This loss is composed of conduc-
tor, dielectric, radiative (owing to the curvature of the ring) and
coupling losses. Whereas at a given frequency, conductor, dielec-
tric, and radiative losses are intrinsic to the design of the ring, the
coupling loss, which is typically the dominant contributor, is
dependent on the coupling efficiency. Previously, by employing
dielectric overlays across the coupling gap, improved coupling has
been achieved [2,5]. Alternately, active devices have also been inte-
grated with the resonator to compensate for losses [6]. However,
dielectric overlays are unsuitable for optoelectronic applications [4] Fig. 2 Excitation schemes for microstrip ring
as they extend out to the section of the resonator into which light

148 ELECTRONICS LETTERS 20th January 1994 Vol.30 No. 2