Abstract: A communication system using a single crystal acoustic resonator device. The device includes a piezoelectric substrate with a piezoelectric layer formed overlying a thinned seed substrate. A topside metal electrode is formed overlying the substrate. A topside micro-trench is formed within the piezoelectric layer. A topside metal with a topside metal plug is formed within the topside micro-trench. First and second backside trenches are formed within the seed substrate under the topside metal electrode. A backside metal electrode is formed under the seed substrate, within the first backside trench, and under the topside metal electrode. A backside metal plug is formed under the seed substrate, within the second backside trench, and under the topside micro-trench. The backside metal plug is connected to the topside metal plug and the backside metal electrode. The topside micro-trench, the topside metal plug, the second backside trench, and the backside metal plug form a micro-via.

Abstract: A method of forming a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) includes forming a lower electrode on a first insulator layer within a cavity of the MEMS. The method further includes forming an upper electrode over another insulator material on top of the lower electrode which is at least partially in contact with the lower electrode. The forming of the lower electrode and the upper electrode includes adjusting a metal volume of the lower electrode and the upper electrode to modify beam bending.

Abstract: A multimode directional coupler is provided. In some embodiments, the multimode directional coupler is configured to receive a primary signal and a secondary signal at a first port of a primary waveguide. The primary signal is configured to propagate through the primary waveguide and be outputted at a second port of the primary waveguide. The multimode directional coupler also includes a secondary waveguide configured to couple the secondary signal from the primary waveguide with no coupling of the primary signal into the secondary waveguide. The secondary signal is configured to propagate through the secondary waveguide and be outputted from a port of the secondary waveguide.

Abstract: A coupling circuit for power line communications includes a coupling transformer having first and second mutually coupled windings, with the first winding connectable to a power line. The second winding includes a pair of intermediate taps with one or more tuning inductor therebetween. The inductor or inductors are set between a first portion and a second portion of the second winding of the coupling transformer. A switch member is provided coupled with the inductor. The switch member is selectively actuatable to short-circuit the inductor.

Abstract: A method for coupling dielectric waveguide cables is disclosed. The method comprises positioning a first dielectric waveguide cable and a second dielectric waveguide cable such that a first segment of the first dielectric waveguide cable and a second segment of the second dielectric waveguide cable are disposed side by side, generating an electromagnetic coupling between the first segment and the second segment, and transmitting an electromagnetic wave signal from the first dielectric waveguide cable to the second dielectric waveguide cable through the electromagnetic coupling.

Abstract: Disclosed are synthetic garnets and related devices that can be used in radio-frequency (RF) applications. In some embodiments, such RF devices can include garnets having reduced or substantially nil Yttrium or other rare earth metals. Such garnets can be configured to yield high dielectric constants, and ferrite devices, such as TM-mode circulators/isolators, formed from such garnets can benefit from reduced dimensions. Further, reduced or nil rare earth content of such garnets can allow cost-effective fabrication of ferrite-based RF devices. In some embodiments, such ferrite devices can include other desirable properties such as low magnetic resonance linewidths. Examples of fabrication methods and RF-related properties are also disclosed.

Abstract: A transmission line transformer having a time delay network having a signal terminal and a pair of output terminals connected to the signal terminal through a corresponding one of a pair of time delay elements, the delay line elements having different time delays. A pair of transmission lines, each one having a pair of electrically coupled elements. A first one of the elements in one of the transmission lines has a first end connected to one of the pair of output terminals. A second one of the elements in such one of the transmission lines has a second end connected to a second end of one of the pair of elements in the other one of the transmission lines. The first one of the pair of elements in the other one of the pair of transmission lines is coupled to a second one of the pair of output terminals.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with mode conversion for electromagnetic field modification. A mode converting structure (holographic metamaterial) is formed with a distribution of dielectric constants chosen to convert an electromagnetic radiation pattern from a first mode to a second mode to attain a target electromagnetic radiation pattern that is different from the input electromagnetic radiation pattern. A solution to a holographic equation provides a sufficiently accurate approximation of a distribution of dielectric constants that can be used to form a mode converting device for use with one or more transmission lines, such as waveguides. One or more optimization algorithms can be used to improve the efficiency of the mode conversion.

Abstract: Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a guided wave switch that selectively aligns an end of the first dielectric core of a first conductorless guided wave cable with an end of a selected one of a plurality of second dielectric cores of at least one second conductorless guided wave cable to facilitate coupling of the first guided waves from the first dielectric core to a selected one of the plurality of second dielectric cores. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for transmitting energy conveyed in the form of a guided surface-waveguide mode along the surface of a lossy medium such as, e.g., a terrestrial medium by exciting a guided surface waveguide probe.

Abstract: A method of forming a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) includes forming a lower electrode on a first insulator layer within a cavity of the MEMS. The method further includes forming an upper electrode over another insulator material on top of the lower electrode which is at least partially in contact with the lower electrode. The forming of the lower electrode and the upper electrode includes adjusting a metal volume of the lower electrode and the upper electrode to modify beam bending.

Abstract: The disclosure provides a quadrature hybrid. The quadrature hybrid has a first, second, third and fourth ports. The quadrature hybrid comprises: a substrate having a plurality of dielectric layers; a first, second and third capacitors, each capacitor having a first predetermined number of layers each being arranged on one of the plurality of dielectric layers; and a first, second, third and fourth inductors, each inductor having a second predetermined number of layers each being arranged on one of the plurality of dielectric layers.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a radio frequency (RF) conductive medium for reducing the undesirable insertion loss of all RF hardware components and improving the Q factor or “quality factor” of RF resonant cavities. The RF conductive medium decreases the insertion loss of the RF device by including one or more conductive pathways in a transverse electromagnetic axis that are immune to skin effect loss and, by extension, are substantially free from resistance to the conduction of RF energy.

Abstract: An RF hybrid coupler with phase and attenuation control that efficiently combines the functions of phase shifting and attenuation within a circuit. Embodiments include a hybrid coupler connected to parallel resistance-reactance (RX) circuits, where the reactance X may be a capacitor C or an inductor L; a hybrid coupler connected to parallel RX circuits (which may be variable), each of which is in turn series coupled to an inductive element L which corrects for attenuation range collapse while providing for fairly flat phase shift and attenuation performance as a function of frequency; and two hybrid couplers in a combined phase shifter and attenuator configuration, each with opposite frequency-dependent slopes and cascaded in series such that the slopes substantially cancel each other out, resulting in flat responses versus frequency.

Abstract: A high-frequency switch module includes a switch element, a filter element, an inductor, and first and second transmission conductors. The switch element includes a common terminal and first and second selected terminals selectively connected to the common terminal. The first transmission conductor connects the first selected terminal and a SAW filter of the filter element. The second transmission conductor connects the second selected terminal and a SAW filter of the filter element. The inductor is connected between the first and second transmission conductors. A separation distance between at least a portion of the first transmission conductor and a portion of the second transmission conductor is shorter than a separation distance between a land conductor of the first selected terminal and a land conductor of the second selected terminal, and the transmission conductors are capacitively coupled.

Abstract: A transformer-based balun circuit is disclosed herein. The balun can be implemented using a spiral transformer, where primary and secondary transformer windings can be inductively coupled and can be implemented on the same metal layer (or different metal layers, e.g. vertically adjacent metal layers). The balun can further include a compensation capacitor and a digital frequency tuning circuit. The compensation capacitor can be introduced at one of the differential terminals to reduce or suppress the amplitude and phase imbalance. The digital frequency tuning circuit can be a switchable bank of capacitors, which allows for tuning the frequency of operation of the transformer-based balun.

Abstract: A coupler for proximity wireless communication primarily based on an electric induction field generated therein, includes a substrate, a ground layer formed on a first region of the substrate and surrounding a second region of the substrate on three sides of the second region, a fourth side of the second region being defined by an edge of the substrate, and a coupling element electrically isolated from the ground layer and formed on the second region of the substrate. The coupling element includes a first portion that extends adjacent to and along the edge of the substrate and a second portion that is electrically connected to the first portion, extends inwardly from the edge of the substrate, and includes an inductor.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for transmitting and receiving energy conveyed in the form of a guided surface-waveguide mode along the surface of a lossy medium such as, e.g., a terrestrial medium excited by a guided surface waveguide probe.

Abstract: A surface acoustic wave filter includes first and second signal terminals and first and second IDT electrodes that are adjacent to or in a vicinity of each other in an x-axis direction and that each includes a pair of comb-shaped electrodes each including a busbar electrode extending in the x-axis direction and electrode fingers extending in a y-axis direction. One of the comb-shaped electrodes in each of the first and second IDT electrodes is electrically connected to the first and second signal terminals, respectively. The surface acoustic wave filter further includes a bridging capacitance including a pair of comb-shaped electrodes arranged in a region outside an overlap region of the electrode fingers. One of the comb-shaped electrodes of the bridging capacitance is electrically connected to the comb-shaped electrode in the first IDT electrode. The other of the comb-shaped electrodes of the bridging capacitance is electrically connected to the comb-shaped electrode in the second IDT electrode.

Abstract: A galvanic isolation circuit is formed by a differential transformer having primary and secondary windings for transmission of signals over a carrier between the primary and the secondary windings of the transformer. A galvanic isolation oxide layer is provide between the primary and secondary windings. Each winding includes include a center tap providing a low-impedance paths for dc and low frequency components of common-mode currents through the differential transformer. A pass-band stage is coupled to the secondary winding of the transformer and configured to permit propagation of signals over said carrier through the pass-band amplifier stage while providing for a rejection of common-mode noise.