High Frequency Waveguides, Resonators, Electrical Networks, Or Other Devices Of The Waveguide Type (e.g., Phase Shifters, Cavity Filters, Etc.) Patents (Class 505/210)
  • Patent number: 5895775
    Abstract: A microwave grating 10 for a dispersive delay line, the grating comprising: (a) a terminal 12 for receiving a wideband RF signal including multiple RF signals of different frequencies; (b) a primary transmission line 14 capable of carrying the wideband RF signal, the primary transmission line 14 being electrically connected to said terminal 12; and (c) a plurality of non-resonant open-stub transmission lines 16 each having a length 18, the open-stub transmission lines 16 being capacitively loaded on the primary transmission line 14 at spaced locations 20 along the primary transmission line 14. Each open-stub transmission line 16 effects perturbations in the signal carrying capability of the primary transmission line 14 where the open-stub transmission line is located.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1999
    Assignee: TRW Inc.
    Inventor: Ming-Jong Shiau
  • Patent number: 5896407
    Abstract: A high-efficiency plasma confining method, and a laser oscillating method of oscillating a laser, confine a plasma generated by entering a laser beam via an entry of a superconducting cylinder within the cylinder. The methods include the step of inhibiting diffusion or expansion in the radial or axial direction of the generated plasma by reducing the inside diameter of the cylinder between the entrance and an exit thereof. A magnetic line of force may be generated in the axial direction by winding a coil around the superconducting cylinder, to thereby confine the plasma. A laser oscillator for carrying out the method includes a superconducting cylinder, a supply mechanism for supplying a gas or a solid into the cylinder, and a laser irradiating mechanism. The inside diameter of the cylinder is reduced between an entry and an exit thereof, or the inside diameter of the cylinder is reduced at the entry and the exit thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1999
    Assignees: Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Miyama Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Yamauchi, Tomio Shiina, Youichi Ishige
  • Patent number: 5888942
    Abstract: Microwave hairpin-comb filters utilize a plurality of hairpin (i.e., folded) half-wavelength microstrip or stripline resonators arranged side-by-side and all with the same orientation. The coupling regions between resonators extend parallel to the sides of the resonators for substantially 1/8 to 1/4 wavelength at the frequency of resonance of the resonators. This length of coupling region between resonators, along with all resonators being oriented in the same direction, result in resonance effects in the coupling regions between the resonators. These effects greatly reduce the couplings between the resonators so that the resonators can be very closely spaced so as to produce a compact filter structure yet still have a narrow passband. For example, a compact narrow band filter structure is possible using high-Q nominally half wavelength hairpin resonators. The structure can also be made to produce poles of attenuation adjacent to the passband in order to enhance the filter cutoff characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1999
    Assignee: Superconductor Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: George L. Matthaei
  • Patent number: 5877123
    Abstract: A main CPW structure is formed by depositing two parallel films of a conductor on a film of a single crystal ferroelectric material. Cavities are formed by placing irises in a main CPW structure. These cavities are tuned to a dominant resonant frequency. By the application of a bias voltage to the main CPW structure with cavities, the permittivity of the film of the ferroelectric material, underneath the CPW structure, is changed. Thus the dominant resonant frequency of the filter is changed. By changing the level of the bias voltages, different dominant resonant frequencies of the filter are obtained. Thus a tunable band pass filter is obtained. With branch cavities on a CPW structure deposited on a ferroelectric film, a tunable band reject filter is obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 2, 1999
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5869429
    Abstract: A main symmetrical CPW structure is formed by depositing three parallel films of a conductor on a film of a single crystal ferroelectric material. Cavities are formed by placing irises in a main CPW structure. These cavities are tuned to a dominant resonant frequency. By the application of a bias voltage to the main CPW structure with cavities, the permittivity of the film of the ferroelectric material, underneath the CPW structure, is changed. Thus the dominant resonant frequency of the filter is changed. By changing the level of the bias voltages, different dominant resonant frequencies of the filter are obtained. Thus a tunable band pass filter is obtained. With branch cavities on a CPW structure deposited on a ferroelectric film, a tunable band reject filter is obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5856768
    Abstract: An electrical interconnect provides a path between cryogenic or cryocooled circuitry and ambient temperatures. As a system, a cryocable 10 is combined with a trough-line contact or transition 20. In the preferred embodiment, the cryocable 10 comprises a conductor 11 disposed adjacent an insulator 12 which is in turn disposed adjacent another conductor 13. The components are sized so as to balance heat load through the cryocable 10 with the insertion loss. In the most preferred embodiment, a coaxial cryocable 10 has a center conductor 11 surrounded by a dielectric 12 (e.g. Teflon.TM.) surrounded by an outer conductor 13 which has a thickness between about 6 and 20 microns. The heat load is preferably less than one Watt, and most preferably less than one tenth of a Watt, with an insertion loss less than one decibel. In another aspect of the invention, a trough-line contact or transition 20 is provided in which the center conductor 11 is partially enveloped by dielectric 12 to form a relatively flat portion 28.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Assignee: Superconductor Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory L. Hey-Shipton, Wallace Y. Kunimoto, Michael J. Scharen, Stephan M. Rohlfing, David J. Kapolnek
  • Patent number: 5847627
    Abstract: A resonant structure and filter include a resonant element mounted to the cover of a housing. A transmission line passes through the cover and is connected to a coupling loop. The coupling loop is located adjacent the resonator and is connected to ground. A coupling tuner is attached to the housing and includes a post which is movably attached to the housing. The tuner extends between the coupling loop and the resonator, and may be adjusted to change the electromagnetic coupling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 8, 1998
    Assignee: Illinois Superconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Piotr O. Radzikowski, Craig R. Clermont
  • Patent number: 5843871
    Abstract: An electromagnetic filter has a unitary filter body defining a number of cavities. A cover for the filter body has several resonators attached to it which are located in the cavities when the cover is attached to the filter body. The cover has a recess into which a transmission line is placed. Passageways through the cover connect the transmission line with coupling mechanisms mounted on the cover adjacent the resonators. The resonators have a generally toroidal shape and the coupling mechanisms are shaped to provide the desired coupling between the transmission line and the resonators. An adjustable capacitor attached to the coupling loop has a passageway through its housing to eliminate moisture from the capacitor. The resonator and cavities may be tuned by use of a tuning mechanism which is also designed to minimize moisture which might prevent movement of the tuner during tuning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1998
    Assignee: Illinois Superconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Mostafa A. Beik, H. Clark Bell, Amr Abdelmonem
  • Patent number: 5838213
    Abstract: An electromagnetic filter includes a plurality of dielectrically-loaded split-ring resonators. The resonators are oriented side-by-side generally within a single plane to achieve side-coupling. The side-coupled orientation of the resonators allows adjacent resonators to be set apart at a distance to achieve electrical coupling. Both the side-coupled orientation of the resonators and the dielectric-loading result in significant volumetric reductions without detrimental decreases in the quality factor of the filter. Coupling screws disposed between adjacent resonators provide further control over the coupling between adjacent resonators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Illinois Superconductor Corporation
    Inventor: Qiang Huang
  • Patent number: 5804534
    Abstract: A microwave filter has at least one resonator with a cavity and a conducting or superconducting loading element inside the cavity. The resonator also has first and second tuning screws at right angles and a mode coupling screw at 45.degree. angles to both tuning screws. This filter can achieve a high Q in a small size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 8, 1998
    Assignee: University of Maryland
    Inventor: Kawthar Abdelhamid Zaki
  • Patent number: 5786303
    Abstract: A microwave bandpass filter has a planar configuration formed in microstrip or stripline where a circuit is printed onto a substrate. The filter has at least two patch resonators with a T-shaped coupling path extending between the two resonators. In a further embodiment of the invention, one or more resonators is isolated from other resonators in the filter by being located in a compartmentalized housing or separate housings to eliminate undesirable coupling between a resonator in one compartment and a resonator in another compartment. The filter of the present invention has improved performance characteristics over previous patch resonator filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 28, 1998
    Assignee: Com Dev Ltd.
    Inventor: Raafat R. Mansour
  • Patent number: 5770546
    Abstract: The superconductor bandpass filter for electromagnetic signals includes a substrate (5); striplines (1) made of a type II superconductive material arranged on the substrate and a tuning device (2) for tuning the superconductor bandpass filter consisting of a device for changing a magnetic penetration depth .lambda.(T) of the striplines (1), so as to change the effective length, effective width and effective spacing of the striplines and thus to change the center frequency and/or the bandwidth. The device for changing the magnetic penetration depth .lambda.(T) of the striplines (1) advantageously includes a device for exerting a mechanical force or stress on the striplines and/or a device for varying a magnetic field applied to the striplines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1998
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wolfgang Grothe, Klaus Voigtlaender, Matthias Klauda, Claus Schmidt
  • Patent number: 5750473
    Abstract: An improved high temperature superconducting planar filter wherein the coupling circuit or connecting network is located, in whole or in part, on the side of the substrate opposite the resonators and enables higher power handling capability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventor: Zhi-Yuan Shen
  • Patent number: 5731269
    Abstract: An adjustable coupler for coupling electromagnetic energy into or out of a resonant cavity has an input/output line connected to a loop or conductor. A base of the coupler has a passageway into which a bolt is inserted. Threads on a bolt engage threads on a nut attached to the conductor. A head of the bolt is held in place on the outside of the base so that rotation of the head moves the nut and conductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1998
    Assignee: Illinois Superconductor Corporation
    Inventor: Craig Robert Clermont
  • Patent number: 5721195
    Abstract: The planar superconducting resonator includes a substrate (1), a symmetrically shaped stripline (2) applied to the substrate (1) in which two orthogonal electromagnetic modes are excitable and including a symmetry perturbation for coupling the two orthogonal electromagnetic modes, an additional stripline (5) arranged on the substrate in the vicinity of the symmetry perturbation, a Josephson junction (3) arranged between the symmetry perturbation and the additional stripline (5) and a device for generating and controlling a magnetic field at the Josephson junction (3) so that the degree of coupling between the two orthogonal electromagnetic modes is varied. The Josephson junction (3) is formed by a non-superconducting layer (4) arranged between the symmetry perturbation and the additional stripline (5).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1998
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wolfgang Grothe, Klaus Voigtlaender, Matthias Klauda, Claus Schmidt
  • Patent number: 5721194
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a tuneable fringe effect capacitor for conducting radio frequency energy. The capacitor includes a thin film of ferroelectric material, a pair of films of a conductive material deposited on the ferroelectric film with a gap between the films, and a substrate for the ferroelectric material and the conductive films. The capacitance value across the gap is varied by applying a voltage to the ferroelectric material and thereby altering the dielectric constant of the ferroelectric material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1998
    Assignees: Superconducting Core Technologies, Inc., University Research Corporation
    Inventors: Robert M. Yandrofski, John Charles Price, Frank Barnes, Allen M. Hermann, James Floyd Scott
  • Patent number: 5710105
    Abstract: High power high temperature superconductor filters having TM.sub.0i0 mode (i=1, 2, 3, . . . ) circular shaped high temperature superconductor planar resonators or symmetrical polygon shaped resonators which eliminates wrap-around H-field and very sharp current peaks at the edge of the resonator are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 20, 1998
    Assignee: E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventor: Zhi-Yuan Shen
  • Patent number: 5703020
    Abstract: A MMIC high Tc superconducting ferroelectric phase shifter is comprised of as microstrip line on a film of a single crystal ferroelectric material. To operate the phase shifter over a desired bandwidth a quadrature band pass filter, having 1,2,3, . . . coupled lines, is coupled to the phase shifter. The microstrip lines are comprised of a high Tc superconductor such as YBCO, TBCCO.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 30, 1997
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5693595
    Abstract: A termination for a high-temperature superconductive thin-film microwave device formed on the obverse side of a substrate with the reverse side of the substrate having a ground plane. The termination can include a thin-film resistor being integral with an operative component, with the substrate being a preselected dielectric substrate. The resistor can have an epitaxially-formed layer of molybdenum metal of a first preselected thickness on the obverse side, and an epitaxially-formed layer of titanium metal of a second preselected thickness thereon. The termination includes a epitaxially-formed thin-film capacitor integral with the resistor. The capacitor can have a layer of titanium metal formed on a portion of the obverse side with a layer of gold metal formed thereon. The substrate can be lanthanum aluminate, and the high-temperature superconductive film can be a yttrium-barium-copper-oxide film. The ground plane can be made of a high-temperature superconductive film and annealed gold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 2, 1997
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Inventors: Salvador H. Talisa, Daniel L. Meier
  • Patent number: 5679624
    Abstract: A number of MMIC ferroelectric variable time delay devices are presented. Each embodiment has a microstrip configuration deposited on a ferroelectric film which is deposited on a high Tc superconductor substrate connected to the ground. A bias electric field changes the permittivity of the ferroelectric material. As a result, a variable time delay is obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 21, 1997
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5640042
    Abstract: A voltage-variable ceramic capacitance device which has a plurality of las in a matching lattice structure and which possesses a symmetric voltage characteristic and a determinable voltage breakdown and has a high resistance to overbiasing or reverse biasing from an applied voltage. The device consists of a carrier substrate layer, a high temperature superconducting metallic layer deposited on the substrate, a thin film ferroelectric deposited on the metallic layer, and a plurality of metallic conductive means disposed on the thin film ferroelectric which are placed in electrical contact with RF transmission lines in tuning devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 17, 1997
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
    Inventors: Thomas E. Koscica, Richard W. Babbitt, William D. Wilber
  • Patent number: 5629266
    Abstract: Electromagnetic resonators according to the invention comprise a first body, exemplarily a split thin ring, that is disposed between two planar field confining plates. The thickness (t) of the first body is less (typically less than 1/2 or 1/10) of the outer radius (R) of the body, and the distance between the first body and the confining plates is less than R. In preferred embodiments the first body comprises superconducting material. Resonators according to the invention can be readily assembled into relatively compact filters that are easily tunable, can have large quality factor, and offer the possibility of single mode operation. Such filters can advantageously be used in, e.g., wireless communications systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 13, 1997
    Assignees: Lucent Technologies Inc., Illinois Superconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Robert D. Lithgow, Eva Koh, Malcolm E. Lines, George E. Peterson
  • Patent number: 5618777
    Abstract: Lumped element electrical components, such as inductors and capacitors, are formed to include high temperature superconducting materials. In the preferred embodiment, thin film epitaxial high temperature superconductors are patterned to form capacitors and inductors on low loss substrates. Preferably, a ground plane is formed on the back side of the substrate, most preferably being formed of high temperature superconducting material, or other highly conductive materials such as gold or copper. Various advantageous structures include a planar spiral structure, a zig-zag serpentine structure, a single coil structure and a double coil structure. Single layer and multilayer structures are included. Improved narrow bandpass filters and high Q resonator structures are formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 8, 1997
    Assignee: Superconductor Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory L. Hey-Shipton, Roger J. Forse, David L. Skoglund
  • Patent number: 5616539
    Abstract: Lumped element electrical components, such as inductors and capacitors, are formed to include high temperature superconducting materials. In the preferred embodiment, thin film epitaxial high temperature superconductors are patterned to form capacitors and inductors on low loss substrates. Preferably, a ground plane is formed on the back side of the substrate, most preferably being formed of high temperature superconducting material, or other highly conductive materials such as gold or copper. Various advantageous structures include a planar spiral structure, a zig-zag serpentine structure, a single coil structure and a double coil structure. Single layer and multilayer structures are included. Improved narrow bandpass filters, bandreject filters and high Q resonator structures are formed. Chebyshev bandpass filters are formed from multiple series connected zig-zag filter structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 1, 1997
    Assignee: Superconductor Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory L. Hey-Shipton, Stephan M. Rohlfing, George L. Matthaei, Roger J. Forse
  • Patent number: 5616538
    Abstract: A bandpass filter comprises multiple side-coupled strip line resonators wherein the resonators are staggered or offset with respect to their nearest neighbors by substantially 1/4 wavelength or less. In the preferred embodiment, the strip line bandpass filter structure has substantially parallel resonators arrayed with substantially constant spacing between the resonators with 1/4 wavelength overlap or less. Generally, the amount of stagger between nearest neighbors is reduced for resonators toward the center of the filter. Coupling between resonators is controlled by varying the relative amount of stagger between resonators. The resonators may be formed from normal metal or superconducting materials, such as YBCO or thallium containing superconductors. A strip line structure may be formed by utilizing two mirror structures each comprising a substrate having a ground plane and a patterned staggered resonator array formed on the substrate on a side opposite the ground plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 1, 1997
    Assignee: Superconductor Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory L. Hey-Shipton, George L. Matthaei
  • Patent number: 5616540
    Abstract: A filter for processing electromagnetic signals has a housing with resonators located inside the cavity of that housing. The resonators, which may be made in part from superconducting material, have rounded exterior surfaces without corners to provide a more desirable coating surface and uniform electric field around the resonators. The filter housing may be composed of a plurality of housing cells, each containing a resonator. These cells can be removably attached to other cells so that resonators may be added to or removed from the filter as may be required for a particular application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 1, 1997
    Assignee: Illinois Superconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Robert D. Lithgow, James M. Peters
  • Patent number: 5589440
    Abstract: High Tc superconducting limiters are designed to operate at two or more levels of input signals. In one waveguide embodiment, multiple half wavelength branch waveguide lines are connected to a main waveguide line. The half wavelength lines are terminated with tuned circuits of a capacitance, made of a ferroelectric material, and an inductance provided by a waveguide line. In another waveguide embodiment, the branch lines are terminated in tuned cavities each having a ferroelectric material. In a microstrip embodiment, multiple half wavelength branch ferroelectric lines of different impedances are connected to a main line. In a second microstrip line embodiment, tuned circuits, with differing L and C values, are connected to a main transmission line through a half a wavelength branch transmission line. The capacitance is made of a ferroelectric material. The conductor, deposited on the microstrip lines, and the waveguides are made of a single crystal high Tc superconductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 31, 1996
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5585331
    Abstract: Microwave bandpass filters contain dielectric resonators mounted in dielectric blocks, which are in turn mounted in cavities. There can be more than one dielectric resonator per cavity. Significant size reduction has been achieved over prior art filters. The filters can be operated at cryogenic temperatures and since the results attainable at cryogenic temperatures are repeatable, the filters can be tuned at cryogenic temperatures and returned to room temperature before being returned to cryogenic temperatures for operating purposes. When operated at cryogenic temperatures, the filters contain shorting plates having high temperature superconducting material thereon. The filters can be constructed with various configurations and can be operated in either a single mode or a dual-mode. Previous single mode or dual-mode dielectric resonator filters are larger in size and mass than the filters of the present application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1996
    Assignee: Com Dev Ltd.
    Inventors: Raafat R. Mansour, Van Dokas
  • Patent number: 5585330
    Abstract: A high-temperature superconductor (HT.sub.c S) in a microstrip configurat which is electrically related to a superconducting coupler and which is controlled by a heater disposed over the superconducting microstrip line. This limiter configuration is used in a series configuration with other circuitry and utilizes the low loss characteristics of the HT.sub.c S material and the wide bandwidth characteristics of microstrip. The structure itself is a five layer microstrip geometry which includes a normal metal ground plane; a dielectric substrate disposed on the metal ground plane; a superconducting microstrip transmission disposed on the substrate; a dielectric film layer disposed on the superconducting microstrip; and a heating element disposed on the dielectric film layer and over the superconducting microstrip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1996
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
    Inventors: Roland Cadotte, Jr., Richard W. Babbitt, Xiaoguang G. Sun
  • Patent number: 5543386
    Abstract: A joint device structure for capacitive microwave coupling of a superconducting device arranged on a substrate with room temperature circuitry; including a superconducting wave guide of an oxide superconductor on said substrate from one side to the superconducting device launching microwave to the superconducting device, a pair of superconducting groundplanes of an oxide superconductor arranged at an end of the superconducting wave guide sandwiching the end of the superconducting wave guide with a little gap and a microwave probe-head connected to the room temperature circuitry arranged above the superconducting wave guide with a coupling gap having three probing pins corresponding to the superconducting wave guide and the superconducting groundplanes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1996
    Assignees: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., University of Maryland
    Inventors: Alp T. Findikoglu, Takao Nakamura
  • Patent number: 5538941
    Abstract: A superconductor/insulator metal oxide hetero structure for electric field tunable microwave device, including a dielectric substrate, a first superconducting electrode of an oxide superconductor provided on said dielectric substrate, an insulating layer formed on the first superconducting electrode and a second electrode arranged on the insulating layer in which the conductivity of the first superconducting electrode and/or the dielectric property of the insulating layer can be changed by a dc bias voltage applied between the first and the second electrodes so that surface resistance and/or surface reactance can be changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 23, 1996
    Assignee: University of Maryland
    Inventors: Alp T. Findikoglu, Thirumalai Venkatesan
  • Patent number: 5532210
    Abstract: Periodic and pseudo-periodic slow wave structures comprising a plurality of adjacent sections, each section comprising a dielectric ring in contact with a disk coated with high temperature superconducting thin film, having coupling between the sections and tunable phase velocity for use in particle accelerators and traveling wave tubes are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 2, 1996
    Assignee: E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventor: Zhi-Yuan Shen
  • Patent number: 5530927
    Abstract: A feed network parallel superconductive tunnel junction circuit that acts as a doubly balanced mixer and can be utilized as a millimeter wave satellite communications link. A quadrature-fed mixer circuit relies on a network of 90 degree couplers to feed signal and local oscillator power to four identical SIS detectors where SIS is a superconductor-insulator-superconductor layer construction. Power applied to either port is split equally to each detector, and the relative phase relationship of the signal and the LO is preserved. By selecting the appropriate polarity of the dc junction bias, the detected IF output of the SIS detectors adds coherently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1996
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventor: Andrew D. Smith
  • Patent number: 5512539
    Abstract: A microwave component includes a superconducting signal conductor formed on a first dielectric substrate, and a superconducting ground conductor formed on a second dielectric substrate. The first dielectric substrate is stacked on the superconducting ground conductor of the second dielectric substrate. Each of the superconducting signal conductor and the superconducting ground conductor is formed of an oxide superconductor thin film of which crystals are orientated in such a manner that the c-planes of the crystals are parallel to the direction in which an electro-magnetic field generated by microwave launched to the microwave component changes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 30, 1996
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Matsuura, Kenjiro Higaki, Hideo Itozaki
  • Patent number: 5504059
    Abstract: There is disclosed a superconducting microwave component including a first substrate of a dielectric material with a conductor line of an oxide superconductor formed in a required pattern on the surface, a second substrate of a dielectric with a grounding conductor of an oxide superconductor formed on the surface, and a third substrate of a dielectric which is laid on the first and the second substrates, with the third substrate sandwiched between the first and the second substrates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1996
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenjiro Higaki, Hideo Itozaki
  • Patent number: 5498771
    Abstract: Microwave bandpass filters contain dielectric resonators mounted in dielectric blocks, which are in turn mounted in cavities. There can be more than one dielectric resonator per cavity. Significant size reduction has been achieved over prior art filters. The filters can be operated at cryogenic temperatures and since the results attainable at cryogenic temperatures are repeatable, the filters can be tuned at cryogenic temperatures and returned to room temperature before being returned to cryogenic temperatures for operating purposes. When operated at cryogenic temperatures, the filters contain shorting plates having high temperature superconducting material thereon. The filters can be constructed with various configurations and can be operated in either a single mode or a dual-mode. Previous single mode or dual-mode dielectric resonator filters are larger in size and mass than the filters of the present application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 12, 1996
    Assignee: Com Dev Ltd.
    Inventors: Raafat R. Mansour, Van Dokas
  • Patent number: 5496795
    Abstract: The design of a high Tc superconducting band pass tunable ferroelectric filter (TFF) is presented. The band pass TFF consists of an edge coupled filter on a ferroelectric substrate. Each input and output microstrip line is a quarter wavelength long. Each intermediate microstrip line is a half wavelength long with the first quarter wavelength being coupled to the preceding microstrip line and the remaining quarter wavelength being coupled to the succeeding microstrip line. Each microstrip line is connected, through an LC filter, to a common bias voltage source. Application of a bias voltage changes the frequency of operation of the filter. For matching the impedances of the input and output of the filter to the impedances of an input and output circuit respectively, matching ferroelectric quarter wavelength transformers are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1996
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5496797
    Abstract: There is disclosed a superconducting microwave component including a first substrate having a conductor line formed of an oxide superconductor on the surface thereof, a second substrate having a grounding conductor formed of an oxide superconductor on the surface thereof, and a package of a conducting material housing the first and the second substrates so that they are substantially parallel with each other. At least one portion of the grounding conductor is in contact with the inside of the package, through surface contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1996
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenjiro Higaki, Hideo Itozaki
  • Patent number: 5496796
    Abstract: The design of a high Tc superconducting band reject tunable ferroelectric filter (TFF) is presented. The band reject TFF consists of a main microstrip line on a dielectric substrate. One or more half wavelength microstrip resonators, on a ferroelectric substrate, is coupled to the main microstrip line. At a resonant frequency of a resonator, a short circuit is presented on the main microstrip line resulting in a rejection of signal of that frequency. By applying a bias voltage to a resonator, the frequency of the resonator and, as such, the reject band of the filter is changed. Different resonators can be tuned to different frequencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1996
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5493719
    Abstract: A high frequency receiver detects and downconverts 50-1,000 GHz radio frequency signals using a receiver consisting of a lens and planar antenna, pre-amplifier, mixer, local oscillator, and IF-amplifier. The insulating dielectric lens is used to focus terahertz radio frequency signals onto the thin film antenna. The preamplifier amplifies these faint signals so that they can be downconverted into an intermediate frequency by the mixer and local oscillator. The mixer is a dual port device which provides isolation of the local oscillator and input signal to avoid saturation of the preamplifier. The IF amplifier boosts the amplitude of the downconverted IF signal produced by the mixer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1996
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventors: Andrew D. Smith, Arnold H. Silver
  • Patent number: 5484764
    Abstract: A filter for an electromagnetic signal is formed of a set of planar resonators, preferably of superconductor material, interspersed among a set of electrically conductive sheets, outermost ones of the sheets serving as ground planes, and the inner ones of the sheets having irises for coupling electromagnetic power between the resonators. The resonators and the sheets have a planar shape, are parallel to each other, and are stacked one upon the other. Dielectric material insulates and serves to support the resonators and the sheets in their respective locations. There are at least two resonators in the set of resonators, and at least one inner sheet of the set of sheets. A first coupling element serves to couple an electromagnetic signal to a first resonator of filter to excite in the first resonator a first mode of electromagnetic vibration in a plane defined by the axis and a point of coupling of the first coupling element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1992
    Date of Patent: January 16, 1996
    Assignee: Space Systems/Loral, Inc.
    Inventors: Slawomir J. Fiediuszko, John A. Curtis
  • Patent number: 5484765
    Abstract: An apparatus and method are described for gyromagnetic interaction between the electromagnetic field generated by an electromagnetic signal conducted by a superconductor and the magnetization contained in a magnetic structure. A ferrite magnetic structure is disposed in close proximity to a superconductor conducting the electromagnetic signal. A magnetization is induced in the magnetic structure with a geometry such that the magnetic flux is confined within the magnetic structure or eliminated from the magnetic structure so as not to produce an external magnetic field to interfere with the superconducting properties of the superconductor. The electromagnetic field of the signal conducted by the superconductor interacts gyromagnetically with the magnetization of the magnetic structure, inducing a phase shift in the electromagnetic signal traversing the superconductor. Thus, the invention induces a phase shift in the signal with minimum insertion loss due to electrical resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 16, 1996
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Gerald F. Dionne, Daniel E. Oates
  • Patent number: 5472935
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to ferroelectric and superconducting thin films used in combination to produce low-loss passive microwave and millimeter wave devices which are frequency tuneable. Various metal oxide superconducting and ferroelectric thin films can be deposited in numerous multilayer geometries via a variety of deposition techniques to produce devices which can manipulate microwave and millimeter wave signals through the application of voltage bias signals across the ferroelectric films. Numerous superconducting microwave and millimeter wave devices, including delay lines, phase shifters, resonators, oscillators, filters, electrically-small antennas, half-loop antennas, directional couplers, patch antennas, and various radiative gratings, are made frequency-tuneable by utilizing voltage-tuneable capacitor structures fabricated from voltage-biased ferroelectric thin films.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 5, 1995
    Inventors: Robert M. Yandrofski, John C. Price, Frank Barnes, Allen M. Hermann, James F. Scott
  • Patent number: 5459123
    Abstract: A cylindrical cavity is loaded with a ferroelectric rod and is resonant at the dominant mode. The loaded cylidrical cavity is a band pass filter. As a bias voltage is applied across the ferroelectric rod, its permittivity changes resulting in a new resonant frequency for the loaded cylindrical cavity. The ferroelectric rod is operated at a temperature slightly above its Curie temperature. The loaded cylindrical cavity is kept at a constant designed temperature. The cylindrical cavity is made of conductors, a single crystal high Tc superconductor including YBCO and a single crystal dielectric, including sapphire and lanthanum aluminate, the interior conducting surfaces of which are deposited with a film of a single crystal high Tc superconductor. Embodiments also include waveguide single and multiple cavity type tunable filters. Embodiments also include tunable band reject filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1995
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5457087
    Abstract: A dielectric resonator apparatus for measuring the parameters of high temperature superconducting thin film is disclosed having improved means for positioning the dielectric and substrates, holding the resonator components in place during use, suppressing undesirable modes, adjusting the magnetic dipole coupling, and coupling to an electrical circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1995
    Assignee: E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventors: Robert G. Dorothy, Viet X. Nguyen, Zhi-Yuan Shen
  • Patent number: 5451567
    Abstract: The high power ferroelectric RF phase shifter contains a ferroelectric material in a microstrip line section. Between the ferroelectric phase shifter and the input, there is a ferroelectric matching transformer. Between the ferroelectric phase shifter and the output, there is a quarter wave ferroelectric matching transformer. A bias field is connected across the top and bottom surfaces of the ferroelectric material. When a bias field is applied across the ferroelectric material, the permittivity is reduced and as such the velocity of propagation is increased. This causes an increase in the effective electrical length of the phase shifter. Increasing the bias voltage increases the phase shift. The ferroelectric RF phase shifter may be constructed of a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC). The ferroelectric material is operated above its Curie temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 19, 1995
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5413983
    Abstract: A tetrahedral junction waveguide switch having a first length of hollow rangular waveguide and a second length of hollow rectangular waveguide adjacent each other with a ferrite rod longitudinally disposed therebetween. A magnetic field is created by a superconducting switching coil placed around the junction of the two lengths of waveguide. The normally magnetically biased ferrite rod permits electromagnetic wave energy to be transmitted through the first and second lengths of waveguide. An open circuit control means selectively and controllably interrupts the current flowing around the superconducting switching coil causing the longitudinal magnetic field to be removed from the normally magnetically biased ferrite rod. The waveguide switch is thereby placed in a cut off, nontransmission, or reflective mode preventing transmission of electromagnetic wave energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 9, 1995
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
    Inventors: Richard A. Stern, Richard W. Babbitt, Thomas E. Koscica
  • Patent number: 5409889
    Abstract: The Ferroelectric high Tc superconductor RF Phase Shifter contains a ferroelectric medium and a film of a single crystal high Tc superconductor is used as the conductors. Between the ferroelectric medium and the input, there is a quarter-wave, dielectric or ferroelectric or the same material as used for the phase shifter, matching transformer. Between the ferroelectric medium and the output, there is a quarter-wave, dielectric, ferroelectric or the same material as used for the phase shifter, matching transformer. A bias field is connected across the top and bottom surfaces of the active ferroelectric medium. When a bias field is applied across the surfaces of the ferroelectric medium, the permittivity is reduced and as such the velocity of propagation is increased. This causes an increase in the effective electrical length of the phase shifter or a phase difference or time delay. Increasing the bias voltage increases the phase shift.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 25, 1995
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5407905
    Abstract: To reduce losses of commercial room temperature couplers, high Tc superconducting waveguides and waveguide flanges are used for couplers. There are two approaches for making these high Tc superconducting waveguide structures. One is to use a single crystal such as YBaCuO (YBCO), cut and machine the crystal to the desired shape, and use high Tc superconducting flanges. In the second method, a good quality dielectric, such as sapphire is used and cut and machined to the desired shape. The conducting surfaces are coated with a single crystal high Tc superconducting material such as YBCO. The waveguides are brazed together. Low loss is important particularly for high power couplers. Significant amount of RF power is lost even with a low loss coupler. The high Tc superconducting couplers will provide a significant benefit in high power RF systems handling power levels such as 0.5 megawatts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 18, 1995
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das
  • Patent number: 5407904
    Abstract: To reduce the losses, high Tc superconductive waveguide filters are disclosed. There are two approaches to make the filters. In the first approach, all waveguide sections, irises, flanges are made of a single crystal high Tc superconductor. The single crystal is machined to the desired shape and size, the pieces are brazed and connected with flanges. In the second approach all waveguide sections, irises and flanges are made of a single crystal dielectric material the conducting surfaces of which are deposited with a film of a single crystal high Tc superconductor. The waveguide sections, irises and flanges are connected together by brazing or by a similar method. There are two basic types, (1) band pass and (2) band reject, of filters. In the band pass type, a series of resonators are placed one after another with a separation, typically, of three quarters of a wavelength between the centers of adjacent resonators. In the band reject filters, the resonators are in branch lines, i.e.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 18, 1995
    Inventor: Satyendranath Das