JPH11308001A - Connection structure for dielectric waveguide line - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connection structure for a dielectric waveguide line that easily connects dielectric waveguide lines which can be designed freely and are vertically laminated and formed in a dielectric substrate to each other. SOLUTION: Dielectric waveguide lines 6L and 6U which are provided with a pair of main conductor layers 2L, 3L, 2U and 3U between which dielectric substrates 1L and 1U are inserted, two lines of through-conductor groups 4L and 4U for sidewalls, which are electrically connected and formed between the layers 2L, 3L, 2U and 3U in less than a half interval of signal wavelength in the transmission direction of a high frequency signal and sub-conductor layers 5L and 5U, which are formed parallel between the layers 2L and 3L, and 2U and 3U and are electrically connected to the groups 4L and 4U share ones 2L and 3U of the main conductor layers, are arranged in overlapped state and form windows 7 for connection on the shared parts.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connection structure between dielectric waveguide lines for transmitting a high-frequency signal such as a microwave band or a millimeter wave band.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, research on mobile communication and inter-vehicle radar using high-frequency signals such as microwaves and millimeter waves has been actively pursued. As transmission lines for transmitting these high-frequency signals, for example, coaxial lines, waveguides, dielectric waveguides, microstrip lines, and the like are known.

Recently, there has been proposed a wiring board formed of a dielectric material having a multilayer structure and a dielectric waveguide line formed by a lamination technique. For example, JP-A-6-5371
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1 (1993) -1994, there is proposed a waveguide line in which a dielectric substrate is sandwiched between a pair of main conductor layers, and a side wall is formed by two rows of via holes connecting the main conductor layers. In this waveguide line, a region inside the conductor wall is formed as a dielectric line for signal transmission by surrounding four sides of a dielectric material with a pseudo conductor wall formed by a pair of main conductor layers and via holes.

Further, the present inventors have proposed a dielectric waveguide line having a multilayer structure formed in a dielectric substrate in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-229925. This is also called a laminated waveguide, and the above-described dielectric waveguide line is formed by a dielectric layer, a pair of main conductor layers, and a through conductor group such as a via hole group, and further a through conductor group. In addition, the side wall as an electric wall is strengthened by forming a sub-conductor layer. In the above-described dielectric waveguide line, when an electric field that is not parallel to the via hole is generated in the waveguide, the electric field leaks from the side walls. This is an excellent device that does not cause electric field leakage.

[0005]

Such a dielectric waveguide line which can be disposed inside a wiring board is mainly used for transmission in a multilayer wiring board for microwaves and millimeter waves or a package for housing semiconductor elements. It is intended to be used as a line. In addition, when the antenna is integrated with these multilayer wiring boards or semiconductor element storage packages to achieve high functionality, it can be used as a feed line for the antenna.

The dielectric waveguide line can be freely formed and arranged in the plane direction of the dielectric substrate. However, for miniaturization and high integration, the dielectric waveguide line formed vertically is used. Connection between pipe lines is required. In the case of a conventionally used waveguide, a three-dimensional connection can be easily made by simply bending a metal waveguide, and such a technique is not particularly necessary.

On the other hand, the inventors of the present invention have proposed a method for connecting dielectric waveguide lines formed by being arranged one above the other,
A connection structure using a power supply pin formed by a via hole has already been proposed. According to this structure, it is possible to connect the dielectric waveguide lines formed so as to be vertically stacked in the dielectric substrate.

However, in this connection structure,
There were the following problems to be solved. For example, in the connection structure described above, the feed pin functions as a quarter-wave monopole antenna inside the dielectric waveguide line. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the length of the power supply pin to の of the wavelength desired to be transmitted best. However, since this power supply pin is formed by a through conductor such as a via hole, the dielectric waveguide line is required. Is limited to the thickness of a dielectric sheet to be laminated to form a dielectric substrate on which is formed. Of course, it is possible to change the thickness of the dielectric sheet so that the length of the power supply pin can be set well, but there is a problem that it is not possible to cope with various designs, and as a result, the cost is increased. There was also a problem that became.

Also, current flows intensively into the power supply pin,
In particular, in the millimeter wave region, since the current is almost concentrated on the surface due to the skin effect, there is a problem that the energy loss due to the conductor resistance increases.

Further, the dielectric waveguide line can be used in a mode in which the laminated surface of the dielectric sheet is parallel to the E-plane of the waveguide, that is, in a mode in which the electric field is parallel to the laminated surface. However, even if a power supply pin is used, no current is excited in the power supply pin, so that there is a problem that a dielectric waveguide line formed by stacking vertically cannot be connected.

The present invention has been devised to solve these problems, and a dielectric waveguide line which can be easily manufactured by a conventional multilayer technique can be freely designed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connection structure of a dielectric waveguide line which can easily connect dielectric waveguide lines formed by being vertically stacked in a dielectric substrate.

[0012]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have repeatedly studied to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, have found that the upper side of the end of the dielectric waveguide line formed on the lower layer side in the dielectric substrate. The two dielectric waveguide lines are stacked one on top of the other so as to share a part of the main conductor layer and a part of the main conductor layer below the end of the dielectric waveguide line formed on the upper layer side. It has been found that the upper and lower dielectric waveguide lines can be electromagnetically connected by opening a coupling window in a part of the formed and shared main conductor layer.

The connection structure of the dielectric waveguide of the present invention is as follows.
A pair of main conductor layers sandwiching a dielectric substrate, and two rows of side wall penetrations formed by electrically connecting the main conductor layers at an interval of less than half the signal wavelength in the transmission direction of the high-frequency signal A conductor group, formed in parallel with the main conductor layer between the main conductor layers,
A dielectric body, comprising: a sub-conductor layer electrically connected to the side wall through conductor group; and a high frequency signal transmitted by a region surrounded by the main conductor layer, the side wall through conductor group, and the sub conductor layer. Two waveguide lines are arranged so as to overlap one another while sharing one of the main conductor layers, and a coupling window is formed in a shared portion of the one main conductor layer.

In the above structure, the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line according to the present invention may be arranged such that a distance from a center of the coupling window in the transmission direction is equal to or less than a guide wavelength of the high-frequency signal in a direction orthogonal to the transmission direction. An end face through conductor group formed by electrically connecting the main conductor layers at an interval of less than one-half of the signal wavelength; and a through-hole conductor group formed between the main conductor layers in parallel with the main conductor layer; A conductor layer and an end face sub-conductor layer electrically connected to the end face through conductor group are formed.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A connection structure of a dielectric waveguide according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a dielectric waveguide line used in the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a dielectric substrate, 2 and 3 are a pair of main conductor layers sandwiching the dielectric substrate 1, and 4 is a main conductor layer at an interval of less than half the signal wavelength in the signal transmission direction. 2
-Two rows of side wall penetrating conductor groups formed by electrically connecting the three. Reference numeral 5 denotes a main conductor layer 2 for electrically connecting through conductors forming each row of the side wall through conductor group 4 to each other.
-A sub-conductor layer formed in parallel with 3. Reference numeral 6 denotes a dielectric waveguide line formed by the pair of main conductor layers 2 and 3, the side wall through conductor group 4, and the sub-conductor layer 5.

As described above, the sub-conductor layer 5 is further formed in a region surrounded by the pair of main conductor layers 2 and 3 and the through conductor group 4 for the side wall, whereby the inside of the dielectric waveguide line 6 is formed. When viewed from the side, the side walls are formed in a fine lattice by the side wall penetrating conductor group 4 and the sub-conductor layer 5, so that electromagnetic waves in various directions are shielded.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of main conductor layers 2 and 3 are formed at positions sandwiching a dielectric substrate 1 having a predetermined thickness a. It is formed on the upper and lower surfaces sandwiching at least the position where the dielectric waveguide line 6 is formed. A large number of through conductors, such as through-hole conductors and via-hole conductors, for electrically connecting the main conductor layers 2 and 3 are provided between the main conductor layers 2 and 3, and these large number of through conductors form two rows of side walls. A through conductor group 4 is formed.

The two rows of side wall penetrating conductor groups 4 are formed with a predetermined interval (width) b and a predetermined interval c that is less than half the signal wavelength in the transmission direction of the high-frequency signal. An electric side wall of the dielectric waveguide line 6 is formed.

Here, there is no particular limitation on the thickness a of the dielectric substrate 1, that is, the distance between the pair of main conductor layers 2 and 3.
In the example of FIG. 1, the portion corresponding to the H plane of the dielectric waveguide is the main conductor layer 2.
In 3, a portion corresponding to the E plane is formed by the side wall through conductor group 4 and the sub-conductor layer 5. Further, if the thickness a is about twice as large as the interval b, the portion corresponding to the E surface of the dielectric waveguide line is the main conductor layers 2 and 3, and the portion corresponding to the H surface is the through conductor group 4 for side wall and the sub conductor layer. The conductor layers 5 are respectively formed.

Further, by setting the interval c to be less than one half of the signal wavelength, an electrical wall can be formed by the side wall through conductor group 4. This spacing c is preferably less than one quarter of the signal wavelength.

Since the TEM wave can propagate between the pair of main conductor layers 2 and 3 arranged in parallel, the distance c between the side wall penetrating conductor groups 4 is smaller than one half (λ / 2) of the signal wavelength λ. When the electromagnetic wave is supplied to the dielectric waveguide line 6, the electromagnetic wave leaks from between the side wall penetrating conductors 4 and does not propagate along the pseudo waveguide formed here. However, if the distance c between the side wall through conductor groups 4 is smaller than λ / 2, the electromagnetic wave cannot propagate in a direction perpendicular to the dielectric waveguide line 6 and is reflected while the dielectric waveguide line 6 is being reflected. The signal is propagated in the signal transmission direction of the line 6. As a result, according to the configuration of FIG. 1, a region having a cross-sectional area of a × b size surrounded by a pair of main conductor layers 2 and two rows of penetrating conductor groups 4 for side walls and sub-conductor layers 4 is a dielectric material. It becomes the waveguide line 6.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the side wall penetrating conductor groups 4 are formed in two rows. However, the side wall penetrating conductor groups 4 are arranged in four rows or six rows to form the side wall penetrating conductor groups. By forming the pseudo conductor wall by double and triple by 4,
Leakage of electromagnetic waves from the conductor wall can be more effectively prevented.

According to the dielectric waveguide line 6 above, since the transmission line according to a dielectric waveguide, the normal conductive when the waveguide size is the relative permittivity of the dielectric substrate 1 and epsilon _r The size of the waveguide is 1 / √ε. Therefore, the waveguide size the larger the relative dielectric constant epsilon _r of the material constituting the dielectric substrate 1 can be reduced, the multilayer wiring board or a semiconductor device package for housing or vehicle dense wiring is formed A dielectric waveguide line 6 having a size usable as a transmission line of a radar can be obtained.

The through conductors forming the side wall through conductor group 4 have an interval c of less than half the signal wavelength λ as described above.
It is desirable that the interval c be a constant repetition interval in order to realize good transmission characteristics. However, if the interval c is an interval less than half the signal wavelength λ, the interval c is appropriately changed. Needless to say, or some values may be combined.

The dielectric substrate 1 constituting such a dielectric waveguide line is not particularly limited as long as it functions as a dielectric and has a characteristic that does not hinder transmission of a high-frequency signal. The dielectric substrate 1 is desirably made of ceramic from the viewpoint of the accuracy in forming the transmission line and the ease of manufacture.

As such ceramics, ceramics having various relative dielectric constants have been known.
In order to transmit a high-frequency signal by the dielectric waveguide according to the present invention, it is preferable that the dielectric waveguide is a paraelectric. This is because ferroelectric ceramics generally have large dielectric loss and high transmission loss in a high frequency range. Therefore, the relative dielectric constant ε _r of the dielectric substrate 1 is suitably about 4 to 100.

In general, the line width of a wiring layer formed on a multilayer wiring board, a package for housing semiconductor elements or an inter-vehicle radar is at most about 1 mm, so that a material having a relative dielectric constant of 100 is used, and When used so that the surface, that is, the magnetic field distribution is such that the magnetic field winds parallel to the upper surface,
The minimum frequency that can be used is calculated as 15 GHz, and can be used even in the microwave band.

On the other hand, dielectric consisting of commonly resin used as the dielectric substrate 1 since the specific dielectric constant epsilon _r of the order of 2, if the line width is 1 mm, making use not about 100 GHz or higher Can not be done.

Further, among such paraelectric ceramics, many have very small dielectric loss tangents, such as alumina and silica, but not all paraelectric ceramics can be used. In the case of a dielectric waveguide line, there is almost no loss due to the conductor, and most of the loss during signal transmission is due to the dielectric, and the loss due to the dielectric α
(DB / m) is expressed as follows. α = 27.3 × tan δ / [λ / {1- (λ / λc) ² }
^1/2 ] where tan δ: dielectric loss tangent of the dielectric λ: wavelength in the dielectric λc: cut-off wavelength According to the standardized rectangular waveguide (WRJ series) shape, ｛1- ( λ / λc) ² ｝ ^1/2 is about 0.75.

Therefore, the transmission loss is practically usable.
In order to make it 100 dB / m or less, it is necessary to select a dielectric so that the following relationship is satisfied. f × ε _r ^1/2 × tan δ ≦ 0.8 In the formula, f is a frequency (GHz) to be used.

Examples of such a dielectric substrate 1 include alumina ceramics, glass ceramics, and aluminum nitride ceramics. These dielectric substrates 1 are prepared by adding a suitable organic solvent / solvent to ceramic raw material powder, for example. A plurality of ceramic green sheets are obtained by forming into a sheet by adopting a conventionally known doctor blade method, calender roll method, or the like, and then obtaining an appropriate number of ceramic green sheets. They are stamped and laminated, and in the case of alumina ceramics, 1500-
It is manufactured by firing at a temperature of 1700 ° C, 850 to 1000 ° C for glass ceramics, and 1600 to 1900 ° C for aluminum nitride ceramics.

For example, when the dielectric substrate 1 is made of alumina ceramic, the pair of main conductor layers 2 and 3 may be made of an oxide such as alumina, silica, or magnesia or an organic solvent suitable for metal powder such as tungsten. -A paste formed by adding a solvent or the like is printed on a ceramic green sheet by a thick-film printing method so as to completely cover at least the transmission line, and then fired at a high temperature of about 1600 ° C to a thickness of 10 It is formed so as to have a thickness of 15 μm or more. The metal powder is preferably copper, gold, and silver in the case of glass ceramics, and tungsten and molybdenum in the case of aluminum nitride ceramics. The thickness of the main conductor layers 2 and 3 is generally about 5 to 50 μm.

The through conductor constituting the side wall through conductor group 4 may be formed of, for example, a via-hole conductor or a through-hole conductor. It may be a polygon. These through conductors are formed, for example, by embedding a metal paste similar to that of the main conductor layers 2 and 3 in a through hole formed by punching a ceramic green sheet, and then firing the same at the same time as the dielectric substrate 1. These through conductors preferably have a diameter of 50 to 300 μm.

Next, an example of an embodiment of a connection structure of a dielectric waveguide line according to the present invention using such a dielectric waveguide line will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide lines according to the present invention. The symbol L in this figure means that it belongs to the lower dielectric waveguide line of the dielectric waveguide lines arranged vertically and U belongs to the upper dielectric waveguide line. I do. 1L
(1U) is a dielectric substrate having a thickness a, 2L (2U) and 3L
L (3U) is a pair of main conductor layers formed sandwiching the dielectric substrate 1L (1U), and 4L (4U) is a predetermined distance (width).
b in the transmission direction of the high-frequency signal to one half of the signal wavelength
Two rows of side wall through conductor groups formed by electrically connecting the main conductor layers 2L (2U) and 3L (3U) with an interval c of less than 5L (5U) are subconductor layers, and 6L (6U) Is a dielectric waveguide constituted by a region surrounded by a pair of main conductor layers 2L (2U) and 3L (3U), two rows of penetrating conductor groups 4L (4U) for side walls, and sub-conductor layers 6L (6U). It is a pipe line part.

The dielectric substrate 1L (1U), the main conductor layers 2L (2U) and 3L (3U), and the side wall through conductor group 4
L (4U) is configured in the same manner as the above-described dielectric waveguide line used in the present invention.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a coupling window for electromagnetically connecting the upper and lower dielectric waveguide lines 6U and 6L, and includes one main conductor layer 3U and one main conductor layer 2U.
L and the dielectric waveguide line 6U and the dielectric waveguide line 6L are arranged so as to overlap with each other, and the main conductor layers 3U and 2L are not formed in the shared portion of one of the main conductor layers 3U and 2L. It is formed as a part.

According to the present invention, at the connection between the lower dielectric waveguide line 6L and the upper dielectric waveguide line 6U, the lower dielectric waveguide line 6L is connected to the lower dielectric waveguide line 6L. The upper and lower dielectric waveguide lines 6U and 6L overlap and share a part of the upper main conductor layer 2U and a part of the lower main conductor layer 3L on the upper dielectric waveguide line 6U. Since the non-formed portion of the main conductor layer 3U (2L) is formed as a coupling window 7 in a portion where the main conductor layer 3U (2L) is formed, the non-formed portion serves as an electromagnetic coupling window, and the lower dielectric waveguide line 6L is formed. The upper dielectric waveguide line 6U is electromagnetically connected to the upper dielectric waveguide line 6U via the coupling window 7.

According to the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line of the present invention, the characteristic is not limited by the thickness of the dielectric sheet as in the prior art in which the coupling is performed by the feed pin. Since the pattern of the coupling window 7 can be formed when the main conductor layers 3U and 2L shared by the two dielectric waveguide lines 6U and 6L are printed before the green sheets to be the body substrates 1U and 1L are stacked, the production is performed. This makes it possible to produce a highly efficient and inexpensive product.

In the case of the power supply pin, all the energy of the propagated electromagnetic wave once passes through the power supply pin and is converted into current energy. In this case, the power supply pin has some resistance unless it is a superconductor, so that heat is generated there, which results in energy loss at the connection. On the other hand, according to the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line of the present invention, the electromagnetic wave energy propagating through the lower dielectric waveguide line 6L is transmitted by the coupling window 7 to the upper dielectric waveguide line. Since it is directly coupled to the electromagnetic wave energy of the pipeline 6U, the above-described energy loss does not occur.

In the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line according to the present invention, when the coupling window 7 is formed, its position, shape and size are determined by the frequency characteristics, coupling amount and reflection amount required for the connection structure. Are involved. Therefore, the position, shape, size, and the like of the coupling window 7 having desired connection characteristics are determined by repeatedly performing calculations by electromagnetic field analysis so as to satisfy the required frequency characteristics.

In FIG. 2, the dielectric waveguide line 6U
In order to form an end face at the connection portion of (6L), a half of the signal wavelength in a direction orthogonal to the transmission direction is placed at a position below the signal wavelength in the transmission direction of the high-frequency signal from the center of the coupling window 7.
The end face through conductor group 8U (8) formed by electrically connecting the main conductor layers 2U and 3U (2L and 3L) with an interval of less than
L) and the main conductor layers 2U and 3U (2L and 3L) and are formed in parallel with the main conductor layers 2U and 3U (2L and 3L), and the sub-conductor layer 5U (5L) and the through-hole conductor group 8U (8L ) Are electrically connected to the end face sub-conductor layer 9U (9L).

In this case, the lower dielectric waveguide line 6L
The electromagnetic wave input from the A side (left direction in FIG. 2) is coupled to the upper dielectric waveguide line 6U through the coupling window 7, and is output from the B side (right direction in FIG. 2). You. At this time, the positions of the ends of the connection portions of the dielectric waveguide lines 6L and 6U, that is, the positions at which the end face through conductor groups 8U and 8L and the end face sub-conductor layers 9L and 9L are formed, have the required characteristics. May be obtained by electromagnetic analysis in accordance with the above equation, and any location may be used as long as the characteristics can be satisfied. However, there is an optimum position from the center of the coupling window 7 to a position at or below the guide wavelength. This is because the phase at the center of the coupling window 7 is adjusted according to the position of the end face, and the phase is repeated for each guide wavelength λg.

Further, such a through conductor group for end face 8U.
The ends of the dielectric waveguide lines 6U and 6L formed by the 8L and the end face sub-conductor layers 9L and 9L may be formed according to the purpose, and are not necessarily formed. For example, when the end of the dielectric waveguide 6U is formed and the end of the dielectric waveguide 6L is not formed, the electromagnetic wave input from the A side of the dielectric waveguide 6L is Window 7 for connection
A part thereof is coupled, and diverges into an electromagnetic wave propagating in the C direction (right direction in FIG. 2) of the dielectric waveguide line 6L as it is output from the B side of the dielectric waveguide line 6U. Is done. That is, in this case, a branch circuit is formed in which the electromagnetic wave is branched into the upper layer side and the lower layer side.

On the other hand, when the end of the dielectric waveguide line 6L is formed and the end of the dielectric waveguide line 6U is not formed, the input is performed from the A side of the dielectric waveguide line 6L. Electromagnetic waves are all coupled through the coupling window 7, but the dielectric waveguide line 6U
Are divided into an electromagnetic wave propagating to the B side and an electromagnetic wave propagating to the D side (leftward in FIG. 2). That is, in this case, a branch circuit on the upper layer side can be provided.

[0048]

Next, specific examples of the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line according to the present invention are shown in FIGS.

FIGS. 3A to 7A are each a schematic perspective view of a connection structure, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing frequency characteristics of transmission characteristics. In the diagram (b), the horizontal axis represents frequency (unit: GHz), and the vertical axis represents attenuation (unit: d).
B), and each characteristic curve represents S ₁₁ (reflection amount) and S ₂₁ (transmission amount) among the S parameters. In each perspective view, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the opening end face of the dielectric waveguide line 6L (6U) and the coupling window 7 are indicated by oblique lines. Side wall through conductor group 4L
(4U) and the through conductor group for end face 8L (8U) are simplified, and the sub-conductor layer and the sub-conductor layer for end face are not shown. The transmission characteristics were obtained by simulation.

First, FIG. 3 shows the thickness a of the dielectric substrate 1L (1U) a = 0.6 mm, the spacing (width) b of the side wall through conductor group 4L (4U) b = 1.456 mm, and the distance from the center of the coupling window 7 to the end face. The distance d to the through conductor group 8L (8U) is d = 1.2 mm, and the width of the coupling window 7 is set to the distance (width) between the side wall through conductor groups 4L (4U).
b is the same and the example is a case where the length w in the transmission direction is 0.4 mm. In this case, it can be seen from FIG. 3B that the transmission is best at 77.5 GHz. However, the reflection at that time is about -9 dB, and there is room for improvement.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, if the length a is increased to w = 1.2 mm while keeping the thickness a, the interval (width) b, and the distance d as they are, the reflection in a wide band from 70 GHz to 82 GHz becomes −
Electromagnetic waves can be transmitted with good characteristics of 15 dB or less.

Next, FIG. 5 shows that the thickness a = 1.456 mm, the interval (width) b = 0.6 mm, the length w = 1.2 mm, and both ends of the coupling window 7 are connected to the end faces of the dielectric waveguide lines 6L and 6U. This is an example of a case where they are almost matched. At this time, the direction of the electric field is horizontal, and the main conductor layers 2L, 3L, 2U, and 3U are E-planes. In this case, the electromagnetic wave is best transmitted at 83 GHz. However, the transmitted frequency band is not so wide.

On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows the thickness a and the interval (width) b.
The case where the width e of the coupling window 7 is set to 0.2 mm while the length w is kept as it is. In this case, the electromagnetic wave is well transmitted at 66 GHz, and the band is slightly wider than the example of FIG.

FIG. 7 shows the thickness a ·
This is an example in which the length w is increased to 2.4 mm while the interval (width) b and width d are kept as they are. In this case, it can be seen that the electromagnetic wave is transmitted in a wide band from 70 GHz to 80 GHz.

As described above, according to the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line of the present invention, by changing the shape and size of the coupling window, the frequency characteristics of the electromagnetic wave of the high-frequency signal transmitted through this connection portion are changed. It was confirmed that it could be changed almost as desired.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and that various changes and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above example, the direction of the electromagnetic wave propagating through the lower dielectric waveguide line 6L is the same as the direction of the electromagnetic wave propagating through the upper dielectric waveguide line 6U. The ends of the lines 6L and 6U at the connection portions may be formed in the same direction to reverse the propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave. Also,
The dielectric waveguide lines 6L and 6U may be formed to intersect at an arbitrary angle. In this case, the main conductor layers 2L and 3U
If L (2U.3U) is the H plane, the function becomes the same as that of the conventional Beet-hole directional coupler in the waveguide.

Further, the shape of the coupling window 7 may be circular or other polygonal shape, and may be elongated to have a so-called slot shape. Further, a plurality of coupling windows 7 may be formed.

The cross-sectional shape of the plurality of through conductors forming the side wall through conductor groups 4L and 4U is not limited to the circular shape as shown in FIG. 2, but may be elliptical, triangular, square, polygonal, or flat. It may be.

[0059]

As described above in detail, according to the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line of the present invention, the lower dielectric waveguide line and the upper dielectric layer which are arranged vertically on the dielectric substrate are arranged. In the connection portion of the dielectric waveguide line on the side, the upper main conductor layer of the lower dielectric waveguide line and the lower main conductor layer of the upper dielectric waveguide line are shared, Since a portion without a conductor layer is formed at a portion where the upper and lower dielectric waveguide lines are in contact with each other to form a coupling window, a dielectric sheet is used as in the prior art connection structure in which coupling is performed by a power supply pin. There is no limitation on the characteristics due to the thickness of the green sheet.
When printing the main conductor layers 3U and 2L shared by two dielectric waveguide lines, the pattern of the coupling window 7 can be formed.
It is easy to form the coupling window, and the connection structure has high productivity and can be manufactured at low cost.

When the coupling window is formed in the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line of the present invention, the position, shape and size of the connection window require the frequency characteristics required for the connection structure.
Since the coupling amount and the reflection amount are involved in a complicated manner and the design thereof has more flexibility than the conventional feed pin method, it is very easy to design.

Furthermore, unlike the connection structure using the feed pin, current does not concentrate on the feed pin surface, and energy loss in coupling between the dielectric waveguide lines is small.

As described above, according to the present invention, a dielectric waveguide line which can be easily manufactured by the conventional multilayer technique can be freely designed, and can be stacked vertically on a dielectric substrate. It is possible to provide a connection structure of the dielectric waveguide lines which can easily connect the formed dielectric waveguide lines.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a dielectric waveguide line used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of a connection structure of a dielectric waveguide line according to the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a specific example of a connection structure of a dielectric waveguide line according to the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing frequency characteristics of its transmission characteristics.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing another specific example of the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing frequency characteristics of the transmission characteristics.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing another specific example of the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the frequency characteristics of the transmission characteristics.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing another specific example of the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line according to the present invention, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing frequency characteristics of its transmission characteristics.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view showing another specific example of the connection structure of the dielectric waveguide line of the present invention, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the frequency characteristics of the transmission characteristics.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1L, 1U ... dielectric substrate 2, 2L, 2U, 3, 3L, 3U ... main conductor layer 4, 4L, 4U ... ···· Through-hole conductor group for side wall 5, 5L, 5U ··· Subconductor layer 6, 6L, 6U ··· Dielectric conductor Waveguide line 7 ····· Coupling window 8L, 8U ····· End face through conductor group 9L, 9U・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Sub conductor layer for end face

Claims (2)

[Claims] A pair of main conductor layers sandwiching a dielectric substrate, and a pair of main conductor layers formed by electrically connecting the main conductor layers at an interval of less than half a signal wavelength in a transmission direction of a high-frequency signal.
The side wall through-conductor group and a sub-conductor layer formed between the main conductor layers in parallel with the main conductor layer and electrically connected to the side wall through-conductor group; Two dielectric waveguide lines for transmitting a high-frequency signal by a region surrounded by the side wall penetrating conductor group and the sub-conductor layer, one of the main conductor layers is shared and arranged, and A connection structure for a dielectric waveguide line, wherein a coupling window is formed in a shared portion of a main conductor layer. 2. The main conductor layer between the center of the coupling window and a position less than a guide wavelength of the high-frequency signal in the transmission direction in a direction orthogonal to the transmission direction at an interval of less than half of the signal wavelength. An end face through conductor group formed by being electrically connected to the end face through conductor group formed parallel to the main conductor layer between the main conductor layers and electrically connected to the sub conductor layer and the end face through conductor group. 2. The connection structure for a dielectric waveguide according to claim 1, wherein a sub-conductor layer is formed.