Gap waveguide topology with reduced height pins for millimeter-wave components

Abstract

A new topology for groove gap waveguide (GGW) technology is proposed to ease its manufacturing process by computer numerical control (CNC) milling. GGW technology consists of two metal plates, where one of them presents a λ/4 height pin bed that avoids contact with the other plate, making it an ideal alternative to other waveguides for millimeterwave applications. However, the manufacture of the pins by CNC milling may be troublesome due to the large pin height required. A GGW with reduced height pins will be proposed, maintaining the standard dimensions of the equivalent rectangular waveguide ports and the operation bandwidth. The performance of this new topology will be compared with other proposals by means of simulations and measurements, and a bandpass filter will be also implemented and manufactured in this technology to validate its usefulness.