Plastic 95-GHz rectangular waveguides by micro molding technologies

A plastic, 95-GHz rectangular waveguide with an integrated plastic flange has been successfully demonstrated using micro hot embossing and electroplating technologies. Two prototype devices with integrated flanges on both ends have been tested using an Agilent PNA 5250 network analyzer. The prototype with non-metallized flange shows return loss s11 and insertion loss s21 values of −21.5 and −1.09 dB at 108 GHz, respectively with signal transmission rate at 77.8%. The prototype with metallized flange has s11 and s21 values of −31.5 dB and −0.7 dB, respectively, at 92.5 GHz, with signal transmission rate at 85%. The time domain measurement showed that the system losses are mainly due to the discontinuity losses at the interfaces between the network analyzer adaptors and the waveguide input/output ports. These losses could be further minimized in future integrated systems. As such, this new class of plastic waveguides has potential applications in replacing the expensive and bulky/heavy metallic waveguides in current millimeter-wave systems.