Response of a planar microstrip line excited by an external electromagnetic field

The voltages and currents induced by external electromagnetic fields on a planar microstrip line have been studied with the use of a distributed-source transmission-line model. The frequency response of the microstrip line has been analyzed by simulating the illuminating field with a plane wave arbitrarily incident on the line. The influence of the microstrip geometrical and electrical characteristics on the voltages and currents induced on the line has been examined, and indications for reducing the circuit susceptibility have been obtained. The model adopted can be used for studying the response of the line to any type of external field arbitrarily varying in space time. Numerical results show that for lines loaded with the characteristic impedance at both terminals, voltage amplitudes on the order of some millivolts and currents of some hundreds of microamperes can be induced at f=3 GHz by an incident plane wave with an electric-field intensity of 1 V/m and for various angles of incidence. The voltages and currents induced on a microstrip circuit can be reduced by using substrates of sufficiently high permittivity.<
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