A comparison of three methods for the loss characterisation of microstrip lines printed on heraeus ct2000 ltcc from 20 to 40 GHz

Estimating the attenuation constant of a low loss transmission medium is by no means a simple task at microwave and millimetre wave frequencies. In this paper, the attenuation constant of microstrip line printed on Heraeus CT2000 LTCC [1] is determined over the 20 to 40 GHz range using three different analysis techniques. All three methods yield different loss estimates, which begs the question as to which method should be considered the most accurate. Although the ultimate aim of this work is the loss characterisation of the microstrip, it also provides an opportunity to explore the issues related to accurate loss evaluation.