Dispersion characteristics of planar tape-helix using effective dielectric constant method

The dispersion characteristics of a planar tape-helix slow-wave structure (SWS) with straight-edge connections (PH-SEC) are evaluated by using effective dielectric constant (EDC) method. The EDC method helps to avoid the need to apply boundary conditions for straight-edge connections. The phase velocity obtained from the EDC-based analysis matches very well with that obtained from CST Microwave Studio for the frequency range far from cut-off. In the same frequency range, the dispersion characteristics obtained from the proposed analysis also match very well with the previously reported tape-helix analysis results of the PH-SEC.