Design and fabrication of a 100 GHz channel-drop filter

We have designed and are fabricating a novel passive mm-wave spectrometer based on a Photonic Band Gap (PBG) channel-drop filter (CDF). There is a need for a compact, wide-band, versatile and configurable mm-wave spectrometer for applications in mm-wave communications, radio astronomy, and radar receivers for remote sensing and nonproliferation. The CDF spectrometer was designed to operate in the frequency range of 90–130 GHz. We have manufactured a single proof-of-principle channel-drop filter. The manufacturing process involved etching the rods on a silicon wafer and then bonding them to metallic plates. The initial testing results for the filter will be presented here. Research is also underway to explore alternative configurations of the CDF, including one with metallic rods.