Novel coplanar stripline: design, characterization and applications

The author presents a novel approach to CPS (coplanar stripline) design that produces a CPS which performs nearly as well as a coplanar waveguide and requires only 65% as much space. The measured complex characteristic impedance of this novel CPS is given as a function of frequency. Its performance as a line-reflect-line calibration element is demonstrated. This CPS structure has potential for use on coplanar GaAs MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) wafers because of its 35% reduction in space. This structure has great potential for use with microwave probes, including multicontact microwave probes, where the reduction in size, compared to CPW, will be important.<>