In-depth characterization of a dielectric waveguide for mmW transmission line applications

High precision cables for millimeter wave (mmW) applications are very expensive and are not suitable for long distance transmissions due to their high insertion loss. However the demand for high performance cables at mmW frequencies will increase due to constantly growing requirements for different applications such as radar, mmW imaging or high speed communication. Because of their outstanding transmission behaviour at low costs dielectric waveguides (DWG) are capable of replacing coaxial transmission lines in many fields by now. Thus this paper presents an in-depth metrological characterization of dielectric waveguides for mmW transmission line applications. Thereby the focus is on typical transmission line characteristics: return loss, insertion loss, bending angle, bending radius, reproducibility and interference resistance with regard to magnitude and phase stability to provide direct comparability with other high precision transmission line techniques.