Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering · 2008 · 32 citations · 5 references
EngineeringElectrical EngineeringMaterials ScienceMicrofabricationMicrowave EngineeringPhotonicsMicromachiningMicrowave Integrated CircuitsSurface MicromachiningTerahertz PhotonicsTerahertz SpectroscopyWaveguidesIntegrated Waveguide CircuitsMetallic WaveguidesMillimeter-wave Integrated CircuitsTerahertz CommunicationsTerahertz Integrated PhotonicsTerahertz Semiconductor DevicesTerahertz WaveguidesWaveguide Mixers
A novel technology for the manufacturing of micromachined all-metal waveguide circuits and structures for frequency bands ranging from 200 up to 7000 GHz (sub-millimetre and THz) is presented. The waveguide circuits are formed by using metal electroplating with preceding sputtering of a thin metal film seed layer over a photo-lithographically patterned thick SU-8 photoresist. The process provides the possibility of making three-dimensional structures via facilitating multi-level (layered) designs. The surface roughness of the THz waveguide structure was demonstrated to be as low as 30 nm. This technology was used to build a\nstate-of-the-art waveguide balanced 1.3 THz hot electron bolometer mixer and other applications for radio astronomy instrumentation.
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