The Propagation Group

Georgia Tech ECE Research Group

Home of the Georgia Tech Propagation Group

News and Resources for the Durgin Research Group

See-Through RF Circuits and Antennas

Posted on Written by

Design and Characterization of Meshed Microstrip Transmission Lines

Zachary J. Silva ; Christopher R. Valenta ; Gregory D. Durgin

2019 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS)

Year: 2019 | Conference Paper | Publisher: IEEE

Abstract: Advancements in manufacturing techniques have enabled the ability to create micro-mesh conductive structures which have applications in a variety of electrical engineering technologies. This paper presents the theoretical analysis verified with simulated results and laboratory measurements of a 2.4 GHz micro-mesh transmission line over a solid ground plane. As expected, the reduction in conductive area results in a decrease in capacitance per unit length, and the mesh structure results in an increase in inductance per unit length leading to an overall increase in characteristic impedance and increase in electrical length. Results show that the mesh implementation to reduce the conductive material to 16% on a microstrip transmission line using FR-4 must get 44% wider than its solid metal counterpart to maintain 50 Ω impedance. Length must be similarly increased by a factor of 4% to maintain the same electrical length.

Research in the Design of Transparent RF Circuits

Posted on Written by

Design and Characterization of Meshed Microstrip Transmission Lines
Zachary J. Silva ; Christopher R. Valenta ; Gregory D. Durgin
2019 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS) Year: 2019

Advancements in manufacturing techniques have enabled the ability to create micro-mesh conductive structures which have applications in a variety of electrical engineering technologies. This paper presents the theoretical analysis verified with simulated results and laboratory measurements of a 2.4 GHz micro-mesh transmission line over a solid ground plane. As expected, the reduction in conductive area results in a decrease in capacitance per unit length, and the mesh structure results in an increase in inductance per unit length leading to an overall increase in characteristic impedance and increase in electrical length. Results show that the mesh implementation to reduce the conductive material to 16% on a microstrip transmission line using FR-4 must get 44% wider than its solid metal counterpart to maintain 50 Ω impedance. Length must be similarly increased by a factor of 4% to maintain the same electrical length.

Congratulations on the MS, Zach!

Posted on Written by

On Tuesday, Zachary Silva successfully presented and defended his MS thesis entitled, “Optically Transparent Antennas for Multi-Modal Sensing.”  The thesis is a remarkable survey and synthesis of transparent RF electronic materials and design principles.  Zach currently works for Sandia National Labs and is planning to continue in the PhD program. Congratulations, Zach!

Our Friends at the SPAN Lab Move to St. Louis

Posted on Written by

Our friend at the SPAN (Sensors and Processing Across Networks) Lab have recently moved to the University of Washington at St. Louis. Founded by Prof. Neal Patwari, the group originally started at the University of Utah. Check out their website here.  The SPAN lab and GTPG have worked together on several memorable collaborations, including attachable sensor/antenna combos that can be stuck to the exterior of buildings and monitor interior movement.

Fun fact: the first research paper published by Prof. Patwari and the first research paper published by Prof. Durgin were … the same paper!