Substrateless Amplifier Module Realized by Ridge Gap Waveguide Technology for Millimeter-Wave Applications

A novel substrateless power amplifier module realized by ridge gap waveguide (RGW) technology is proposed in Ka-band. Up to our knowledge, this is the first time that an active device is directly integrated with an RGW structure. No substrate is used in the RF section of the implemented power amplifier and the whole structure is made by machining a piece of metal. The amplifier was made of two pieces and was easily assembled without needing a precise contact between the two sections. The cavity resonance of the amplifier is suppressed using a pining structure. The fabricated amplifier module is self-packaged and does not need any packaging. It is shown that the simulated and measured results are in good agreement. This paper shows the capability of RGW technology for implementing the whole RF frontend in microwave- and millimeter-wave systems.

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