Dispersive properties of serpentine and folded waveguide circuits
Recent development of new lithographic fabrication technique1 has demonstrated great potential of slow wave structures based on folded (FW) and serpentine (SW) waveguides for millimeter and sub-millimeter wave vacuum electronic amplifiers with moderate beam voltages. Further development of the amplifiers will relay on knowledge of the dispersive properties of FW/SW structures and on an ability to tailor the dispersion in accordance with design requirements. We present the results of a comprehensive numerical study on the properties of FW/SW structures. Dispersive properties of FW/SW structures has been calculated using 3D finite element code ANALYST2 with accuracy better that 0.1% in dispersion and better than 1.0% in coupling coefficient.