Patent ID: 6590468
Filing Date: 2003-07-08
Classification: H01P,H01Q,H03F,H03H,H04B

Abstract:
An impedance matching circuit comprising:a first planar conductor; a second planar conductor; means for applying a DC voltage from a DC voltage supply circuit between said first planar conductor and said second planar conductor; a non-tunable dielectric material supporting the first and second planar conductors in the same plane; a gap between said first and second planar conductors forming a slotline transmission line; a plurality of tunable dielectric layer sections, each possessing a dielectric constant that can be varied by applying a DC electric field, the tunable dielectric layer sections being interposed between the said co-planar conductors and the non-tunable dielectric material so as to bridge the gap between the first and second planar conductors at a plurality of locations, leaving non-bridged sections in between, wherein the plurality of alternating bridged and non-bridged slotline sections form a tunable impedance transformer circuit with an entry point and an exit point; the said tunable impedance transformer circuit matching a constant microwave source impedance connected at the said entry point to a varying load impedance connected at the said exit point, thereby reducing signal reflections between the microwave source and the varying load impedance.