Computer Aided Design for Microwave Circuits

The research group at the University of Perugia has been involved since 15 years in the analysis and design of microwave and millimeter-wave circuits in various technologies, from conventional (waveguide) to integrated (both hybrid and monolithic) circuits. The activity has been focused on both theoretical and experimental aspects. From the theoretical point of view an electromagnetic simulator, based on the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method, has been developed. This simulator is suitable for the analysis of structures with arbitrary geometry and has been extended in such a way as to rigorously model the interaction between electromagnetic fields and electronic devices (diodes, BJT, etc.). From the experimental point of view a great effort has been devoted to the set-up of a Microwave Electronic Laboratory (MEL) including a clean room and a test and measurement setup. At present, such laboratory is used for manufacturing hybrid integrated circuits up to 20 GHz, and for the testing of waveguide circuits up to 60 GHz. The following presentation begins with an outline of the main features and capabilities of the FDTD simulator developed at the University of Perugia. Then, for each research topic a brief abstract of the work is given.