E-band Radio Fiber as Low-Cost mm- Wave Waveguide Junction

Next generation mm-wave communications foresee to heavily rely on higher frequency bands, such as the E- and D-bands. At these frequencies, novel transmission line technologies can emerge and the confinement properties of a cylindrical dielectric rod look indeed attractive to realize short mm-wave junctions or moveable joints. This paper investigates the possibility of a Plexiglas-based radio fiber for the aforementioned purposes. The described design flow is based on the well-known optical fiber theory to assess the guided modes, their cut-off frequency and their shapes. This manuscript reports also the experimental results of three E-band radio fiber junctions and their propagation characteristics.