Slow Wave Inverted Microstrip Line Based on Metallic Nanowire Filled Alumina Membrane

This paper presents the realization of a slow wave transmission line based on inverted microstrip structure, and a low cost metallic-nanowire-filled-membrane(NaM). The fabrication and processing of NaM are presented, as well as the principle of the slow wave(SW) effect. Simulation and Measurement results at V-band demonstrate that the effective dielectric constant of such transmission lines can be significantly increased beyond the dielectric constant of the substrate. Based on this, the dimension of the transmission line can be miniaturized, and losses can be reduced, thus to achieve a high quality factor.