Simulation Assisted Characterization of Attenuation at Microstrip Transmission Lines fabricated by Laser Direct Structuring

This paper aims to provide a design approach to predict the attenuation of microstrip transmission lines fabricated by Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) on LDS polymer substrates. The impact of conductor and dielectric losses are separately considered in full wave simulation to evaluate the order of corresponding contribution to the total attenuation. Impact of surface roughness on signal propagation is taken into account by the Gradient Model. Simulations are compared with measurements of fabricated microstrip lines. The result also gives an estimation on the applicability of the LDS process towards radio frequency components.