Integrated transmission lines for magnetic thin film memories

The pulse transmission properties of integrated strip lines are examined for a structure that has been proposed for application in a large capacity, high-speed magnetic film memory. The lines are vacuum-deposited onto an insulated ground plane and are characterized by low impedances. Previous analyses, such as those given by Eastman and Chang, McQuillan, and Harloff, examine the effects of skin-depth losses in lines which are assumed to be perfectly terminated. In general, this type of analysis is insufficient for lines which are lossy and which have resistive terminations. The present analysis considers skin-effect losses in the ground plane and in the strip conductors separately and also includes the effect of reflections from resistive terminations. The influence of heavy magnetic loading of the transmission line due to the presence of magnetic film devices is examined in detail. A computer program, similar to the one described by Bertin, has been used to obtain numerical results for the pulse response of the transmission lines. Data are presented which demonstrate the influence of line geometry and material properties.