Characterization and Modeling of Thick-Film Components for Hybrid Microwave-Integrated Circuits

Time-domain measurement techniques are used to characterize and model thick-Mim components for hybrid microwave-integrated circuits. Time-domain reflection (TDR) measurements are used to measure the input port´s reflection transfer function of the component under test, while the time-domain transmission (TDT) measurements are used to measure its through-transmission transfer function. The models are obtained by iteratively adjusting an initial approximate model until a computer simulation of the experimental setup yields the same results as that of the experiment. The components modeled in this work are thick-film printed components (resistors and capacitors in both series and parallel connections to a coplanar line), and a thick-film crossover. The time-domain measurement results are compared to those obtained using frequency-domain measurement techniques, and the potential differences between the minimum-phase models and the actual models are discussed. The developed models are adequately accurate for use in computer-aided design (CAD) techniques of hybrid microwave-integrated circuits.