Embedded resistors for microwave applications up to 50 GHz on printed circuit boards

Using the thin film embedded resistor technology various designs for termination resistors, attenuators and Wilkinson power splitters are developed for applications on printed circuit boards (PCB) for frequencies up to 50 GHz. Thereby, consistent design methods for the simulation models have been used. Insufficient tolerances related to resistance and etching accuracy of the produced structures are having a strong influence on their overall performance. Due to an optimized production process sufficient tolerances could be achieved, which was leading to good experimental results. E.g. a design of a termination resistor for grounded coplanar waveguides (GCPW) shows a return loss greater than 22 dB up to a frequency of 50 GHz and a 6 dB attenuator shows a return loss greater than 20 dB and a constant attenuation of 6.0 dB with a tolerance of 0.2 dB up to a frequency of 32 GHz. The consistency of the design method for the created simulation models is validated in terms of the good correspondence between the theoretical and experimental results of the simulated and produced structures.