Measurements and Calculations of Loss Due to Finite Conductivity and Surface Roughness in Microstrip Lines

Finite conductivity and surface roughness, two often significant causes of loss in microstrip lines, are examined in this dissertation. First, actual data are gathered. Gold lines are fabricated on semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrates. Losses are measured for the three canonical types of surface roughness in rectangular cross section lines: smooth lines with grooves parallel to the line length, and lines with grooves transverse to the line length. Multi-line thru-reflect-line calibrations are performed, and on-wafer measurements are made on both long lines and two-port gap-coupled resonators. Data are compared with other methods of loss calculation, including commercial software. Doctoral thesis.