INSULAR GUIDE INTEGRATED PULSE TRANSCEIVER FOR MILLIMETER WAVE TERMINAL GUIDANCE

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NON-NUCLEAR MUNITIONS AND ARMAMENTS IS ENHANCED IF TERMINAL GUIDANCE IS PROVIDED. ILLUMINATION OF THE TARGET FROM A SELF-CONTAINED TRANSMITTER PROVIDES THE GREATEST MISSION FLEXIBILITY. THE USE OF MILLIMETER WAVELENGTH TERMINAL GUIDANCE TARGET SEEKERS IS NOW UNDER FAVORABLE CONSIDERATION BECAUSE OF SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE RELATIVE TO OPTICAL WAVELENGTH SYSTEMS IN ADVERSE BATTLEFIELD ENVIRONMENTS. MILLIMETER SEEKERS USING CONVENTIONAL WAVEGUIDE TECHNIQUES WOULD BE TOO BULKY AND COSTLY FOR USE IN SMALLER DIAMETER MUNITIONS. A SOLUTION TO THE NEED FOR LOW COST, RELIABLE AND COMPACT TRANSCEIVERS IS PROPOSED. A PLANAR MILLIMETER INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TRANSCEIVER BASED ON DIELECTRIC INSULAR GUIDE IS DESCRIBED. TOTAL PROGRAM WORK WILL LEAD TO THE COMPLETE TRANSCEIVER DEMONSTRATION. PHASE I WORK WILL FOCUS ON SHOWING THE FEASIBILITY OF AN INSULAR PULSED IMPATT DIODE AMPLIFIER STAGE FOR THE TRANSMITTER. THEORETICAL MODELING OF THE AMPLIFIER CIRCUIT WILL PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR FABRICATION, TESTING AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE INSULAR IMPATT AMPLIFIER. THE COMPLETE MULTI-STAGE TRANSMITTER, TO BE REALIZED DURING A SUBSEQUENT PHASE II RESEARCH PROGRAM, WOULD DEMONSTRATE STATE-OF-THE-ART PERFORMANCE USING COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE DIODE. DESIGN EMPHASIS WILL BE ON SIMPLICITY OF CONFIGURATION, EASE OF TEST AND EQUIPMENT, REPRODUCIBILITY AND LOW COST IN MANUFACTURING.