| Metal-insulator-semiconductors (MIS) are one of the most basic elements in the digital and microwave circuits. Theoretical and experimental investigation has shown that the dominant mode of propagation in MIS is not a quasi-TEM mode at all frequencies. It has been shown that an MIS transmission line is in fact a slow-wave structure in a certain frequency range. Slow-wave structures offer a large effective permittivity, therefore, can be employed to create large propagation delay and to reduce the guided wavelength. These characteristics can be utilized to design compact passive elements such as delay lines, phase shifters and filters. MIS structures can be easily fabricated using the current semiconductor technology. As well, they can be designed to operate in the slow-wave region for implementation of miniaturized passive components. In this thesis, first, an MIS interconnect is designed, fabricated and measured. Then, the transmission line characteristics are extracted from simulated and measured results. Subsequently, the MIS line parameters are used in designing a compact slow-wave meander line structure, which is compatible with silicon-based-packaging (SBP) solutions used in modern system-in-package/system-on-package (SIP/SOP) technologies. |
