Beaded bellows coaxial and twin-axial waveguides

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025030142-A1
Application number	US-202318357119-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 22, 2023
Priority date	Jul 22, 2023
Publication date	Jan 23, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A flexible coaxial waveguide includes a plurality of dielectric members including a center portion having a hole. An inner conductor having the plurality of dielectric members is arranged through the hole in the center portion, and an outer conductor surrounds the plurality of dielectric members. The outer conductor is a bellows-shaped outer conductor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A flexible waveguide, comprising:
a plurality of dielectric members including a center portion having at least one hole; an inner conductor having the plurality of dielectric members arranged thereon through the at least one hole in the center portion; and an outer conductor surrounding the plurality of dielectric members, wherein the outer conductor comprises a flexible tubular structure.

2 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible tubular structure comprises a bellows-shaped outer conductor.

3 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 2 , wherein the bellows-shaped outer conductor comprises a superconducting material.

4 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 3 , wherein the plurality of dielectric members comprises a crystalline structure.

5 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein the inner conductor comprises a quantum wire in a coaxial arrangement with the outer conductor.

6 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein:
the inner conductor comprises a plurality of quantum wires in a twin-axial arrangement with the outer conductor; and the plurality of dielectric members includes a plurality of holes each sized to receive one or more of the plurality of quantum wires.

7 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 6 , wherein the outer conductor comprises quantum wires.

8 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 2 , wherein at least some of plurality of the plurality of dielectric members are comprised of a different dielectric material than a remainder of the plurality of dielectric members.

9 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dielectric members is arranged in a repeating pattern of non-uniform sizes and/or non-uniform lengths.

10 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 9 , wherein an impedance of the flexible waveguide varies in part according to the repeating pattern of the of non-uniform sizes and/or non-uniform lengths of the plurality of dielectric members.

11 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 9 , wherein the plurality of dielectric members is arranged in a repeating pattern of non-uniform sizes and/or non-uniform lengths to provide a stopband mode and a passband mode.

12 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein at least some of the plurality of dielectric members are spherically-shaped.

13 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein all of the plurality of dielectric members are spherically-shaped.

14 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of dielectric members have a different diameter.

15 . The flexible waveguide according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dielectric members are bead-shaped.

16 . A method of manufacturing a flexible waveguide, the method comprising:
providing a plurality of dielectric members including a center portion having at least one hole; threading at least one inner conductor through the hole of each of the plurality of dielectric members to string the plurality of dielectric members on the inner conductor; providing a flexible outer conductor having a tubular shape; and inserting the inner conductor with the plurality of dielectric members threaded thereon into the flexible outer conductor.

17 . The method according to claim 16 , wherein providing the flexible outer conductor comprises providing a semi-rigid tubular structure sized to receive the inner conductor with the plurality of dielectric members threaded thereon.

18 . The method according to claim 16 , providing the flexible outer conductor includes providing a bellows-shaped structure having a size to receive the inner conductor with the plurality of dielectric members threaded thereon.

19 . The method according to claim 18 , wherein the threading at least one inner conductor comprises threading two conductors through holes in the plurality of dielectric members in a twin-axial arrangement, wherein the plurality of dielectric members comprise crystalline beads having non-uniform sizes and lengths, and wherein the method further comprises arranging the crystalline beads on the flexible outer conductor in a repeating pattern to provide an alternating impedance value.

20 . The method according to claim 19 , further comprising arranging the repeating pattern of non-uniform sizes and/or non-uniform lengths to provide a stopband mode and a passband mode of the flexible waveguide.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Kumph Muir
• Timmerwilke John

Classifications

• H01P3/14 Primary

  flexible · CPC title

• H01P11/002 Primary

  Manufacturing hollow waveguides · CPC title