Overview of the research and applications of the space-spectral domain approach (SSDA)

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Ruediger Vahldieck of the University of Victoria, Canada. The technical achievements reviewed herein were accomplished under Dr. Vahldieck's supervision. This research has been devoted to the development of accurate and efficient design algorithms for the analysis and design of MMIC's and MHMIC's. An overview of the SSDA is presented, which combines the advantages of the 1D Spectral Domain Method (SDM) and 1D Method of Lines (MoL). Besides calculation of resonance frequencies, SSDA has been extended to analyze equivalent circuit parameters and S-parameters of planar discontinuities using the deterministic quasi-static SSDA. The algorithms are proven to be highly efficient for the analysis of arbitrary planar discontinuities for applications in the design of MMIC's and MHMIC's.