Mode-matching approach for superconducting planar transmission lines including finite conductor thickness

An analysis of superconducting planar transmission lines is presented. The full-wave mode-matching approach holds for arbitrary values of conductor thickness and does not involve approximations such as the skin-effect description or the resistive boundary condition. Results on phase constant and attenuation of a superconducting coplanar waveguide are reported including both conductor-thickness dependence and frequency characteristics. The results demonstrate that the high-Tc superconductor materials greatly improve the performance of coplanar waveguides as used in millimeter-wave monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs).