An Integrated Millimeter-Wave Broadband Microstrip-to-Waveguide Vertical Transition Suitable for Multilayer Planar Circuits
An integrated broadband vertical microstrip-to-rectangular waveguide (RWG) transition at Ka-band is presented. This transition is especially suitable for multilayer planar circuits, by utilizing a section of multilayer three-dimensional (3-D) stepped substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) structure, along with a taper transition. A simplified initial transition model from 3-D stepped SIW to waveguide is first optimized, thereafter, a full microstrip-to-waveguide transition is constructed and further optimized. For demonstration, some back-to-back transition prototypes are fabricated by multilayer PCB processing. The experimental results show that the return loss better than 15 dB is obtained from 33 to 36.7 GHz, with the minimum net insertion loss about 0.7 dB for a single transition at 35 GHz.
A rectangular waveguide filter with integrated E-plane probe transition
A novel Rectangular waveguide (RWG) filter with integrated transitions is proposed in this letter. The E-plane probe transition, which is employed to couple the energy from the RWG resonator to the microstrip line (MSL), is used as the external coupling mechanism. The integrated design of the filter and transition can reduce the design complexity and size of the circuit. In order to verify the design, a prototype of the filter is fabricated and measured. It provides an in-band return loss and insertion loss of better than 14.6 and 1.5 dB, respectively, in the frequency range of 8.39 to 8.85GHz.
Key Considerations for an Economic and Legal Framework Facilitating Medical Travel
Medical travel has the capacity to counter increasing costs of health care by creating new markets and increased revenue for health services, potentially benefiting local populations, economies, and health-care systems. This paper is part of a broad, comprehensive project aimed at developing a global health access policy (GHAP). It presents key issues to consider in terms of ensuring economic viability, sustainability, and limiting risk to the many stakeholders involved in the rapidly expanding industry of medical travel. The noted economic and legal barriers to medical travel are based on a synthesis of themes found in an extensive review of the available literature. Economic considerations, when setting up a GHAP, include a dynamic approach to pricing that is fair to the local population. Legal considerations include the implementation of international quality standards and the protection of the rights of those traveling as well as those of local populations in recipient countries. By taking into account these opportunities, the GHAP will more adequately address existing gaps in the economic and legal regulation of medical travel.