A DC-blocking dielectric waveguide via design for high speed signaling at millimeter wave frequencies

This study presents a dielectric waveguide via design. The design serves two purposes. First, it removes the need for DC-blocking capacitors within a high speed signaling system. This is because it is free of conductors and made of dielectric materials thus inherently accomplishing DC-blocking on a signal travel route. Second, it allows for efficient via performance at millimeter wave frequencies which is harder to achieve using traditional metallic via designs. The design uses quasi-optical principles in order to make the transit between one PCB layer trace to another possible. This study presents the design guidelines for such a via along with simulations showing operation and evaluating performance.