The Effect of Tolerances on Microstripline and Slotline Performances

The change in characteristics of a transmission line due to the tolerances of its parameters has been analyzed. The worst case behavior has been examined using the sensitivity approach. The analysis can be used to determine the tradeoff between performance and tolerances. Computations have been carried out for microstrip-line and slotline. The fabrication accuracies of linewidth and gapwidth for given tolerances in substrate parameters and specified accuracy in transmission-line characteristics have been evaluated. It has been observed that low-impedance microstriplines and high-impedance slotlines are less sensitive to tolerances in parameters.