Photonic Choke-Joints for Dual-Polarization Waveguides

Photonic choke-joint (PCJ) structures for dual-polarization waveguides have been investigated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for use in device and component packaging. This interface enables the realization of a high-performance, non-contacting waveguide joint without degrading the in-band signal propagation properties. The choke properties of two tiling approaches — symmetric square Cartesian and octagonal quasi-crystal lattices of metallic posts — are explored and optimal PCJ design parameters are presented. For each of these schemes, the experimental results for structures with finite tilings demonstrate near ideal transmission and reflection performance over a full waveguide band.