Experimental Confirmation of Ultrashort Pulse Decomposition in Folded Meander Microstrip Lines

This article presents an experimental confirmation of the decomposition of the ultrashort pulses (USP) in three structures based on folded meander microstrip lines. It was found that additional folding of the folded turn allows increasing the USP attenuation. The analysis of N-norms revealed that such folding allows the probability of electrical breakdown to be additionally reduced. Besides, the likelihood of arc discharge can be decreased. Meanwhile, the probability of equipment damage increases due to the total energy of the pulse, as well as the likelihood of dielectric breakdown. The maximum USP attenuation at the output of the folded turn was 6.94 times. Simulation results show acceptable agreement with measurements. The useful signal integrity was analyzed using a source of pseudorandom binary sequences of 10 000 bits at bitrate transfer rates of 50 and 100 Mbps. Based on this analysis, we recommend to use a folded turn in conjunction with a multiblock generator with a PLL1707 phase lock. We also propose to use the folded turn in conjunction with a gas discharge device to improve protective characteristics.