Slow wave circuit with shaped dielectric substrate

Claim 1

In a meander line slow-wave circuit device comprising a planar assembly including a conductive ground plane, a dielectric substrate contiguous with said ground plane and a serpentine meander line conductor having connecting transverse and longitudual segments disposed on a portion of the upper surface of said substrate, an integral unitary ladder shaped planar dielectric substrate having a plurality of spaced transverse vane segments intersecting a pair of opposing continuous longitudinal vane segments, portions of said longitudinal vane segments between transverse vane segments being exposed when said meander line conductor is disposed thereon, and including a plurality of slot-like openings in the dielectric substrate between adjacent transverse segments of said conductor disposed on said transverse vane segments, the complete lower surface of said intersection longitudinal and transverse vane segments of said substrate being in continuous direct contact with said ground plane; the improvement comprising a plurality of electrically conductive shields disposed in said slot-like openings between adjacent parallel transverse segments of said meander line conductor and connected to said ground plane to decrease dispersion and increase the bandwidth.