In this thesis, the field and propagation characteristics of many dielectric waveguide structures that are of direct importance to the areas of millimeter-wave integrated circuits are studied. A rigorous method of analysis of the propagation constants and the field distributions of a newly developed suspended H-waveguide based on the mode matching techniques is described. The derived eigenvalue equation for determining the propagation constant of this waveguide structure is very general and can be applied directly to other planar dielectric structures of rectangular cross section. However, for applications where only approximate values of the propagation constants are necessary, a simple effective parameter approximations are employed. Even though the effective parameter approximations do not provide very accurate results for the propagation constants in some cases, they always provide useful information on the whereabouts and the existence of certain modes which, in turn, can be used as the initial values for iterating in the more rigorous mode matching technique. As frequency increases, the values obtained by the effective parameter technique approach those obtained by the mode matching method.;Finally, some essential integrable dielectric components, such as the dielectric resonators and the leaky-wave antennas, are studied. A theoretical formulation of the eigenvalue equation based on the spectral domain approach for determining the complex propagation constants of a slot leaky-wave antenna array constructed from a suspended H-waveguide is presented. A technique for improving the radiation characteristics of an image guide leaky-wave antenna is also described.;The loss characteristics of a suspended H-waveguide are also analyzed. The overall low loss figure of this waveguide structure promises wider applications in the millimeter-wave integrated circuits.
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