Hollow Core Coaxial Cables and Methods of Making the Same

• US 20130016022A1
• Filed: 07/14/2011
• Published: 01/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cubic Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nuvotronics, Inc (Cubic Corporation)
• Inventors: Heiks, Noel, Sherrer, David
• Granted Patent: US 9,088,074 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/791
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4415 Cables for special applications G02B6/4429, G02B6/4439, G02B6/4479 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 11/1834 Construction of the insulation between the conductors
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 13/016 for manufacturing co-axial cables applying discontinuous insulation H01B13/20
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 13/06 Insulating conductors or cables H01B13/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 5/02 Single bars, rods, wires, or strips
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 5/14 comprising conductive layers or films on insulating-supports
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/02 Disposition of insulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/0275 comprising one or more extruded layers of insulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/08 Flat or ribbon cables
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/127 with a circular, elliptic, or parabolic cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/203 Leaky coaxial lines

Abstract

Disclosed and claimed herein is a hollow core coaxial cable, having a dielectric capillary with an inside wall and an outside wall, an inner conductive layer on the inside wall of the hollow core coaxial cable and an outer conductive layer on the outside wall of the hollow core coaxial cable, the conductive layers may be patterned. Further disclosed is a method of making the hollow core coaxial cable. Further disclosed are holey fiber coaxial cables, having a holey fiber capillary having an inside wall and an outside wall, an inner conductive layer on the inside wall of the hollow core coaxial cable and an outer conductive layer on the outside wall of the hollow core coaxial cable, the conductive layers may be patterned.

Claims

1. A hollow core coaxial cable, comprising:

a. a dielectric capillary having an inside wall and an outside wall;

b. an inner conductive layer on the inside wall of the capillary; and

c. an outer conductive layer on the outside wall of the capillary.

2. The hollow core coaxial cable of claim 1, wherein the dielectric capillary has a cross section chosen from circular, oval, elliptical, triangular, square, rectangular, or hexagonal.

3. The hollow core coaxial cable of claim 1, wherein the conductive layers may be the same or different and comprise one or more metals chosen from silver, nickel, copper, gold, platinum, palladium, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum or titanium.

4. The hollow core coaxial cable of claim 1, further comprising a polymer layer, wherein the polymer layer has been disposed on the outer conductive layer and further comprising n additional conductive layers disposed on the polymer layer;

wherein n is 0-1.

5. The hollow core coaxial cable of claim 2, wherein a selected portion of at least one of the conductive layers has been removed to form a pattern.

6. The hollow core coaxial cable of claim 4, wherein a selected portion of at least one of the conductive layers has been removed to form a pattern.

7. The hollow core coaxial cable of claim 4, wherein a selected portion of the dielectric capillary or polymer layer or both have been removed and a via is formed between at least two of the conductive layers;

and wherein the via between the conductive layers comprises an electrical connection between the conductive layers.

8. A multiple cable comprising a plurality of the hollow core coaxial cables of claim 4, wherein the plurality of hollow core coaxial cables form a ribbon or a bundle of generally round cross section.

9. The multiple cable of claim 8, further comprising at least one connector.

10. The multiple cable of claim 8, further comprising means for switching signals into selected hollow core coaxial cables.

11. The multiple cable of claim 8, wherein the hollow core coaxial cables are bound together.

12. A method of use of hollow core coaxial cables comprising:

a. providing the multiple cable of claim 11, configured to form an antenna;

b. selecting one or more of the hollow core coaxial cables in the multiple cable to form a pattern;

c. providing a signal to each of the selected hollow core coaxial cables.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the pattern provides a directional antenna.

14. A method of making a hollow core high frequency coaxial cable comprising:

a. providing a hollow core dielectric capillary having an inside wall and an outside wall and a conductor layer disposed on the inside wall of the capillary and,

b. depositing a conductor layer on the outside wall of the capillary.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein depositing the conductor on the outside wall of the capillary is done by one or more of electroless plating, electroplating, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition or atomic layer deposition.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising applying a polymer coating to the conductor layer of the outside wall of the capillary.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the polymer coating is applied by dip coating, spray coating chemical vapor coating or electrophoretic coating.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising depositing an additional conductor on the polymer coating.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising removing a selected portion of at least one of the conductor layers.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein removing a selected portion of at least one of the conductor layers is done by ablating the conductor material with a laser, chosen from a carbon dioxide laser, a KrF Excimer laser, an ArF Excimer laser, an F₂ excimer laser, a frequency doubled neodymium YAG laser or a frequency tripled Yb:

KYW laser.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein removing a selected portion of at least one of the conductor layers is done by:

a. applying a photoresist to the conductor layer on the outside wall of the capillary,

b. patterning the photoresist to expose a selected portion of the conductor, and

c. etching the selected portion of the conductor.

22. A holey fiber coaxial cable, comprising:

a. a holey dielectric capillary having at least one inside wall and an outside wall,

b. a conductive layer on the at least one inside wall of the coaxial cable, and

c. a conductive layer on the outside wall.

23. The holey fiber coaxial cable of claim 22, wherein the holey dielectric capillary has a cross section chosen from circular, oval, elliptical, triangular, square, rectangular, or hexagonal.

24. The holey fiber coaxial cable of claim 22, wherein a selected portion of at least one of the conductive layers has been removed to form a pattern.

25. The holey fiber coaxial cable of claim 22, further comprising a polymer layer, wherein the polymer layer has been disposed on at least one of the conductive layers or between at least one of the conductive layers and the dielectric.

26. The holey fiber coaxial cable of claim 25, further comprising an additional conductive material disposed on the polymer coating when the polymer has been disposed on the outer conductive coating.

27. The holey fiber coaxial cable of claim 26 wherein a selected portion of at least one of the conductive layers has been removed to form a pattern.

28. The holey fiber coaxial cable any of claims 27, wherein a selected portion of the dielectric capillary or polymer coating or both have been removed to form a via between at least two of the conductive layers.

29. The holey fiber coaxial cable of claim 28, wherein the via between the conductive layers comprises an electrical connection between the conductive layers.

30. The holey fiber coaxial cable of claim 26, wherein the conductive layers may be the same or different and comprise one or more metals chosen from silver, nickel, copper, gold, platinum, palladium, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum or titanium.