En este trabajo se realiza un estudio de varias extensiones del método de las diferencias finitas en el dominio del tiempo (FDTD) que permiten la simulación electromagnética de estructuras híbridas de microondas, incluyendo circuitos activos y pasivos. En primer lugar, se revisan los métodos lumped-element (LE) -FDTD y lumped-network (LN) -FDTD, los cuales permiten la incorporación de circuitos concentrados de dos terminales dentro del formalismo FDTD. En el caso del método LN-FDTD, se realiza también un estudio de sus propiedades numéricas. A continuación se presenta el método two-port (TP) -LN-FDTD, el cual permite incorporar circuitos lineales concentrados de dos puertas en las estructuras híbridas estudiadas. Este método parte de una descripción del cuadripolo en términos de su matriz admitancia expresada en el dominio de Laplace. La discretización se realiza con la ayuda de la técnica de la transformación de Moebius. Por último, una vez validado, este método se combina con otras técnicas para la simulación distintos tipos de circuitos híbridos de microondas. / In this work, a study of several extensions of the conventional finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is been carried out. These extensions enable the electromagnetic simulation of microwave hybrid structures, including passive and active circuits. First, an exhaustive revision of both the lumped-element (LE) -FDTD and the lumped-network (LN) -FDTD methods is performed. These methods allow us to incorporate two-terminal lumped circuits into the FDTD. In addition, the numerical properties of the LN-FDTD method are studied for the first time. Second, the two-port (TP)-LN-FDTD is presented. This method enables the incorporation of linear two-port lumped circuits into the studied hybrid structures. This technique basically consists of describing a TP-LN by means of its admittance matrix in the Laplace domain. Then, by applying the Mobius transformation technique, we obtain the discretized admittance matrix. Finally, this method is combined with other existing techniques to allow the simulation of several microwave hybrid circuits.

Ultrasonic transducers are used in many fields of daily life, e.g. as parking aids or medical devices. To enable their usage also for mass applications small and low- cost transducers with high performance are required. Capacitive, micro-machined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) offer the potential, for instance, to integrate compact ultrasonic sensor systems into mobile phones or as disposable transducer for diverse medical applications. This work is aimed at providing fundamentals for the future commercialization of CMUTs. It introduces novel methods for the acoustic simulation and characterization of CMUTs, which are still critical steps in the product development process. They allow an easy CMUT cell design for given application requirements. Based on a novel electromechanical model for CMUT elements, the device properties can be determined by impedance measurement already. Finally, an end-of-line test based on the electrical impedance of CMUTs demonstrates their potential for efficient mass production.

Ultrasonic transducers are used in many fields of daily life, e.g. as parking aids or medical devices. To enable their usage also for mass applications small and low- cost transducers with high performance are required. Capacitive, micro-machined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) offer the potential, for instance, to integrate compact ultrasonic sensor systems into mobile phones or as disposable transducer for diverse medical applications. This work is aimed at providing fundamentals for the future commercialization of CMUTs. It introduces novel methods for the acoustic simulation and characterization of CMUTs, which are still critical steps in the product development process. They allow an easy CMUT cell design for given application requirements. Based on a novel electromechanical model for CMUT elements, the device properties can be determined by impedance measurement already. Finally, an end-of-line test based on the electrical impedance of CMUTs demonstrates their potential for efficient mass production.