Novel Topologies Based Rf Filtering Components And Methodologies For Wireless Communication System

Driven by the rapid progress of wireless communication technology in the past several decades, multiple generations of cellular technologies have been developed, deployed, and adopted to provide more convenient communication services to users. Nowadays, the personal hand-held devices, supporting multiple wireless standards, have been a multimedia terminal encompassing elements and functions such as video callers, Internet connectivity, home appliances remote controller, GPS, TV reception, and beyond. In order to accommodate a variety of wireless standards in a single device without imposing a substantial increase in cost and size, current and future RF transceiver front-ends should be designed with more attention. The main objective of this dissertation is to study new design topologies and implement a series of high performance RF filtering components which play critical roles in miniaturized RF transceivers supporting multiple wireless standards. A compact dual-band filter with high selectivity and wide rejection band, a filtering Wilkinson power divider, and balanced filters with fixed/reconfigurable center frequencies are proposed and successfully developed. In addition, an equation-based methodology is also first proposed and fully investigated to r

Common-mode suppressed differential bandpass filter based on open complementary split ring resonators fabricated in microstrip technology without ground plane etching

A differential (or balanced) bandpass filter based on open complementary split ring resonators (OCSRRs) coupled through admittance inverters is presented in this article. Pairs of OCSRRs are symmet- rically placed in a mirror configuration between the strips of the differential line and are modeled by means of two series connected parallel resonators. For the differential (odd) mode, there is a virtual ground at the connecting plane between the OCSRR pairs, and the structure is roughly described by the canonical model of a bandpass filter, consisting of a cascade of shunt resonators coupled through admittance inverters. It is demonstrated that, through a proper design of the OCSRR stages, the common mode noise in the vicinity of the differential filter pass band can be efficiently suppressed. Due to the differential mode operation of the filter, it is not necessary to incorporate metallic vias to ground the OCSRRs. Moreover, as compared to other differential filters based on OCSRRs, defected ground structures are not present in the proposed filters. To illustrate the potential of the approach, two balanced bandpass filters are designed, fabricated, and characterized

Balanced quasi-elliptic-type dual-passband filters using planar transversal coupled-line sections and their digital modeling

A class of balanced dual-band bandpass filters (BPFs) with planar transversal-signal-interference coupled-line sections is reported. In their building balanced dual-band BPF stage under differential-mode excitation, a second-order quasi-elliptic-type dual-band bandpass filtering transfer function is obtained. Specifically, from the transversal interaction among their two open-ended and virtually-short-ended half-wavelength coupled-line paths, sharp-rejection differential-mode dual passbands with several out-of-band transmission zeros at both sides are realized. To attain high common-mode suppression levels within the differential-mode passbands, two open-ended line segments are connected at the symmetry plane of the devised balanced dual-band BPF stage. Moreover, higher-order schemes based on in-series-cascaded multi-stage designs to further increase differential-mode selectivity and in-band common-mode rejection are illustrated. The operational principles and parametric-analysis design rules of the engineered transversal-coupled-line-based balanced dual-band BPF approach are detailed. Additionally, for a rigorous interpretation of their zero/pole characteristics, a digital-modeling framework is applied to them to connect RF balanced filters with their discrete-time versions. For practical-validation purposes, a microstrip prototype of two-stage/fourth-order balanced dual-band BPF is built and tested. It exhibits measured differential-mode dual passbands with center frequencies of 1.464 GHz and 2.294 GHz, 3-dB fractional bandwidths of 8.74% and 9.68%, and in-band common-mode rejection levels above 23.16 dB and 31.36 dB, respectively.European CommissionAgencia Estatal de Investigació

Advanced RF/microwave filtering circuits for wireless communications and radar applications.

The recent rapid development in modern communication systems has presented some constraints caused by the introduced noises, as well as further requirements of low costs and miniature designs. Such noises are overcome using efficient designs of filtering devices which are essential components in many satellite, radar and mobile communication systems. As a result, balanced or differential filtering components have recently received increasing attention. A wideband microstrip balanced bandpass filter based on modified stub line approach is presented in here. The proposed idea of extended transmission lines (TLs) at the input and output (I/O) ports enables for very good stopband rejection and common-mode suppression. On the other hand, the recently introduced multilayer liquid crystal polymer (LCP) material and fabrication technique are exclusively applied in this work for adapting the potential solutions offered within. Therefore, a comprehensive in-house fabrication process has been developed and extensively illustrated in this thesis starting from mask preparation covering the entire procedure up to producing the final piece of output. As a demonstrator of the potential capability of multilayer LCP technology, a novel miniaturized ultra-wideband (UWB) balun with self-packaging is introduced in this study. The broadside coupled stripline structure is adopted in this work to realize UWB performance and TEM mode which results in excellent amplitude and phase balances. In turn, a novel compact UWB multilayer balanced bandpass filter using LCP technology is also presented in this thesis. The design utilizes the transversal signal-interference concept for realizing an outstanding common-mode suppression while constructed in a stripline configuration. All of the designs covered in this thesis are initially simulated using CAD tools to be then validated by measurements of fabricated prototypes

Ultra-compact (80 mm2) differential-mode ultra-wideband (UWB) bandpass filters with common-mode noise suppression

This paper presents a novel approach for the implementation of balanced ultra-wideband (UWB) bandpass filters with common-mode noise suppression. To a first-order approximation, the differential-mode filter response is described by the canonical circuit model of a bandpass filter, i.e., a cascade of series-connected resonators alternating with shunt-connected parallel resonant tanks. Thus, the series branches of the balanced filter are implemented by means of inductive strips and patch capacitors, whereas the shunt sections are realized through mirrored stepped-impedance resonators (SIRs) and low-impedance (i.e., capacitive) short transmission-line sections. For the differential mode, the symmetry plane is a virtual ground, the wide strip sections of the SIRs are effectively grounded, and the SIRs behave as grounded inductors parallel connected to capacitors. However, for the common mode, where the symmetry plane is an open (magnetic wall), the SIRs act as shunt-connected series resonators, thus providing transmission zeros at their resonance frequencies. By properly tailoring the location of these transmission zeros, rejection of the common mode over the differential filter passband can be achieved. To illustrate the potential of the approach, an order-5 balanced bandpass filter covering the regulated band for UWB communications (3.1-10.6 GHz) is designed and fabricated. The filter exhibits common-mode rejection above 10 dB over the whole differential filter passband, with differential-mode insertion losses lower than 1.9 dB and return losses better than 10 dB. Since the proposed design approach is based on planar semi-lumped components, filter size is as small as 10.5 mm X 7.6 m

Ultra-compact (80 mm 2) differential-mode ultra-wideband (UWB) bandpass filters with common-mode noise suppression

This paper presents a novel approach for the implementation of balanced ultra-wideband (UWB) bandpass filters with common-mode noise suppression. To a first-order approximation, the differential-mode filter response is described by the canonical circuit model of a bandpass filter, i.e., a cascade of series-connected resonators alternating with shunt-connected parallel resonant tanks. Thus, the series branches of the balanced filter are implemented by means of inductive strips and patch capacitors, whereas the shunt sections are realized through mirrored stepped-impedance resonators (SIRs) and low-impedance (i.e., capacitive) short transmission-line sections. For the differential mode, the symmetry plane is a virtual ground, the wide strip sections of the SIRs are effectively grounded, and the SIRs behave as grounded inductors parallel connected to capacitors. However, for the common mode, where the symmetry plane is an open (magnetic wall), the SIRs act as shunt-connected series resonators, thus providing transmission zeros at their resonance frequencies. By properly tailoring the location of these transmission zeros, rejection of the common mode over the differential filter passband can be achieved. To illustrate the potential of the approach, an order-5 balanced bandpass filter covering the regulated band for UWB communications (3.1-10.6 GHz) is designed and fabricated. The filter exhibits common-mode rejection above 10 dB over the whole differential filter passband, with differential-mode insertion losses lower than 1.9 dB and return losses better than 10 dB. Since the proposed design approach is based on planar semi-lumped components, filter size is as small as 10.5 mm ×\, 7.6 mm.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2010-17512, TEC2013-40600-R, TEC2013-41913-P, CSD2008-00066Gobierno Catalán 2014SGR-15

Ultra-compact (80 mm 2) differential-mode ultra-wideband (UWB) bandpass filters with common-mode noise suppression

This paper presents a novel approach for the implementation of balanced ultra-wideband (UWB) bandpass filters with common-mode noise suppression. To a first-order approximation, the differential-mode filter response is described by the canonical circuit model of a bandpass filter, i.e., a cascade of series-connected resonators alternating with shunt-connected parallel resonant tanks. Thus, the series branches of the balanced filter are implemented by means of inductive strips and patch capacitors, whereas the shunt sections are realized through mirrored stepped-impedance resonators (SIRs) and low-impedance (i.e., capacitive) short transmission-line sections. For the differential mode, the symmetry plane is a virtual ground, the wide strip sections of the SIRs are effectively grounded, and the SIRs behave as grounded inductors parallel connected to capacitors. However, for the common mode, where the symmetry plane is an open (magnetic wall), the SIRs act as shunt-connected series resonators, thus providing transmission zeros at their resonance frequencies. By properly tailoring the location of these transmission zeros, rejection of the common mode over the differential filter passband can be achieved. To illustrate the potential of the approach, an order-5 balanced bandpass filter covering the regulated band for UWB communications (3.1-10.6 GHz) is designed and fabricated. The filter exhibits common-mode rejection above 10 dB over the whole differential filter passband, with differential-mode insertion losses lower than 1.9 dB and return losses better than 10 dB. Since the proposed design approach is based on planar semi-lumped components, filter size is as small as 10.5 mm ×\, 7.6 mm.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2010-17512, TEC2013-40600-R, TEC2013-41913-P, CSD2008-00066Gobierno Catalán 2014SGR-15

Design of Filtering Crossover Based on 180° Filtering Couplers

This article presents a novel crossover with an embedded bandpass filter function. The crossover is derived from the traditional crossover based on a tandem connection of two 3-dB 90° couplers by substituting them with 180° filtering couplers and introducing a filter function. In addition, a 180° phase shift realized by coupled resonators is added to keep the two cross paths in phase. The equivalent circuit of the crossover between the two diagonal ports has been treated as bandpass filters with coupled resonators. The design equations are derived to assist with the synthesis process for the filtering crossover. For verification, a filtering crossover with fifth-order filter characteristics, operating at 2.4 GHz, is designed, fabricated, and tested. The measured results match very well with the simulation, which verifies the proposed circuit concept.</p

UWB Technology

Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology has attracted increasing interest and there is a growing demand for UWB for several applications and scenarios. The unlicensed use of the UWB spectrum has been regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) since the early 2000s. The main concern in designing UWB circuits is to consider the assigned bandwidth and the low power permitted for transmission. This makes UWB circuit design a challenging mission in today's community. Various circuit designs and system implementations are published in this book to give the reader a glimpse of the state-of-the-art examples in this field. The book starts at the circuit level design of major UWB elements such as filters, antennas, and amplifiers; and ends with the complete system implementation using such modules

Design and analysis of miniaturized substrate integrated waveguide reconfigurable filters for mm-wave applications.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Microwave filters are an integral part of communication systems. With the advent of new technologies, microwave devices, such as filters, need to have superior performance in terms of power handling, selectivity, size, insertion loss etc. During the past decade, many applications have been added to the communication networks, resulting in communication systems having to operate at high frequencies in the region of THz to achieve the stringent bandwidth requirements. To achieve the requirements of the modern communication system, tunability and reconfigurability have become fundamental requirements to reduce the footprint of communication devices. However, the communication systems that are more prevalent such as planar circuits have either a large footprint or are not able to handle large amounts of power due to radiation leakage. In this thesis, Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) technology has been employed. The SIW has the same properties as the conventional rectangular waveguide; hence it benefits from the high quality (Q) factor and can handle large powers with small radiation loss. The Half-mode (HMSIW), Quarter-mode (QMSIW), and Eighth-mode (EMSIW) cavity resonators have been designed and used for the miniaturization of the microwave filters. The coupling matrix method was used to implement a filter that uses cross-coupled EMSIW and HMSIW cavity resonators to improve the selectivity of the filter. Balanced circuit techniques have been used to design the circuits that preserve communication systems integrity whereby the Common Mode (CM) signal was suppressed using Deformed Ground Structure (DGS) and a center conductor patch with meandered line. For the designed dual-band filter, the common mode signal was suppressed to -90 dB and - 40 dB for the first and second passband, respectively. The insertion loss observed is 2.8 dB and 1.6 dB for the first and second passband, respectively. For tunability of the filter, a dual-band filter utilizing triangular HMSIW resonators has been designed and reconfigurability is achieved by perturbing the substrate permittivity by dielectric rods. The dielectric rods’ permittivity was changed to achieve tunability in the first instance, and then the rods’ diameter changed in the second instance. For the lowerband, frequency is tunable from 8.1 GHz to 9.15 GHz, while the upper band is tuned from 14.61 GHz to 16.10 GHz. A second order SIW filter with a two layer substrate was then designed to operate in the THz region. For reconfigurability, Graphene was sandwiched between the Silicon Di-Oxide substrate and the top gold plate of the filter, and the chemical potential of Graphene was then varied by applying a dc bias voltage. With a change in dc voltage the chemical potential of Graphene changes accordingly. From the results, a chemical potential change of 0.1 eV to 0.6 eV brings about a frequency change from 1.289 THz to 1.297 THz