Monolithic Integrated Ceramic Waveguide Filters

Design techniques for a new class of integrated monolithic high permittivity ceramic waveguide filters are presented. These filters enable a size reduction of 50% compared to air-filled TEM filters with the same unloaded Q-Factor. Designs for both chebyshev and asymmetric generalized chebyshev filter are presented, with experimental results for an 1800 MHz chebyshev filter showing excellent agreement with theory

Design of generalised Chebyshev lowpass filters using coupled line/stub sections

A new method for the design of distributed lowpass filters enables exact realisation of the series short circuited transmission lines which are normally approximated via unit elements in other filter realisations. The filters are based upon basic sections using a pair of coupled lines which are terminated at one end in open-circuited stubs. The approach enables realisation of transmission zeros at the quarter –wave frequency hence giving improved stopband performance. A complete design is presented and demonstrates performance in good agreement with theory

Synthesis of coupling matrix for lossy filter networks

A generalized method for the synthesis of lossy microwave filters is given in this paper. An equation on the polynomials of S parameters is given to replace the power conservation. When the polynomials of S parameters satisfy a given condition, it is guaranteed that the admittance parameters as well as the coupling matrix (CM) can be derived from the S parameters. Two special cases are discussed for solving the refection function from a prescribed transfer function. In the first case, F11 (the numerator of S11) equals to F22 (the numerator of S22). This is the case that is equivalent to the even/odd mode analysis but is extended to be applied for asymmetric filter responses. In the second case, the loss distribution among a filter network is given. A method of iteration is applied to derive the CM with the prescribed loss distribution. The method is an extension to the conventional method of predistortion with nonuniform resonator Qs and lossy invertors

Microwave bandpass filters using re-entrant resonators.

Design techniques for microwave bandpass filters using re-entrant resonators are presented. The key feature is that each re-entrant resonator in the filter generates a passband resonance and a finite frequency transmission zero, above the passband. Thus an Nth degree filter can have N finite frequency transmission zeros with a simple physical realization. A physically symmetrical 5 pole re-entrant bandpass filter prototype with 5 transmission zeros above the passband was designed and fabricated. Measured results showed good correspondence with theories

The academic backbone: longitudinal continuities in educational achievement from secondary school and medical school to MRCP(UK) and the specialist register in UK medical students and doctors

Background: Selection of medical students in the UK is still largely based on prior academic achievement, although doubts have been expressed as to whether performance in earlier life is predictive of outcomes later in medical school or post-graduate education. This study analyses data from five longitudinal studies of UK medical students and doctors from the early 1970s until the early 2000s. Two of the studies used the AH5, a group test of general intelligence (that is, intellectual aptitude). Sex and ethnic differences were also analyzed in light of the changing demographics of medical students over the past decades. Methods: Data from five cohort studies were available: the Westminster Study (began clinical studies from 1975 to 1982), the 1980, 1985, and 1990 cohort studies (entered medical school in 1981, 1986, and 1991), and the University College London Medical School (UCLMS) Cohort Study (entered clinical studies in 2005 and 2006). Different studies had different outcome measures, but most had performance on basic medical sciences and clinical examinations at medical school, performance in Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP(UK)) examinations, and being on the General Medical Council Specialist Register. Results: Correlation matrices and path analyses are presented. There were robust correlations across different years at medical school, and medical school performance also predicted MRCP(UK) performance and being on the GMC Specialist Register. A-levels correlated somewhat less with undergraduate and post-graduate performance, but there was restriction of range in entrants. General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)/O-level results also predicted undergraduate and post-graduate outcomes, but less so than did A-level results, but there may be incremental validity for clinical and post-graduate performance. The AH5 had some significant correlations with outcome, but they were inconsistent. Sex and ethnicity also had predictive effects on measures of educational attainment, undergraduate, and post-graduate performance. Women performed better in assessments but were less likely to be on the Specialist Register. Non-white participants generally underperformed in undergraduate and post-graduate assessments, but were equally likely to be on the Specialist Register. There was a suggestion of smaller ethnicity effects in earlier studies. Conclusions: The existence of the Academic Backbone concept is strongly supported, with attainment at secondary school predicting performance in undergraduate and post-graduate medical assessments, and the effects spanning many years. The Academic Backbone is conceptualized in terms of the development of more sophisticated underlying structures of knowledge ('cognitive capital’ and 'medical capital’). The Academic Backbone provides strong support for using measures of educational attainment, particularly A-levels, in student selection

Construct-level predictive validity of educational attainment and intellectual aptitude tests in medical student selection: meta-regression of six UK longitudinal studies

Background: Measures used for medical student selection should predict future performance during training. A problem for any selection study is that predictor-outcome correlations are known only in those who have been selected, whereas selectors need to know how measures would predict in the entire pool of applicants. That problem of interpretation can be solved by calculating construct-level predictive validity, an estimate of true predictor-outcome correlation across the range of applicant abilities. Methods: Construct-level predictive validities were calculated in six cohort studies of medical student selection and training (student entry, 1972 to 2009) for a range of predictors, including A-levels, General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs)/O-levels, and aptitude tests (AH5 and UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT)). Outcomes included undergraduate basic medical science and finals assessments, as well as postgraduate measures of Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCP(UK)) performance and entry in the Specialist Register. Construct-level predictive validity was calculated with the method of Hunter, Schmidt and Le (2006), adapted to correct for right-censorship of examination results due to grade inflation. Results: Meta-regression analyzed 57 separate predictor-outcome correlations (POCs) and construct-level predictive validities (CLPVs). Mean CLPVs are substantially higher (.450) than mean POCs (.171). Mean CLPVs for first-year examinations, were high for A-levels (.809; CI: .501 to .935), and lower for GCSEs/O-levels (.332; CI: .024 to .583) and UKCAT (mean = .245; CI: .207 to .276). A-levels had higher CLPVs for all undergraduate and postgraduate assessments than did GCSEs/O-levels and intellectual aptitude tests. CLPVs of educational attainment measures decline somewhat during training, but continue to predict postgraduate performance. Intellectual aptitude tests have lower CLPVs than A-levels or GCSEs/O-levels. Conclusions: Educational attainment has strong CLPVs for undergraduate and postgraduate performance, accounting for perhaps 65% of true variance in first year performance. Such CLPVs justify the use of educational attainment measure in selection, but also raise a key theoretical question concerning the remaining 35% of variance (and measurement error, range restriction and right-censorship have been taken into account). Just as in astrophysics, ‘dark matter’ and ‘dark energy’ are posited to balance various theoretical equations, so medical student selection must also have its ‘dark variance’, whose nature is not yet properly characterized, but explains a third of the variation in performance during training. Some variance probably relates to factors which are unpredictable at selection, such as illness or other life events, but some is probably also associated with factors such as personality, motivation or study skills

A Novel Dielectric-Loaded Dual-Mode Cavity for Cellular Base Station Applications

A new class of dual mode dielectric resonator filter for mobile communication systems is presented. The proposed resonator exhibits high unloaded quality factor and reasonably wide spurious operating window. Based on this cavity, a 4-pole dual-mode Generalised Chebyshev filter is developed and fabricated in the stacked configuration. An unexpected spurious mode is appeared at 2.3 GHz due to improper coupling. A coupling technique for eliminating the unexpected spurious resonance is proposed. The obtained experimental and measured results with an asymmetric transmission zeros confirm the validity of the proposed resonator for releasing filters for cellular-radio base stations

Development of an open-ended microstrip stub apparatus and technique for the dielectric characterization of powders

A new apparatus and method to characterize the complex dielectric permittivity of powders is described. The apparatus and technique are used to determine the dielectric properties of detergent powder agglomerates at different conditions. The technique is based on the measurement of Scattering-parameters of an open circuit microstrip stub partly loaded with the test powder material. The scattering parameters relate the voltage waves incident on the ports of a microwave network to those reflected from the ports and can easily be measured with a vector network analyzer. A 3D finite element electromagnetic field simulation tool HFSS (High frequency structural simulator) is used to replicate the measured S-parameters and then extract the complex permittivity data from it. The method has been verified by measuring the dielectric properties of disks of known dielectric materials – specifically Duriod 5880 and Teflon. Results are in good agreement with manufacturer data sheets. The complex permittivity of a range of detergent powder agglomerates with different moisture levels, at ambient and elevated temperatures, has been determined using this technique. Results are consistent with predictions of how the water interacts with the different components of the detergent particles at these different conditions

A TE11 Dual-Mode Monoblock Dielectric Resonator Filter

A novel TE11 monoblock dual-mode dielectric resonator filter is presented in this paper. The proposed filter is made of a single piece of ceramic with silver plated external surfaces and metallic lids for hosting tuning elements. The dominant TE11 dual-mode is supported by H-shape dielectric resonator having r =45. The resonator is ultra-compact in size and offers a maximized space utilization since no metallic housing is required. In addition, the proposed resonator offers a high unloaded quality factor, reasonably wide spurious window and lend itself to implement tunability. One prototype filter operating at 1.96 GHz with 50-MHz bandwidth is designed

Method of analysis for 2-D lumped element filter networks

A method for the analysis of 2-D lumped element filter networks is presented. The method is based on the general telegrapher’s equations of multi-wire transmission lines. In the discussion of multi-wire line, it supports multi-mode propagations. A 2-D lumped element network is equivalent to a set of sub-networks that are combiner at the input and output. While the combiners are generated according to the eigenvector of the characteristic matrix of the 2-D network, each of the subnetwork is a lowpass network that supports a single mode propagation whose propagation constant corresponding to a eigenvalue of the characteristic matrix. This method can be applied to the analysis of metamaterials and can be used for the design of waffle-iron filter