Chapter 9

MICROWAVE FILTERS
9.1

Insertion-loss Method of Filter Design

9.1.1 Butterworth Filter
9.1.2 Chebyshev Filter
9.1.3 Elliptic function filter response

9.2

Low-pass Prototype Filter Design

9.2.1 Butterworth Filter Design
9.2.2 Chebyshev Filter Design

9.3

Filter Transformations
9.3.1 Frequency Transformations
9.3.2 Load Transformation

9.4.1

Microwave Filter Realizations

Low-pass Filters in Microstrip/Stripline Technology
9.4.1 High - low
9.4.2 Planar Low-pass Elliptic Function Filters
9.4.3 Bandpass Filters
9.4.4 Impedance/admittance Inverters

9-1

Chapter 9
MICROWAVE FILTERS
Microwave filter is one of the very useful components for microwave systems. It can be
used for excluding undesired frequencies as in UWB systems, for combining or sorting
power at different frequencies as in multiplexers, and for impedance matching over
broad-bandwidths. Filters can be classified into four categories on the basis of their
insertion loss as a function of frequency; low-pass, band-pass, band-stop and high-pass.
The design of microwave filters starts with a prototype filter whose low-pass lumpedelement ladder network is normalized to 1-ohm terminations and a cut-off frequency of 1
rad/sec. Equations and/or tables are used for determining the prototype element values.
Frequency and load transformations are then used to derive high-pass, band-pass, bandstop filters and low-pass filters with higher cut-off frequency. The filter with new element
values may be implemented in lumped element form. If the lumped element realization is
not possible, relationship between the transmission line section and the equivalent
lumped elements are used to realize the filter in the distributed element form. Suitable
techniques may be employed for changing the microwave filter configuration thus arrived
at into a form suitable for practical implementation. Schematic of the above procedure is
shown in Fig. 9.1.
There are two low-frequency synthesis techniques in common use. These are: image
parameter method (and the variations thereof, such as the constant-k and m-derived
filters) and the insertion loss method. We shall use the insertion loss method because it is
based on complete specification of a physically realizable frequency characteristic. These
characteristics are: (a) width of pass-band frequencies, (b) maximum insertion loss or
VSWR in the pass-band, and (c) minimum insertion loss or isolation in the stop band at
one or more than one frequency. We shall use the frequency variable
for the prototype
filter and is reserved for later use with microwave filters.
9.1
INSERTION-LOSS METHOD OF FILTER DESIGN
This method of filter design has been very well described in the text book by Collin*. A
filter is specified by the insertion-loss as a function of frequency. The insertion loss can
, defined as the ratio of the power
also be expressed in terms of power loss ratio
delivered by the generator to the load when connected directly, to the power delivered
when the filter is inserted in between. If is the input reflection coefficient of the filter
terminated in a matched load, then
(9.1)
|
|

----------*R.E. Collin, Foundations for Microwave Engineering, Second edition, McGraw-Hill,

1992, Chapter 8.

9-2

|| is the magnitude of reflection coefficient. The insertion loss is given by

where
. The
or the corresponding may be converted into equivalent VSWR
10
using the expression VSWR = (1+)/(1- .
From (9.1) we infer that either the power loss ratio or the magnitude of the input
reflection coefficient as a function of frequency may be specified for filter design.
However, a completely arbitrary value of cannot be chosen because it may not
correspond to a physically realizable network. It can be shown* that the necessary and
sufficient condition for a network to be physically realizable is given by
1

(9.2)

and
are real, positive and even polynomials. Although an unlimited
where
number of power loss ratios can be specified satisfying (9.2), it has been found in practice

Specs

Low-pass lumped
element prototype filter
for desired response

Design eqns
and/or Tables

Frequency and load

transformations
Implementation

Distributed
network conversion

Lumped element
realization

Practical realization
e.g. stripline

Fig. 9.1: Design schematic for a microwave filter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*R.E. Collin, Foundations for Microwave Engineering, Second edition, McGraw-Hill,
1992, Chapter 8.
9-3

that for microwave filter design only three types are sufficient. These are: maximally flat
or Butterworth response in the passband, an equi-ripple or Chebyshev response in
passband, and an elliptic function filter. Design of first two types of filter is described
next. The design of elliptic function filter is beyond the scope of the text.
9.1.1 Butterworth Filter
The power loss ratio for a maximally flat or Butterworth filter is described by the
following equation
1
/
(9.3)

0 to the cut-off value . The maximum

The passband is the frequency range from
value of power loss ratio in the passband is therefore 1
, and for this reason
is
called the passband tolerance and k<1. Outside the passband, the power loss ratio
increases at a rate dependent on 2N, where N is the order of the filter which is equal to
the number of reactive elements in the filter. Typical filter characteristics are shown in
Fig. 9.2 for N = 2,3. In addition to the maximally flat characteristic the Chebyshev
characteristic is also shown there which is described next.
9.1.2 Chebyshev Filter
The power loss ratio for an equi-ripple or Chebyshev filter is given by

1
/ )
where
. is the Chebyshev polynomial of degree N, and described as

(9.4)

for
for

(9.5)

The behavior of
. is shown in Fig. 9.3.
. oscillates between 1 for
and
. Therefore, power loss ratio will oscillate between 1
increases monotonically for
in the passband (
), equals 1
at
, and will increase
and 1
monotonically for
. The number of ripples in the pass-band equals N/2 (see Fig.
9.2).

For large values of / ,

Chebyshev filter can be approximated as

and the power loss ratio for the

(9.6)

When compared with maximally flat filter, (9.3), this power loss ratio is larger by a factor
2
. It means that the Chebyshev filter has a sharper selectivity or a much smaller
frequency range separating the passband and the stopband, and is a desirable feature. For
1.7 for the maximally flat
example for N=15, 70 dB attenuation is reached at
filter case and at
1.18 for the Chebyshev filter case.

9-4

Fig. 9.2: Low-pass filter response for maximally flat and Cheyshev filters; N =2,3.
Passband tolerance k 2 and VSWR
Setting the power loss ratio (9.1) to 1
at
, we obtain the following
relationship between passband tolerance k and the input reflection coefficient

(9.7)

The corresponding input VSWR is given by

1

(9.8a)

For k = 0.509 the insertion loss equals 1 dB and the corresponding VSWR is 2.66; and
VSWR = 5.83 for an insertion loss of 3dB. The passband tolerance
may also be
expressed in terms of passband ripple
in dB using the following equation
10

10

(dB)

dB /10

(9.8b)
The insertion loss value in the stopband is called isolation or stopband attenuation, and is
given by the following expression
for the Butterworth filter case
Isolation (dB) = 10

for the Chebyshev filter case

Isolation (dB) = 10

9-5

Fig. 9.3: Plots of Chebyshev polynomials for N = 1,2,3 and 4.

9.1.3 Elliptic function filter response
Maximally flat and equi-ripple filters are described by monotonically increasing
attenuation in the stop-band. For some applications it is sufficient to guarantee minimum
stop-band attenuation rather then increasing attenuation with frequency. The minimum
attenuation in the stop-band is related to the cut-off rate. This type of filters are called
elliptic function filters and are characterized by equi-ripple behavior in the pass-band and
stop-band as shown in Fig. 9.4. The specification for elliptic function filters is the
maximum attenuation
in the pass-band and minimum attenuation
in the stopband. Elliptic function filters are difficult to synthesize and are beyond the scope of the
text.

9-6

Fig. 9.4: An elliptic function low-pass filter response.

9.2
LOW-PASS PROTOTYPE FILTER DESIGN
The low-pass prototype filter is a ladder network of series inductors and shunt capacitors
as shown in Fig. 9.5. The element values are the same in both circuits, a and b. Both the
circuits can be designed to provide the same insertion loss for the maximally flat and
equi-ripple filters.
Element Values for the Prototype Filter: Elements of the ladder network are denoted
by . For a given value of N, element values can be obtained by determining the power
loss ratio of the filter and comparing with (9.3) or (9.4) as the case may be. This approach
can be conveniently followed for N upto 3 or 4. As an example let us select N = 2 for the
circuit of Fig. 9.6 and determine the values of L and C for a source impedance of 1 ohm
1 rad/sec. The input impedance for this simple circuit is given by
and
(9.9)

Fig. 9.5: Low-pass ladder prototype filter networks

9-7

Fig. 9.6: Prototype filter network for N = 2.

The corresponding reflection coefficient with source impedance of 1 ohm is
()=
and the power loss ratio

=1+

(9.10)

9.2.1 Butterworth Filter Design

For this type of frequency response
should be equated with 1
since
1, i.e.
4

is described by (9.3). Therefore, (9.10)

2 2

4 2 2 2

(9.11)

Comparison at
0 gives R = 1; comparison of coefficient of
imply L = C and
yield
comparison of coefficient of
4
or
L = C = 2
(9.12)
9.2.2 Chebyshev Filter Design
is described by (9.4). Therefore,
For this type of frequency characteristics

2
2

Since

2 2

1, (9.13) becomes
2

1 21

2 2

0 gives

Comparison at

4 2 2 2

4 2 2 2

(9.13)
(9.14)

or

2 1

R = 1+2

(9.15a)

Equating the coefficient of 2 and 4 give

coefficient of
coefficient of

,
,

2
4

(9.15b)
(9.15c)

9-8

The above equations can be solved to determine L and C. It may be noted that R 1
unlike the case of Butterworth filter. The reason is that the value of Chebyshev function
( ) is not zero at
0, in general, and depends on the order N according to
0 for N odd
(0) =
(9.16)
1 for N even
Therefore, Chebyshev filters require
1
for N odd
(9.17)
!
2
2
1 2
2 1
for N even
If the Chebyshev filter is to be designed for load R = 1, the mismatch between R 1 and
R=1 for N even can be bridged by employing an impedance transformer in between. An
alternative is to increase the order of filter to make N odd.
The analysis procedure becomes cumbersome for large values of N. Instead, one can use
the Tables available or the general expressions given next.
(a) Maximally flat lowpass filter element values [Collins, Matthaei]
1
(9.18a)
!
and

2
1,2,3,
(9.18b)

where is the value either of inductance in henry or capacitance in farad. Table 9.1
gives the element values for = 1,
1 and k = 1 for N = 1 to 10.
(b) Equi-ripple filter element values [Collins, Matthaei]
The general expressions are given below for a low-pass filter with
1
!

or

1:
for N odd
for N even

(9.19a)
(9.19b)

and

where

2,3,

(9.19c)

1,2,3,

(9.19d)

(9.19e)

1,2,3,

with

(9.19f)

1, and
0.5
and 3dB for N =
Table 9.2 gives the element values for = 1,
1 to 10. The element values are numbered from
as the generator resistance or
conductance to
as
the
load
resistance
or
conductance
for a filter with N reactive
!
elements. The elements are defined as:

9-9

generator resistance if g is a shunt capaitor

generator conductance if g is a series inductor

(9.20a)

inductance in H for series element

inductance in F for shunt element

(9.20b)

1,2,3,

load resistance if g is a shunt capaitor

(9.20c)
load conductance if g is a series inductor
With this definition, the circuits in Figs. 9.5(a) and 9.5(b) are dual of each other and will
give the same response.
!

Table 9.1: Element values for maximally flat low-pass filter prototype with k = 1,
1
N
1
2
3
4

2.000
1.414
1.000
0.7654

1.0
1.414 1.0
2.000 1.000 1.0
1.848 1.848 0.765

1.0

5
6
7
8
9
10

0.6180
0.5176
0.4450
0.3902
0.3473
0.3129

1.618
1.414
1.247
1.111
1.000
0.908

0.6180
1.414
1.802
1.962
2.000
1.975

2.000
1.932
1.802
1.663
1.532
1.414

1.618
1.932
2.000
1.962
1.879
1.782

1.0
0.5176
1.247
1.663
1.879
1.975

1.0
0.445
1.111
1.532
1.782

1.0
0.3902 1.0
1.000 0.3473 1.0
1.414 0.908 0.3129 1.0

Table 9.2: Element values for equi-ripple low-pass filter prototype with
0.5 , k = 0.3493
N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

0.6986
1.4029
1.5963
1.6703
1.7058
1.7254
1.7372
1.7451
1.7504
1.7543

1.0
0.7071
1.0967
1.1926
1.2296
1.2479
1.2583
1.2647
1.2690
1.2721

1.9841
1.5963
2.3661
2.5408
2.6064
2.6381
2.6564
2.6678
2.6754

1.0
0.8419
1.2296
1.3137
1.3444
1.3590
1.3673
1.3725

1.9841
1.7058
2.4758
2.6381
2.6964
2.7239
2.7392

1.0
0.8696
1.2583
1.3389
1.3673
1.3806

= 1,

1.9841
1.7372
2.5093
2.6678
2.7231

= 1,

1.0
0.8796 1.9841
1.2690 1.7504 1.0
1.3485 2.5239 0.8842 1.9841

9-10

3
N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

,k=1

0.6986
1.4029
1.5963
1.6703
1.7058
1.7254
1.7372
1.7451
1.7504
1.7543

1.0
0.7071
1.0967
1.1926
1.2296
1.2479
1.2583
1.2647
1.2690
1.2721

1.9841
1.5963
2.3661
2.5408
2.6064
2.6381
2.6564
2.6678
2.6754

1.0
0.8419
1.2296
1.3137
1.3444
1.3590
1.3673
1.3725

1.9841
1.7058
2.4758
2.6381
2.6964
2.7239
2.7392

1.0
0.8696
1.2583
1.3389
1.3673
1.3806

1.9841
1.7372
2.5093
2.6678
2.7231

1.0
0.8796 1.9841
1.2690 1.7504 1.0
1.3485 2.5239 0.8842 1.9841

The filter design procedure may be described as follows:

(i)
Determine the number of elements or order of the filter N from the isolation or
stopband attenuation at the desired frequency / . Use the following
expressions for the maximally flat and equi-ripple filters.
Maximally flat filter case
/

for k = 1,

(9.21)

Equi-ripple filter case

/

(ii)
(iii)

for

(9.22)

For the value of N determined above, read the element values of the prototype
filter from the appropriate Table 9.1 or 9.2. Otherwise, (9.18)-(9.19) can be
programmed for the purpose.
Scale the element values according to the frequency transformation and load
1 and = 1 for the prototype filter.
transformation discussed next, since

9.3
FILTER TRANSFORMATIONS
The design of low-pass prototype filter was discussed in the last section. The element
1 for Butterworth and Chebyshev characteristics. We
values correspond to = 1,
need to transform this filter into another filter with either higher cut-off low-pass filter, or
band-pass, band-stop or high-pass filter. The element values therefore need to be properly
scaled. We employ frequency and impedance transformations for the purpose.
9.3.1 Frequency Transformations
(a) Low-pass Cut-off Translation: If the cut-off frequency of the new low-pass filter is
to be raised from
1 to , we apply the frequency translation
/
(9.23)
The frequency translation of (9.23) maps the points 1 to the points
. This
is shown in Fig. 9.7. The series reactances and shunt susceptances for the new filter are

9-11

obtained by replacing by /
value
should be

. Thus, for the k-th filter element the new impedance

(9.24)

Writing
so that this impedance value does not disturb the impedance match
with source and load gives the new inductance

(9.25a)
Similarly, the new capacitance value
is related to the prototype element value
as

(9.25b)
and
for
1. The power loss ratio for the new
It may be noted that
filter is shown in Fig. 9.7(b).
(b) Low-pass to High-pass Transformation: A high-pass filter comprises of series
capacitors and shunt inductors because of their favourable impedance behaviour at high
frequencies. This is proved next by using the following frequency transformation of the
prototype low-pass filter

/
(9.26)
This transformation maps the points 0 to the points
, the points 1 to

, and the points to

0. The effect of this transformation is to
interchange the passband and stopband regions as illustrated in Fig. 9.8. The new
inductances and capacitances are obtained as follows:
should be changed to
The series impedance of the prototype filter element j
/ . This type of impedance behaviour can be realized by a series capacitance
(without disturbing the existing impedance match) such that
= -j

(9.27)

Fig. 9.7: (a) Low-pass prototype filter response

(b) Filter response after frequency translation

9-12

Fig. 9.8: (a) Low-pass prototype filter response

(b) High-pass filter response after the transformation
Similarly, the shunt capacitance
that

should be replaced by the shunt inductance

such

(9.28)
The high-pass transformation of the prototype filter for N = 3 is shown in Fig. 9.9.
(c) Low-pass to Band-pass Transformation: A band-pass filter allows a band of
frequencies to pass through while rejecting the frequencies on either side. This response
is similar to that of a resonator. Therefore, it is natural that a band-pass filter is realized
using resonant elements. The appropriate frequency transformation of the low-pass filter
is
(9.29)

Fig. 9.9: Low-pass prototype to high-pass prototype transformation of N=3 filter.

9-13

Fig. 9.10: Low-pass to band-pass frequency mapping using

where
and
are the lower and upper frequencies of the desired passband, and
the geometric mean of
and . Equation (9.29) can be solved for to give

Since we have chosen

is

(9.30)

, we obtain

(9.31)

We can see from the above expression that

0 maps into two points
,
1 maps into four points
, i.e.
and
. Thus
, ,
and
the prototype filter passband (-1,0,+1) maps into passbands
,
,
. This is illustrated in Fig. 9.10. The element values of the filter can be
deduced as follows:
Due to the frequency transformation (9.29) the series elements will have the new
reactance as
(9.32a)
Similarly, the susceptance of the shunt elements of the filter will be transformed to
(9.32b)
These reactances and susceptances can be realized by the series and parallel resonant
circuits of L and C, as shown in Fig. 9.11. For the series circuit we have,

(9.33a)

and for the parallel circuit

(9.33b)

9-14

If we choose

, expressions (9.33) become

and

(9.34)

The required series reactance of (9.33a) can now be seen to be realized if we replace the
reactance (9.32a) of the prototype filter by a series circuit such that
or
for the series element

(9.35a)

for the parallel element

(9.35b)

Similarly,

For the resonant circuits,

1
expressions for the filter elements
and

, and (9.35) give rise to the following

for the series resonant circuit

(9.36a)

and
and

for the parallel resonant circuit

(9.36b)

Thus, in a band-pass filter the series inductor are replaced by series tuned L-C circuits
and the shunt capacitors are replaced by parallel tuned L-C circuits as shown in Fig. 9.12.
The relationship between the low-pass prototype element values and the band-pass prototype filter element values is given by (9.36).
9.3.2 LOAD TRANSFORMATION
The design of low-pass, high-pass and band-pass prototype filters worked out so far
assumes load and source impedances of 1 ohm, except for Chebyshev filters with N even
for which load resistance is not unity. For realistic filters with a source or load impedance
of , the new values of inductances and capacitances should be such that impedances of
series and shunt elements are multiplied by , i.e.
(9.37a)
/
(9.37b)

Fig. 9.11: Series and parallel tuned circuits for the realization of band-pass filters.

9-15

Fig. 9.12: A prototype bandpass filter configuration

9.4 MICROWAVE FILTER REALIZATIONS
9.4.1 High - low
Low-pass Filters in Microstrip/Stripline Technology
The low-pass filters in microstrip and stripline configurations can be obtained by
realizing series L in the form of a section of high impedance line, and shunt C in the form
of a section of low impedance line. In the printed form, the low-pass filter will appear as
cascaded sections of alternating high impedance and low impedance sections as in Fig.
9.13. However, steps in width will give rise to junction discontinuity reactance. These
should be accounted for in determining the line lengths for the filter elements.
Approximate equivalent circuit of a short section of line
A two-port transmission line section can be modeled as a T-network or -network; the Tnetwork model is shown in Fig. 9.14. Comparing the Z-matrices of the transmission line
section and the T-network we can obtain the equivalent L and C values of T-network.
The Z-matrix for a transmission line section is given as,

Fig. 9.13: High

technology.

- low

low-pass filter configuration in microstrip/stripline

9-16

L/2, (Z11-Z12)

L/2

Z0 , l

C, (Z12)

Fig. 9.14: T-network equivalent of a short length of transmission line

The equivalent T-network in terms of Z-parameters is given as:
Series elements:

Shunt element:

For

/2 and 1
and
/
, the above expressions may be approximated as

and

Correspondence

/2
gives

(9.38)
(9.39)

The equivalent circuit of Fig. 9.14 may be approximated as lumped inductor or capacitor
alone if the effect of the other element is made negligible. For this, if we choose high
for the inductor, according to (9.39) we need small for a given value of L. Also, high
and small reduce the associated C. Therefore, we choose highest value of
consistent with fabrication limitations to realize series inductor. Similarly, lowest value
of
is employed to realize shunt capacitor. The approximate expressions for the line
lengths are (
/4 :

/
for the inductor

for the capacitor

(9.40)
The line lengths given by (9.40) are not final, and should be corrected for the step-inwidth discontinuity reactance on either side of the section as shown in Fig. 9.15.
The step-in-width junction discontinuity has been modeled as a series inductance as
shown in Fig. 9.15. The equivalent reactance may be approximated as [Matthaei, p.206]
for

(9.41)

Example 9.1: Let us design an N = 3 maximally flat low-pass filter with cut-off at 2
GHz in stripline configuration. The maximum realizable
is 118 ohm and the minimum
is 30.5 ohm.
realizable
Solution: Let us choose -configuration for the prototype filter with 1 ohm source and
load impedances as shown in Fig. 9.16. From the Table 9.1 we obtain
1
and
= 2H
Frequency translation to
2
gives the following filter element values
0.159

and

79.5
9-17

w1

w2

Z 01

jX

Z 02

Fig. 9.15: A simple equivalent circuit of step-in-width discontinuity

Transforming these element values for the load and source impedances of 50 ohm yields
the new values as
50
7.95
and
1.59
Stripline realization of s and s: Let us assume a substrate with dielectric constant
2.7 and substrate thickness b = 0.635cm. The guide wavelength = at 2 GHz
is found to be 9.129cm. For realizing the inductor, let us choose a high impedance section
with
118 ohm. The limit on the realizable value of high
is set by the printed
circuit fabrication tolerance of line width. The corresponding strip width is
0.635
. For the capacitors we choose a low impedance section with
30.5
. The limit on the realizable value of low
is set by large strip width W. When
W becomes comparable to the minimum wavelength of operation, the definition of TEM
mode does not hold because fields do not vary in the transverse direction for TEM mode
and our design does not apply. In the extreme case of very large W, transverse resonance
across the width may occur. The strip width corresponding to 30.5 ohm is
9.19
.
For the assumed substrate parameters, the value of =2/ at 2 GHz is 0.688 rad/cm.
Expressions (9.40) give (inductor) = 1.23cm and (capacitor) = 8.86mm at 2GHz. The
calculation of line lengths does not account for the junction reactances. Including the
junction inductances in the filter design modifies the line lengths required for the
inductors and capacitors. The new line lengths are: 9.59mm for each of the capacitors and
1.19cm for the inductor. The line length for the inductor has decreased from 1.23 cm to
1.19cm due to additional inductive reactance associated with step discontinuity. The line
length for the capacitor has however increased from 8.86 mm to 9.59mm. The designed
filter geometry is shown in Fig. 9.17.

Fig. 9.16: Prototype low-pass filter for N = 3, -configuration.

9-18

Fig. 9.17: Low-pass filter design for N = 3 in stripline technology

6.35mm,
2GHz

2.7, b

Fig. 9.18: Transfer characteristics of the low-pass filter shown in Fig. 9.12
2GHz
2.7, b 6.35mm,

9-19

The insertion loss versus frequency behaviour of the realized stripline filter is plotted in
Fig. 9.18. The rate of increase in attenuation with frequency is slow in the stop-band. The
stop-band attenuation is about 10dB at 4 GHz (2 whereas the expected value for
lumped element design is 18dB. The distributed element design gives poor stop-band
attenuation because the equivalent lumped values depart significantly from the design
outside the pass-band (Pozar, p.473).

9.4.2 Planar Low-pass Elliptic Function Filter

This type of filter can be realized using rectangular microstrips/stripline in cascade. A
single section planar low-pass filter is shown in Fig. 9.19. The two dimensional analysis
(see Chapter 10) of this circuit shows that its lumped element equivalent circuit has the
same structure as that of a third order Cauer-Chebyshev (cc) or elliptic function lowpass
filter*. Details of this filter are given below.
Analysis of the filter geometry shown in Fig. 9.19 can be carried out using the twodimensional approach wherein the geometry is modeled as a two-port resonator with
magnetic wall along the periphery and electric walls at the top and bottom. The
impedance matrix of a rectangular patch of dimensions bxl is given by (i,j = 1,2)
2
2 (9.42)

where
sin

m ,

and

1 for
0
0
2 for
Here, b, l,
and
are the effective dimensions of the filter geometry and are greater
than the corresponding physical dimensions as they include the energy stored in the
fringing fields, and can be determined using the planar waveguide model of
microstrip/stripline.
Since the dimensions of the filter element to be considered are very small compared to
the minimum wavelength of operation we can reduce the number of modes contributing
at a cost of small error. By retaining only the first two terms, corresponding to the
to
and
modes, the impedance matrix of the filter reduces to
/

(9.43)

Writing this expression as

(9.44)

gives
and

2
1
/
is the resonance frequency for the

i = 1,2
mode and is given by

9-20

Fig. 9.19: Geometry of a planar elliptic function low-pass filter; b and l are
effective dimensions.

Synthesis of the filter

The lumped element equivalent -network corresponding to the two-port impedance
parameters given by (9.44) can be drawn as in Fig. 9.20. The relationship between the
lumped elements and the impedance matrix elements can be derived by comparing the
input impedances and the transfer impedances of the two networks. The comparison
gives
1 2
,
,

1
1
2

where
(9.45)
It is seen from (9.45) that the area lb of the strip affects the values of capacitances. The
inductance depends on the aspect ratio l/b, and is intuitively expected that narrower
the strip the larger its inductance value. The values of filter elements , , and
can be controlled independently by varying the dimensions of the strip and the location of
the ports and . The physical realizability of the lumped circuit of Fig. 9.20 imposes
----------------------------------------------* Dinzeo, et. al., Novel microwave integrated low-pass filters, Electron. Lett., vol. 15,
1979, pp. 258-260

9-21

Fig. 9.20: A simple lumped equivalent -network of the filter geometry of Fig. 9.19.
some constraints on the parameters of the strip and ports. For the case ,
2 is nearly unity, the following conditions should be satisfied
,
Also, the capacitors
with respect to l/2.

and

, so that
(9.46)

can be positive only if the ports are at the opposite sides

The
mode resonance frequency
also corresponds to the open circuit resonance
of the equivalent circuit of Fig. 9.20, and is given by
(9.47)
parameter of the filter and is
The parallel resonance produces a zero in the
responsible for the sharp increase in insertion loss about
.
Example 9.2: A low-pass Cauer-Chebyshev 03-02-41 type of filter using the twodimensional circuit approach is described*. Here, the first two digits define the order of
the filter (n = 03), the next two digits determine the reflection coefficient (in this case
20%), and the last two digits specify the modular angle , that describes the sharpness of
the filter response. In this case
1.5243

is the normalized frequency at which the specified minimum stopband

where
attenuation occurs. From the Tables, the values of the prototype low-pass filter are found
to be
0.9333 ,
0.4318 ,
0.7973
For a load and source impedance of 50 ohm and a cut-off frequency the lumped
element values are given by
,

and

We have implemented this filter on low dielectric constant substrate with

h = 0.159cm using a microstrip line with
70.66, physical dimensions

2.5 and

9-22

= 17.82mm, = 2.557mm,
12.03
4.51
for a cutoff frequency of 5 GHz. The computed insertion loss and return loss of the designed filter
is plotted in Fig. 9.21. The stopband attenuation is about 15 dB at 7.5GHz (1.5 ..
9.4.2 Bandpass Filters
A bandpass filter consists of series resonators alternating with parallel resonators as
shown in Fig. 9.12 for the prototype filter. This arrangement is, however, difficult to
realize using distributed parameters at microwave frequencies. It is much more practical
to realize a circuit that employs only one type of resonant circuit either series or parallel.
This limitation arises from the transmission line technology. The new configuration can
be obtained from the configuration of Fig. 9.12 by using impedance or admittance
inverters to convert one type of resonant circuit to another type.

= 17.82mm,

(a)

= 2.557mm
.
.
. , h = 1.6mm

9-23

= 17.82mm,
. ,

= 2.557mm
.
.
.

(b)
Fig. 9.21: Frequency response of designed low-pass elliptic function filter of Fig. 9.19.
(a) Insertion loss, (b) return loss

9-24

.
9.4.4 Impedance/admittance inverters: The word immittance is a common word used
for both impedance and admittance. An immittance inverter in its simplest form is a
quarter-wave transformer. It can be used to transform a series element into a shunt
element with same frequency dependence, e.g. a shunt admittance such as jC can be
transformed to a series element like jL by an impedance inverter K. Further, the
impedance value jL can be controlled by the value of K and is given by K =
/ .
Similarly, a series resonant circuit may be transformed into a parallel resonant circuit and
vice versa by an immittance inverter. For example, a shunt admittance Y preceded and
followed by admittance inverters as in Fig. 9.22 will perform like a series impedance, i.e.,
the two networks will have identical transmission coefficient provided
(9.48)
where J is the characteristic admittance of the admittance inverters. For the dual circuit
shown in Fig. 9.22 we have
(9.49)
where K is the characteristic impedance of the impedance inverters. The admittance
(impedance) level of the transformed network can be controlled through the value of J
(K).
The quarter-wave section based inverters will have narrow bandwidth (1-2%) because the
variation of electrical length with frequency. An alternative is to employ lumped element
based immittance inverters. Impedance (admittance) inverter realized using a shunt
inductor (series capacitor) and its equivalence is given in Fig. 9.23.

Fig. 9.22: Use of immittance inverters to convert one type of resonant circuit to
another type of resonant circuit.

9-25

 /4
/2

/2
jX

| /2|

/4
/2

/2
jB

| /2|
Fig. 9.23: Impedance (admittance) inverters and their realization using shunt inductor
(series capacitor) surrounded by line length /2.
The relationships between the equivalent parameters X(B), ( ,), and K (J) can be
determined by comparing the ABCD-parameters of the equivalent networks at a quarterwave frequency. Some more inverters based on lumped elements are given in the book,
Foundations for Microwave Engineering, Sec. 8.18.

9-26