Filter Design

Design of a Microstrip Bandpass Filter Yaxun Liu
1
Design of a Microstrip Bandpass Filter

Yaxun Liu,
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West,
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1, yxliu@maxwell.uwaterloo.ca

Note:
This document was part of my course project for E&CE 671 taught by Prof. R. Mansour of University of
Waterloo in Fall 2000. The problem was given by Prof. Mansour.

Problem:

Design a bandpas microstrip 4-pole filter having the configuration shown below: assuming a 0.5 dB equal-
ripple passband characteristics, a bandwidth of 5 % and an input/output impedance of 50 . H = 1.27 mm,
10 =
r
. Use an EM-simulator to simulate your final design over the frequency range
0 0
25 . 1 75 . 0 f f .
Filter centre frequency GHz 8 . 1
0
= f .

Fig. Illustration of the layout of the bandpass filter (not drawn to the scale).

Solution:

The software used for solving this problem is Microwave Office 2000.

(1) Design the 50 microstrip line.
First we design a microstrip line whose characteristic impedance is 50 at 1.8 GHz.
The equations to be used are as follows:
) ( 1
1 ) (
) (
0 0
f
f
Z f Z
eff
eff
eff
eff
= (2.1)
where
2
5 . 1
0
4 1
) (
|
|
\
|
+
+
eff
eff r
eff
F
f

(2.2)
1
]
1
\
|
+ + +
=
2
0
0
1 log 2 1 5 . 0
1 4
h
W
h
F
r
(2.3)
( ) 1 / , 25 . 0
8
ln
2
0
0

)
`
+ = h W
h
W
W
h
Z
eff

(2.4)
2
( ) 1 / , 444 . 1 ln 667 . 0 393 . 1
1
0
0

)
`
\
|
+ + + =
h W
h
W
h
W
Z
eff
(2.5)
+
+
=
h
W
F
r r
eff
2
1
2
1
(2.6)
( ) 1 / , 1 04 . 0 12 1
2 2 / 1
+ =

h W
h
W
W
h
h
W
F (2.7)
( ) 1 / , 12 1
2 / 1
+ =

h W
W
h
h
W
F (2.8)
120
0
= , (2.9)
f
c
=
0
. (2.10)
Let mm 27 . 1 = h , 10 =
r
and GHz 8 . 1 = f , by solving 50 ) (
0
= f Z we obtain mm 23 . 1 = W .

(2) Design a prototype filter using J-inverter and 2 / microstrip-line resonators.
Now we design a prototype circuit for the 4-pole equal-ripple passband filter by using J-inverters and 2 /
microstrip-line resonators.

J1 J2
J3 J4
J5
/2
/2 /2 /2
Z0 Z0

Fig. 2.1 0.5dB equi-ripple filter implemented by using J-invertors and half-wavelength transmissionline
resonators.

where [Pozar, p.484]
1
1 0
2g
J Z

=

(2.11)
4 , 3 , 2 ,
2
1
0
=
n
g g
J Z
n n
n
(2.12)
5 4
5 0
2 g g
J Z

=

(2.13)

The J-inverter is implemented as [Pozar, p.469]
jB
/2
/2
Y0 Y0

3
Fig.2.2 J-invertor implemented by using a capacitor and two transmission lines.

where
2 / tan
0
Y J = (2.14)
( )
2
0
/ 1 Y J
J
B
= (2.15)
0
1
2
tan
Y
B
= (2.16)
Finally the equivalent circuit is [Pozar, p.491]

Z0 Z0
jB1 jB2 jB3
jB4 jB5 1
2
3 4

Fig.2.3 0.5dB equi-ripple bandpass filter implemented using capacitors and transmission lines.

where
( )
) 5 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 ( ,
1
2
0
=
= i
J Z
J
B
i
i
i
(2.17)
[ ] ) 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 ( , ) 2 ( tan ) 2 ( tan
2
1
1 0
1
0
1
= + =
+

i B Z B Z
i i i
(2.18)
The values of capacitors and length of microstrip lines can be obtained by using
) 5 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 ( ,
0
= = i
B
C
i
i
(2.19)
) 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 ( , = = i L
i
i
(2.20)
where
0 0
2 f = is the angular centre frequency, is the propagation constant of the microstrip at the
centre frequency.

For GHz f 8 . 1
0
= and % 5 = , the calculated values are listed as follows:

Table. 2.1. Parameters of a prototype 0.5dB equi-ripple bandpass filter.
GHz f 8 . 1
0
= and % 5 = .
i
i
J
i
B ( )
i

i
C (pF)
i
L (mm)
1 .004337 .004551 2.872464 .402385 29.125785
2 .001113 .001116 3.039282 .098712 30.817255
3 .000935 .000937 3.039282 .082862 30.817258
4 .001113 .001116 2.872472 .098711 29.125859
5 .004337 .004551 2.872464 .402385 .

To verify this design, a circuit is created with Microwave Office 2000 which use ideal capacitor and
microstrip line to implement the prototype filter shown in Fig.2.3. The circuit is shown in Fig.2.4 and the
simulation result is shown in Fig. 2.5. From Fig.2.5 we can see that the | |
11
S is below 9.6dB in the
passband, which agrees quite well with the theoretical value, since for 0.5dB equi-ripple bandpass filter the
4
maximum value of | |
11
S in passband should be dB 6 . 9 6 .826905214 0 ) 10 ( 1
2 20 / 5 . 0
= =

. The
bar drawn in Fig.2.5 is 9.6dB from 1.755GHz to 1.845GHz, which is the passband of the filter, since
%) 5 . 2 1 ( 8 . 1 755 . 1 = and %) 5 . 2 1 ( 8 . 1 845 . 1 + = . There is a minor deviation of the lower and
upper boundary of the passband, which may be caused by the dispersion of the microstrip line. To verify
this, another circuit is created which uses ideal transmission line. The circuit is shown in Fig. 2.6 and the
result is shown in Fig.2.7. Comparing Fig.2.7 with Fig.2.5, we can see that the passband of the filter using
ideal transmission line is more accurate than the filter using microstrip line, thereforefore the deviation of
passband boundary of the filter using microstrip line is due to the dispersion of the microstrip line.

5

6

Fig.2.5 S-parameters of the prototype filter using capacitor and microstrip lines.

Fig.2.7 S-parameters of the prototype filter using capacitor and ideal transmission lines.

(3) Synthesize the capacitor.
We use the microstrip gap shown in Fig.2.8 for implementing the capacitors in Fig.2.3. From Table.2.1 we
can see that the structure is symmetric, therefore we only need to synthesize three capacitors
1
C ,
2
C and
3
C . To do this we need to know the relation between the shape and size of the gap and the value of the
capacitor. To simplify the problem, we fix the height A and width B of the two arms of the gap and let
7
the distance G between them to be variable, therefore we adjust G to obtain different capacitance. We
choose mm 2 . 1 = B and W A 9 = .

G
B
A
W

Fig. 2.8 Microstrip gap.

We created an EM structure in Microwave Office 2000 and draw the patches shown in Fig.2.8, with
mm 1 . 0 = G . The geometry and mesh of the structure is shown in Fig. 2.9.

Fig.2.9 Geometry of the microstrip gap.

Then we do an EM simulation in the frequency range of 1.7-1.9GHz, and draw the imaginary part of the
Y21 and Y11 parameters (the real part of Y-parameters of lossless circuit is zero therefore no need to
consider), which is shown in Fig.2.10.

8

Fig.2.10 Y11 and Y21 parameters of a microstrip gap.

From Fig.2.10 we can see that Y11 and Y21 are close to straight lines, therefore we can use the following
equivalent circuit to model the gap:

C
g
C
C
p
p

Fig.2.11 Equivalent circuit for the microstrip gap.

-Y21
Y11+Y21 Y22+Y21

Fig. 2.12. Equivalent circuit for a Y-network.

9

Recalling the equivalent circuit for a reciprocal Y-network as shown in Fig.2.12, it is easy to know that

j
Y
C
g
21
= (2.21)
j
Y Y
C
p
21 11
+
= (2.22)
The calculation should be performed at the centre frequency, since the capacitance calculated at different
frequencies are slightly different, therefore, the equivalent circuit is only accurate at the centre frequency,
and it has some error for other frequencis.

We then create EM structures for gaps with different G values: 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9,
1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0. We do EM simulations for each of them and save the Y parameters and calculate the
capacitance using (2.21). Finally we obtain a design table for the gap.

Table 2.2. Design table for the gap.
Gap distance G (mm)
g
C (pF)
.1 1.058115
.2 .805819
.3 .654215
.4 .547511
.5 .466359
.6 .401778
.7 .348868
.8 .30464
.9 .26715
1.0 .235019
1.5 .127589
2.0 .071222
3.0 .023341

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
G (mm)
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
C
g

(
p
F
)

Fig.2.13 Design curve for the microstrip gap.

10
The design curve based on Table.2.2 is drawn in Fig.2.13. Obviously the capacitance is approximately
inverse proportional to the gap distance. Give a capacitance, we can obtain the gap distance from the design
curve. Alternatively, we can use linear interpolation to calculate the gap distance given the capacitance.

Through linear interpolation, we obtain the gap distance for
1
C ,
2
C and
3
C :

Talble.2.3. Designed gap distance for the bandpass filter.
i
i
C (pF)
i
G (mm)
1 0.402385 0.60
2 0.098712 1.76
3 0.082862 1.90

Then we create three EM structures in Microwave Office 2000 for the three microstrip gaps.

(4) Tuning the microstrip-line resonators.
In our design we assume the capacitor is ideal with no shunt capacitance as shown in Fig.2.11. However,
when we use microstrip gaps to implement the capacitors, they have shunt capacitance. These shunt
capacitance can be incorporated into the length of the microstrip-line resonator, and the new length of the
microstrip-line resonator taking into account the shunt capacitance can be calculated.
However, such calculations are performed only at the centre frequency, while to achieve satisfactory
performance over the whole passband, tuning is always needed. Since in Microwave Office 2000 we can
easily tune the length of the microstrip-line resonator, it is not necessary to calculate the length of the
microstrip-line resonator taking into account the shunt capacitance.
To tune the microstrip-line resonator, we first do EM simulation of the three gaps over 1.6-1.9GHz. After
that, we create a circuit using the EM simulation results of the gaps as subcircuits. The circuit is shown in
Fig. 2.14.

11

12
Then we select the length of the microstrip lines
1
L and
2
L as tuning variables and observe the variation
of | |
11
S and | |
21
S . We can also change the gap distance in the EM structures and redo the EM
simulation and re-tuning the microstrip-line resonator. Since each microstrip gap only takes about 1 minute
for an EM simulation (from 1.6 to 1.9GHz, with 0.05GHz step), we can tune both the gap distance and the
length of the microstrip-line resonators.

It was found that changing the length of the microstrip-line resonator can shift the centre frequency of the
filter. Increasing the length can shift the centre frequency to the left, while decreasing the length can shift
the centre frequency right. Therefore we can easily shift the centre frequency of the filter while keep the
ripple level and bandwidth unchanged. However, the ripple-level and bandwidth cannot be improved by
changing the length of the microstrip-lines. The best result obtained with the designed gap width
( mm G 6 . 0
1
= , mm G 8 . 1
2
= , mm G 9 . 1
3
= ) was shown in Fig.2.15 with the optimal length for the
microstrip-line resonators to be mm L 452 . 13
1
= and mm L 57 . 13
2
= . The ripple level of | |
21
S is
4.6dB, much higher than the required value 0.5dB. The bandwidth is 1.82-1.78=0.07GHz, narrower than
the required bandwidth 0.09GHz.

Fig.2.15 Circuit simulation result of the first designed filter without adjusting the gap distances.

To study the reason of the deterioration of the performance of the filter, we need to consider the effect of
the shunt capacitors in an equivalent circuit. First we created three equivalent circuits for the three gaps,
respectively. One of the circuit was shown in Fig.2.16.

13

Fig.2.16 Equivalent circuit for C1.

The we tune the two capacitance in Fig.2.16 so that the imaginary part of Y11 and Y21 becomes the same
as those of the EM structure for the gap. In this way we obtained the equivalent circuits for the three gaps.

Table 2.4. Series capacitance and shunt capacitance for the gaps (refer to Fig.2.11 for the meaning of
i g
C
,

and
i p
C
,
)
i
Theretical
i
C (pF)
i
G (mm)
i g
C
,
(pF)
i p
C
,
(pF)
1 0.402385 0.60 0.4 -0.4269
2 0.098712 1.76 0.09 2.124
3 0.082862 1.90 0.08 2.133

Then we uses these three equivalent circuits as subcircuits and create a circuit for the whole filter, as shown
in Fig.2.17.

14

15
This equivalent circuit is advantages to the equivalent circuit which contains the EM structure of the three
gaps as subcircuits, since this equivalent circuit allows us to easily change the values of the shunt
capacitance
p
C and the series capacitance
g
C independently. By changing the values of the shunt
capacitance and observing the S-parameters of the whole circuit, we found the shunt capacitance seriously
affect the behaviour of the whole circuit. If the shunt capacitances are zero, we can easily achieve the
required bandwidth and ripple level by slightly shifting the length of the microstrip-line resonator from the
designed value (we need to do this because the gap capacitances are not exactly the designed value due to
limited geometrical accuracy, as a consequence, the length of the microstrip-line resonators also need to be
changed slightly ).

If the shunt capacitances are small, we can still achieve the requirement for ripple level by tuning the length
of the microstrip-line resonator. However, when the shunt capacitances are so large as shown in Table.2.4,
the behaviour of the circuit changes so seriously that tuning the length of the microstrip-line resonator fails
to achieve the requirement for ripple levels and bandwidth.

An obvious remedy is to decrease the shunt capacitance. The obvious way to do this is to decrease the
width of the arms of the gap. However, experiment with width of 0.5mm shows that the shunt
capacitance is still quite large for thin arms (for
2
C and
3
C the shunt capacitance is about 1pF, while
for
1
C the shunt capacitance is about 2.5pF), and no significant advantages are gained by using a thin
arm. Therefore to save the time for building design tables for the gap capacitor, well continue to use the
previous arm width and try other ways to improve the performance of the filter.

Experiments with different gap width shows that the ripple level is mostly affected by the gap distance of
1
C , i.e. the gaps closest to the two ends of the filter. Decreasing the gap distance of
1
C can decrease the
ripple level. The gap distance of
2
C and
3
C need also to be changed to keep the ripple level to be equal.

After trying different values of gap distance and tuning the microstrip-line resonators, finally we obtain a
relatively satisfactory design with the following parameters:

Table.2.5 Geometrical parameters of the first designed bandpass filter. (refer to Fig.2.19)
1
G (mm)
2
G (mm)
3
G (mm)
1
L (mm)
2
L (mm)
0.3 1.9 2.1 13.311 13.591

16

Fig.2.18 Circuit simulation result of the first designed bandpass filter using the EM simulation results of the
gaps as subcircuits.

Fig.2.18 shows the circuit simulation result of the filter using the EM simulation results of the gaps as
subcircuits.

(5) EM simulation of the entire structure.

Fig.2.19. Geometry of the first designed bandpass filter.

Fig.2.19 shows the geometry of the filter obtained through auto-layout of the equivalent circuit.
Measurements of gap width and length of microstrip lines are done to make sure the layout is correct.

An EM structure is created and the auto-layout is copied and pasted. EM simulation is performed over
frequency range 1.7-1.9GHz with step size of 0.001GHz. The result is shown in Fig.2.20.

17

Fig.2.20 EM simulation result of the first designed bandpass filter.

From Fig.2.20 we can see that the centre frequency is about 1.865GHz, which is greater than the designed
centre frequency by 0.065GHz. The peak value of S11 in passband is 13.8dB, lower than required 9.6dB.
The passband is about 1.885-1.845=0.04GHz, narrower than the required 0.09GHz.

Comparing Fig.2.20 with Fig.2.18 we can see that the waveform of the circuit simulation result is similar to
the EM simulation result, therefore the ripple level predicted by the circuit simulation is quite good.
However, the centre frequency predicted by the circuit simulation is about 0.065GHz less than the EM
simulation result 1.865GHz. Although this error seems quite significant in these two figures, actually it is
not so large since the error in percentage is only 0.065/1.87=3.4%. The error seems large only because the
frequency range of the two figures is quite small (0.2GHz) compared with the centre frequency (1.87GHz).
The bandwidth predicted by the circuit simulation is also quite good. The difference between the circuit
simulation result and the EM simulation result can be explained by the coupling among the arms of
different gaps and the coupling among the arms of the gaps and the microstrip-line resonators since the
circuit simulation does not take these effects into account.

(6) Redesign a filter with shifted centre frequency and expanded bandwidth.

From the previous results we know that if we design a bandpass filter with bandwidth of 5%, the realized
bandwidth is generally less than 5%, therefore we should leave some margin for bandwidth when
designing. On the other hand, the centre frequency of the EM simulation result is higher than the value
predicted by circuit simulation by about 3.4%, therefore when we design we should shift the centre
frequency left by about 1.8x3.4%=0.06GHz, i.e. the centre frequency should be 1.74GHz.

Considering these two factors, we made a new design with centre frequency at 1.74GHz and bandwidth of
8%. The parameters of the prototype 0.5dB equi-ripple bandpass filter were calculated using equations
listed in Step (2) and listed in Table2.6. The gap distances were calculated using the method described in
Step (3) and listed in Table2.7.

18

Table. 2.6. Parameters of a prototype 0.5dB equi-ripple bandpass filter.
( GHz f 74 . 1
0
= and % 8 = ).
i
i
J
i
B ( )
i

i
C (pF)
i
L (mm)
1 .005486 .005932 2.785086 .542596 29.224269
2 .001781 .001795 2.978122 .164181 31.249822
3 .001496 .001505 2.978123 .137621 31.249827
4 .001781 .001795 2.785095 .16418 29.224365
5 .005486 .005932 2.785086 .542596

Talble.2.7. Designed gap distance for the bandpass filter ( GHz f 74 . 1
0
= and % 8 = )..
I
i
C (pF)
i
G (mm)
1 .542596 0.40
2 .164181 1.33
3 .137621 1.45

After that, we repeat Step (4) to find optimal gap distances and lengths of the microstrip-line resonators and
do EM simulation of the whole structure.

It was found that we have to compromise between the ripple level and the bandwidth. Generally to achieve
lower ripple level we have to sacrifice bandwidth, and to obtain wider bandwidth we have to tolerate higher
ripple level. Finally we settled down with four design which we numbered as filter2, filter3, filter4 and
filter5. Their S-parameters are shown in Fig.2.21-Fig.2.24.

Fig.2.21 S-parameters of filter2. Maximum of |S11| in passband is 3.17dB, bandwidth is about 0.085GHz.

19



20


(a) filter2

(b) filter3

(c) filter4

(d) filter5
Fig.2.25 Geometry of four filters.

21
The geometry of the filters are shown in Fig.2.25. It should be noticed that the first and the last gap of
Fig.2.25(b)(c)(d) seem to have different width but this is visual artefact due to limited display resolution
and the widths of the first and last gap are actually the same.

The geometrical parameters of the filters are listed in Table.2.8. These values are measured from the layout.

Table.2.5 Geometrical parameters of the first designed bandpass filter. (refer to Fig.2.25)
Filter
1
G (mm)
2
G (mm)
3
G (mm)
1
L (mm)
2
L (mm)
Filter2 0.3 1.3 1.4 14.1 14.5
Filter3 0.2 1.6 1.7 14.0 14.5
Filter4 0.2 1.5 1.6 14.0 14.5
Filter5 0.2 1.4 1.5 14.0 14.4

If we order the four filters by bandwidth, the order should be:

filter2 > filter5 > filter4 > filter3

However, if we order the four filters by ripple level, the order should be:

filter3 < filter4 < filter5 < filter2

From Table2.5 we can see decreasing the first gap width and increasing the second and third gap width in
certain range can decrease the ripple level, while the cost is decreased bandwidth.

Finally, we do EM simulation for the required frequency range
0
75 . 0 f -
0
25 . 1 f , i.e. 1.35-2.25GHz and
draw the S-parameters in Fig.2.26-2.29. Since these filters are reciprocal and symmetric, only S11 and S21
are drawn.
22

Fig. 2.26 S-parameters of filter2.

23

24


25


Filter Design

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Filter Design

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Design of a Microstrip Bandpass Filter Yaxun Liu

Вам также может понравиться