Maria J. Garde

New microstrip "Wiggly-Line" filters with spurious passband suppression

In this paper, we present a new parallel-coupled-line microstrip bandpass filter with suppressed spurious passband. Using a continuous perturbation of the width of the coupled lines following a sinusoidal law, the wave impedance is modulated so that the harmonic passband of the filter is rejected while the desired passband response is maintained virtually unaltered. This strip-width perturbation does not require the filter parameters to be recalculated and, this way, the classical design methodology for coupled-line microstrip filters can still be used. At the same time, the fabrication of the resulting filter layout does not involve more difficulties than those for typical coupled-line microstrip filters. To test this novel technique, 3rd-order Butterworth bandpass filters have been designed at 2.5 GHz, with a 10% fractional bandwidth and different values of the perturbation amplitude. It is shown that for a 47.5 % sinusoidal variation of the nominal strip width, a harmonic rejection of more than 40 dB is achieved in measurement while the passband at 2.5 GHz is almost unaltered.

Multiple-frequency-tuned photonic bandgap microstrip structures

Photonic bandgap (PBG) structures in microstrip technology have been recently proposed as efficient Bragg reflectors. The periodic patterns employed until now were formed by a distribution of nonconnected holes (cermet topology) etched in the ground plane or drilled in the dielectric substrate, giving rise to single-frequency-tuned band reflectors. In this letter, a novel pattern that follows a continuous profile (network topology) is proposed to simultaneously reject multiple frequency bands. It is formed by the addition of various sinusoidal functions tuned at the design frequencies. Measurements performed for two-and three-frequency-tuned PBG microstrip prototypes show that multiple deep and wide stopbands can be obtained using these novel devices.

Real-time spectrum analysis in microstrip technology

We report on a time-domain analog in microwave lines to the spatial Fraunhofer (far-field) diffraction in paraxial conditions. Microstrip lines are used to design filtering configurations acting as spectrum analyzers. They are based on linearly chirped distributed Bragg coupling between the fundamental microstrip mode and the same but counterpropagating mode. Linearly chirped continuous impedance modulation in a microstrip line with varying upper plane strip-width is shown to yield a mode-coupling location and group delay linearly distributed in frequency. Under the condition of a temporal equivalent to the spatial Fraunhofer inequality, the energy spectral density of the input signal is directly recoverable from the average output (reflected) power. It is only necessary to take into account a linear axis-change, given by the dispersion coefficient (group-delay slope) of the structure, from time to Fourier frequency. Both pulsed and nonpulsed RF signals are studied. Sequential time-gated segments of the input have to be processed in the nonpulsed case. The maximum frequency resolution achievable in this situation is discussed. The devices developed here could have important potential applications in the field of temporal signal processing, such as filtering using time-division techniques.

Chirped delay lines in microstrip technology

In this paper, we report on a design method for chirped delay lines (CDLs) in microstrip technology. They consist in a continuously varying strip width, so that the coupling location between the quasi-TEM microstrip mode and the same but counter-propagating mode is linearly distributed in frequency. High delay/spl times/bandwidth products, over frequency ranges of several gigahertzs, can be obtained following this procedure. Experimental data confirm the design method. Real-time Fourier analysis of wideband pulses can be performed using these CDLs.

Electromagnetic crystals in microstrip technology

Recently, new promising periodic structures called photonic crystals (PCs), or more appropriately electromagnetic crystal (ECs), for the microwave and millimetre wave range, have been considered for both microwave and photonic applications. Planar microstrip waveguides are very attractive in microwave engineering and several innovative designs have been proposed for them to expand the scope of application of the new PC concepts to the microwave domain. We review some of these microstrip EC structures looking at them as counterparts of their analogues in optical wavelengths. Moreover, very recent solutions that open new promising applications both in microwave and millimetre wave integrated circuits and antennas are presented.

Optimization of Tapered Bragg Reflectors in Microstrip Technology

The frequency responses of tapered Bragg reflectors made by etching one row of holes on the ground plane of a microstrip line are analyzed, comparing different windows and their effects on the rejection level, the bandwidth, the side lobe level and the abruptness of the main stop band.

Periodic Time-Domain Modulation for the Electrically Tunable Control of Optical Pulse Train Envelope and Repetition Rate Multiplication

An electrically tunable system for the control of optical pulse sequences is proposed and demonstrated. It is based on the use of an electrooptic modulator for periodic phase modulation followed by a dispersive device to obtain the temporal Talbot effect. The proposed configuration allows for repetition rate multiplication with different multiplication factors and with the simultaneous control of the pulse train envelope by simply changing the electrical signal driving the modulator. Simulated and experimental results for an input optical pulse train of 10 GHz are shown for different multiplication factors and envelope shapes.

Novel Wideband Photonic Bandgap Microstrip Structures

Novel wide rejected band devices are obtained using chirping techniques in One-Dimensional Photonic Bandgap microstrip structures with the ground plane etched following a periodic pattern. Full-wave electromagnetic simulations and measurements are provided to compare the frequency-responses of structures with linearly varying period (chirped devices) and those of structures with constant period (non-chirped or uniform devices).

Analysis and design of electromagnetic crystals in microstrip technology using a fibre grating model

Electromagnetic crystals (EC) in microstrip technology have been recently proposed as efficient Bragg reflectors. They are implemented by etching the ground plane or by drilling the substrate following a periodic pattern. In this paper we propose a simple and fast fibre Bragg grating (FBG)-based model for the synthesis and analysis of these microstrip ECs with sinusoidal patterns. The method rests on the analogy found between the frequency responses of a microstrip EC and a FBG. Based on this analogy, an equivalence relationship between the physical parameters of a microstrip EC and those of an equivalent FBG has been established. The equivalence assures that the frequency response of the microstrip EC is a down-shifted replica of the one corresponding to its equivalent FBG. This model avoids the use of the time-consuming electromagnetic calculations involved in the analysis of the microstrip ECs as well as the trial method employed until now in the synthesis, since a FBG response arises immediately from coupled-mode theory. At the same time the theoretical difficulties encountered in the formal derivation of coupled-mode theory for microstrip ECs are also avoided by the equivalence relationship found.

A novel electrically tunable dispersion compensation system

We propose a system for tuning with an electrical signal dispersion compensation over a broad range of transmission distances for different transmission bit rates. It is composed of chirped gratings and a phase modulator with an electrical modulation signal varying to achieve the tuning in the link length for which the dispersion is compensated. It is demonstrated that with fiber gratings and a phase modulator in the proposed configuration, a broader tuning range than with the prechirp technique is achieved. The influence of the fiber grating ripples in the system behavior is also considered.