Numerical Analysis on Slinky 3 dB Power Divider for High Speed RF Sensor System

Abstract

The aim of the presented article is to design a high frequency 3db slinky power divider for RF sensor applications which operates at 6 GHz frequency. The material used for the design of proposed structure is FR4 material commonly used for PCB design. This material is identified to have medium refractive index in the order of 4.6 which ensures minimizes structure and compatible with the exciting systems. The purpose of the proposed power divider is to handle the power in RF sensor network to ensure optimal functioning at high frequency RF systems. The size and frequency handling ability of the power divider is confined to FR4 material due to the advantage of the compatibility of the available RF systems. The entire structure is mathematically analysed followed by numerical solving and fabrication. The design of novel 3db slinky power divider for RF sensor applications at high frequency which provides higher bandwidth that can be appreciated and recommended for real time wireless sensing networks. This work starts with the understanding of Electromagnetic fundamentals for RF system design and its parametric properties like Insertion Loss, Return Loss, current distribution, Near Field Crosstalk (NFC), Far Field Crosstalk (FEC), radiation pattern and Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR). Literature survey on various power divider for real time applications are studied. The need for the power divider circuits in RF sensors are identified and proposed a 3dB slinky power divider. Numerical solving of the proposed structure is done using the simulator and the validation of obtained results with the previous finding are done. Proper material selection is done based on the industry used products. Advanced Design System (ADS) is used for simulation and parametric study of the power divider. The insertion loss with frequency plot with resonant frequency of 8.912 GHz is presented along with the return loss verses frequency plot. The proposed power divider is covering the frequency range from 5 GHz to 9 GHz having wide bandwidth. The current distribution plot illustrates the RF power handling ability of the anticipated power divider. A novel design of 3db slinky power divider for RF sensor applications at high frequency has been designed. Simulation results have carried out by using ADS simulation software. The designed power divider is suitable for high frequency RF application.