Q-band balanced bandpass filter based on rectangular micro-coaxial transmission line with improved common-mode suppression

Abstract

This paper presents a novel design of a wideband millimeter-wave balanced bandpass filter (BPF) for use in a high-sensitivity Q-band reception system for solar radio spectrum observation. The balanced BPF has differential-mode (DM) band-pass and common-mode (CM) band-stop characteristics, which effectively suppress noise and reduce electromagnetic interference in its operating frequency band. The filter design incorporates half-wavelength rectangular micro-coaxial transmission lines as resonators and coupling between resonators is achieved through J-inverters. The wideband CM suppression is improved by adjusting the distribution of CM transmission zeros by adding open-circuited branches on the symmetrical plane. The micro-coaxial structure is fabricated on a 4-inch silicon wafer through a three-dimensional additive manufacturing process. The compactness, low loss, and wideband performance make it ideal for this application. As a design example, a fifth-order Chebyshev balanced BPF was fabricated and measured to demonstrate the design method. The measured results indicate that the balanced BPF operates within a frequency range of 30–50 GHz, with an insertion loss of 1.63 dB and over 26 dB CM suppression in the DM passband. These results are in general agreement with simulation results. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a micro-coaxial structure has been proposed for this application.