Resonator-Loaded Waveguide Notch Filters with Broad Tuning Range and Additive-Manufacturing-Based Operating Frequency Adjustment Procedure

Abstract

This article presents a new class of ring-resonator-loaded waveguide notch filters with a broad tuning range, low cost, and improved performance. The proposed approach employs a complementary asymmetric split-ring resonator coupled to a microstrip transmission line and excited in a rectangular waveguide. An equivalent circuit model is proposed to explain the working principle of the proposed notch filter. The adjustment of the operating frequency is based on the additive manufacturing of a metallic copper patch allocated on the microstrip transmission line, which enables extensive tuning capabilities and consistent performance with minimum variations across the tuning window. For demonstration purposes, a filter employing a WR-28 waveguide and photolithography-manufactured resonator is prototyped and experimentally validated. The measured results indicate a broad 8 GHz tuning range with a consistent insertion loss, ranging from 23.4 to 31.4 GHz. An inverse regression model is constructed using measurement data obtained for tuning patches of various sizes, which allows for determining the relationships between the operating frequency and the copper patch size. The resulting calibration curve enables rapid filter tuning to the required frequency by inserting metallic patches of the model-predicted size.