Unconditionally Stable Non-Foster Element Using Active Transversal-Filter-Based Negative Group Delay Circuit

Abstract

This letter introduces a novel type of non-Foster element using a microwave transversal-filter-based negative group delay (NGD) circuit that can exhibit unconditional stability. The proposed device is realized by a distributed amplifier, in which the NGD response is synthesized by adjusting the ratio of transconductance of transistors in each stage. On top of this, by properly amending the in-band magnitude and phase characteristics, the NGD circuit can realize non-Foster elements within the operating band. Furthermore, thanks to the distributed topology, the proposed network has very good input and output matching characteristics. As proof-of-concept, a prototype of the proposed non-Foster element is built to validate the proposed scheme. The experimental results show that the proposed circuit can realize a unilateral non-Foster element composed of a −1 pF shunt capacitor and a −1.25 nH series inductor.