Slow-wave effect enhanced branch line power divider using crossing bond wires

Abstract

A novel slow-wave effect enhanced branch line power divider with harmonics suppression and size reduction characteristics using crossing bond wires is proposed. The proposed slow-wave structure effectively shortens branch line length by 50% compared to the branch line of the conventional Wilkinson power divider. 40 dB suppression for the third harmonic and 50 dB suppression for the fifth harmonic are obtained.Introduction: Minimising harmonic distortion from nonlinear active components is a great challenge in microwave circuit design. Many compact structures, such as the electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) [1], the defected ground structure (DGS) [2] and the periodic photonic bandgap (PBG) [3] have been proposed to suppress high-order harmonics due to their slow-wave and bandstop characteristics. Kim et al. proposed a slow-wave structure using bond wires, which achieved a slowwave factor of 4.5 [4].In this Letter, a slow-wave effect enhanced branch line power divider is proposed. Adopting much longer crossing bond wires, the slow-wave factor is improved greatly to 8.2 without increasing circuit size compared to the one proposed in [4]. The proposed slow-wave enhanced structure effectively shortens the branch line length by 50% compared to the branch line of the conventional Wilkinson power divider. Also, 39 dB suppression for the third harmonic and 52 dB suppression for the fifth harmonic are obtained.

Miniaturized equal/unequal Wilkinson power dividers capable of harmonic suppression utilizing microstrip π-shaped resonators modified by lumped elements

“…In 3 , by using parallel coupled lines with one end connected in series with an open stub a PD with above 37 dB rejection for the second, third and fourth spurious harmonics and almost 20% miniaturization have been presented. To achieve a PD with better slow-wave factor in 4 , crossing bond wires have been employed which have resulted in better than 40 dB rejection for the third and fifth harmonics and 50% size reduction. To omit high-order harmonics via slow-wave and band-stop characteristics, various effective techniques such as the electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) 5 , 6 and the defected ground structure (DGS) 7 , 8 have been utilized to design Wilkinson PDs.…”

Compact Slow-Wave Branch-Line Coupler Using Crossing Bond Wires

“…Lim and Lee proposed a slow-wave transmission line with a SWF of 4.5 using bond wires [12] and used it to design a compact branch-line coupler with a size reduction of 69% [13] compared with a convention microstrip one. Zhou et al proposed a miniaturized power divider using crossed bond wires, which achieved 80% size reduction compared to a conventional Wilkinson power divider [14].…”

Employing a Pair of T-Shaped Stepped-Impedance-Stubs Inside the Free Area of Miniaturized Wilkinson Power Dividers With Harmonic Suppression Capable of Operating at Optional Frequencies

“…In [3], by utilizing two pairs of parallel coupled lines with one end connected in series with an open stub more than 37 dB suppression for the second, the third and fourth harmonics and about 20% size reduction are obtained. To improve the slow-wave factor of the proposed divider in [4], crossing bond wires are adopted, and better than 40 dB suppression for the third and fifth harmonics and 50% branch line length reduction are achieved. To suppress high-order harmonics due to slow-wave and bandstop characteristics, several effective methods such as electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) [5,6] and defected ground structure (DGS) [7,8] have been applied to design Wilkinson power dividers.…”