​FILTERS

A filter is an electronic device that is used to select frequencies of certain

specifications in order to accomplish a given task. They are limited in range for the

purpose of reducing the noise, interference or other types of impairments. The

classification of filters is done according to the range of frequencies they are supposed

to allow. Therefore, there are Low Pass Filter (LPF), High Pass filter (HPF), Band Pass

Filters (BPF), Stop Band filters (SBF).

LPF is a filter that passes signals that have low frequencies and attenuates those with

higher frequencies, higher than the cut-off frequency. A HPF in the other hand, is quite

the opposite. It passes signals with higher frequencies and rejects or attenuates those

with lower frequencies. A BPF is an electronic device that passes signals with

frequencies within a limited range and rejects signals with frequencies out of that range.

A BSF, unlike a BPF rejects signals with frequencies within a certain range bounded by

the corner frequencies and passes signals with frequencies not belonging to the range.

An example of a BSF is the “notch filter”.

The design of a filter, no matter the type, requires that some conditions should be

met. Those conditions are the characteristics of the filter to be designed. They are

among others, the “Insertion Loss” (IL), the “Return Loss” (RL), “Corner Frequencies”

(f1 and f2), “Center frequency” (​ fo), The “Bandwidth”, the “Ripple”, the “Tangent Loss”” (TL),

the “S-Parameters”.

The IL of a filter measures the performance of a signal. Basically, it is defined as the

loss in the power of a signal after a filter is connected or inserted into the transmission
line. Given the signal levels before and after the filter is inserted, the IL is found by

taking the ratio of those signals respectively. Its derivation in dB (decibel) is as follow:

where V1 is the signal level before and V2 is the signal level after insertion.

The Return Loss (RL) is the loss experienced when a part of the signal power, of a

travelling incident signal, is reflected back because it ran into a discontinuity of any kind.

In the case of filters the discontinuity is the material inserted or impedance mismatch

among others. It is derived by taking the ratio of the signal power with the partially

reflected signal power. In general, a filter with a high return loss, which implies a lower

insertion loss, is preferable for the design.

For analytical purposes the following formula is used to find the return loss of a filter:

where Pi is the incident power and Pr is the reflection power of the signal.

The corner frequencies for the design of a filter are the upper and lower cut-off

frequencies the determine the range in which the signals are passed or start

attenuating.

The center frequency is the frequency in the middle of the upper and lower cut-off

frequencies.

The bandwidth is the range of frequencies that passes signals and it is limited by

the upper and lower cut-off frequencies. Being said so, this concept is applicable for
BPF mostly where it is found by taking the difference between the upper cut-off

frequency and a lower cut-off frequency. In the case of LPF and a HPF, the bandwidth

is defined as the upper cut-off frequency.

​ ​The Ripple is the variation of the IL with respect to the frequency domain of a filter.

They are however present in only some of filters. An example is the Chebyshev filter.

Ripples are undesirable because their presence affects directly the signal of electronic

devices.

The top part of the figure shows the variation of the insertion loss with repect to the

frequency. It can be seen that high level of ripple can seriously destroy the original

signal.

(Figure taken from en.wikipedia.org)

The Loss tangent is the tangent of the loss angle. When a field oscillates back and

forth, there exist an energy loss causing a small change in the angle. This angle is
called the loss angle because without the energy dissipation, the phase would be of 90

degrees. Taking the tangent of this loss angle gives the loss tangent loss.

The S-Parameters, where S stands for scattering, are the parameters that describe

signals’ behaviour when they encounter a discontinuity. In the case of filters,

S-Parameters display the signal's behaviour when a filter is inserted to the transmission

line with respect to the different ports.

THE HAIRPIN FILTER DESIGN

iFilter technology is an integrant part of the AWR. It is a very practical tool for designing

filters in which users are given the chance to design any kind of filters from bandpass to

bandstop filters passing by Microstrip line, stripline etc… A detailed explaination of the

iFilter technology is beyond the scoop of this exercise.

The target design

The order of the filter = 6;

Corner frequencies = 2.4-2.5 GHz;

Return loss = -3 dB or better;

Insertion loss = -15 dB or better;

Ripple = 0.1 dB

Following is the schematic view of the hairpin filter

The figure below shows the variation of the insertion loss with respect to frequency.
Below is shown the layout view of the filter...
References:

1. en.wikipedia.org

2. “The loss tangent” , ​Definition and measurement.​ ​Drilling down: the origins of

dielectric loss​ ​Further reading.

http://inventor.grantadesign.com/en/notes/science/material/S15%20Dielectric%20loss.ht
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