Multi-Mode Cavity Filter

Abstract

A multi-mode cavity filter, including first and second dielectric resonator bodies, each incorporating a piece of dielectric material, a first piece shaped to support a first resonant mode and a second resonant mode that is substantially degenerate with the first mode, and the second piece shaped to support a third resonant mode and a fourth resonant mode that is substantially degenerate with the third mode, a layer of electrically conductive material in contact with and covering a surface of the first and a surface of the second dielectric resonator bodies, an aperture in the layer, wherein the aperture includes first and second portions, wherein the first portion transfers signals from the first or second resonant mode to the third or fourth resonant mode and the second portion transfers signals from the first or second resonant mode to the third or fourth resonant mode in parallel.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to filters, and in particular to a multi-mode filter including a resonator body for use, for example, in frequency division duplexers for telecommunication applications.

BACKGROUND

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that the prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

All physical filters essentially consist of a number of energy storing resonant structures, with paths for energy to flow between the various resonators and between the resonators and the input/output ports. The physical implementation of the resonators and the manner of their interconnections will vary from type to type, but the same basic concept applies to all. Such a filter can be described mathematically in terms of a network of resonators coupled together, although the mathematical topography does not have to match the topography of the real filter.

Conventional single-mode filters formed from dielectric resonators are known. Dielectric resonators have high-Q (low loss) characteristics which enable highly selective filters having a reduced size compared to cavity filters. These single-mode filters tend to be built as a cascade of separated physical dielectric resonators, with various couplings between them and to the ports. These resonators are easily identified as distinct physical objects, and the couplings tend also to be easily identified.

Single-mode filters of this type may include a network of discrete resonators formed from ceramic materials in a “puck” shape, where each resonator has a single dominant resonance frequency, or mode. These resonators are coupled together by providing resonance frequency, or mode. These resonators are coupled together by providing openings between cavities in which the resonators are located. Typically, the resonators and cross-couplings provide transmission poles and “zeros”, which can be tuned at particular frequencies to provide a desired filter response. A number of resonators will usually be required to achieve suitable filtering characteristics for commercial applications, resulting in filtering equipment of a relatively large size.

One example application of filters formed from dielectric resonators is in frequency division duplexers for microwave telecommunication applications. Duplexers have traditionally been provided at base stations at the bottom of antenna supporting towers, although a current trend for microwave telecommunication system design is to locate filtering and signal processing equipment at the top of the tower to thereby minimise cabling lengths and thus reduce signal losses. However, the size of single mode filters as described above can make these undesirable for implementation at the top of antenna towers.

Multi-mode filters implement several resonators in a single physical body, such that reductions in filter size can be obtained. As an example, a silvered dielectric body can resonate in many different modes. Each of these modes can act as one of the resonators in a filter. In order to provide a practical multi-mode filter it is necessary to couple the energy between the modes within the body, in contrast with the coupling between discrete objects in single mode filters, which is easier to control in practice.

The usual manner in which these multi-mode filters are implemented is to selectively couple the energy from an input port to a first one of the modes. The energy stored in the first mode is then coupled to different modes within the resonator by introducing specific defects into the shape of the body. In this manner, a multi-mode filter can be implemented as an effective cascade of resonators, in a similar way to conventional single mode filter implementations. This technique results in transmission poles which can be tuned to provide a desired filter response.

An example of such an approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,853,271, which is directed towards a triple-mode mono-body filter. Energy is coupled into a first mode of a dielectric-filled mono-body resonator, using a suitably configured input probe provided in a hole formed on a face of the resonator. The coupling between this first mode and two other modes of the resonator is accomplished by selectively providing corner cuts or slots on the resonator body.

This technique allows for substantial reductions in filter size because a triple-mode filter of this type represents the equivalent of a single-mode filter composed of three discrete single mode resonators. However, the approach used to couple energy into and out of the resonator, and between the modes within the resonator to provide the effective resonator cascade, requires the body to be of complicated shape, increasing manufacturing costs.

An alternative manner in which these multi-mode filters may be implemented is to couple the energy from an input port, simultaneously to each one of the modes, by means of a suitably designed coupling track. Again, in this manner, a multi-mode filter can be implemented as an effective cascade of resonators, in a similar way to conventional single mode filter implementations. As was the case above, in which defects were used to enable multiple modes to be excited in a single resonator, this technique results in transmission poles which can be tuned to provide a desired filter response. This type of filter has been disclosed in various US patent filings, for example: U.S. Ser. No. 13/488,123, U.S. Ser. No. 13/488,059, U.S. Ser. No. 13/487,906 and U.S. Ser. No. 13/488,182.

Two or more triple-mode filters may still need to be cascaded together to provide a filter assembly with suitable filtering characteristics. As described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,853,271 and 7,042,314 this may be achieved using a single waveguide or a centrally-located single aperture for providing coupling between two resonator mono-bodies. With this approach, the precise control of the modes being coupled to, coupled from or coupled between the bodies, is difficult to achieve and thus, as a consequence, achieving a given, challenging, filter specification is difficult.

Another approach includes using a single-mode combline resonator coupled between two dielectric mono-bodies to form a hybrid filter assembly as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,954,122. In this case, the physical complexity and hence manufacturing costs are even further increased, over and above the use of added defects alone.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multi-mode cavity filter, comprising: at least two dielectric resonator bodies, each of which incorporates a piece of dielectric material, each piece of dielectric material having a shape such that it can support at least a first resonant mode and at least a second substantially degenerate resonant mode; a layer of conductive material in contact with and covering both dielectric resonator bodies; at least one aperture in the layer or layers of conductive material covering the interface joining the two dielectric resonator bodies, wherein at least a part of the at least one aperture is peripherally located on a face of a first dielectric resonator body and is arranged to transfer signals from at least a first resonant mode and a second substantially degenerate resonant mode in parallel to equivalent modes in a second dielectric resonator body in parallel.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multi-mode cavity filter, comprising: at least three dielectric resonator bodies, each of which incorporates a piece of dielectric material; a layer of conductive material in contact with and covering each dielectric resonator body; at least one aperture in the layer or layers of conductive material covering the interfaces between adjoining dielectric resonator bodies, wherein the first dielectric resonator has a shape such that it can support at least a first resonant mode and at least a second substantially degenerate resonant mode, the second dielectric resonator is arranged to support only a first resonant mode and the third dielectric resonator has a shape such that it can support at least a first resonant mode and at least a second substantially degenerate resonant mode.

The at least one aperture may, for example, comprise a horizontal aperture element and a vertical aperture element which aperture elements may or may not join at one or more locations along either of their lengths.

The at least one aperture may, for example, comprise of a number of aperture sub-elements which individually or together enable the coupling to or from at least a first resonant mode and a second substantially degenerate resonant mode in parallel.

The at least one aperture may, for example, consist of two or more parts, where a first part runs substantially parallel to a surface of the dielectric resonator body and a second part runs substantially perpendicular to the first part. The at least one aperture may, for example, be placed close to at least one edge of the dielectric resonator body.

The at least one coupling aperture may, for example, comprise a first portion primarily for coupling to a first mode and a second portion primarily for coupling to a second mode. The first portion of the at least one coupling aperture may, for example, be oriented such that at least one of the magnetic field and the electric field coupled by said first portion is substantially aligned with the respective magnetic field or electric field of said first mode. The second portion of the at least one coupling aperture may, for example, be oriented such that at least one of the magnetic field and the electric field coupled by said second portion is substantially aligned with the respective magnetic field or electric field of said second mode. The first portion and second portion may, for example, be any of the following: a straight, curved or amorphous aperture or a regular or irregular two-dimensional shape. The first portion may, for example, comprise a first straight elongate aperture and the second portion may, for example, comprise a second straight elongate aperture arranged substantially orthogonally to the first straight elongate aperture and which may intersect with the first straight elongate aperture or may be distinct from the first straight elongate aperture.

The at least one coupling aperture may, for example, comprise a portion for coupling simultaneously to both the first mode and the second mode. The portion may, for example, comprise an elongate aperture oriented at an angle such that at least one of the magnetic field and the electric field generated by said portion has a first Cartesian component aligned with the respective magnetic field or electric field of said first mode, and a second Cartesian component aligned with the respective magnetic field or electric field of said second mode.

The coupling aperture may, for example, be formed as an area devoid of conductive material, in the layer of conductive material.

The multi-mode cavity filter may, for example, further comprise an input resonator and an output resonator, each operably-coupled to one of the multi-mode resonators and operable to contain the electric and magnetic fields to be coupled into the multi-mode resonator. The input resonator and the output resonator may be made of the same material as one or both of the multi-mode resonators or they may be made from a different material.

The piece of dielectric material forming the body of one or both of the multi-mode resonators, may, for example, comprise a substantially planar surface for mounting to a planar surface on the input resonator. The piece of dielectric material forming the body of the multi-mode resonator, may also, for example, comprise a second substantially planar surface for mounting to a planar surface on the output resonator.

At least one of an input coupling aperture and an output coupling aperture may, for example, be provided on or adjacent to said substantially planar surface.

The input resonator may, in turn, be provided with a probe or other excitation means to enable signals to be fed into the input resonator. The output resonator may also be provided with a probe or other excitation means to enable signals to be extracted from the output resonator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 a is a schematic perspective view of an example of a multi-mode filter;

FIG. 1 b is a schematic front-face view of the multi-mode filter of FIG. 1a;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the example multi-mode filter of FIG. 1a showing an example of one representative form for the electric and magnetic fields immediately outside of the front face of the multi-mode filter;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a second example of a multi-mode filter;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a third example of a multi-mode filter;

FIGS. 5( a) to (d) show various fields and modes outside of and within an example multi-mode resonator;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the example multi-mode filter of FIG. 1 incorporating input and output coupling resonators;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a fourth example of a multi-mode filter;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a fifth example of a multi-mode filter;

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a sixth example of a multi-mode filter;

FIGS. 10( a) to (e) are schematic diagrams of example coupling aperture arrangements for a multi-mode filter;

FIG. 11( a) is a schematic diagram of an example of a duplex communications system incorporating a multi-mode filter;

FIG. 11( b) is a schematic diagram of an example of the frequency response of the multi-mode filter of FIG. 11(a);

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of an example of a multi-mode filter using multiple resonator bodies to provide filtering for transmit and receive channels;

FIG. 13( a) is a schematic perspective view of an example multi-mode filter incorporating input and output coupling probes;

FIG. 13( b) is a schematic diagram showing a side view of the example multi-mode filter of FIG. 13(a), incorporating input and output coupling probes;

FIG. 14( a) is a schematic perspective view of an example of a resonator with probe-based excitation;

FIG. 14( b) is a schematic perspective view of an example of a multi-mode filter showing various fields and modes within the resonators;

FIG. 14( c) is a schematic perspective view of an example multi-mode resonator showing example field orientations within the resonator;

FIG. 15 is a schematic side view of an example multi-resonator filter employing a form of conductive coupling between resonators;

FIG. 16 is an example frequency response which can result from the filter structure shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 shows example views of the electromagnetic fields which may be present in two adjacent multi-mode resonators;

FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view of an example of a multi-mode, multi-resonator filter;

FIG. 19 is a schematic perspective view of a further example of a multi-mode, multi-resonator filter;

FIG. 20 is a schematic view of an example dual-resonator filter utilising aperture-based coupling between the resonators;

FIG. 21 is a schematic perspective view of a further example of a multi-mode, multi-resonator filter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An example of a multi-mode filter will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1a and 1b.

The basis of this invention is in the use of a specific type of coupling aperture to couple signals into and out of a multi-mode resonator, whilst exciting (or coupling energy from) two or more modes, simultaneously, within that resonator.

In this example, the filter 100 includes a resonator body 110 which is encapsulated in a metallised layer (which is not shown, for clarity). At least two apertures are formed in the metallised layer: an input coupling aperture 120 and an output coupling aperture 130. These apertures are constituted by an absence of metallisation, with the remainder of the resonator body being substantially encapsulated in its metallised layer. The apertures 120 and 130 may be formed by, for example, etching, either chemically or mechanically, the metallisation surrounding the resonator body, 110, to remove metallisation and thereby form the one or more apertures. The one or more apertures could also be formed by other means, such as producing a mask in the shape of the aperture, temporarily attaching the said mask to the required location on the surface of the resonator body, spraying or otherwise depositing a conductive layer (the ‘metallised layer’) across substantially all of the surface area of the resonator body and then removing the mask from the resonator body, to leave an aperture in the metallisation.

The orientation of the axes which will be used, subsequently, to define the names and orientations of the various modes, within the multi-mode resonator 110, are defined by the axis diagram, 140.

FIG. 1 b shows a view of the face of a resonator body 110 containing an input aperture 120. Input aperture 120 is shown as being formed by an absence of the metallisation 150 on the surface of an end face (as shown) of a resonator body 110, shown in FIG. 1(a).

The input aperture 120 is shown, in this example, as being composed of two orthogonal slots 121 and 122 in the metallisation 150. These two orthogonal slots 121 and 122 are shown to meet in the upper left-hand corner of the front face of the resonator body, to form a single, continuous, aperture 120. The embodiment described above is only one of a large number of possible embodiments consistent with the invention. Further examples will be provided below, in which multiple separate slot apertures are used and where the said slot apertures do not meet or meet at a different location along their lengths, for example half-way along, thereby forming a cross.

Two coupling apertures are provided: one for coupling RF energy into the resonator and one for coupling RF energy from the resonator back out, for example to or from a further resonator, in each case. The further resonator could be a single-mode resonator, for example. These apertures respectively excite, or couple energy from, two or more of the simple (main) modes which the resonator structure can support. The number of modes which can be supported is, in turn, largely dictated by the shape of the resonator, although cubic and cuboidal resonators are primarily those considered in this disclosure, thereby supporting up to three (simple, non-degenerate) modes, in the case of a cube, and up to four (simple, non-degenerate) modes, in the case of a 2:2:1 ratio cuboid. Other resonator shapes and numbers of modes which such shapes can support are also possible.

FIG. 1( a) shows, by way of example, a cuboidal dielectric resonator body 110; many other shapes are possible for the resonator body, whilst still supporting multiple modes. Examples of such shapes for the resonator body include, but are not limited to: spheres, prisms, pyramids, cones, cylinders and polygon extrusions.

Typically the resonator body 110 includes, and more typically is manufactured from, a solid body of a dielectric material having suitable dielectric properties. In one example, the resonator body is a ceramic material, although this is not essential and alternative materials can be used. Additionally, the body can be a multi-layered body including, for example, layers of materials having different dielectric properties. In one example, the body can include a core of a dielectric material, and one or more outer layers of different dielectric materials.

The resonator body 110 usually includes an external coating of conductive material, typically referred to as a metallisation layer; this coating may be made from silver, although other materials could be used such as gold, copper, or the like. The conductive material may be applied to one or more surfaces of the body. A region of the surface, forming a coupling aperture, may be uncoated to allow coupling of signals to the resonator body.

The resonator body can be any shape, but generally defines at least two orthogonal axes, with the coupling apertures extending at least partially in the direction of each axis, to thereby provide coupling to multiple separate resonance modes.

In the current example, the resonator body 110 is a cuboid body, and therefore defines three orthogonal axes substantially aligned with surfaces of the resonator body, as shown by the axes X, Y, Z. As a result, the resonator body 110 has three dominant resonance modes that are substantially orthogonal and substantially aligned with the three orthogonal axes.

Cuboid structures are particularly advantageous as they can be easily and cheaply manufactured, and can also be easily fitted together, for example by arranging multiple resonator bodies in contact, as will be described below with reference to FIG. 6. Cuboid structures typically have clearly defined resonance modes, making configuration of the coupling aperture arrangement more straightforward. Additionally, the use of a cuboid structure provides a planar surface, or face, 180 so that the apertures can be arranged in a plane parallel to, or on, the planar surface 180, with the apertures optionally being formed from an absence of the metallisation which otherwise substantially surrounds the resonator body 110.

The adjoining materials and mechanisms from which the multi-mode dielectric resonator can source electric and magnetic field energy, which can then couple into the multi-mode resonator 110, and thereby excite two or more of the multiple modes which the resonator will support, are numerous. One example, which will be described further below, is to utilise one or more additional resonators, which may be single mode resonators, to contain the required electric and magnetic fields, to be coupled into the multi-mode resonator by means of the input coupling aperture 120. Likewise, the output coupling aperture 130 may couple the energy stored in the electric and magnetic fields within the multi-mode resonator 110, from two or more of its modes, into one or more output resonators, for subsequent extraction to form the output of the filter.

Whilst the use of input and output resonators as a means to provide or extract the required fields, adjacent to the coupling apertures 120 and 130, will be described further below, there are many other mechanisms by which the required fields may be provided or extracted. One further example is in the use of a radiating patch antenna structure placed at a suitable distance from the input coupling aperture 120. A suitably designed patch can provide the required electric and magnetic fields immediately adjacent to the input coupling aperture 120, such that the aperture 120 can couple the energy contained in these fields into multiple modes simultaneously, within the multi-mode resonator body 110.

Likewise, the use of a thin layer of metallisation, such as one deposited or painted onto the resonator body 110 is only one example of the form which the metallisation could take. A further example would be a metal box closely surrounding the resonator body 110. A yet further example could be the adhesion of thin metal sheeting or foil to the faces of the resonator body 110, with pre-cut apertures in the required locations, as described in the example of a metallisation layer, above.

In some scenarios, a single resonator body cannot provide adequate performance, for example, in the attenuation of out-of-band signals. In this instance, the filter's performance can be improved by providing two or more resonator bodies arranged in series, to thereby implement a higher-performance filter.

In one example, this can be achieved by providing two resonator bodies in contact with one other, with one or more apertures provided in the, for example, silver coatings of the resonator bodies, where the bodies are in contact. This allows the electric and magnetic fields present in the first cube to excite or induce the required fields and modes within the adjacent cube, so that a resonator body can receive a signal from or provide a signal to another resonator body.

FIG. 2 shows the form of the electric field (E-field) 170 and magnetic field (H-field) 160 which are typically present immediately outside of the resonator body, when a cuboidal single-mode input resonator, of the form shown as 190 in FIG. 6, is used to contain the fields to be coupled into the multi-mode resonator body 110; the E field is shown as the group of arrows 170 identified by the dashed loops. Alternative sources for the required E and H fields are possible, such as the patch antenna structure described above, and these may generate differently-shaped E and H fields to those shown in FIG. 2, however the principles of coupling energy into the multi-mode resonator, from these differently-shaped fields, are the same as will be described below, when considering a single-mode input resonator of the form shown as 190 in FIG. 6.

Operation of the input coupling aperture 120 can now be described with the aid of FIG. 2 is as follows. Electromagnetic energy, in the form of electric (E) and magnetic (H) fields existing immediately adjacent to the outside front face 180 of the resonator, can be coupled into the resonator, via the aperture 120, in two ways. The electric field (E-field) portion of the electromagnetic energy radiates through the aperture 120, as shown by the E-field directional arrows 170. The E-field radiation will primarily couple to the X-mode within the resonator, based upon the axis definition 140 shown in FIG. 2.

The H-field close to the edges of the face is shown as being quasi-square, as indicated by the two sets of H-field arrows 160, although it typically becomes increasingly circular and weaker closer to the centre of the face, as shown. The H-field will typically be at a maximum close to the edges of the resonator face 180 and at a minimum or zero in both the centre of the resonator face 180 and in the corners of the resonator face 180. This is why the H-field is shown as having rounded, rather than square or right-angle corners. The H-field 160 will typically couple to the up to three modes which can be supported by the shape shown in FIG. 2: X, Y and Z, via the two orthogonal aperture portions 121 and 122. Aperture portion 121 will primarily couple to the X and Y modes, whereas aperture portion 122 will primarily couple to the X and Z modes. It can be seen, from FIG. 2, that the circulating H-field 160 has a strong horizontal component existing parallel to the uppermost edge of the resonator face 180. This strong horizontal H-field component runs parallel to the horizontal (upper) aperture portion 122; this component, as shown, is at its largest in the centre of the upper edge of the aperture 122, with the aperture position shown. This strong horizontal component will typically couple most effectively to the Z mode within the resonator, based upon the axis definition 140 shown in FIG. 2. In addition, it will also typically couple strongly to the X mode by two mechanisms: H-field coupling, and E-field coupling through the aperture, as shown by the E-field directional arrows 170. These two mechanisms are in opposition to one another and it is often desirable to minimise the E-field coupling component to the X-mode and rely, as far as possible, upon the H-field component of coupling to the X-mode, in order to achieve the desired degree of X-mode coupling. One mechanism for achieving this goal will be described below, with reference to FIG. 3, although other options are possible.

Again, referring to FIG. 2, it is clear that the circulating H-field also has a strong component parallel to the vertical (left-hand) aperture portion 121; this component would again be at its largest in the centre of the upper edge of the aperture portion 121, with the aperture position shown. This strong vertical component will couple most effectively to the Y mode within the resonator, based upon the axis definition 140 shown in FIG. 2. In addition, it will also couple strongly to the X mode by the two mechanisms described previously: H-field coupling, and E-field coupling through the whole of aperture 120, incorporating aperture portion 121, as shown by the E-field directional arrows 170. These two mechanisms are, again, in opposition to one another and it is often desirable to minimise the E-field coupling component to the X-mode and rely, as far as possible, upon the H-field component in order to achieve the desired degree of X-mode coupling.

It is possible to control the level of coupling obtained in each mode by controlling the length, width and position of the two portions of the aperture (i.e. the horizontal and vertical portions 122 and 121). Likewise, changing the angle of one or both of the aperture portions, relative to the edges of the cuboid, would also have an impact upon the coupling strength achieved; with the E and H fields and multi-mode resonator shape 110 shown, altering the angle of one of the aperture portions 121 or 122 relative to the edges of the face 180 of the resonator, whilst keeping the other aperture portion fixed, would typically reduce the amount of coupling to the Z or Y modes, respectively, with a minimum amount of coupling being achieved, to the relevant mode, when the angle of the relevant aperture section (121 or 122) reached 45 degrees to its closest edge. Beyond that point, it would typically increase the coupling to the other mode; in other words an aperture portion originally intended to couple strongly to the Y mode, for example, would then couple more strongly to the Z-mode. It would also increase the amount of E-field coupling to the X-mode, since a portion of the aperture sections 121 and 122 would now be closer to the centre of the face 180 of the resonator, where the E-field is at its strongest. As a general principle, shorter, narrower apertures, when correctly oriented with respect to the electric or magnetic fields, or both, will reduce the amount of either electric or magnetic field coupling achieved, or both, whereas longer, wider apertures will increase it, at a given aperture position relative to the centre and edges of the resonator face 180. Likewise, altering the angle of the coupling aperture or aperture portion relative to the direction of the H-field will alter the degree of coupling to the relevant mode (Y or Z), based upon the resolved vector component of the H-field in the direction of the aperture or aperture portion.

Consider, now, the general case of arbitrarily shaped E and H-fields, existing within an illuminator, for example the input single-mode resonator 190 of FIG. 6, which is located adjacent to an arbitrarily-shaped multi-mode resonator, where these arbitrarily shaped E and H-fields are to be coupled into the said multi-mode resonator via one or more arbitrarily-shaped coupling apertures. The term ‘illuminator’ is used here to refer to any object, element or the like which can contain or emit E-fields, H-fields or both types of field. The arbitrary shape of the multi-mode resonator will result in arbitrarily-shaped field orientations being required within the multi-mode resonator to excite the resonator modes, for example the X, Y and Z-modes, existing within the said multi-mode resonator. In this example, the field orientations of both the multi-mode resonator and the illuminator are equally important in determining the degree of coupling which is achieved. Likewise, the shape, size and orientation of the one or more coupling apertures are also important.

The relationship may be explained as follows. The illuminator contains one or more modes, each with its own field pattern. The set of coupling apertures also have a series of modes, again, each with their own field pattern. Finally, the arbitrarily-shaped multi-mode resonator also has its own modes and its own field patterns. The coupling from a given illuminator mode to a given aperture mode will be determined by the degree of overlap between the illuminator and aperture field patterns. Likewise, the coupling from a given coupling aperture mode to a given multi-mode resonator mode will be given by the overlap between the aperture and multi-mode resonator field patterns. The coupling from a given illuminator mode to a given multi-mode resonator mode will therefore be the phasor sum of the couplings through all of the aperture modes. The result of this is that it is the vector component of the H-field aligning with the aperture and then with the vector component of the resonator mode which, along with the aperture size, determines the strength of coupling. If all of the vectors align, then strong coupling will generally occur; likewise, if there is a mis-alignment, for example due to one or more of the apertures not aligning either horizontally or vertically with the illuminator or resonator fields, then the degree of coupling will reduce. Furthermore, if one or more of the apertures, whilst being in perfect vector alignment, is reduced in size in the direction of the said vector alignment, then the degree of coupling will also typically reduce. In the case of the E-field, it is mainly the cross-sectional area of the aperture and its location on the face 180 of the resonator 110 which is important in determining the coupling strength. In this manner, it is possible to carefully control the degree of coupling to the various modes within the multi-mode resonator and, consequently, the pass-band and stop-band characteristics of the resulting filter.

The E-field and H-field illuminations shown in FIG. 2, indicated by the E-field directional arrows 170 and the H-field arrows 160 are based upon those which would be achieved by the placement of a single-mode dielectric resonator 190 immediately adjacent to the first face 180 of the resonator, as shown in FIG. 6. Note that FIG. 6 also shows metallisation 150 applied on a first resonator face 180 and also metallisation 210 applied on a second resonator face 220, but omits all other metallisation surrounding the multi-mode resonator 110 and the input single-mode resonator 190 and the output single-mode resonator 200. FIG. 6 will be discussed in more detail below. Clearly, other methods of illumination of the resonator face 180 are possible. Examples include, but are not limited to: a second multi-mode resonator (whether or not multiple modes are excited within it) placed or attached immediately adjacent to the resonator face 180, antenna radiating structures, such as patch antenna structures, which may be placed immediately adjacent to the resonator face 180 or some distance from the resonator face 180 or at any location in-between and stripline or microstrip transmission lines or resonators placed immediately adjacent to the resonator face 180. Whilst these would generate different field patterns than those indicated by the reference numerals 160 and 170 in FIG. 2, for the E and H-fields (the H-field may no longer be quasi-square, for example), they do not detract from the basic concept of the invention, namely that of allowing largely independent ‘sampling’ of the E-field and the horizontal and vertical components of the H-field to take place in a carefully designed manner, utilising orthogonal aspects of the aperture or apertures wherein the one or more apertures are designed to have elements aligned with fields of the appropriate modes of the multi-mode resonator 110 and those of the illuminator.

To summarise, the main, but not the only factors required to obtain good coupling from the H-field present immediately outside of the resonator face 180, into the resonator body 110, via the one or more aperture portions 121 and 122, are:

1. Close vector alignment between the coupling aperture portion, for example aperture portions 121 or 122 in FIG. 2, and the H field of the cube mode to be excited. For example, a horizontal slot will provide good excitation to the Z mode and little excitation to the Y mode, with the modes as defined 140 in FIG. 2.2. An appreciable extension of the coupling aperture in the relevant direction (for example the horizontal direction, in the case of the Z mode).3. The placement of the coupling aperture 120 in a region where the H-field's field strength is highest, based upon the fields present immediately adjacent to the resonator face 180, both inside and outside of the resonator body 110. When considering the fields outside of the resonator body 110, such fields could, for example, be contained within the single-mode input resonator 190, shown in FIG. 6.

With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the above principles can now be illustrated further as follows, based upon the use of twin-aperture portions per orientation, with only the horizontal orientation being considered, for simplicity. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate the use of aperture positioning in order to couple a greater or lesser amount of the H-field existing immediately adjacent to the face 180 of the resonator, but outside of the resonator body 110, to the appropriate mode existing within the multi-mode resonator body 110. FIG. 3 shows twin aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b, which may, together, perform a similar function to aperture portion 122 in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b are placed close to the upper edge of the resonator face 180. In FIG. 4, the aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b are placed closer to the left and right-hand side edges of the resonator face 180, than they are to the upper edge of that face.

In the case illustrated in these two figures, it is the Z mode existing within the multi-mode resonator body 110 which is intended to be primarily coupled to, since the aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b are oriented horizontally. In addition significant coupling to the X-mode will also occur, however this would typically be the case irrespective of the orientation of the aperture portions 121 and 122 of FIG. 2 or the aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, so long as they remained in the same location or locations on the resonator face 180.

In FIG. 3, the aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b are shown as being relatively closely-spaced and also relatively close to the top of the resonator face 180. In this location, it can be seen that they will couple well to the strong horizontal component of the H-field, indicated by the H-field arrows 160, which is present close to the top of the resonator face 180. The H-field arrows 160 align, vectorially, in the same orientation as the aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b and thereby strong coupling to the Z mode present within the multi-mode resonator body 110 will typically occur.

In FIG. 4, the aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b are now located further apart and also lower down the face 180 of the multi-mode resonator body 110. The horizontal component of the H-field, as designated by the H-field arrows 160, is now smaller (the vertical component, in contrast, now being larger) and consequently a reduced amount of H-field coupling to the Z mode will occur. Conversely, however, if the aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b were kept in the same locations on the face 180 of the resonator body 110, as shown in FIG. 4, but each, individually, was rotated through 90 degrees, they would then typically provide a strong coupling magnitude to the Y-mode, from the H-field present immediately in front of the face 180 of the resonator body 110, although the couplings would typically be of opposing signs, due to the opposing field directions at the locations of aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b, and may therefore largely or entirely cancel each other out.

Note that whilst two separate aperture sub-segments are shown in both FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the same arguments would hold true for a single aperture, for example aperture portion 122 in FIG. 2; aperture portion 122 may be thought of as a long ‘slot’ encompassing both of the short ‘slots’ 122a and 122b of FIG. 3. The main difference, from a coupling perspective, between the use of a single aperture portion, 122 and two aperture sub-segments, 122a and 122b, is that a greater degree of E-field coupling would typically be achieved using the single aperture portion 122 than would be achieved with the two aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b, assuming that the total length and the total aperture area occupied by the aperture sub-segments 122a and 122b is less than the total length and the total aperture area, respectively, of aperture portion 122. This increased degree of E-field coupling arises due to the increased useable area of the aperture portion and also from the stronger E field which is present closer to the centre of the face and which would typically be coupled by the central section of aperture portion 122. Such a large amount of E-field coupling is often undesirable, particularly when added to the E-field coupling which can arise from a similar pair of aperture sub-segments arranged vertically, to couple primarily to the Y-mode, such as apertures 312a and 312b in FIG. 10(a), which will be discussed on more detail below.

With regard to the degree of E-field coupling which may be achieved using one or more aperture portions or aperture sub-segments, there are a range of factors which influence this. These include, but are not limited to:

1. Placement of the coupling aperture in a region where the E-field strength is highest, based upon the E-field present immediately adjacent to the face 180 of the resonator, but outside of the resonator body 110. In this case, the E-field coupling will typically be strongest close to, or at, the centre of the face 180 of the resonator body 110.2. The provision of a large cross-sectional area for the coupling aperture 120, with an extension in both horizontal and vertical directions which corresponds to the shape of the E-field intensity present immediately adjacent to the face 180 of the resonator body 110. For example, a circular or a square aperture, placed at the centre of the face 180 of the resonator body 110, when employing a single-mode input resonator 190, as shown in FIG. 6, would typically result in a large amount of E-field coupling taking place into the resonator body 110.

It is worth emphasising the point that an almost analogous situation exists, regarding aperture positioning and its impact upon coupling strength, for the E-field as has been discussed (above) for the H-field. In the case of the example architecture shown in FIG. 6, when considering the H-field, positioning the aperture(s) close to the edge of the face of the slab typically leads to a maximum level of coupling being achieved, assuming that the sub-apertures 121 and 122 are oriented appropriately to match the desired field direction at that location. In the case of the E-field, positioning the one or more apertures close to the centre of the face 180 of the multi-mode resonator body 110, leads to a maximum level of coupling. In this case, the orientation of the one or more apertures is largely unimportant. The shape of the aperture is now of greater relevance, with a circular shape typically providing a maximum amount of coupling relative to the area occupied by the coupling aperture, whilst removing the minimum amount of metallisation and hence having the minimum impact upon resistive losses in the filter.

FIG. 5 illustrates a specific example in order to highlight the general principle of the invention. FIGS. 5(a) to (d) show an example coupling aperture arrangement consisting of four horizontally-oriented, narrow, apertures 511a, 511b, 512a, 512b and a single circular aperture 520 at the centre of the input face 180 of the multi-mode resonator. FIG. 5(a) illustrates the field distribution which is assumed to exist outside of, but immediately adjacent to, the input face 180 of the multi-mode resonator. This field distribution is of a form which can exist within a single-mode input resonator, as previously discussed. In FIG. 5(a), the H-field is shown by means of the solid lines, with arrowheads, 160, roughly circulating in a clockwise direction. Likewise, the E-field is shown by means of the small crosses—these are used to indicate that the E-field is directed roughly perpendicular to the page, approximately heading into the page. It should be noted that the density of the crosses is greater at the centre of the face 180 of the resonator, than it is toward the edges of the face. Likewise, the greater concentration of the H-field lines toward the outside edges of the face 180 and the lower concentration toward the centre of the face 180 show that the typical H-field distribution is such that a stronger H-field is usually present nearer to the edges and a lower H-field strength is usually present closer to the centre.

FIGS. 5( b) to (d) now show the field patterns existing immediately inside of the multi-mode resonator, in other words, immediately adjacent to the inside of the input face 180 of that resonator, for the three modes which can exist in a cube-shaped resonator, if such a resonator is excited appropriately. FIG. 5(b) shows a typical field pattern for the X-mode within the multi-mode resonator, based upon the excitation shown in FIG. 5(a). It can be seen that the X-mode field pattern is similar to that of the excitation field pattern shown in FIG. 5(a). The E-field of the X-mode is directed away from the input coupling apertures 511a, 511b, 512a, 512b in a direction roughly heading into the page. This is the x-direction, as indicated by the axes also shown in this figure.

FIG. 5( c) shows a typical field pattern for the Y-mode within the multi-mode resonator. It can be seen that the Y-mode field pattern differs substantially from that of the excitation field pattern shown in FIG. 5(a), for both the E and H-field components. The E-field of the Y-mode on this face is very small. The E-field of the Y-mode in the centre of the multi-mode resonator is large and propagates from left to right, in the Y-direction as indicated by the axes also shown in this figure. The H-field is shown as propagating from bottom to the top of the diagram, using the solid arrows.

Finally, FIG. 5(d) shows a typical field pattern for the Z-mode within the multi-mode resonator. It can be seen that the Z-mode field pattern also differs substantially from that of the excitation field pattern shown in FIG. 5(a), for both the E and H-field components. The E-field of the Z-mode, propagates from the bottom to the top of the diagram, in the Z-direction as indicated by the axes also shown in this figure, however as it is typically small, or zero, at the faces of the multi-mode resonator, it is not shown in this diagram; it would exist as described above, at the centre of the multi-mode resonator. The H-field is shown as propagating from left to right, using the solid arrows. It should be noted that the absolute directions of the E and H-fields are shown for illustrative purposes and field patterns oriented in the opposite directions to those shown are also possible.

Based upon the example field patterns shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to provide an approximate indication of the relative coupling strengths which could, typically, be achieved, with the coupling aperture arrangement shown in this figure. Such an indicative summary is provided in Table 1, below. Specifically, this shows the coupling which may be achieved when using only narrow, horizontally-oriented coupling apertures (or ‘slots’), plus a central, circular, coupling aperture. In a typical, triple-mode filter, for example, it would be normal to also include vertically-oriented coupling apertures, to provide strong H-field coupling to the Y-mode; when using horizontal apertures, no vertical apertures, and assuming that any central aperture is perfectly centred and perfectly symmetrical, then minimal or no Y-mode coupling would typically occur.

Table 1 assumes that a single-mode cuboidal resonator, with a substantially square cross-section, is used to excite, by means of apertures located in its substantially square face, a cubic multi-mode resonator; both resonators having the aperture pattern shown in FIGS. 5(a) to (d) on their interfacing surfaces. With such an arrangement, and a suitable excitation device for the single-mode cuboidal input resonator, for example a probe, then field patterns similar to those shown in FIGS. 5(a) to (e) could be expected.

TABLE 1
			Single-mode
			Resonator
			X-mode
	Resonator	Aperture	E-field	H-field
	Mode	(see Figure 5)	coupling	coupling
Multi-mode	X-mode	Apertures 511a & 511b	Weak (+)	Strong (−)
Resonator		Apertures 512a & 512b	Weak (+)	Strong (−)
		Aperture 520	Strong (+)	Weak (−)
	Y-mode	Apertures 511a & 511b	0	0
		Apertures 512a & 512b	0	0
		Aperture 520	0	0
	Z-mode	Apertures 511a & 511b	0	Strong (−)
		Apertures 512a & 512b	0	Strong (+)
		Aperture 520	0	0

Table 1 may be interpreted as follows. The first resonator, in this case a single-mode input resonator, will typically only resonate in its X-mode, when fed with a probe, for example. This single (X) mode will couple to the multiple modes which can be supported by the multi-mode resonator, by means of both its E and H fields, as highlighted by the vertical columns of Table 1. The coupling apertures are numbered according to the scheme shown in FIG. 5(a), so apertures 511a and 511b, for example, are the upper two apertures in that figure. Taking these as an example, it can be seen, from Table 1, that the E-field present in the input single-mode resonator can weakly couple, with a ‘positive’ coupling, to the X-mode of the multi-mode resonator via apertures 511a and 511b. Likewise the H-field present in the input single-mode resonator can strongly couple, with a ‘negative’ coupling, to the X-mode of the multi-mode resonator via apertures 511a and 511b. The overall resultant coupling from the weak ‘positive’ coupling, resulting from the E-field present in the single-mode resonator, and the strong ‘negative’ coupling, resulting from the H-field present in the single-mode resonator, is a fairly strong negative coupling, based upon the two coupling apertures 511a and 511b only. Further contributions to the X-mode present in the multi-mode resonator will also result from apertures 512a and 512b and also the central aperture 520. Apertures 512a and 512b will, in effect, further strengthen the ‘negative’ signed coupling arising via from apertures 511a and 511b, however aperture 520 will counter-act this with the addition of strong ‘positive’ coupling. The resultant overall coupling to the X-mode will therefore depend upon how strong this positive coupling from aperture 520 is designed to be. If no central coupling aperture 520 is present, or this aperture is small, then the H-field coupling via apertures 511a, 511b, 512a and 512b will dominate; if, on the other hand, aperture 520 is large, then it could dominate the coupling to the X-mode. The final outcome is a matter of design choice, depending upon the particular filter specification to be achieved.

In the same manner, considering now the Z-mode within the multi-mode resonator, apertures 511a and 511b will generate strong negative coupling to this mode and apertures 512a and 512b will generate strong positive coupling to this mode. As drawn in FIG. 5(a), where roughly equally-sized apertures are shown, these contributions may therefore roughly cancel each other out and only a weak or zero coupling to the Z-mode is likely to occur. In a typical practical design, one or more apertures would typically be reduced in size relative to the remainder, or one or more apertures may be eliminated entirely, in order to ensure some resultant coupling takes place. So, for example, apertures 512a and 512b may be made smaller than apertures 511a and 511b, such that their coupling contribution is weakened, thereby allowing the coupling contribution from apertures 511a and 511b to dominate.

It is worth noting that the zero (“0”) entries shown in Table 1 are illustrative of the fact that very minimal levels of coupling are likely to result, from the relevant combination of circumstances which gives rise to that particular entry; a zero (“0”) entry does not necessarily imply that no excitation whatsoever will occur to that mode, by the relevant combination of circumstances which gives rise to that particular zero entry.

As has already been described, briefly, above, FIG. 6 illustrates the addition of an input single-mode resonator 190 and an output single mode resonator 200 to the multi-mode resonator 110. The input single mode resonator 190 is typically attached to the front face 180 of the multi-mode resonator 110. The output single mode resonator 200 is typically attached to the rear face 230 of the multi-mode resonator 110. The input single mode resonator 190 and the output single mode resonator 200 are typically formed from a dielectric material. The dielectric material used may be the same dielectric material as is used to fabricate the multi-mode resonator body 110 or it may be a different dielectric material. The dielectric material used to fabricate the input single mode resonator 190 may be a different dielectric material to that used to fabricate the output single mode resonator 200. Both the input single mode resonator 190 and the output single mode resonator 200 are typically substantially coated in a metallisation layer, except for the aperture areas 120 and 130, respectively, over which the metallisation is removed or within which metallisation was not placed during the metallisation process. FIG. 6 shows clearly, by means of cross-hatching, the area over which the metallisation 150 on the input face 180 of the multi-mode resonator body 110 extends and the area of the aperture 120, over which the metallisation is absent. Note that the remainder of the metallisation, which is typically applied to the remaining surfaces of the multi-mode resonator body 110, the surfaces of the input resonator 190 and the surfaces of the output resonator 200, is omitted from FIG. 6, for clarity. The only exception to this is that metallisation 210 is shown on the surface of the output face 230 of the of the multi-mode resonator body 110, again by means of cross-hatching. It also shows the area of the aperture 130, over which the metallisation is absent, by an absence of cross hatching.

One purpose of the addition of single-mode resonators 190, 200, to the input and output faces 180, 230, of the triple-mode resonator body 110, is to contain the electromagnetic fields, for example H-field 160 and E-field 170, shown in FIG. 2 for the input single mode resonator 190, which can then be coupled into the multi-mode resonator body 110, or which have been extracted from the multi-mode resonator body 110, in the case of the output single mode resonator 200.

The single-mode resonators 190, 200 may be supplied with a radio frequency signal or may have a radio frequency signal extracted from them, in a variety of ways, which are not shown in FIG. 6, however one example architecture and method will be described later, with reference to FIG. 13. The means by which radio frequency signals may be supplied or extracted include, but are not limited to: probes either touching the outer-most surface or penetrating the outer-most surface 240, 250 in FIG. 6 of the input single-mode resonator 190 or the output single-mode resonator 200, respectively, single or multiple patches or patch antennas located in a suitable position or positions to provide the required electromagnetic field or fields to, or extract the required electromagnetic field or fields from, the single-mode resonators 190, 200, and either single or multiple conductive loops, again located in a suitable position or positions to provide the required electromagnetic field or fields to, or extract the required electromagnetic field or fields from, the single-mode resonators 190, 200.

The input and output single-mode resonators 190, 200 are also substantially covered in a metallic coating, in the same manner as the multi-mode resonator body 110, and also have apertures, within which substantially no metallisation is present, which typically correspond, in both size and location, to the apertures in the coating on the multi-mode resonator body 110. The input and output single-mode resonators 190, 200 are in direct or indirect electrical contact with, and typically also mechanically attached to, the multi-mode resonator body 110 at the locations shown in FIG. 6—that is to say that the metallisation layers on the outside of the single-mode and multi-mode resonators are typically electrically connected together across substantially all of their common surface areas. Such a connection could be made by soldering, for example, although many other electrically-conductive bonding options exist.

The apertures 120, 130 in both the single and adjacent multi-mode resonators are, typically, substantially identical in shape, size and position on the relevant face of the resonator, such that they form, in essence, a single aperture, with a shape substantially identical to either of the apertures present on the relevant faces of the resonators, when the resonators are bonded together at those relevant faces. It is, however, possible to apply metallisation to only a single surface, either the output face of the input single-mode resonator or the input face of the multi-mode resonator, with the aperture or apertures incorporated into this single metallisation layer and then to bond this metallised surface to an adjacent resonator, which could have, as its bonding face, an un-metallised surface, with the remainder of that resonator being metallised. Care needs to be taken with this method of construction, however, to ensure that the bonding material, for example glue, is substantially of a uniform thickness. A separate electrical connection, between the metallisation on the two resonators is also, typically, required, for example at the top, the bottom and on both sides of both the input and output single-mode resonators 190, 200 and the multi-mode resonator body 110, to form, in effect, a continuous metallisation surrounding the whole filter structure, excluding the input and output connectors, probes or apertures.

Note that the term ‘substantially identical’, used above, is intended to include the case where one aperture is deliberately made slightly larger than an adjoining (facing) aperture, in order to simplify the alignment of the two apertures and thereby avoid mis-alignment problems between the two apertures.

It is not necessary for the apertures portions shown in FIG. 2 to meet at any point along their length, in order for them to function as coupling apertures according to one aspect of the present invention. FIG. 7 illustrates the use of separate input apertures portions 121, 122, which do not meet at any point along their length and also output portions, 261, 262, which, again, do not meet at any point along their length. The operation of these pairs of apertures is similar to that described above in relation to aperture portions 121, 122 in FIG. 2. The advantage of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2 is that it increases the length of both the horizontal and vertical aperture portions, 122 and 121 respectively, relative to those shown in FIG. 7 and thereby the strength of coupling which can be achieved, by each of them, to the desired modes in the multi-mode resonator body 110. It is, however, frequently undesirable to have too much coupling into the multi-mode resonator body 110 and hence shorter length aperture portions or even multiple sub-apertures, as in FIG. 3, for example, are often necessary.

FIG. 8 shows an alternative aperture arrangement, which, in the case shown in FIG. 8, replaces both the input coupling aperture 120 and the output coupling aperture 130, with new, cruciform, apertures. Although input cruciform aperture 270 and output cruciform aperture 280 are shown to be of substantially the same size and orientation as each other, in FIG. 8, this is purely by means of example and other sizes and orientations are possible. It is, optionally, also possible to have differently-shaped input and output coupling apertures, such as a cruciform input coupling aperture 270 and an output L-shaped coupling aperture 130, shown, for example, in FIG. 6.

The operation of the cruciform coupling apertures 270 and 280 in FIG. 8 follow the same principles as previously described in relation to the coupling apertures shown in FIG. 2, although the relative strengths of the coupling achieved to the various resonant modes, within the multi-mode resonator body 110 are typically different from those obtained with above-described aperture shapes, assuming that identical lengths and widths for the vertical and horizontal aperture portions, for example, 121, 122, 271, 272, 281, 282, are used in both cases. This need not, of course, be the case, and different lengths and widths could be used for the aperture portions. This difference in coupling strength is largely due to the very different components of the E and H-fields which would be passed from the outside to the inside of the resonator body 110, via the cruciform aperture or apertures. For example, a centrally-located cruciform coupling aperture will have a strong E-field component, resulting from coupling taking place through its open centre, and will therefore couple strongly to the X mode, however it has a relatively small area (at its ends) located close to the H-field maxima, which occur around the outside of the resonator face 180 when using an input resonator as a means to contain the fields to be coupled into the multi-mode resonator 110. As a consequence, where a cruciform aperture is used, coupling to the Y and Z modes will be weaker than with the coupling structures shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 7, for example.

In a practical implementation of this cruciform aperture structure, the opposite ‘legs’ of the cross, for example the part of aperture portion 271 extending vertically upward from the centre of the cross and the part of aperture portion 271 extending vertically downward from the centre of the cross, would need to be different from one another, in either width or length or both. So, for example, the upper vertical section of the aperture portion 271 of the cross would need to be either longer or fatter (or both) than the lower vertical section; this would then ensure that the ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ H-field couplings, based upon the direction of the upper portion and lower portion H-field arrows 160 in FIG. 2, would not substantially cancel out, in the horizontal direction. The upper portion H-field arrows 160, in this case, refer to the H-field direction as shown by the H-field arrows 160 located in the upper half of the resonator face 180; the lower portion H-field arrows 160, refer to the H-field direction as shown by the H-field arrows 160 located in the lower half of the resonator face 180. It can be seen from FIG. 2 that these upper and lower arrows point in opposing directions, indicating that the couplings obtained in these two locations would oppose one another and, if identical in strength, would typically entirely cancel each other out.

In the same manner, the left-hand horizontal section of the aperture portion 272 of the cross would need to be either longer or fatter (or both) than the right-hand horizontal section; this would then ensure that the ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ H-field couplings would not substantially cancel out, in the vertical direction. The ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ couplings referred to above arise, as just described, from the differing, i.e. opposing, directions of the H-field in the upper and lower halves, or the right-hand and left-hand halves, immediately outside of the input face 180 of the multi-mode resonator body 110, in this example. These opposing field directions can be seen clearly in the opposing direction of the H-field arrows 160 in the upper and lower portions, i.e. above and below a notional centre-line through the input face 180, of the multi-mode resonator body 110, shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 shows a further alternative input aperture shape 290 and output aperture shape 300 used on the input and output faces of a multi-mode resonator body 110. In FIG. 9, a ‘St Andrews’ cross aperture shape is shown for both apertures. The operation of the ‘St Andrews’ cross coupling apertures 290 and 300 in FIG. 9 again follow the same principles as previously described in relation to FIG. 2, although again the relative strengths of the coupling achieved to the various resonant modes, within the multi-mode resonator body 110, are typically different from those obtained with prior aperture shapes, assuming that identical lengths and widths for the vertical and horizontal aperture portions, for example, 121, 122 or left and right-hand slanting portions 291, 292, 301, 302, are used in all cases. This need not, of course, be the case, and different lengths and widths could be used for the aperture portions. This difference in coupling strength is, again, largely due to the very different components of the H-field which would be passed from the outside to the inside of the resonator body 110, via the aperture or apertures. In a practical implementation of this St Andrews cross aperture structure, the opposite ‘legs’ of the cross, for example the part of aperture portion 291 extending upward, at 45 degrees to the vertical, from the centre of the cross and the part of aperture portion 291 extending downward, at 180 degrees to the first part, from the centre of the cross, would need to be different from one another, in either width or length or both, to prevent undue coupling cancellation from taking place.

FIG. 10 shows a non-exhaustive range of alternative aperture shapes, according to the present invention, which could be used for either input coupling to the multi-mode resonator 110, for output coupling from the multi-mode resonator 110 or for coupling between multi-mode resonators, in the event that two or more are used in a particular design, for example to meet a particularly demanding filter specification. The alternatives shown in FIG. 10 are: (a) four separate aperture sub-segments, (b) three aperture sub-segments, forming a ‘broken right-angle’, (c) three aperture sub-segments comprising: a small cross, plus two, orthogonal, slots, (d) a ‘broken cross’ shaped aperture formed from four separate sub-segments, (e) four corner-shaped apertures. These alternative aperture shapes all operate using the same principles as those described above, with varying relative degrees of coupling to the various modes.

FIGS. 10( a), (b) and (c) will now be discussed together, in more detail, since they are essentially all variants of the same theme. FIG. 10(a) shows four separate aperture sub-segments in the form of horizontally-oriented and vertically-oriented ‘slots’; these can be thought of as being operationally similar to the aperture coupling structure of FIG. 1(b), but with some parts of the aperture ‘missing’; in other words parts of the metallisation on the face 180 of the multi-mode resonator 110 which had been removed to create the aperture 120, for example, in FIG. 1 are now present, in FIG. 10(a), thereby breaking up the original aperture shape into smaller aperture sub-segments 311a, 311b, 312a, 312b and entirely omitting some parts, such as the upper left-hand corner of input coupling aperture 120 in FIG. 1(a). The aperture form shown in FIG. 10(a) will operate in a similar manner, however, to that of FIG. 1(b), although it will typically have a somewhat lower degree of E-field coupling to the X-mode, due to the smaller total area occupied by the slots and their location far from the centre of the face 180 of the resonator. The degree of H-field coupling to the Y and Z modes can also decrease, however this does not, typically, occur to the same degree as that of the E-field coupling to the X-mode and this is a significant benefit of this aperture arrangement. It is therefore possible to utilise the aperture arrangement of FIG. 10(a) to provide strong H-field coupling to the Y and Z modes, together with strong positive H-field coupling to the X-mode, whilst minimising the amount of negative E-field coupling to the X-mode, which acts to partially cancel the positive coupling to the X-mode arising from the H-field. Minimising the degree of cancellation which occurs in coupling to the X-mode not only enables an appropriate degree of X-mode excitation to be achieved in the multi-mode resonator, to enable it, in conjunction with Y and Z-mode excitation, to meet many filter specifications appropriate in the mobile communications industry, it also helps to minimise the insertion loss of the resulting filter, in its pass-band.

FIG. 10( b) now shows the situation in which two of the aperture sub-segments in FIG. 10(a) have been moved slightly and merged to form a ‘corner’ shape 321a. Again, the operation of this overall aperture structure, comprising 321a, 321b and 321c, is similar to that of aperture 120 in FIG. 1, but again with typically a lower level of E-field and H-field coupling to all modes than would be obtained from the input coupling aperture 120 shown in FIG. 1(b). It would also typically exhibit a different level of coupling to at least some of the various modes, supported within the multi-mode resonator 110, than would be the case with the aperture configuration shown in FIG. 10(a), although this difference would usually be less pronounced than that between the aperture shapes and sizes shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 10(a). For example, it is likely that there would exist a lower level of E-field coupling to the X mode when using the aperture configuration shown in FIG. 10(b), when compared to that shown in FIG. 10(a), due to the reduction in the total cross-sectional area occupied by the coupling aperture sub-segments 321a, 321b, 321c on the face 180 of the multi-mode resonator 110, relative to that of the aperture configuration shown in FIG. 10(a), thereby reducing the available area through which the E-field can propagate.

FIG. 10( c) shows, in effect, a further shift of the apertures of FIG. 10(a), which has now turned the ‘corner’ 321a in FIG. 10(b) into a small cross 331a in FIG. 10(c). This will typically decrease the H-field coupling to the Y and Z modes, relative to that obtained when using the coupling aperture arrangement shown in FIG. 10(a), largely due to the fact that the apertures have moved closer to the centre of the face, where the H-fields are weaker.

FIG. 10( d) shows four separate aperture sub-segments in the form of horizontally-oriented and vertically-oriented ‘slots’; these can be thought of as being operationally similar to the aperture coupling structure of FIG. 8, but with some parts of the aperture missing; in other words parts of the metallisation on the face 180 of the multi-mode resonator 110 which had been removed to create the aperture 270, for example, in FIG. 8 are now present, in FIG. 10(d), thereby breaking up the original aperture shape into smaller aperture sub-segments 341a, 341b, 342a, 342b and entirely omitting some parts, such as the centre of the coupling aperture 270 in FIG. 8. The aperture form shown in FIG. 10(d) will operate in a similar manner, however, to that of FIG. 8, although it will typically have a lower degree of coupling to all modes, due to the smaller total area occupied by the slots. In particular, the lack of a central segment will typically significantly reduce the degree of E-field coupling to the X-mode, since the centre of the face 180 of the multi-mode resonator 110 is typically the location of maximum strength for the E-field, in the case of the overall resonator structure shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 10( e) shows four separate aperture sub-segments in the form of corner segments 351a, 351b, 352a and 352b. The aperture form shown in FIG. 10(e) will follow the same principles of operation as for the other aperture arrangements discussed above and will typically couple well to the circulating H-field and less well to the E-field, since the centre of the face 180 of the multi-mode resonator 110 is typically the location of maximum strength for the E-field, in the case of the overall resonator structure shown in FIG. 6.

In the case of FIG. 10(d) it will typically be necessary to ensure that the upper portion 341a and lower portion 341b of the coupling apertures are not equal in size and location and, in addition, that the left-hand portion 342a and right-hand portion 342b of the coupling apertures are also not equal in size and location. This is to ensure that the Y coupling having one sign, say ‘positive’, resulting from aperture sub-segment 341a is not entirely or largely cancelled by a coupling having the opposite sign, ‘negative’ in this example, arising from aperture sub-segment 341b. Likewise, in respect of the left-hand portion 342a and right-hand portion 342b of the coupling apertures, it is to ensure that the Z coupling having one sign, say ‘positive’, resulting from aperture sub-segment 342a is not entirely or largely cancelled by a coupling having the opposite sign, ‘negative’ in this example, arising from aperture sub-segment 342b. An analogous situation also exists, for the vertical and horizontal portions of the aperture sub-segments 351a, 351b and 352a, 352b of FIG. 10(e).

Whilst the discussion of aperture-based coupling, above, has concentrated on specific, predominantly rectilinear, aperture shapes, there are many other possible aperture shapes, which would also obey similar principles of operation to those described. Examples of suitable aperture shapes include, but are not limited to: circles, squares, ellipses, triangles, regular polygons, irregular polygons and amorphous shapes. The key principles are: i) to enable coupling to, predominantly, the X-mode within a multi-mode resonator, by means of an E-field existing adjacent to, but outside of, the said multi-mode resonator, where the degree of coupling obtained is based upon the aperture area or areas and the aperture location or locations on the face of the said multi-mode resonator; and ii) to enable coupling to the Y and Z modes within a multi-mode resonator, by means of an H-field existing adjacent to, but outside of, the said multi-mode resonator, where the degree of coupling obtained is based upon the aperture area or areas and the aperture location or locations on the face of the said multi-mode resonator, wherein the mode (Y or Z) to be predominantly coupled to is based upon the horizontal (for the Z-mode) or vertical (for the Y-mode) extent of the coupling aperture or apertures and its (or their) locations relative to the centre of the face of the said multi-mode resonator.

A common application for filtering devices is to connect a transmitter and a receiver to a common antenna, and an example of this will now be described with reference to FIG. 11(a). In this example, a transmitter 951 is coupled via a filter 900A to the antenna 950, which is further connected via a second filter 900B to a receiver 952. Filters 900A and 900B could be formed, for example, utilising the resonator arrangement shown in FIG. 6, with the addition of a suitable arrangement to couple energy into input resonator 190 and a second arrangement to couple energy from output resonator 200. An example of a suitable arrangement for either or both of coupling energy into input resonator 190 and coupling energy from output resonator 200 would be the use of a probe, in each case and this approach is described in more detail below, in conjunction with FIG. 13.

In use, the arrangement shown in FIG. 11(a) allows transmit power to pass from the transmitter 951 to the antenna 950 with minimal loss and to prevent the power from passing to the receiver 952. Additionally, the received signal passes from the antenna 950 to the receiver 952 with minimal loss.

An example of the frequency response of the filter is as shown in FIG. 11(b). In this example, the receive band (solid line) is at lower frequencies, with zeros adjacent the receive band on the high frequency side, whilst the transmit band (dotted line) is on the high frequency side, with zeros on the lower frequency side, to provide a high attenuation region coincident with the receive band. It will be appreciated from this that minimal signal will be passed between bands. It will be appreciated that other arrangements could be used, such as to have a receive pass band at a higher frequency than the transmit pass band.

It will be appreciated that the filters 900A, 900B can be implemented in any suitable manner. In one example, each filter 900A and 900B includes two resonator bodies provided in series, with the four resonator bodies mounted on a common substrate, as will now be described with reference to FIG. 12.

In this example, multiple resonator bodies 1010A, 1010B, 1010C, 1010D can be provided on a common multi-layer substrate 1020, thereby providing transmit filter 900A formed from the resonator bodies 1010A, 1010B and a receive filter 900B formed from the resonator bodies 1010C, 1010D.

Accordingly, the above described arrangement provides a cascaded duplex filter arrangement. It will be appreciated however that alternative arrangements can be employed, such as connecting the antenna to a common resonator, and then coupling this to both the receive and transmit filters. This common resonator performs a similar function to the transmission line junction 960 shown in FIG. 11(a).

FIG. 13( a) illustrates the use of coupling probes 1200, 1210 to feed signals into the input single-mode resonator 190 and to extract signals from the output single-mode resonator 200. The structure shown is similar to that shown in FIG. 6, however, in the case of FIG. 13, the coupling aperture 120 has been replaced by three aperture sub-segments, 321a, 321b and 321c. These aperture sub-segments, together with their operation, have been previously described with reference to FIG. 10(b). The output coupling aperture 130 of FIG. 6 has, likewise been replaced by three sub-segments, only two of which can be seen in the perspective view shown in FIG. 13(a); those being: aperture sub-segments 322a and 322b.

FIG. 13( b) illustrates a side-view of the filter arrangement shown in FIG. 13(a). The input coupling probe 1200 can be seen to penetrate significantly into the input single-mode resonator 190; likewise, the output coupling probe 1210 can be seen to penetrate significantly into the output single-mode resonator 200. The degree of probe penetration employed for either the input coupling probe 1200 or the output coupling probe 1210 is a design decision and depends upon the precise filter characteristics which are required in the application for which the filter is being designed. Penetration depths ranging from no penetration at all, where the probe just touches the outer face of the input single-mode resonator 190, for example, to full penetration, where the probe extends to the front face of the multi-mode resonator 110, which may or may not be metallised, for example due to the location of the input coupling apertures 1220. An analogous situation exists at the output of the filter, for the penetration depth of the output coupling probe 1210 within the output single-mode resonator 200. Here, again, the output coupling apertures 1230 may be located centrally or peripherally, or both, on the output face 1250 of the multi-mode resonator 110, meaning that a fully-penetrating probe may or may not contact the metallisation surrounding the multi-mode resonator 110.

As has been discussed briefly above, the input single mode resonator 190 and the output single mode resonator 200 operate to transform the predominantly E-field generated by the input coupling probe 1200 from a largely E-field emission into an E and H-field structure, which can then be used, in turn, to simultaneously excite two or more of the modes of the multi-mode resonator 110. This situation is illustrated in FIG. 14.

FIG. 14( a) shows the situation in which an input coupling probe 1200 is directly inserted into a dielectric-filled, externally-metallised, cavity 110 which would ordinarily be capable of supporting multiple modes simultaneously, based upon its shape, dimensions and the material from which it is constructed. In this case, however, an input single-mode resonator is not used (the probe being directly inserted in to the multi-mode-capable cavity) and no defects are applied to the cavity, such as holes or corner-cuts being imposed upon the dielectric material. In other words, a cavity 110 which it is desired to be resonant in two or more modes and with a shape suitable to support such a diversity of modes is attempting to be directly excited by a probe 1200, without further assistance. In this case, the probe generates substantially an E-field; unsurprising since its primary characteristic is that of an E-field emitting device. This E-field will then excite a single mode in the main resonator—with the axes as defined in FIG. 14(a), this is the X-mode. Without the use of additional defects in the main resonator, such as corners milled off the cuboidal resonator shape, additional, un-driven, probes or screws inserted into the resonator at carefully designed locations or some other means, it is not typically possible for the probe to excite significant (i.e. useful, from a high-performance filtering perspective) resonances in either of the other two modes, Y or Z. Note that in FIG. 14(a), the E-field emission from the far end of the probe is shown in an indicative manner and is not intended to be an accurate representation of the precise E-field generated by the probe. Note also that it is assumed that the resonator cavity 110 would be metallised on all surfaces, barring, possibly, a small area surrounding the input probe 1200, depending upon its design, although such metallisation is omitted from FIG. 14(a), for clarity.

FIG. 14( b) shows the situation in which an input coupling probe 1200 is now inserted into a single-mode dielectric resonator 190, which is in turn coupled to a multi-mode resonator 110 by some means; this means being apertures, in the case of FIG. 14(b), although other possibilities exist, such as etched tracks, patches and other structures. Note that in this figure, as in FIG. 14(a), only an input coupling mechanism is shown—a typical practical filter design would also require a separate output coupling mechanism, as shown, for example, in FIG. 13.

FIG. 14( b) illustrates, in detail, the primary fields, currents and excited modes present within the design, although not all fields are shown, to aid clarity. Note that the fields shown are representational only, and do not accurately convey the shape of the fields within the multi-mode resonator; this figure is intended to show the relative directions of the modes and not their shapes. For example, the E-fields present within the resonator will fall to a minimum and ideally, zero, at the metallised walls of the resonator, for the modes in which the E field is parallel to the wall. The single mode resonant cavity 190 takes the energy from the E-field generated by the input probe and this predominantly excites a single resonant mode within the cavity; with the arrangement shown, this would typically be the X-mode of the single-mode resonant cavity 190. This mode will typically, in turn, induce currents in the metallisation 1310 on the interface 1300 between the single and multi-mode resonators; these currents are shown by means of the dash-dot arrows in FIG. 14(b). This process will also typically generate an H-field 160, which can circulate, as shown in FIG. 14(b), and can have a greater intensity toward the outside of the resonator and a lower intensity closer to the centre. Finally, an E-field (not shown in FIG. 14(b), although it is highlighted 170 in FIG. 2), will typically be generated, which will generally be aligned parallel to the shorter edges of the single-mode resonator 190, in other words, in parallel with the extruded direction of the probe.

FIG. 14( c) is a version of FIG. 14(b) with the input resonator, probe and metallisation removed, to allow the field directions to be seen more easily. As above, the fields shown are representational only, and do not accurately convey the shape of the fields within the multi-mode resonator; this figure is intended to show the relative directions of the modes and not their shapes. For example, the E-fields present within the resonator will fall to a minimum and ideally, zero, at the metallised walls of the resonator, for the modes in which the E field is parallel to the wall.

From these currents and fields, all available fundamental modes of the multi-mode resonator 110 may be excited, simultaneously, as follows. The E-field can propagate through the aperture sub-sections 321a, 321b, 321c, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the apertures, and will excite the X-mode within the main resonator. The horizontal component of the H-field 160 can be coupled by the upper, horizontally-aligned, parts of the coupling aperture sub-sections 321a and 321b and this will typically couple, predominantly, to the Z-mode in the multi-mode resonator. Finally, the vertical component of the H-field 160 can be coupled by the left-most, vertically-aligned, parts of the coupling apertures sub-sections 321a and 321c, and this will typically predominantly couple to the Y-mode in the multi-mode resonator 110. In addition to coupling to the Y and Z-modes, the H-field 160 will also, typically, couple to the X-mode in the multi-mode resonator 110, but generally in the opposite sense to the X-mode excitation resulting directly from the E-field. These two mechanisms for coupling to the X-mode, namely that arising from the E-field present in the input single-mode resonator 190 and that arising from the H-field present in the input single-mode resonator 190, can act in opposition to one another and the weaker coupling effect can, therefore, partially cancel the effect of the stronger coupling effect. It is the resultant of this cancellation process which largely determines the amount of the X-mode present in the multi-mode resonator 110.

In this manner, all supported modes in the multi-mode resonator 110 may be excited simultaneously by means of a single probe, with no defects typically being required to any of the resonators within the design.

FIG. 15 shows a method of connecting together two multi-mode resonators, 1501, 1502, such that multiple modes present in the first resonator 1501 are coupled, albeit indirectly, to excite multiple modes in the second resonator 1502. The first resonator 1501 and the second resonator 1502 are connected together by means of a conductive track 1550 embedded within a laminate structure consisting of an upper conductive layer 1570, a dielectric layer 1580, a further dielectric layer 1590 and a bottom conductive track 1550. The latter containing the conductive track 1550 also contains a bonding material, for example glue, which is present around and outside of the track itself. The multi-mode resonators 1501 and 1502 are surrounded by a metallisation layer 1500 and 1505, respectively, except in a window area at the bottom in which the respective coupling tracks 1520, 1525, are placed. These coupling tracks 1520, 1525 are connected to the conductive track 1550 by means of vias 1540, 1545. Vias 1540, 1545 are also used to connect the upper and lower conductive layers together, for grounding purposes.

The use of a conductive track, as a means for connecting together multi-mode resonators, has two main disadvantages:

1. The track will have losses, due to the resistivity of the conductive material from which it is made. These losses will translate into an increased insertion loss for the filter, in its pass-band.2. The track will have one or more resonant frequencies and these could result in spurious responses appearing in the overall filter's stop-band. In particular, it is not, typically, possible to place one of these resonances in the filter pass-band, since this will often significantly degrade the pass band characteristics, such as insertion loss and roll-off. Since one resonance cannot, typically, be placed in the pass-band, it will often need to be placed below the pass-band, resulting in the second resonance appearing above the pass-band, but relatively close to the pass-band. This situation is illustrated in FIG. 16. The pass-band is located at Fc and the two unwanted resonances are shown appearing as spurious responses at F₁ and F₂. Ideally, from the perspective of dealing with the spurious responses, the lower resonance would be moved into the filter pass-band, in other words F₁=F_c. Doing so would move F₂ higher in frequency by a similar amount, thus taking it far away from the filter pass-band. At such a location, it could easily be removed by means of a simple, low-loss, low-pass filter, for example. Unfortunately, as has already been discussed, the low quality factor of the coupling track, when at resonance, means that this would typically cause an unacceptable degradation in the pass-band characteristics of a high-performance filter and consequently this is not generally an option to the filter designer.

In a similar manner to FIG. 5, which discussed single-mode to multi-mode coupling, FIG. 17 illustrates a specific example of multi-mode resonator to multi-mode resonator coupling, in order to highlight the general principle of the invention. FIGS. 17(a) to (1) show an example coupling aperture arrangement consisting of four horizontally-oriented, narrow, apertures 1711a, 1711b, 1712a, 1712b and a single circular aperture 1720 at the centre of the input face 1780 of the second multi-mode resonator. In other words, the apertures exist in the metallisation occurring at the interface between the first multi-mode resonator and the second multi-mode resonator and operate to allow signal energy to propagate from the first multi-mode resonator to the second multi-mode resonator. FIG. 17(a) illustrates a field distribution which may typically exist for the X-mode in a first multi-mode resonator immediately adjacent to the input face 1780 of a second multi-mode resonator. In FIG. 17(a), the H-field is shown by means of the solid lines, with arrowheads, 1760, roughly circulating in a clockwise direction. Likewise, the E-field is shown by means of the small crosses—these are used to indicate that the E-field flows roughly perpendicular to the page, approximately heading into the page. It should be noted that the density of the crosses is greater at the centre of the face 1780 of the resonator, than it is toward the Edges of the face. Likewise, the greater concentration of the H-field lines toward the outside Edges of the face 1780 and the lower concentration toward the centre of the face 1780 show that the typical H-field distribution is such that a stronger H-field is usually present nearer to the Edges and a lower H-field strength is usually present closer to the centre.

In FIGS. 17(a) to (1), the following key applies for the various fields shown:

Solid line, whether curved or straight, with arrowheads: H-field flowing in the direction indicated by the arrows

‘X’-shaped crosses: E-field (indicating that it is flowing into or out of the page)

Note that the E-field is not shown in the diagrams in FIG. 17 relating to the cube Y and Z modes, since these diagrams show the situation close to a face of the multi-mode resonator, where the E-field is small or zero. The E-field typically reaches its maximum strength at, or close to, the centre of the multi-mode resonator and will be orthogonal to the H-field.

FIGS. 17( b) to (d) now show the field patterns existing immediately inside of the second multi-mode resonator which have been excited primarily as a result of the X-mode energy present in the first multi-mode resonator, in other words, immediately adjacent to the inside of the input face 1780 of that resonator, for the up to three modes which can exist in a cube-shaped resonator. FIG. 5(b) shows a typical field pattern for the X-mode within the second multi-mode resonator. It can be seen that the X-mode field pattern in the second multi-mode resonator is similar to that of the excitation field pattern shown in FIG. 17(a). The E-field of the X-mode propagates away from the input coupling apertures 1711a, 1711b, 1712a, 1712b in a direction roughly heading into the page. This is the x-direction, as indicated by the axes also shown in this figure. The H-field is shown by means of the solid lines, with arrowheads 1760.

FIG. 17( c) shows a typical field pattern for the Y-mode within the second multi-mode resonator. It can be seen that the Y-mode field pattern differs substantially from that of the excitation field pattern shown in FIG. 17(a), for both the E and H-field components. The E-field of the Y-mode on this face is very small The E-field of the Y-mode in the centre of the multi-mode resonator is large and propagates from left to right, in the Y-direction as indicated by the axes also shown in this figure. The H-field is shown as propagating from bottom to the top of the diagram, using the solid arrows.

FIG. 17( d) shows a typical field pattern for the Z-mode within the second multi-mode resonator. It can be seen that the Z-mode field pattern also differs substantially from that of the excitation field pattern shown in FIG. 17(a), for both the H-field component; the same is typically also true for the E-field (not shown in FIG. 17(d)). The E-field of the Z-mode, propagates from the bottom to the top of the diagram, in the Z-direction as indicated by the axes also shown in this figure, however as it is typically small, or zero, at the faces of the multi-mode resonator, it is not shown in this diagram; it would exist as described above, at the centre of the multi-mode resonator. The H-field is shown as propagating from left to right, using the solid arrows. It should be noted that the absolute directions of the E and H-fields are shown for illustrative purposes and field patterns oriented in the opposite directions to those shown are also possible.

The remaining field pattern distributions shown in FIG. 17 follow in a similar manner and will only be described briefly. FIG. 17(e) shows an example of a Y-mode field pattern in the first multi-mode resonator. This can exist simultaneously with the X-mode field pattern shown in FIG. 17(a), within the first multi-mode resonator. The X-mode field pattern which will typically be excited in the second multi-mode resonator, as a result of this Y-mode excitation, is shown in FIG. 17(f). Likewise, the Y-mode field pattern which will typically be excited in the second multi-mode resonator, as a result of the Y-mode excitation present in the first multi-mode resonator, is shown in FIG. 17(g) and the Z-mode field pattern which will typically be excited in the second multi-mode resonator, as a result of the Y-mode excitation present in the first multi-mode resonator, is shown in FIG. 17(h).

Finally, FIG. 17(i) shows an example of a Z-mode field pattern in the first multi-mode resonator. This can exist simultaneously with both the X-mode and Y-mode field patterns shown in FIG. 17(a) and FIG. 17(e), within the first multi-mode resonator. The X-mode field pattern which will typically be excited in the second multi-mode resonator, as a result of this Z-mode excitation, is shown in FIG. 17(j). Likewise, the Y-mode field pattern which will typically be excited in the second multi-mode resonator, as a result of the Z-mode excitation present in the first multi-mode resonator, is shown in FIG. 17(k) and the Z-mode field pattern which will typically be excited in the second multi-mode resonator, as a result of the Z-mode excitation present in the first multi-mode resonator, is shown in FIG. 17(1).

Based upon the example field patterns shown in FIG. 17, it is possible to provide an approximate indication of the relative coupling strengths which could, typically, be achieved, with the coupling aperture arrangement shown in this figure, for the three main supported modes in cubic first and second multi-mode resonators. Such an indicative summary is provided in Table 2, below. Specifically, this shows the coupling which may be achieved when using only narrow, horizontally-oriented coupling apertures (or ‘slots’), plus a central, circular, coupling aperture, as shown in the various diagrams which constitute FIG. 17. In a typical, triple-mode filter, for example, it would be normal to also include vertically-oriented coupling apertures, to provide strong H-field coupling to the Y-mode; when using horizontal apertures, no vertical apertures, and assuming that any central aperture is perfectly centred and perfectly symmetrical, then minimal or no Y-mode coupling would typically occur.

Table 2 assumes that a multi-mode cubic resonator is used to excite, by means of apertures located in its square face, a second cubic multi-mode resonator; both resonators having the aperture pattern shown in FIGS. 17(a) to (1) on their interfacing surfaces. With such an arrangement, and a suitable excitation device for the multi-mode cubic input resonator, for example a probe and a single-mode input resonator, as previously described, then field patterns similar to those shown in FIGS. 17(a) to (1) could be expected.

	TABLE 2
	First Multi-mode Resonator
	X-mode	Y-mode	Z-mode
	Resonator	Aperture	E-field	H-field	E-field	H-field	E-field	H-field
	Mode	(see FIG. 17)	coupling	coupling	coupling	coupling	coupling	coupling
Second	X-mode	Apertures 1711a	Weak (+)	Strong (−)	0	0	0	Strong (+)
Multi-		& 1711b
mode		Apertures 1712a	Weak (+)	Strong (−)	0	0	0	Strong (−)
Resonator		& 1712b
		Aperture 1720	Strong (+)	Weak (−)	0	0	0	0
	Y-mode	Apertures 1711a	0	0	0	Minimal	0	0
		& 1711b
		Apertures 1712a	0	0	0	Minimal	0	0
		& 1712b
		Aperture 1720	0	0	0	Strong (+)	0	0
	Z-mode	Apertures 1711a	0	Strong (−)	0	0	0	Strong (+)
		& 1711b
		Apertures 1712a	0	Strong (+)	0	0	0	Strong (+)
		& 1712b
		Aperture 1720	0	0	0	0	0	Strong (+)

Table 2 may be interpreted in a similar manner to Table 1, discussed previously. The X-mode of the first multi-mode resonator, for example, may be arranged to couple to the multiple modes which can be supported by the second multi-mode resonator, by means of both its E and H fields, as highlighted by the ‘X-mode’ vertical columns of Table 2. The coupling apertures are numbered according to the scheme shown in FIG. 17(a), so apertures 1711a and 1711b, for example, are the upper two apertures in that figure. Taking these as an example, it can be seen, from Table 2, that the E-field present in the first multi-mode resonator can weakly couple, with a ‘positive’ coupling, to the X-mode of the second multi-mode resonator via apertures 1711a and 1711b. Likewise the H-field present in the first multi-mode resonator can strongly couple, with a ‘negative’ coupling, to the X-mode of the second multi-mode resonator via apertures 1711a and 1711b. The overall resultant coupling from the weak ‘positive’ coupling, resulting from the E-field present in the first multi-mode resonator, and the strong ‘negative’ coupling, resulting from the H-field present in the first multi-mode resonator, is a fairly strong negative coupling, based upon the two coupling apertures 1711a and 1711b only. Further contributions to the X-mode present in the second multi-mode resonator will also result from apertures 1712a and 1712b and also the central aperture 1720, together with the H-field component of the Z-mode of the first multi-mode resonator (see the top part of the right-hand column of Table 2). As was the case in FIG. 5, the X-mode contribution from the first resonator, which is now a multi-mode resonator, coupled via apertures 1712a and 1712b will, in effect, further strengthen the ‘negative’ signed coupling arising via from apertures 1711a and 1711b, as will the Z-mode contribution from the first resonator to the X-mode of the second resonator, which couples via apertures 1712a and 1712b, however aperture 1720 will counter-act this with the addition of strong ‘positive’ E-field based coupling. The resultant overall coupling to the X-mode of the second resonator will therefore depend, in part, upon how strong this positive coupling from aperture 1720 to the X-mode of the second resonator, via apertures 1712a and 1712b, is designed to be. The final outcome is a matter of design choice, depending upon the particular filter specification to be achieved.

A further example, which is worth highlighting, is that of coupling to the Y-mode in the second resonator, from the various modes in the first resonator. In a typical design, as has already been discussed, both horizontally-oriented and vertically-oriented coupling apertures would be employed, with the role of the latter being typically to provide coupling primarily to the Y-mode. However in this example, as shown in FIG. 17, only horizontally-oriented apertures are employed, plus a central, circular, aperture; coupling to the Y-mode in the second multi-mode resonator can therefore be seen (from table 2) to arise predominantly from the central coupling aperture 1720 and, more specifically, predominantly from the H-field contribution of the Y-mode present in the first multi-mode resonator. In effect, the central coupling aperture 1720 is the only aperture which has a significant extent in the vertical direction, with all of the remaining apertures being assumed to be thin, and hence having a minimal extent in the vertical direction.

It is worth noting that, as in Table 1, the zero (“0”) entries shown in Table 2 are illustrative of the fact that very minimal levels of coupling are likely to result, from the relevant combination of circumstances which gives rise to that particular entry; a zero (“0”) entry does not necessarily imply that no excitation whatsoever will occur to that mode, by the relevant combination of circumstances which gives rise to that particular zero entry.

FIG. 18 shows an example structure for a multi-resonator, multi-mode filter. Note that this figure omits the excitation and extraction mechanisms which would typically be required to connect to the input resonator 1830 and the output resonator 1860, respectively. Such mechanisms include probes, patches and the like. The use of probes, as an example, will be discussed further with reference to FIG. 19, below.

The structure illustrated in FIG. 18 consists of four adjacent resonators. A first resonator 1830 is typically a single-mode resonator or a multi-mode resonator within which only a single mode is excited; this single mode is typically the X-mode, although any suitable mode could be chosen. The second resonator, 1840, is, in this example, a resonator capable of supporting multiple modes simultaneously. Single-mode resonator 1830 is coupled to multi-mode resonator 1840 by means of aperture 1800. The shape of aperture 1800 and the fact that it is a single, continuous, aperture are both non-critical aspects in the operation and use of this structure and are shown merely by way of example; any suitable aperture arrangement and, specifically any of the aperture shapes and arrangements shown in any of FIGS. 1 to 10, 13 and 17 may be used for any of the coupling apertures 1800, 1810, 1820 shown in FIG. 18.

Multiple modes contained within multi-mode resonator 1840 may be coupled to multiple modes within resonator 1850 via aperture 1810. Finally, multiple modes contained within multi-mode resonator 1850 may be coupled to a single mode, typically the X-mode, although any suitable mode may be used, in single-mode resonator 1860. Energy contained within single-mode resonator 1860 may then be extracted by any suitable means, for example a probe, to form the output signal of the filter. It should be noted that each of the resonators 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 will typically be surrounded, individually, by a metallised layer, as discussed previously in relation to this invention, with the apertures being formed in that layer by an absence of metallisation at the locations shown, as an example, in FIG. 18; metallisation is only shown, however on the surfaces containing the apertures, for clarity.

The operation of apertures 1800 and 1820 will typically follow the principles outlined in relation to FIG. 5 and Table 1, above, in order to realise multi-mode excitation in multi-mode resonator 1840 and multi-mode energy extraction from multi-mode resonator 1850. Note that the same principles will typically also apply to the vertical segment of aperture 1800, for example, although only the operation of the horizontal segments was discussed in relation to FIG. 5 and Table 1. An analogous situation also exists in regard to the operation of the vertical segment of aperture 1820.

Likewise, the operation of aperture 1810 will typically follow the principles outlined in relation to FIG. 17 and Table 2, above, in order to realise multi-mode excitation in multi-mode resonator 1850, based upon the multiple modes present in multi-mode resonator 1840. Note that, here again, the same principles will typically also apply to the vertical segments of aperture 1810, although only the operation of the horizontal segments was discussed in relation to FIG. 17 and Table 2.

FIG. 19 illustrates the use of a single-mode resonator 1970 as a means for enabling multiple-modes to be coupled from a multi-mode resonator 1950 and a means for enabling multiple-modes to be coupled to a multi-mode resonator 1960. This figure also illustrates the use of probes 1200, 1910, as a means for inputting signals into the overall filter structure and extracting energy from the overall filter structure. The operation of probes, in this context, has already been described in relation to FIG. 13 and will not be discussed further here.

The operation of coupling resonator 1970 may be explained simply in the following way. Coupling resonator 1970 acts as an output single mode resonator to multi-mode resonator 1950 and, simultaneously, as an input single-mode resonator to multi-mode resonator 1960. The coupling mechanisms and modes which are coupled, taking place between multi-mode resonator 1950 and single-mode resonator 1970, are similar to those previously discussed as operating between, for example, multi-mode resonator 110 and output single-mode resonator 200 in FIG. 6 or between, for example, multi-mode resonator 110 and output single-mode resonator 200 in FIG. 13a. Likewise, the coupling mechanisms and modes which are coupled, taking place between coupling resonator 1970 and multi-mode resonator 1960, are similar to those previously discussed as operating between, for example, input single-mode resonator 190 and multi-mode resonator 110 in FIG. 6 or between, for example, input single-mode resonator 190 and multi-mode resonator 110 in FIG. 13a.

Typically coupling resonator 1970 supports its X-mode, as its single mode of resonance, however any other suitable mode could be chosen, which could support being excited or have energy coupled from it, by means of one or more apertures as described herein.

An advantage of adding a single-mode resonator, as a coupling mechanism between two multi-mode resonators, is that it can enable better control to be achieved of the degree of coupling from and to the multiple modes in the multi-mode resonators. This advantage may arise due to the energy extracted from a given mode in a first multi-mode resonator not needing to directly influence the equivalent energy coupled to a corresponding mode in a second-multi-mode resonator. Differing coupling aperture shapes, sizes, orientations and locations may be used for coupling apertures 1920, as for coupling apertures 1930, thereby typically decoupling the two multi-mode resonator's modes from one another.

FIG. 20 illustrates an alternative example of the use of coupling apertures 2040 for multi-mode to multi-mode direct coupling, between two multi-mode resonators 2050, 2060, forming a filter. In this example, the first resonator is excited by means of a coupling track 2020, which is, in turn, fed from an input track 2000. Likewise, the second resonator has energy extracted from it by means of a second coupling track 2070, which connects to an output track 2030. The input coupling track 2020 is designed in such a manner that it is capable of providing controlled excitation of multiple modes in parallel. Likewise, the output coupling track 2070 is designed in such a manner that it is capable of extracting controlled amounts of the energy contained in the multiple modes present in the resonator 2060, in parallel. The form of coupling tracks which may be used to provide such multi-mode coupling is described in co-pending applications, filed at the US Patent Office, with application numbers: U.S. Ser. No. 13/488,059 and U.S. Ser. No. 13/488,123. These applications are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by reference.

The coupling aperture or apertures 2040 may take any of the forms discussed earlier in this disclosure or any other form which falls within the principles outlined in this disclosure. In such form, the coupling apertures can provide multi-mode to multi-mode coupling between the two resonators 2050, 2060, irrespective of the fact that, in the case of FIG. 20, the first resonator 2050 is excited by means of a coupling track 2020 and the second resonator 2060 utilises a coupling track 2070 as a means of extracting energy from its various modes, in parallel. In other words, the method of excitation of the multiple modes in the first resonator 2050 and the method of extracting energy from the various modes of the second resonator 2060 are largely irrelevant to the use of apertures as a coupling mechanism between the resonators.

All of the examples shown and discussed so far have been in the form of linear cascades of dielectric resonators. It is not, however, essential that all embodiments of a multi-mode filter, according to the present invention, are arranged as a linear cascade. Multiple modes within a multi-mode resonator can typically be excited via any one of a number of faces, or any face, of the multi-mode resonator, by the provision of one or more suitably-designed apertures on that face or faces and the provision of a suitable electromagnetic field adjacent to the apertures, to provide the source of the excitation. As an example of an alternative arrangement, to illustrate this general principle, FIG. 21 shows a three-resonator filter with input and output coupling resonators 190, 200, appearing on perpendicular faces of a multi-mode resonator 110. This is an analogous configuration to that shown earlier in FIG. 13(a). An arrangement of resonators, such as that shown in FIG. 21, may typically be advantageous in a duplexer application, since such an arrangement could allow the transmit and receive ports to be spatially separated to the maximum degree possible, for a given number of resonators employed within each of the transmit and receive filters.

Note that, as in FIG. 13(a) most of the metallisation surrounding the resonators has been omitted in FIG. 21, to enable the various coupling apertures and the basic structure of the multi-resonator filter to be seen more clearly. A practical filter would typically feature metallisation substantially covering all faces of each of the resonators forming the filter, with metallisation removed or omitted to form the apertures.

The operation of the filter shown in FIG. 21 is analogous to that of FIG. 13a, although the precise design of the aperture shape or shapes, sizes, orientations or locations on the input face 2130 of the multi-mode resonator 110 may be different. An input signal, connected to input probe 1200, can excite one or more modes in input resonator 190. The one or more modes present in input resonator 190 may, in turn, excite multiple modes within the multi-mode resonator 110, via one or more of apertures 2121a, 2121b and 2121c. The multiple modes present within the multi-mode resonator 110 may be extracted, via one or more of apertures 2122a, 2122b and 2122c and thereby excite one or more modes within output resonator 200. Finally, signals may be extracted from output resonator 200 by means of a probe (not shown) which is located in close proximity to, touches or penetrates the output face 2150 of the output resonator 200.

The above-described examples have focused on coupling to up to three modes. It will be appreciated this allows coupling to be to low order resonance modes of the resonator body. However, this is not essential, and additionally or alternatively coupling could be to higher order resonance modes of the resonator body.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous variations and modifications will become apparent. All such variations and modifications which become apparent to persons skilled in the art are considered to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention broadly appearing before described.

Claims

1. A multi-mode cavity filter, comprising: at least first and second dielectric resonator bodies, each of which incorporates a piece of dielectric material, the first piece of dielectric material having a shape such that it can support at least a first resonant mode and at least a second resonant mode that is substantially degenerate with the first resonant mode, and the second piece of dielectric material having a shape such that it can support at least a third resonant mode and at least a fourth resonant mode that is substantially degenerate with the third resonant mode;a layer of electrically conductive material in contact with and covering at least a surface of the first dielectric resonator body and a surface of the second dielectric resonator body;at least one aperture in the layer of electrically conductive material, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least first and second contiguous or separate portions, wherein the first portion is arranged to transfer signals from at least the first or second resonant mode in the first dielectric resonant body to at least the third or fourth resonant mode in the second dielectric resonant body and the second portion is arranged to transfer signals from at least the first or second resonant mode in the first dielectric resonant body to at least the third or fourth resonant mode in the second dielectric resonant body in parallel.

2. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the first and second portions comprise separate apertures of the at least one aperture, and the first portion is arranged to transfer signals from at least the first and second resonant modes in the first dielectric resonant body to at least the third and fourth resonant modes in the second dielectric resonant body, and/or the second portion is further arranged to transfer signals from at least the first and second resonant modes in the first dielectric resonant body to at least the third and fourth resonant modes in the second dielectric resonant body.

3. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein at least one aperture comprises an elongate aperture that is elongated along an axis substantially parallel with a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the elongate aperture.

4. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 3, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least a first aperture that is elongated along a first axis parallel with a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the first aperture and a second aperture that is elongated along a second axis parallel with a magnetic field of another of said modes at the location of the second aperture.

5. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture includes at least one elongate aperture that is elongated along an axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the elongate aperture.

6. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 5, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least a first aperture that is elongated along a first axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the first aperture and a second aperture that is elongated along a second axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of another of said modes at the location of the second aperture.

7. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein at least one aperture includes an elongate aperture that is elongated along an axis substantially parallel to another surface of the first or second resonator body.

8. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 7, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least a first aperture and a second aperture, wherein the first aperture is an elongate aperture that is elongated along a first axis substantially parallel to the another surface of the body and the second aperture is an elongate aperture that is elongated along a second axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis.

9. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 3, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body and the surface of the second dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;the at least one aperture includes at least one elongate aperture that is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong magnetic coupling zone; andthe strong magnetic coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies beyond a circle whose centre is a centroid of that surface and whose radius is 50% of the radius of the largest circle having a centre at the centroid that can be fitted on that surface.

10. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 3, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body and the surface of the second dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;the at least one aperture includes at least one elongate aperture that is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong magnetic coupling zone; andthe strong magnetic coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies beyond a regular polygon whose centre is a centroid of that surface, whose area is 50% of the area of that surface and which fits on that surface.

11. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 2, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body and the surface of the second dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;the at least one aperture includes at least a first elongate aperture and a second elongate aperture that is substantially perpendicular to the first elongate aperture;the first and second elongate apertures each pass through a centroid of at least one of the surfaces; andthe first and second elongate apertures each have a width that is not greater than 50% of the corresponding width of the surface.

12. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 2, wherein the at least one aperture includes or comprises at least one of a slot or other straight sided shape, an amorphous shape, a curved shape and a symmetrical shape.

13. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least an aperture having first and second limbs, the first limb is elongated along a first axis parallel with a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the first limb and the second limb is elongated along a second axis parallel with a magnetic field of another of said modes at the location of the second limb.

14. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least an aperture having first and second limbs, the first limb is elongated along a first axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the first limb and the second limb is elongated along a second axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of another of said modes at the location of the second limb.

15. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least an aperture having first and second limbs, the first limb is elongated along a first axis substantially parallel to another surface of the body and the second limb is elongated along a second axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis.

16. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the first and second portions comprise first and second limbs of an aperture, and wherein the first portion is arranged to transfer signals from at least the first and second resonant modes in the first dielectric resonant body to at least the third and fourth resonant modes in the second dielectric resonant body, and/or the second portion is further arranged to transfer signals from at least the first and second resonant modes in the first dielectric resonant body to at least the third and fourth resonant modes in the second dielectric resonant body.

17. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 13, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body and the surface of the second dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;at least one of said limbs is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong magnetic coupling zone; andthe strong magnetic coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies beyond a circle whose centre is a centroid of that surface and whose radius is 50% of the radius of the largest circle having a centre at the centroid that can be fitted on that surface.

18. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 13, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body and the surface of the second dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;at least one of said limbs is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong magnetic coupling zone; andthe strong magnetic coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies beyond a regular polygon whose centre is a centroid of that surface, whose area is 50% of area of that surface, and which fits on that surface.

19. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 13, wherein at least one of said limbs is one of a slot or other straight sided shape, an amorphous shape, a curved shape and a symmetrical shape.

20. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture comprises an aperture for coupling simultaneously to at least two of said modes.

21. A multi-mode filter according to claim 20 wherein the aperture comprises an elongate aperture oriented at an angle such that at least one of the magnetic field and the electric field propagating through said elongate aperture has a first Cartesian component aligned with the respective magnetic field or electric field of the first or third mode and a second Cartesian component aligned with the respective magnetic field or electric field of the second or fourth mode.

22. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body and the surface of the second dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;the at least one aperture is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong electric coupling zone; andthe strong electric coupling zone is a part of the face that lies within a circle whose centre is a centroid of at least one of the surfaces and whose radius is 50% of the radius of the largest circle having a centre at the centroid that can be fitted on that surface.

23. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body and the surface of the second dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;the at least one aperture is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong electric coupling zone; andthe strong electric coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies within a regular polygon whose centre is a centroid of at least one of the surfaces, whose area is 50% of area of that surface, and which fits on that surface.

24. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, further comprising a first cavity resonator for coupling electric and magnetic fields into the multi-mode resonator.

25. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 24, wherein the first cavity resonator is provided with a probe for feeding a signal into the first cavity resonator.

26. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, further comprising a second cavity resonator for coupling electric and magnetic fields out of the multi-mode resonator via the at least one aperture or via a further aperture located on another surface of one of the first and second resonator bodies.

27. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 26, wherein the second cavity resonator is provided with a probe for extracting a signal from the second cavity resonator.

28. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein each of a plurality of said modes provides a respective individual pass band in the filter's frequency response, said individual pass bands merge into a continuous pass band in said frequency response and the continuous pass band spans a greater range of frequencies than the largest of said individual pass bands.

29. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or second resonator body additionally supports at least one further resonant mode that is substantially degenerate with at least one of the other modes.

30. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the first body is adjacent to the surface of the second body, and wherein the at least one aperture is located in the part of the electrically conductive layer that is adjacent to the surfaces.

31. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive layer covers one or more other surfaces of the first and/or second resonator body.

32. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein the surface of first dielectric resonator body and the surface of the second dielectric resonator body are substantially planar.

33. A multi-mode cavity filter, comprising: at least first, second and third dielectric resonator bodies, each of which incorporates a piece of dielectric material;at least one layer of electrically conductive material in contact with and covering at least a surface of the first dielectric resonator body, a surface of the second dielectric resonator body and a surface of the third dielectric resonator body;at least two apertures in the at least one layer of electrically conductive material, wherein the first dielectric resonator has a shape such that it can support at least a first resonant mode and at least a second substantially degenerate resonant mode, the second dielectric resonator is arranged to support only a third resonant mode which is substantially degenerate with the first resonant mode and the third dielectric resonator has a shape such that it can support at least a fourth resonant mode and a fifth resonant mode that is substantially degenerate with the fourth resonant mode; andwherein at least one aperture is arranged to transfer signals from at least one of the first resonant mode and the second resonant mode in the first dielectric resonant body to the third resonant mode in the second dielectric resonant body, and the second aperture is arranged to transfer signals from the third resonant mode in the second dielectric resonant body to at least one of the fourth resonant mode and the fifth resonant mode in the third dielectric resonant body.

34. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the first portion comprises separate apertures and is arranged to transfer signals from at least the first and second resonant modes in the first dielectric resonant body to the third resonant mode in the second dielectric resonant body, and/or the second portion comprises separate apertures and is arranged to transfer signals from the third resonant mode in the second dielectric resonant body to at least the fourth and fifth resonant modes in the third dielectric resonant body.

35. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein at least one aperture comprises an elongate aperture that is elongated along an axis substantially parallel with a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the elongate aperture.

36. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 35, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least a first aperture that is elongated along a first axis parallel with a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the first aperture and a second aperture that is elongated along a second axis parallel with a magnetic field of another of said modes at the location of the second aperture.

37. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the at least one aperture includes at least one elongate aperture that is elongated along an axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the elongate aperture.

38. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 37, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least a first aperture that is elongated along a first axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of one of said modes at the location of the first aperture and a second aperture that is elongated along a second axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of another of said modes at the location of the second aperture.

39. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein at least one aperture includes an elongate aperture that is elongated along an axis substantially parallel to another surface of the first, second or third resonator body.

40. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 39, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least a first aperture and a second aperture, wherein the first aperture is an elongate aperture that is elongated along a first axis substantially parallel to the another surface of the body and the second aperture is an elongate aperture that is elongated along a second axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis.

41. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 35, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body, the surface of second dielectric resonator body and the surface of the third dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;the at least one aperture includes at least one elongate aperture that is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong magnetic coupling zone; andthe strong magnetic coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies beyond a circle whose centre is a centroid of that surface and whose radius is 50% of the radius of the largest circle having a centre at the centroid that can be fitted on that surface.

42. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 35, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body, the surface of second dielectric resonator body and the surface of the third dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;the at least one aperture includes at least one elongate aperture that is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong magnetic coupling zone; andthe strong magnetic coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies beyond a regular polygon whose centre is a centroid of that surface, whose area is 50% of the area of that surface and which fits on that surface.

43. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 34, wherein the at least one aperture includes or comprises at least one of a slot or other straight sided shape, an amorphous shape, a curved shape and a symmetrical shape.

44. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least an aperture having first and second limbs, the first limb is elongated along a first axis parallel with a magnetic field of one of said modes and the second limb is elongated along a second axis parallel with a magnetic field of another of said modes.

45. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least an aperture having first and second limbs, the first limb is elongated along a first axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of one of said modes and the second limb is elongated along a second axis non-parallel with, but not perpendicular to, a magnetic field of another of said modes.

46. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least an aperture having first and second limbs, the first limb is elongated along a first axis substantially parallel to another surface of one of the first, second and third resonator bodies and the second limb is elongated along a second axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis.

47. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the first portion comprises a plurality of limbs of an aperture and is arranged to transfer signals from at least the first and second resonant modes in the first dielectric resonant body to the third resonant mode in the second dielectric resonant body, and/or the second portion comprises a plurality of limbs of an aperture and is arranged to transfer signals from the third resonant mode in the second dielectric resonant body to at least the fourth and fifth resonant modes in the third dielectric resonant body.

48. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 44, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body, the surface of second dielectric resonator body and the surface of the third dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;at least one of said limbs is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong magnetic coupling zone; andthe strong magnetic coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies beyond a circle whose centre is a centroid of that surface and whose radius is 50% of the radius of the largest circle having a centre at the centroid that can be fitted on that surface.

49. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 44, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body, the surface of second dielectric resonator body and the surface of the third dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;at least one of said limbs is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong magnetic coupling zone; andthe strong magnetic coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies beyond a regular polygon whose centre is a centroid of that surface, whose area is 50% of area of that surface, and which fits on that surface.

50. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 44, wherein at least one of said limbs is one of a slot or other straight sided shape, an amorphous shape, a curved shape and a symmetrical shape.

51. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the at least one aperture comprises an aperture for coupling simultaneously to at least two of said modes.

52. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body, the surface of second dielectric resonator body and the surface of the third dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;the at least one aperture is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong electric coupling zone; andthe strong electric coupling zone is a part of the face that lies within a circle whose centre is a centroid of at least one of the surfaces and whose radius is 50% of the radius of the largest circle having a centre at the centroid that can be fitted on that surface.

53. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein: the surface of the first dielectric resonator body, the surface of second dielectric resonator body and the surface of the third dielectric resonator body are substantially planar;the at least one aperture is located such that 80% of its area is in a strong electric coupling zone; andthe strong electric coupling zone is a part of at least one of the surfaces that lies within a regular polygon whose centre is a centroid of at least one of the surfaces, whose area is 50% of area of that surface, and which fits on that surface.

54. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, further comprising a first cavity resonator for coupling electric and magnetic fields into the multi-mode resonator.

55. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 54, wherein the first cavity resonator is provided with a probe for feeding a signal into the first cavity resonator.

56. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, further comprising a second cavity resonator for coupling electric and magnetic fields out of the multi-mode resonator via the at least one aperture or via a further aperture located on another surface of one of the first, second and third resonator bodies.

57. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 56, wherein the second cavity resonator is provided with a probe for extracting a signal from the second cavity resonator.

58. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein each of a plurality of said modes provides a respective individual pass band in the filter's frequency response, said individual pass bands merge into a continuous pass band in said frequency response and the continuous pass band spans a greater range of frequencies than the largest of said individual pass bands.

59. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the first and/or third resonator body supports at least one further mode that is substantially degenerate with at least one of the other modes.

60. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the electrically conductive layer covers one or more other surfaces of the first, second and/or third resonator body.

61. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the surface of first dielectric resonator body and the surface of the second dielectric resonator body are substantially planar.

62. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein the electrically conductive layer includes a first portion adjacent to the surface of the first resonator body and the surface of the second resonator body, and a second portion adjacent to the surface of the third resonator body and a further surface of the second resonator body.

63. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 62, wherein the at least one aperture comprises at least one aperture in the first portion of the electrically conductive layer and at least one aperture in the second portion of the electrically conductive layer.

64. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 1, wherein two or more of the first, second, third and fourth resonant modes are resonant at substantially the same frequency.

65. A multi-mode cavity filter according to claim 33, wherein two or more of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth resonant modes are resonant at substantially the same frequency.