This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-274327, filed on Oct. 5, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses consistent with this invention relate to a reflection-type bandpass filter for use in ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless data communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
As technology of the related art, for example, the technology disclosed in the following references 1 through 12 is known.
Reference 1: Specification of U.S. Pat. No. 2,411,555
Reference 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 56-64501
Reference 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 9-172318
Reference 4: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 9-232820
Reference 5: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 10-65402
Reference 6: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 10-242746
Reference 7: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-4108
Reference 8: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-101301
Reference 9: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-43810
Reference 10: K. W. Tan and S. Uysal, “Analysis and design of conductor-backed asymmetric coplanar wave-guide lines using conformal mapping techniques and their application to end-coupled filters,” IEICE Trans. Electron., vol. E82-C, no. 7, pp. 1098-1103, 1999.
Reference 11: A. V. Oppenheim and R. W. Schafer, “Discrete-time signal processing,” pp. 465-478, Prentice Hall, 1998.
Reference 12: G-B. Xiao, K. Yashiro, N. Guan, and S. Ohokawa, “An effective method for designing nonuniformly coupled transmission-line filters,” IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 49, pp. 1027-1031, June 2001.
However, some bandpass filters proposed in the related art do not satisfy the FCC specifications, due to manufacturing tolerances or other reasons.
Further, in a bandpass filter of the related art, surface waves arising from undesirable slot line modes are excited when the ground potentials on the two sides are different, and so the need arises to provide an air bridge between the grounds on the two sides, and the device becomes susceptible to external influences (see Reference 10).
Exemplary embodiments of this invention were devised in light of the above circumstances, and have, as an exemplary object, the provision of a high-performance UWB reflection-type bandpass filter which is not susceptible to external influences, and which satisfies FCC specifications.
By using a UWB reflection-type bandpass filter consistent with exemplary embodiments of this invention, U.S. Federal Communications Commission requirements for spectrum masks can be satisfied.
This invention provides a reflection-type bandpass filter for ultra-wideband wireless data communication, comprising a substrate. The substrate comprises a dielectric layer and a ground layer deposited on one surface of the dielectric layer. A center conductor and a side conductor are provided on a surface of the dielectric layer opposite the ground layer, and there is a prescribed distance between conductors with a non-conducting portion intervening therebetween. A center conductor width or a distance between conductors, or both, are distributed non-uniformly along a length direction of the center conductor.
According to one exemplary embodiment, a distance between conductors is constant, and that the center conductor width is distributed non-uniformly.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the center conductor width is constant, and the distance between conductors is distributed non-uniformly.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the center conductor width is distributed symmetrically with respect to the center line of the center conductor.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the width of the non-conducting portion is distributed symmetrically with respect to the center line of the non-conducting portion.
According to another exemplary embodiment, one or both of the opposing side edges of the two conductors are made a straight line.
According to another exemplary embodiment, there is a difference of 10 dB or higher between the reflectance in the ranges of frequencies f for which f<3.1 GHz and f>10.6 GHz, and the reflectance in the range of frequencies 3.7 GHz≦f≦10.0 GHz, and in the range 3.7 GHz≦f≦10.0 GHz the group delay variation is within ±0.05 ns.
According to another exemplary embodiment, there is a difference of 10 dB or higher between the reflectance in the ranges of frequencies f for which f<3.1 GHz and f>10.6 GHz, and the reflectance in the range of frequencies 3.9 GHz≦f≦9.8 GHz, and in the range 3.9 GHz≦f≦9.8 GHz the group delay variation is within ±0.07 ns.
According to another exemplary embodiment, there is a difference of 10 dB or higher between the reflectance in the ranges of frequencies f for which f<3.1 GHz and f>10.6 GHz, and the reflectance in the range of frequencies 4.5 GHz≦f≦9.4 GHz, and in the range 4.5 GHz≦f≦9.4 GHz the group delay variation is within ±0.07 ns.
According to another exemplary embodiment, there is a difference of 10 dB or higher between the reflectance in the ranges of frequencies f for which f<3.1 GHz and f>10.6 GHz, and the reflectance in the range of frequencies 3.7 GHz≦f≦10.0 GHz, and in the range 3.7 GHz≦f≦10.0 GHz the group delay variation is within ±0.1 ns.
According to another exemplary embodiment, there is a difference of 10 dB or higher between the reflectance in the ranges of frequencies f for which f<3.1 GHz and f>10.6 GHz, and the reflectance in the range of frequencies 4.4 GHz≦f≦9.2 GHz, and in the range 4.4 GHz≦f≦9.2 GHz the group delay variation is within ±0.05 ns.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the characteristic impedance Zc of the input terminal transmission line is in the range 10Ω≦Zc≦300Ω.
According to another exemplary embodiment, a resistance having the same impedance as the above characteristic impedance value, or a non-reflecting terminator, is provided on the terminating side.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the center conductor and the side conductor comprise metal plates of thickness equal to or greater than the skin depth at f=1 GHz.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the dielectric layer is of thickness h in the range 0.1 mm≦h≦10 mm, that the relative permittivity ∈r be is the range 1≦∈r≦100, that the width W is in the range 2 mm≦W≦100 mm, and the length L be is the range 2 mm≦L≦500 mm.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the length-direction distributions of the center conductor width and of the distance between conductors are set using a design method based on the inverse problem of deriving the potential from spectral data in the Zakharov-Shabat equation.
According to another exemplary embodiment, a window function method is used to set the length-direction distributions of the center conductor width and of the distance between conductors.
According to another exemplary embodiment, a Kaiser window function method is used to set the length-direction distributions of the center conductor width and of the distance between conductors.
By means of a reflection-type bandpass filter of exemplary embodiments of this invention, by applying a window function method to design a reflection-type bandpass filter comprising a non-uniform microstrip line, an extremely wide pass band and extremely small variation of the group delay within the pass band compared with filters of the prior art can be achieved, even when manufacturing tolerances are large. As a result, a UWB bandpass filter which satisfies FCC specifications can be provided.
Further, by means of a reflection-type bandpass filter of exemplary embodiments of this invention, even when the ground potentials on the two sides are different, surface wave excitation due to slot line modes is minimal, so that there is no need to provide an air bridge, and stable filter characteristics which are not easily affected by external influences can be obtained.
The reflection-type bandpass filter 1 of this aspect comprises a substrate 2 having a dielectric layer 3 and a ground layer 4 deposited on one surface thereof, a center conductor 5 provided on the surface of the substrate 2 on the side of the dielectric layer 3, and a side conductor 7 provided on one side of the center conductor 5 securing a prescribed distance between conductors with a non-conducting portion 6 intervening; the filter has a non-uniform micro-coplanar strip line, with the center conductor width or the distance between conductors, or both, distributed non-uniformly along the center conductor length direction.
As shown in
A reflection-type bandpass filter of exemplary embodiments of this invention adopts a configuration in which stop band rejection (the difference between the reflectance in the pass band, and the reflectance in the stop band) may be increased, by using a window function method (see Reference 11 with respect to a window function) employed in digital filter design. By this means, instead of expansion of the transition frequency region (the region between the pass band boundary and the stop band boundary), the stop band rejection can be increased. As a result, manufacturing tolerances can be increased. Also, variation in the group delay within the pass band may be decreased.
The transmission line of a reflection-type bandpass filter 1 of exemplary embodiments of this invention can be represented by a non-uniformly distributed constant circuit such as in
From
Here L(z) and C(z) are the inductance and capacitance respectively per unit length in the transmission line. Here, the function of equation (2) is introduced.
Here Z(z)=√{square root over ( )}{L(z)/C(z)} is the local characteristic impedance, and φ1, φ2 are the power wave amplitudes propagating in the +z and −z directions respectively.
Substitution into equation (1) yields equation (3).
Here c(z)=1/√{L(z)/C(z)}. If the time factor is set to exp(jωt), and a variable transformation is performed as in equation (4) below, then the Zakharov-Shabat equation of equation (5) is obtained.
Here q(x) is as given by equation (6) below.
The Zakharov-Shabat inverse problem involves synthesizing the potential q(x) from spectral data which is a solution satisfying the above equations (see Reference 12 with respect to the Zakharov-Shabat inverse problem). If the potential q(x) is found, the local characteristic impedance Z(x) is determined as in equation (7) below.
Here, normally in a process to determine the potential q(x), the reflectance coefficient r(x) in x space is calculated from the spectra data reflectance coefficient R(ω) using the following equation (8), and q(x) are obtained from r(x).
In this invention, in place of obtaining r(x) from the R(ω) for ideal spectral data, a window function is applied as in equation (9) to determine r′(x).
r′(x)=w(x)r(x). (equation 9)
Here ω(x) is the window function. If the window function is selected appropriately, the stop band rejection level can be appropriately controlled. Here, a Kaiser window is used as an example. The Kaiser window is defined as in equation (10) below.
Here α=M/s, and β is determined empirically as in equation (11) below.
Here A=−20 log10δ. where δ is the peak approximation error in the pass band and in the stop band.
In this way q(x) is determined, and from equation (7) the local characteristic impedance Z(x) is determined.
Here, when either the width w of the center conductor 5 (hereafter the “center conductor width w”) or the distance between the center conductor 5 and side conductor 7 (hereafter the “distance between conductors s”), or both, are changed in the micro-coplanar strip line of this invention, the local characteristic impedance can be changed (see Reference 10).
In this invention, the center conductor width w or distance between conductors s was calculated based on the local characteristic impedance obtained from equation (7), and bandpass filters 1 were fabricated so as to satisfy the calculated center conductor width w or distance between conductors s. By this means, reflection-type bandpass filters 1 having the desired pass band were obtained.
By applying the window function method to design reflection-type bandpass filters comprising a non-uniform microstrip, an extremely wide pass band and extremely small variation of group delay within the pass band compared with bandpass filters of the prior art can be achieved, even when manufacturing tolerances are large. As a result, a UWB bandpass filter which satisfies FCC specifications can be provided.
Further, by means of a reflection-type bandpass filter of exemplary embodiments of this invention, even when the ground potentials on the two sides are different, there is reduced excitation of surface waves due to slot line modes, susceptibility to external influences can be reduced, and stable filter characteristics can be obtained.
Moreover, by providing a ground layer in the substrate, the mechanical strength is reinforced and the power handling performance and ease of MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits) circuit integration can be improved, and in addition coupling performance with other slot lines and microstrip lines can be improved.
Below, exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in further detail. Each of the embodiments described below is merely illustrative of the invention, and the invention is not limited to the descriptions of these embodiments.
A Kaiser window was used for which the reflectance is 1 at frequencies f in the range 3.4 GHz≦f≦10.3 GHz, and is 0 elsewhere, and for which A=30. Design was performed using one wavelength of signals at frequency f=1 GHz propagating in the micro-coplanar strip as the waveguide length, and setting the system characteristic impedance to 50Ω. Here, the characteristic impedance may be set so as to match the impedance of the system being used. In general, in a circuit which handles high-frequency signals, a system impedance of 50 Ω, 75Ω, 300Ω, or similar is used. It is desirable that the characteristic impedance Zc be in the range 10Ω≦Zc≦300Ω. If the characteristic impedance is smaller than 10Ω, then losses due to the conductor and dielectric become comparatively large. If the characteristic impedance is higher than 300Ω, matching with the system impedance may not be possible.
A Kaiser window was used for which the reflectance is 1 at frequencies f in the range 3.4 GHz≦f≦10.3 GHz, and is 0 elsewhere, and for which A=30. Design was performed using 0.5 wavelength of signals at frequency f=1 GHz propagating in the micro-coplanar strip as the waveguide length, and setting the system characteristic impedance to 50Ω.
A Kaiser window was used for which the reflectance is 1 at frequencies f in the range 3.7 GHz≦f≦10.1 GHz, and is 0 elsewhere, and for which A=30. Design was performed using 0.3 wavelength of signals at frequency f=1 GHz propagating in the micro-coplanar strip as the waveguide length, and setting the system characteristic impedance to 50Ω.
A Kaiser window was used for which the reflectance is 1 at frequencies f in the range 3.4 GHz≦f≦10.3 GHz, and is 0 elsewhere, and for which A=30. Design was performed using 0.7 wavelength of signals at frequency f=1 GHz propagating in the micro-coplanar strip as the waveguide length, and setting the system characteristic impedance to 75Ω.
A Kaiser window was used for which the reflectance is 0.9 at frequencies f in the range 4.0 GHz≦f≦9.6 GHz, and is 0 elsewhere, and for which A=30. Design was performed using 0.3 wavelength of signals at frequency f=1 GHz propagating in the micro-coplanar strip as the waveguide length, and setting the system characteristic impedance to 50Ω.
In the above, exemplary embodiments of the invention have been explained; but the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Various additions, omissions, substitutions, and other modifications to the configuration can be made, without deviating from the gist of the invention. The invention is not limited by the above explanation, but is limited only by the scope of the attached claims.
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