The design of a circular-shaped differential wideband band pass filter (BPF) is described. The proposed filter is compact and provides good common mode (CM) suppression. It consists of four ports with a circular-shaped differential mode (DM). The analysis of the filter has been carried out by bisecting it into identical two-port networks along the symmetry plane, resulting in a band stop or band pass response under CM or DM excitations, respectively. The length and width of the stubs can be tuned to obtain the desired pass band and stop band of the differential BPF. The proposed design is fabricated and measured. The results obtained using measurements are in close agreement with those obtained using simulations.

This article presented a compact bandpass filter with wide-stopband performance. Two substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavities and a short-circuited coplanar line introduced between the two cavities are used to realize a compact third-order bandpass filter. The passband is generated by combining the resonant frequency of TE101 mode of the SIW cavities and the fundamental resonant frequency of the short-circuited coplanar line. The size of the proposed filter reduces significantly in comparison with conventional third-order SIW filters. Moreover, the center frequency (CF) and the bandwidth of the filter can be controlled by adjusting the structural parameters of the filter. In addition, the first higher-order mode TE102 of the SIW cavity is suppressed by minimizing the coupling of TE102 mode in order to obtain wide-stopband performance. The proposed filter is designed, fabricated, and measured, and the simulation and measurement results show a good agreement. The filter exhibits compact size, low loss, and a rejection higher than 20 dB up to 1.94f0.

The paper presents a highly efficient GaN-based synchronous buck converter suitable for switching in the lower GHz range. The module includes a very compact 2-stage GaN half-bridge converter MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) for low parasitic inductances between switches and drivers and a hybrid output network with core-less inductors to avoid ferrite losses. At 1 GHz switching frequency the buck converter achieves with pulse-width modulated (PWM) input signals power loop conversion efficiencies up to 78% for 40 V operation and output voltages up to 33 V. For 100 MHz the power loop efficiencies peak at 87.5% for 14.5 W conversion to 25 V. By changing the output network to a 2nd order low-pass with 700 MHz cut-off frequency the module has been characterized for the use as a supply modulator in very broadband envelope tracking systems with modulation bandwidths of up to 500 MHz. For 1 GHz switching frequency the power-added efficiency peaks at 74% for a 90% duty-cycle PWM input signal. The novelty of this work is that for the first time a buck converter design proves highest flexibility supporting different applications from very compact DC converters to microwave power amplifier efficiency enhancement techniques as well as efficient high frequency switching up to 1 GHz.

High-order sub-harmonically injection-locked oscillators have recently been proposed for low phase-noise frequency generation, with carrier-selection capabilities. Though excellent experimental behavior has been demonstrated, the analysis/simulation of these circuits is demanding, due to the high ratio between the oscillation frequency and the frequency of the input source. This work provides an analysis methodology that covers the main aspects of the circuit behavior, including the detection of the locking bands and the prediction of the phase-noise spectral density. Initially, the oscillator in the presence of a multi-harmonic input source is described with a reduced-order envelope-domain formulation, at the oscillation frequency, based on an oscillator-admittance function extracted from harmonic-balance simulations. This allows deriving an expression for the oscillation phase shift with respect to the input source, and the average of this phase shift is shown to evolve continuously in the distinct synchronization bands obtained when varying a tuning voltage. This property can be used to detect the locking bands in circuit-level envelope-domain simulations, which, as shown here, can be done through different Fourier decompositions and sampling rates. The phase noise of the high-order sub-harmonic injection-locked oscillator under an arbitrary periodic input waveform is investigated in detail. The frequency response to the noise sources is described with a semi-analytical formulation, relying on the oscillator-admittance function in injection-locked conditions. The input noise is derived from the timing jitter of the injection source and the phase-noise response is shown to exhibit a low-pass characteristic, which initially follows the up-converted input noise and then the oscillator own noise sources. A method is proposed to identify the key parameters of the derived phase-noise spectrum from envelope-domain simulations. The various analysis methodologies have been applied to a prototype at 2.7 GHz at the sub-harmonic order N = 30 which has been manufactured and measured.

Different from traditional multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) radar, the frequency diverse array MIMO (FDA-MIMO) radar generates beampattern that is dependent on both range and angle, making it applicable for joint range–angle estimation of targets. In this paper, we propose a novel time reversal based FDA-MIMO (TR-FDA-MIMO) approach for target detection. Based on the time reversal theory, the TR-FDA-MIMO signal model is established, the TR transmitting–receiving and signal processing procedure are analyzed, and the resulting range–angle spectra for targets imaging are acquired by utilizing the multiple signal classification algorithm. Numerical simulations are carried out for both single and multiple targets cases. The imaging resolution and robustness to the noise of the proposed approach are investigated and results are compared with conventional FDA-MIMO radar. It turned out that by cooperating with TR, the performance of FDA-MIMO radar for target range–angle estimation is effectively enhanced, consequently improving its applicability in practical target-detecting cases.

We investigate the frequency diverse array (FDA) for joint radar and communication systems. The basic idea is to use the transmitter/receiver modules of the radar system for communication purpose during listening mode as a secondary function. The radar will be performing its routine functions during the active mode as a primary function. An FDA at the transmitter side will be used to produce an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed signal, which is proposed for the communication system. The directivity of the radar antenna, FDA in this case, provides an additional advantage to mitigate the interferences other than the Direction of Interest (DoI). The proposed technique allows two beampatterns to be transmitted sequentially from the same FDA structure. Due to the communication signal transmission in the mainlobe of the second beampattern, the bit error rate achieved in the mainlobe is better than the existing techniques using the sidelobe transmission for communications. At the receiver, both incoming signals of radar and communication will share a different spatial angle. Simulation results indicate the novelty of the idea to suppress the interferences in terms of DoI. Furthermore, we analyzed the signal-to-interference ratio and Cramer–Rao lower bounds for angle and range estimation for the proposed technique.

A new class of switchable bandpass filter using PIN diodes is presented in this paper. The design aims at achieving a multistate switchable bandpass filtering characteristics between the passbands centered at 2.4, 3.5, and 5.2 GHz. The proposed filter is designed by assembling two λg/2 open-ended and four short-ended λg/4 uniform impedance resonators. The open-ended resonator generates a fixed passband at 3.5 GHz, whereas the short-ended resonators loaded with PIN diodes are independently controlling the ON and OFF characteristics of the passband centered at 2.4 and 5.2 GHz. The transmission zeros around each passband are produced without employing any additional circuit. The filter sample is fabricated and tested for experimental verification. A good agreement has been observed between EM-simulated and measured results. The designed filter has a compact size of 0.20 λg × 0.15 λg at 2.4 GHz.

In this paper, a new design of an optoelectronic system for transient waveforms shaping, with a selection of rejected frequencies, is presented. The generation of short pulses is performed with several optoelectronic generators using photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) operating in linear switching mode and triggered via a laser pulse. With the appropriate number of generators, the system generates a spectrum ranging from 300 MHz to 3 GHz, with rejected frequencies at 900 MHz and 1.8 GHz. A PCSS characterization has been set up to determine the necessary parameters for the establishment of an optoelectronic generator model on Keysight Advanced Design System software (ADS). Experimental tests have been realized using measurement benches to compare the simulated and measured signals.

In this paper, a completely reconfigurable comb-line bandpass filter is presented. Due to the modularity, different standard coupling matrix topologies like the folded form, cascaded triplets, and the cul-de-sac form can be implemented and tested. Circuit-based coupling matrices like the extracted pole topology can easily be realized as well. Different types of input-/output- and cross-couplings can be examined before fabrication of a fixed filter set-up takes place. Furthermore, the proposed filter platform can be used to construct a diplexer. By using different heights of the inner and outer conductor of the coaxial resonators, arbitrary center frequencies in the range between 1 and 4 GHz can be realized. Various types of input couplings are available and proposed here to achieve bandwidths between 10 and 110 MHz. A variety of cross-coupling apertures able to realize transmission zeros are presented as well.

Two coaxial waveguide bend mode converters that transform coaxial transverse electromagnetic mode to TE11 coaxial waveguide mode are presented in this paper. Both converters are designed and optimized on the basis of the strictly derived mode coupling coefficients. Conversion efficiencies of both converters are over 99% and the power-handling capacities reach a gigawatt level. The combined dual-bend mode converter is fabricated and tested. The experimental results coincide well with the theoretical calculations and simulations, which demonstrates the feasibility of the designed converter.

In this paper, a differential microfluidic sensor and comparator based on a pair of microstrip lines loaded with dumbbell-shaped defected ground structure resonators is applied to the characterization of electrolyte concentration in samples of horse urine. Since variations in the total electrolyte content in urine may be indicative of certain pathologies, the interest is to use the device as a comparator, in order to determine changes in the electrolyte concentration as compared to a reference level. To validate the approach, we have made differential measurements of a set of urine samples with different electrolyte concentrations (which have been previously obtained by means of electrochemical methods). The obtained results correlate with the nominal electrolyte concentrations of the samples, thereby pointing out the potential of the approach as a low-cost pre-screening method (or complementary diagnosis system) to detect potential pathologies or diseases in horses and other animals.

Multiplexer design is a challenging task due to the high number of variables involved, raising the difficulty as the numbers of filters increase. Numerical computing tools provide a suitable environment to evaluate topologies and technologies before starting the long journey to the device. A direct scattering matrix solution for a star-junction multiplexer, based on the circuit theory, is presented in this work. The resulting star-junction matrix is introduced in a matrix system with the scattering matrix of each filter to evaluate the overall multiplexer response. This approach allows the acquisition of main multiplexer parameters like transmission, reflection, and cross-isolation response in a compact way, achieving a good starting point for the further full-wave optimization procedure. Furthermore, an approach for the design of a star-junction multiplexer is tackled based on the reflection coefficient phase. A triplexer under this interpretation is presented and evaluated using lumped elements.

This paper presents design of quintuple-mode wideband bandpass filters, implemented with off-centered perturbed metallic cylinders in a rectangular waveguide cavity. Three perturbation cylinders are placed at the bottom of the rectangular waveguide cavity, along with a pair of perpendicularly fed coaxial lines; excite five quasi-transverse magnetic modes to realize the desired passband. The height of the waveguide cavity and the shape of the perturbation cylinders are exploited to shift the resonant modes far away from the passband and achieve a good out-of-band rejection and sharp skirt selectivity. The filter operates at the center frequency of 2.68 GHz with a wide fractional bandwidth of 43%. The proposed filter is fabricated with aluminum. The measured and simulated results are in good agreement with each other.

This paper presents a high-efficiency linear GaN K-band transmitter for broadband high peak-average power ratio (PAPR) signals. A GaN MMIC 18.5–24 GHz three-stage power amplifier with over 4 W peak output power, 20 dB saturated gain, and 40% peak PAE is supply-modulated with a four-level discrete dynamic supply GaN MMIC. For 100 MHz signals with ${\rm PAPR}\gt 10\, {\rm dB}$, we demonstrate an average efficiency improvement from 14 to 20% with a simultaneous linearity improvement in noise power ratio (NPR) from 23 to 26 dB through a shaping function focused on gain linearization. For 250 MHz signal bandwidth, there is no observed degradation in NPR and the efficiency is improved by 5 percentage points. For discrete supply modulation, the switching transients between levels are experimentally investigated for wideband signals.

Microwave radars can be used to monitor the internal structure of the snowpack, delivering real-time and non-destructive measurements. Recently, the working principle of an innovative radar architecture able to identify some of the most important snowpack parameters, without external aids, has been demonstrated. A key point of this new architecture is the use of two independent receiving antennas, and one transmitting antenna. This paper presents a comparison between two different implementations, either based on one physical antenna miming two receiving antennas, or based directly on two physical receiving antennas. The different advantages and disadvantages of both solutions are discussed, highlighting the superior accuracy achieved by the implementation based on two physical receiving antennas. Then, this paper also presents the field results achieved by this type of radar architecture, on the grounds of a 5-day experimental campaign that took place in winter 2019 in the Italian Alps on dry snow. The comparison between the radar measurements and the ground truth (manual snowpit analysis, in terms of snowpack depth, dielectric constant, bulk density, and snow water equivalent) is provided. Overall, a root mean square error of around 3.5 cm, 0.05, 27 kg/m3, and 2.5 cm is achieved, respectively.

This paper reports a novel fourth-order quasi-elliptic bandpass filter (BPF) based on capacitive-loaded eighth-mode substrate integrated waveguide (CLEMSIW) cavities. The CLEMSIW cavity is constructed by the conventional eighth-mode SIW with two dielectric substrates and three metal layers; a metal via is employed to connect the middle and bottom metal layers. The middle metal layer achieves a large loading capacitance to shift the resonance frequency. The proposed filter is designed in a quadruple scheme, and two controllable finite-transmission zeros can be realized. For the demonstration, a prototype with a center frequency of 1 GHz and a fractional bandwidth of 10% was designed, fabricated, and measured. The measured results agree well with simulated ones. The proposed filter has advantages of ultra-compact size, high selectivity, and good stopband performances.

In this paper, a novel directional filter (DF) is proposed and implemented using substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology which exhibits the advantages of compact size and simple structure. The proposed DF is realized by two half mode substrate integrated waveguides (HMSIWs) and two substrate integrated circular cavity (SICC) resonators operating in the TM110 degenerate modes in which an aperture is utilized to realize the coupling between HMSIWs and SICCs. Two slotlines with appropriate dimensions, etched on the top and bottom planes, are utilized in order to control coupling strength between two cascaded SICC resonators. The proposed two-circular cavity SIW DF at 12.3 GHz is designed and fabricated with a normal printed circuit board process. Measured and simulated results indicate that the DF has a 3.25% bandwidth, and the return loss as well as isolation are better than 10.5 and 15 dB, respectively.