RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

1.0 Introduction to Filter

A filter is a network that provides perfect transmission for signal with frequencies in
certain passband region and infinite attenuation in the stopband regions. Such ideal
characteristics cannot be attained, and the goal of filter design is to approximate the ideal
requirements to within an acceptable tolerance. Filters are used in all frequency ranges
and are categorized into three main groups:
Low-pass filter (LPF) that transmit all signals between DC and some upper limit c
and attenuate all signals with frequencies above c.
High-pass filter (HPF) that pass all signal with frequencies above the cutoff value c
and reject signal with frequencies below c.
Band-pass filter (BPF) that passes signal with frequencies in the range of 1 to 2 and
reject frequencies outside this range. The complement to band-pass filter is the bandreject or band-stop filter.
In each of these categories the filter can be further divided into active and passive type.
The output power of passive filter will always be less than the input power while active
filter allows power gain. In this lab we will only discuss passive filter. The characteristic
of a passive filter can be described using the transfer function approach or the attenuation
function approach. In low frequency circuit the transfer function (H()) description is
used while at microwave frequency the attenuation function description is preferred.
Figure 1.1a to Figure 1.1c show the characteristics of the three filter categories. Note that
the characteristics shown are for passive filter.
|
H(
1 )|

Transfe
r
functio
n

V1

0
3
1
02
03
0
4
0

(
)

A
Filter

HH()

Attenuation
/dB

V2
(
)

V2
V1

V2
V1

Attenuation 20 Log 10

Figure 1.1A A low-pass filter frequency response.

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

|
H(
1 )| Transfe
r
functio
n

0
3
1
02
03
0
4
0

Attenuation
/dB

Figure 1.1B A high-pass filter frequency response.

|
H(
1 )|
Transfe
r
functio
n

0
3
1
02
03

Attenuation
/dB

0
4
0

Figure 1.1C A band-pass filter frequency response.

2.0 Realization of Filters
At frequency below 1.0GHz, filters are usually implemented using lumped elements such
as resistors, inductors and capacitors. For active filters, operational amplifier is
sometimes used. There are essentially two low-frequency filter syntheses techniques in
common use. These are referred to as the image-parameter method (IPM) and the
insertion-loss method (ILM). The image-parameter method provides a relatively simple
filter design approach but has the disadvantage that an arbitrary frequency response
cannot be incorporated into the design. The IPM approach divides a filter into a cascade
of two-port networks, and attempt to come up with the schematic of each two-port, such
that when combined, give the required frequency response. The insertion-loss method
begins with a complete specification of a physically realizable frequency characteristic,
and from this a suitable filter schematic is synthesized. Again we will ignore the image
parameter method and only concentrate on the insertion loss method, whose design
procedure is based on the attenuation response or insertion loss of a filter. The insertion
loss of a two-port network is given by:
PIL

Power available from the source

P
1
inc
Power delivered to load
Pload 1 2

(2.1)

Where is the reflection coefficient looking into the filter (we assume no loss in the
filter).

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Design of a filter using the insertion-loss approach usually begins by designing a

normalized low-pass prototype (LPP). The LPP is a low-pass filter with source and load
resistance of 1 and cutoff frequency of 1 Radian/s. Figure 2.1 shows the characteristics.
Impedance transformation and frequency scaling are then applied to denormalize the LPP
and synthesize different type of filters with different cutoff frequencies.

RS
V
=1 1

V2

A
Filter

(
)

(
)

0
3
1
02
03

RL
=1

0
4
0

H()

Attenuation
/dB

c =
1

Figure 2.1 A normalized LPP filter network with unity cutoff frequency (1Radian/s).
Low-pass prototype (LPP) filters have the form shown in Figure 2.2 (An
alternative network where the position of inductor and capacitor is interchanged is also
applicable). The network consists of reactive elements forming a ladder, usually known
as a ladder network. The order of the network corresponds to the number of reactive
elements. Impedance transformation and frequency scaling are then applied to transform
the network to non-unity cutoff frequency, non-unity source/load resistance and to other
types of filters such as high-pass, band-pass or band-stop. Examples of high-pass and
band-pass filter networks are shown in Figure 2.3 and Figure 2.4 respectively.
1

L1=
g2

L2=
g4

C1
=g1

C2
=
g3

R
L1=
g1
g0
=
1

RL=
gN+1

L2=
g3
C1
=g2

C2
=
g4

RL=
gN+1

Figure 2.2 Low-pass prototype using LC elements.

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

Figure 2.3 Example of high-pass filter, note the position of inductor and capacitor is
interchanged as compared with low pass filter.
C
2

L
N

Figure 2.4 Example of band pass-filter, the capacitor is replaced with parallel LC
network while the inductor is replaced with series LC network.
3.0 Brief Overview of Low-Pass Prototype Filter Design Using Lumped Elements
There are a number of standard approaches to design a normalized LPP of Figure 2.3 that
approximate an ideal low-pass filter response with cutoff frequency of unity. Among the
well known methods are:
Maximally flat or Butterworth function.
Equal ripple or Chebyshev approach.
Elliptic function.
We will not go into the details of each approach as many books have covered them.
Interested reader can refer to reference [3], which is a classic text on network analysis or
[4], a more advance version. The basic idea is to approximate the ideal amplitude
response |H()|2 of an amplifier using polynomials such as Butterworth, Chebyshev,
Bessel and other orthogonal polynomial functions. This is usually given as:

H ( )

Vo ( )
Ko

Vi ( ) 1 Co PN ( )

(3.1)

Here Ko and Co are constants and PN() is a polynomial in of order N. Ko and Co are
usually dependent on the type of polynomial used. A comparison of approximating the
LPP amplitude response with Butterworth, Bessel and Chebyshev polynomials is
illustrated in Figure 3.1.

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

Amplitude
in dB

Bessel

20 log ( HB ( ) )

10

20 log ( HC ( ) )

Butterwort
h

20 log ( Hb ( ) )
20

Chebyshev

30

0.1

10

Figure 3.1 Amplitude response of fourth order (N=4) Butterworth, Chebyshev and
Bessel filters using (3.1).
Each approximation has its advantages and disadvantages, for instance the
Chebyshev approximation provide rapid cutoff beyond 1.0 radian/second. However the
user must compromise this with ripple in the pass band. The Bessel approximation has
the slowest cutoff rate, but this is offset with a favourable linear phase response, which
reduces phase distortion. A Butterworth approximation has a characteristic between the
two. A ladder LC network with the number of reactive elements corresponding to the
order of the polynomial PN in (3.1) is then compared with equation (3.1). The respective
inductance and capacitance of the reactive elements can then be obtained. An alternative
approach would be to synthesize the transfer function of (3.1) using standard techniques
as listed in references [3] and [4]. It is suffice to say that for each approach, values of g 1,
g2, g3 gN for an Nth order LPP have been tabulated by many authors (For instance see
[2]). Here we will demonstrate the design of a low-pass filter and a band-pass filter using
the insertion-loss method and illustrate the implementation of the RLC lumped circuit
using distributed elements such as microstrip and stripline in microwave region.
The Table 8.3 of reference [2] is repeated here. We will use this table to design a LPP
Butterworth filter. The values of gi correspond to inductance and capacitance in the LPP
Butterworth filter.
N

g1

g2

g3

g4

g5

g6

g7

1
2
3
4
5
6

2.0000
1.4142
1.0000
0.7654
0.6180
0.5176

1.0000
1.4142
2.0000
1.8478
1.6180
1.4142

1.0000
1.0000
1.8478
2.0000
1.9318

1.0000
0.7654
1.6180
1.9318

1.0000
0.6180
1.4142

1.0000
0.5176

1.0000

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g8

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

7
8

0.4450
0.3902

1.2470
1.1111

1.8019
1.6629

Microstrip Filter Design

2.0000
1.9615

1.8019
1.9615

1.2470
1.6629

0.4450
1.1111

1.0000
0.3902

1.0000

Table 3.1 Element values for Maximally flat (Butterworth) LPP (g0 = 1, c =1).
Source - G.L. Matthaei, L. Young and E.M.T. Jones, Microwave filters, impedancematching networks, and coupling structures. Artech House 1980.
4.0 Designing a Low Pass Prototype (LPP)
We will now design a 4th order Butterworth LPP and use this design for the rest of the lab.
The specification of the filter is as follows: RS = RL = 50. Cutoff frequency fc = 1.5GHz
or c = 9.4248109 rad/s.
Step 1 Design the LPP filter with c = 1 rad/s.
Using Table 3.1, the schematic of the LPP filter is as shown in Figure 4.1.
L1=0.7
654H
g0
=
1

L2=1.8
478H
C1=1.8
478F

C2=0.
7654F

L1 = g1 =
0.7654H
L2 = g3 =
1.8478H
C 1 = g2 =

RL
=1

Figure 4.1 The 4th order Butterworth LPP filter.

Step 2 Perform impedance and frequency scaling
The filter designed in Figure 4.1 supports load impedance of 1 and cutoff frequency of
1 radian/second. This filter can be converted into a low-pass filter, which meets arbitrary
cutoff frequency and impedance level specification using frequency scaling and
impedance transform. For a new load impedance of R o and cutoff frequency of o, the
original resistance Rn , inductance Ln and capacitance Cn are changed by the followings
[3]:
R Ro Rn

(4.1a)

Ln
o

(4.1b)

Cn
Ro o

(4.1c)

L Ro
C

The transformation as shown in (4.1a) to (4.1c) implies that the schematic does not need
to be changed, only the element values are scaled down or up to reflect the new
specifications. Space does not permit us a detailed discussion of how equations (4.1a)(4.1c) achieve this. But a qualitative justification is as follows.

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

The transfer function of a linear two-port network is a function of the impedance

or admittance of the individual R, L and C in the network. This is because the transfer
function is derived using circuit theory rules (Kirchoffs voltage and current laws)
involving the impedance or admittance. Furthermore the numerator and denominator of
the transfer function involve combination of operations such as parallel of
impedance/admittance and addition of the impedance/admittance. These operations have
the characteristic that if each impedance/admittance is multiplied by a constant, the net
effect is equivalent to multiplying the total impedance/admittance by the constant. For
instance:

AZ1 // AZ 2

A2 Z1Z 2
A Z1 // Z 2
A Z1 Z 2

(4.2a)

AZ1 AZ 2 A Z1 Z 2

(4.2b)

AZ1 AZ 2 // AZ3 A Z1 Z 2 // Z3

(4.2c)

There is no non-linear operation such as square or cube of the impedance/admittance.

With this in mind the transfer function is written as:

N ( Z1 , Z 2 Z n )
D( Z1 , Z 2 Z n )

(4.3)

If each impedance/admittance is multiplied by Ro:

H '

N ( Ro Z1 , Ro Z 2 Ro Z n ) Ro N ( Z1 , Z 2 Z n )

H
D( Ro Z1 , Ro Z 2 Ro Z n ) Ro D ( Z1 , Z 2 Z n )

(4.4)

However multiplying each impedance with Ro means we are scaling the impedance due
to each R, L and C by Ro as seen in the following:
Ro Z R Ro Rn R Ro Rn

Ro Z L Ro jLn j Ro L L Ro Ln
C
1
1
Ro Z C Ro

C n
j C
Ro
C

j
Ro

(4.5a)
(4.5b)
(4.5c)

Frequency scaling is achieved by using the transformation

n

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

Suppose the impedance of an inductor is jL. At = 1 the impedance is jL.

Another inductor with inductance L/o will give similar impedance at = o. Thus we
observe that the frequency response of the inductor is scaled by o. Similarly if a
capacitor C is replace with capacitance C/o, its frequency response is also scaled by o.
The resistor being independent of frequency is not affected by frequency scaling.
Combining the frequency scaling and impedance scaling operation, one would arrive at
the equations (4.1a) to (4.1c).
Using the transformation (4.1a) to (4.1c) with Ro = 50 and o = 2(1.5109) on
the schematic of Figure 4.1, the new schematic of the low-pass filter is shown in Figure
4.2 below.
L1=4.0
61nH
g0=
1/5
0

L2=9.8
03nH
C1=3.9
21pF

C2=1.
624pF

RL
=
50

Figure 4.2 The denormalized low-pass filter with cutoff frequency at 1.5GHz and
impedance of 50.
5.0 Implementing the Low-pass Filter using Microstrip Line Hi Z-Low Z
Transmission Line Filter
A relatively easy way to implement low-pass filters in microstrip or stripline is to use
alternating sections of high and low characteristic impedance (Z o) transmission lines.
Such filters are usually referred to as stepped-impedance filter and are popular because
they are easy to design and take up less space than similar low-pass filters using stubs.
However due to the approximation involved, the performance is not as good and is
limited to application where a sharp cutoff is not required (for instance in rejecting outof-band mixer products).
A short length of transmission line of characteristic impedance Z o can be represented by
the equivalent symmetrical T network shown below (see reference [2], chapter 8):

Z11 -

Z11 -

Z12

Z12
Z

Zo

12

Figure 5.1 Equivalent T network for a transmission line with length l.

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

Here Z11 and Z12 are the Z parameters of the two port network.
Z11 Z 22 jZ o cot l
(5.1a)
Z12 Z 21 jZ o cosec l
(5.1b)
and is the propagation constant of the transmission line. For EM wave propagation that
is of TEM mode or quasi-TEM mode, the propagation constant can be approximated as:
o e o e k o
(5.2)
where e is the effective dielectric constant of the transmission line structure. When l <
/2, the series element of Figure 5.1 can be thought of as inductor and the shunt element
can be considered a capacitor. This is illustrated in Figure 5.2 (a) with:
X
l
Z 11 Z 12
Z o tan

(5.3a)
2
2
1
1
B
sin l
Z 12
Zo

(5.3b)

Assuming a short length of transmission line (l < /4) and Zo=ZH >> 1:
X ZH l
B0

Assuming a short length of transmission line (l < /4) and Zo=ZL 1:

X 0
1
B
l
ZL

(5.5a)
(5.5b)

j
X
/2

j
X
/2

When Zo
>> 1
l < /4

j
B

(a
)

(5.4a)
(5.4b)

X
Zol

(b
)

When Zo
0
l < /4

(c
)

B
Yol

Figure 5.2 Approximate equivalent circuits for short section of transmission lines.
The ratio ZH/ZL should be as high as possible, limited by the practical values that
can be fabricated on a printed circuit board. Typical values are Z H=100 to 150 and
ZL=10 to 15. Since a typical ow-pass filter consists of alternating series inductors and
shunt capacitors in a ladder configuration, we could implement the filter on a printed
circuit board by using alternating high and low characteristic impedance section

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

transmission lines. Using (5.4a) and (5.5b), the relationship between inductance and
capacitance to the transmission line length at the cutoff frequency c are:
L
lL c
(5.6a)
ZH
lC

c CZ L

(5.6b)

6.0 Designing with Microstrip line

Cross section of microstrip and strip transmission line on printed circuit board (PCB) is
shown in Figure 6.1. For stripline the propagation mode is TEM since the conducting
trace is surrounded by similar dielectric material. Hence e = r, the dielectric constant of
the medium. For microstrip line the propagation mode is a combination of TM and TE
modes. This is due to the fact that the upper dielectric of a micostrip line is usually air
while the bottom dielectric is the printed circuit board dielectric. A TEM mode cannot be
supported as the phase velocities for electromagnetic waves in air and the PCB are
different, resulting in mismatch at the air-dielectric boundary. However at frequency of
6GHz or lower, the axial E and H fields are small enough that we can approximate the
propagation mode as TEM, hence the name quasi-TEM applies. For microstrip line the
effective dielectric constant e falls within the range 1 and r. At low frequency most of
the electromagnetic field is distributed in the air, while at high frequency the
electromagnetic field crowds towards the PCB dielectric. This result in the curve shown
in Figure 6.2, thus the microstrip line is dispersive.
W

A
ir

H
Microstri
p Line

Conducting trace
(thickness = t)
Dielectri

c
Ground
r
Plane

H
Strip
Line

Figure 6.1 Cross section view of microstrip and strip transmission line as implemented
on a printed circuit board.

Region
where (6.1)
applies.

Microstrip Line

Strip Line

Figure 6.2 Effective dielectric constant of microstrip and strip transmission line.

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

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6.1 Formulas for Effective Dielectric Constants and Characteristics Impedance

We will use the microstrip line to implement the low pass filter designed earlier.
Microstrip line is popular, as it is easily fabricated and low cost as compared to stripline.
There is no closed form solution for the propagation of electromagnetic wave along a
microstrip line. The solution for wave propagation is usually obtained through numerical
method. Parameters such as the effective dielectric constant, characteristic impedance
and line attenuation are then obtained from the numerical solution as a function of
frequency. Empirical formulas are obtained from the numerical solution by the methods
of curve fitting. Assuming the conductors and dielectric are lossless, and ignoring the
effect the conductor thickness t, an example of the empirical formulas for e and Zo are
given by [2]:
e

r 1 r 1

2
2

Zo

60

ln

(6.1)

12 H
W
8H
W
W

1
for
W
4H
H
1

120

r WH 1.393 0.667 ln WH 1.444

for

W
1
H

(6.2)

Zo and e as a function of W/d is plotted in Figure 6.3 using equations (6.1) and (6.2).
The
dielectric
constant of the PCB dielectric is assumed to be 4.2 (for FR4).
80
72.573
4

3.731
70

3.75
60

ZZ0( s )
15

3.5

3.25

e( s )

50

3.044

40

12.902

10

1
1

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1
5
3

9 10 11 12

12

W
/
H

30

20

10

11

12
12

W
/
H

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

160

2.976

140
2.9

e( s )

Z0( s )
150

2.8

120

11
0

100

80

0.1

0.2

2.745 2.7
0.1

0.2

0.1

0.3

0.4
s

W
/H

0.3

0.4

0.5

W/s
H

0.5

0.6
0.7

0.6

0.7

W/
H

Figure 6.3 Zo and e versus W/H for r = 4.2.

6.2 Implementing the 4th Order Butterworth Low Pass Filter using Step Impedance
Microstrip Line
Consider the schematic of Figure 4.2 again. The filter parameters are as follows:
Cutoff frequency fc = 1.5GHz.
Required ZL = 15.
Required ZH = 110.
L1=4.061nH, L2=9.083nH, C1=3.921pF, C2=1.624pF.
Implementation:
A typical FR4 fiberglass PCB with r = 4.2 and H = 1.5mm is used. From Figure 6.3 the
following trace parameters are obtained:
W/H
H/mm
W/mm
e
10.0
1.5
15.0
3.68
Zo = 15
2.0
1.5
3.0
3.21
Zo = 50
0.36
1.5
0.6
2.83
Zo = 110
Table 6.2 Dimension of various microstrip line characteristic impedance.

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Microstrip Filter Design

Therefore
L

eL k o

eH k o

eL 2f c 3.3356 10 9 60.307 s 1
eH 2f c 3.3356 10 9 53.258 s 1

Using equations (5.6a) and (5.6b):

L
l1 c 1 6.5mm
ZH H
C Z
l 2 c 1 L 9.2mm
L
l 3 15.0mm

l 4 3.8mm
3.0m
m50
line

15.0
mm

50
line

To
50
Load

0.6m
m

Figure 6.4 The top view of the layout for the Low Pass Filter on the printed circuit
board.
7.1 Analysis of the step-impedance low pass filter using Agilent Advance Design
System (ADS) software
1. Log into the workstation.
2. Run the ADS version 2003A software (newer version may be used).
3. From the main window of ADS, create a new project folder named step_imp_LPF
under the directory D:\ads_user\default\ (Figure 7.1 and Figure 7.2).

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Figure 7.1 Opening a new project in ADS main window.

Figure 7.2 The New Project dialog box.

4. The new schematic window will automatically appear once the project is properly
created. Otherwise you can manually create a new schematic window by double
clicking the Create New schematic button on the menu bar.

5.

From the component palette drop-down list, set the component palette to TLinesMicrostrip. Draw the schematic as shown in Figure 7.5. The MSUB component is
the general substrate characteristics of the printed circuit board. The MLIN
components represent a short length of microstrip transmission lines used in our low
pass filter. Here MLIN1 corresponds to transmission line section 1, MLIN 2 to
transmission line section 2 and so forth (Figure 7.3 to Figure 7.5).

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Palette
List

Ground Node

Work Area

Component
Palette

Figure 7.3 The Schematic Editor window of ADS (New version of ADS may be
slightly different).

Figure 7.4 Select the Tlines-Microstrip component palette from the Palette List.

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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

Microstrip Filter Design

Substr
ate
Comp
onent
Microstri
p Line

Figure 7.5 Insert the microstrip line component MLIN and substrate component MSUB
into the Work Area.
6. Set the characteristics of the substrate MSUB1 as to H = 1.5mm, T = 1.38mils
(typical), Er = 4.2 and Cond = 5.8E+07 (conductivity of copper). The rest of the
parameters leave as default. The parameters dialog box for MSUB can be invoked by
doubling clicking on the MSUB component.
7. Set the characteristic W and L of each MLIN components according to the table of
Section 6.2.
8. Now change the component palette to Simulation-S_Param.
Insert the
components S parameter simulation control S P and the termination network
Term into the schematics. The termination network components TERM1 and
TERM2 are actually a sinusoidal voltage source in series with an ideal series of
resistance as shown in the model during S parameter simulation. The S parameter
simulation control SP1 determines the start, stop and frequency stepping. Use the
wire to connect the components together and ground the outer terminals of the
TERM1 and TERM2 components (Figure 7.7).

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Figure 7.6 Select the S parameter component palette.

9. Set the parameters in SP1 to Start = 100MHz, Stop = 4GHz and Step = 10MHz. The
final schematic should be as shown in Figure 7.7. In Figure 7.7, since there is a step
discontinuity between the transmission line sections, this has to be modeled by
inserting a step element MSTEP at the junction between two transmission line
sections, this will make the simulated result more accurate.
To model
step
discontinu
ity in
microstrip
line

Figure 7.7 The final schematic for the low pass filter model.
10. Finally run the simulation.

11. Invoke the data display window. Insert a Rectangular Plot component in the data
display.

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12. Select the item to display as S21, with the dB option. The S21 represents the
attenuation from terminal 1 (input) to terminal 2 (output) of the filter as sinusoidal
signals from 100MHz to 4GHz are imposed.
13. Study the 3dB cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter. You can use the Marker
feature of the ADS display window to show the value of the attenuation at specific
frequency.
m1
freq=1.410GHz
dB(S(2,1))=-3.051

m1

dB(S(2,1))

-5

-10

-15

-20

-25
0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

freq, GHz

Figure 7.8 A sample result from the Data Display window of ADS, illustrating the S 21
of the step-impedance low pass filter.
14. Adjust the parameter of TL1, TL2, TL3 and TL4 until the 3dB cutoff frequency is
within 100MHz of 1.5GHz. This can be done using the optimization feature of the
software. But as a start you can manually tune the width and length of each
transmission line section to achieve the desirable cut-off frequency at 1.5GHz.

Lab Procedure
Following the steps in Section 4 to Section 6, design a 4 th order Butterworth Low-Pass
Filter using ladder LC network with cut-off frequency at 1.8GHz. Show the steps of how
the inductance and capacitance in the network are determined from the Low-Pass
Prototype. Also show the conversion of the LC circuit into microstrip circuit, tabulating
the dimensions of each section of the transmission line. Upon completing the design,
simulate the frequency response of the low pass filter using HP ADS software, again
following the steps shown in Section 7. Use a frequency sweep from 100MHz to 5GHz,
with a step of 10MHz.
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RF Engineering Passive Circuit

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Report
The report MUST be hand-written, except for graphics, which can be computer
generated. Please submit your report within 7 days from the experiment to the lab.
References
1. R.E. Collin, Foundations for microwave engineerng, 2nd edition, 1992 McGrawHill. TK7876-C645.
2. D.M. Pozar, Microwave engineering, 2nd edition, 1998 John-Wiley & Sons.
TK7876.P69.
3. F.F. Kuo, Network analysis and synthesis, 2nd edition, 1966 John-Wiley & Sons.
4. Temes G.C., LaPatra J.W., Introduction to circuit systhesis and design, 1977
McGraw-Hill, TK454.5.
5. W.K. Chen (editor),The circuits and filters handbook, 1995 CRC Press.
TK7876.C4977.
Appendix
Having carried out a computer analysis of the design, an actual step-impedance low pass
filter is built by the author, below are the photograph of the printed circuit board and the
frequency response measured using a vector network analyzer (VNA).

Figure A1 Picture of the step impedance 4 th order Butterworth Low Pass Filter
constructed by the author in Dec 2000.

F. Kung

19

May 2007

RF Engineering Passive Circuit

0d
B
3
d
B

Microstrip Filter Design

1.42G
Hz

Scale:
Y axis:
3dB per
division
X axis:
300MH
z per
division

Figure A2 Actual measurement of the attenuation using HP8720D Vector Network

Analyser. Note that the cut-off frequency is less than required, at 1.42GHz or 5.3% error.

F. Kung

20

May 2007