High-Performance, Compact Quasi-Elliptic Band Pass Filters for V-Band High Data Rate Radios

This paper presents a comparison of the design and implementation of V-band quasi-elliptic band pass filters suitable for system-on-package integration at millimetre-wave frequencies. Filters were designed and manufactured at low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) and alumina substrates. Filter circuits include the input/output coplanar waveguide to microstrip transitions as well as the microwave pads, used to facilitate measurement. Three four-pole filters incorporating half-wavelength resonators were implemented, two planar (on LTCC and alumina substrates) and one vertically stacked (on LTCC). In addition a six-pole filter was also implemented in alumina. The four-pole LTCC based filters have a measured insertion loss (IL) as low as 3.4 dB, fractional bandwidth (FBW(%) = BW
_{-3 dB}
/Center Frequency) of 4.8% and return loss better than 10 dB. Total filter size is less than 1.1 × 0.74 mm. The alumina-based four-pole/six-pole filters exhibit a measured IL of 2.8/3.1 dB, FBW of 8.3%/12.6%, respectively. Both alumina filters exhibit a return loss better than 10 dB and with a corresponding filter layout footprint of less than 1.01 × 1.34 mm. A new figure-of-merit (HPFOM) is proposed and results from the filters proposed here clearly show they offer the best trade-off between performance and area (higher HPFOM).