A realization of a GaAs FET microwave active filter

A methodology for microwave active filter design has been presented by this author (see ibid., vol.37, no.9, p.1418-24, 1989). The present work serves to verify aspects of this design approach. A practical implementation of a network discussed in that work is given. First, an ideal preliminary design for a second-order bandpass filter is obtained. Next, the nonideal effects of the active devices and the lossy reactive elements are introduced, and then optimization is used to obtain the final design. Finally, the filter is constructed and tested. The measured response is found to agree quite closely with the design specifications. The filter section is constructed in hybrid form with lumped components, and uses two NEC 900100 GaAs FETs. The prototype accurately realizes a second-degree bandpass response with a center frequency of 6 GHz and a pole q of 2.5.<
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