DGS for a Wilkinson Power Divider Using a Symmetric Butterfly Comb

In this paper a 2-way (3-section) structure for a Wilkinson Power Divider is proposed to increase frequency range. This study, allows designers to obtain a desirable operational frequency, using either a direct or a combination of cascaded power combiner sections with a new defect structure. By designing and utilizing the Defected Ground Structure (DGS), named as butterfly comb, the ground plane is patterned to improve the bandwidth. In this research, the proposed DGS pattern results in improvements, by etching the metal layer without increasing the size or employing any extra components. The power divider has been simulated using ADS, and fabricated on 32 mils FR4 substrate. After employing the designed DGS, the measurement results illustrates 133% fractional bandwidth or 37% improvement compared with conventional 3-section Wilkinson power divider. This improvement is achieved with a return loss reference of -15 dB for 0.5-2.5 GHz.