Automatic Design Procedure of Waveguide Filters Based on a Pixelization Strategy

This letter proposes an automatic design procedure for microwave waveguide filters based on the pixelization strategy. The procedure is based on a heuristic optimization algorithm Binary Ink Stamp Optimization (BISO), and it does not require any prior defined filter template. This approach allows to design a waveguide filter without any experience in this area and it can also lead to unconventional solutions for the filter shape. The exploitation of the procedure is demonstrated on the design of an
$X$
-band waveguide filter. To experimentally verify the properties of the filter, the proposed filter was manufactured using stereolithography (SLA) 3-D-print technology and then copper plated. The measured results are in a good agreement with the simulated ones. The measured loss in the passband is less than 0.75 dB. The proposed design procedure seems promising for fully automated design of microwave filters in the future.