Nonlinear Loss Model in Absorptive-Type Ferrite Frequency-Selective Limiters

Absorptive-type ferrite-based frequency-selective limiters (FSLs) utilize nonlinear (NL) phenomena in magnetized ferrites to provide real-time analog signal processing of RF/microwave electromagnetic (EM) signals. There are no commercially available modeling tools that simulate these interactions, and the development and optimization of FSLs are largely done experimentally. FSL modeling and design is complicated by NL, multiscale, and multiphysics nature of operation. In this article, an NL loss model in a ferrite is proposed and implemented in an efficient numerical algorithm. The equivalent linear magnetic loss tangent is represented in a closed form. A full-wave numerical EM model with high-fidelity meshing is set up so that material properties are assigned to each mesh element and are iteratively adjusted depending on the local magnetic field. The numerical model is sliced along the EM wave propagation, and an NL eigenvalue is obtained for each slice as a function of frequency, power, and external magnetic bias field and stored in lookup tables. The slices are cascaded, and power attenuation is calculated with loss changing along the wave path according to the lookup tables. The resulting data are processed to be suitable for equivalent circuit models. Numerical results for coplanar waveguide FSL are validated by measurements. The proposed modeling approach is useful for engineering FSL devices.