Tunable multiferroic hairpin-line resonator microstrip bandpass filter at C-band

Metamagnetics proposes to address the limitations of currently available commercial-of-the-shelf tunable microwave filters in terms of insertion loss, linearity, tuning speed, etc. by developing innovative voltage tunable multiferroic microstrip filter technology. The proposed concept offers the potential advantages of low insertion loss, low dc power consumption, high rf power handling capability, fast response time, planar geometry, and compact size. Metamagnetics"researchers will develop microstrip ferrite filters that exhibit either direct voltage tuning through stress-mediated mechanical coupling of ferrites with piezoelectric materials or indirect tuning using magnetic fringe fields emanating from voltage tunable multiferroic composites utilizing magnetostrictive and piezoelectric materials. These experiments will establish a solid foundation for the development of advanced multiferroic tunable filter devices in a follow-on Phase II effort. The proposed technology described herein combines the low loss, high power handling, reliability, and radiation hardness of today's ferrite filter devices with planar, cost-effective, low power consuming, and fast responding multiferroic voltage drive technology.