MICROMINIATURE FILTER TECHNIQUES

HIGH PERFORMANCE FILTERS ARE NEEDED IN MODERN ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS, BUT THE PERFORMANCE OF VARACTOR TUNERS IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR MANY APPLICATIONS. THE TUNING ELEMENTS IN THIS PROPOSAL ARE FABRICATED WITH CONVENTIONAL MMIC TECHNOLOGY AND CAN BE USED IN INTEGRATED SYSTEMS TO REPLACE VARACTORS WITH IMPROVED SPECIFICATIONS. THIS HIGH INTERCEPT LEVEL TUNING SYSTEM ENABLES WIDEBAND MULTIPOLE FILTERS TO COVER A 3:1 FREQUENCY RANGE WITH DIRECT DIGITAL CONTROL. WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A LINE OF FILTERS, STARTING WITH THE CHOOSING OF OPTIMUM FILTER PROTOTYPES AND THE CONSIDERATION OF THE PRACTICAL PROBLEMS OF PARASITIC ELEMENTS. A PRACTICAL, COST-EFFECTIVE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT FILTER TECHNOLOGY WILL RESULT FROM THIS RESEARCH PROGRAM. ELINT, HDTV, ECM, AND RADAR FRONT ENDS WILL ALL BENEFIT FROM THIS WORK. AN ECM AND HDTV FILTER WITH +60 DBM SECOND ORDER AND +50 DBM THIRD ORDER DISTORTION INTERCEPTS WILL BE DESIGNED. IN PHASE II THESE FILTERS WILL BE FABRICATED.