Mathematical modeling development and synthesis of tapered transmission line resonators and filters

Abstract Tapered transmission line resonators can be used to achieve specific frequency responses and enhance the performance of microwave devices and impedance transformers. To develop a mathematical model (transfer function) of such a wideband resonator will facilitate the construction of an equivalent circuit and the synthesis of resonators of this type. This study discusses the system modeling of tapered transmission line (TTL) resonators using the singularity expansion method (SEM). The transfer function is analytically established for two types of wideband TTL resonators: exponential tapered transmission lines (ETTL) and linear tapered transmission lines (LTTL). The analytical transfer function is derived for the general tapered ratio (k/ β ). The physical poles of the structures are identified using the pole-energy matrix pencil (MP) approach. The transfer function expression is then utilized to develop an accurate equivalent lumped-element circuit for the TTL resonator. This study’s simplified approach for estimating the transfer function and associated poles and zeros from the S-parameters is the main contribution, whereas it is known that the transfer function becomes complicated for wideband frequency response. A direct synthesis approach is presented to develop two-stage and four-stage ultra-wideband (UWB) bandpass filters. The agreement between the frequency response data and the derived transfer function of the system model of the synthesized TTL filters demonstrates the reliability of the presented method. The proposed system modeling and synthesis methodology can be applied to more sophisticated filter TTL architectures.