Abstract:
A planar filter is proposed in which a plurality of striplines arranged next to one another on a substrate are supplemented by an overcoupling stripline which couples to one another two striplines which are not immediately neighboring. The length of the overcoupling stripline is an integral multiple of a half wavelength of the center frequency of the filter.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION, 
     The invention proceeds from a planar filter The article entitled &#34;Parallel-Coupled Transmission-Line-Resonator Filters&#34; in the IRE Trans. on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 1958, pages 223 ff. by S. B. Cohn discloses a microstripline filter in which a plurality of striplines are arranged next to one another. In this case, the striplines overlap one another on a portion of their length and are thereby coupled to their respective neighbor. In addition, the article entitled &#34;Filters with Single Transmission Zeros at Real or Imaginary Frequencies&#34; in IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. MTT-24, No. 4, April 1976, pages 172-181 discloses waveguide filters in which pole points are generated in the damping by overcoupling of modes between nonadjacent resonators by means of slotted diaphragms. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, in accordance with the present invention a planar filter is proposed, which has a substrate, a plurality of striplines arranged next to one another on the substrate, and an overcoupling stripline which couples to one another two of the striplines which are not immediately neighboring, the overcoupling stripline having a length which is an integral multiple of a half wave-length of a center frequency of the filter. 
     The planar filter having these defining features has, by contrast, the advantage that the coupling of nonadjacent, that is to say not neighboring, striplines makes it possible to generate zero points in the transfer function H(s) and thus pole points in the stop band of the filter. Owing to these singularities in the damping, these filters have a relatively high edge steepness. 
     If the overcoupling stripline is likewise arranged on the substrate, there is a reduction in the cost of producing the planar filter. 
     The degree of overcoupling, and thus the effectiveness of the overcoupling, increases advantageously if the striplines are coupled at the lateral surfaces to the overcoupling stripline. 
     If the overcoupling stripline is guided so as to produce only a slight coupling between the overcoupling stripline and the stripline situated between the two striplines to be coupled, there is an improvement in the filter characteristic, since undesired overcouplings are reduced thereby. 
     If the overcoupling stripline is as short as possible, it is also only slightly affected by losses, as a result of which there is again likewise a rise in the degree of overcoupling. 
     Adapting the characteristic impedance of the overcoupling stripline reduces undesired reflections during coupling and thereby, in turn, increases the coupling efficiency. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a first embodiment of a planar filter, 
     FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a second embodiment of a planar filter. FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of a planar filter with a coupling of input and output striplines. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a substrate 1 having a flat surface and on whose top side a plurality of striplines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are arranged. In this case, one stripline 2 forms the input stripline and, in turn, one stripline 6 forms the output stripline. Arranged between the input stripline 2 and the output stripline 6 are the left-hand stripline 3, the middle stripline 4 and the right-hand stripline 5. The striplines all have an elongated, approximately rectangular shape and overlap one another in their transverse projection on a portion of their length in each case. In the region of these overlaps, the striplines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are respectively separated from one another in pairs only by a slight gap, thereby resulting in a coupling of the striplines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 overlapping one another in this region. Furthermore, an overcoupling stripline 7 is provided which is coupled at the end face of the left-hand stripline 3 and is separated therefrom by a gap, and which connects this end face of the left-hand stripline 3 to the end face of the right-hand stripline 5, there likewise being a gap present between the overcoupling stripline 7 and the right-hand stripline 5. 
     This arrangement forms a planar filter for filtering radio-frequency electromagnetic waves. The passing and blocking characteristics of the planar filter are fixed by the geometry of the planar filter and by the material properties of the striplines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and of the substrate 1. This can be expressed by the transfer function H(s). Striplines 3, 5 which are not situated adjacent to one another and without the overcoupling stripline 7 are coupled to one another only indirectly via the middle stripline 4, are coupled by the overcoupling stripline 7. Because of the coupling of the left-hand stripline 3 to the right-hand stripline 5, zero points are produced in the transfer function H(s) which appear as damping poles in the blocking zone of the planar filter. Owing to this presence of singularities in the damping range, a substantially higher edge steepness can be produced in this planar filter than in known planar, laterally coupled filters. 
     It is advantageous if the overcoupling stripline 7 has the same, normalized width as the input stripline 2 and the output stripline 6. As a result, these three striplines 2, 6, 7 have a normalized characteristic impedance Z 0 , which is usually 50 Ω. It is advantageous, furthermore, to select the length of the overcoupling stripline 7 as an integral multiple of the half wave-length λ of the center frequency of the filter, in order to effect optimum coupling to the striplines 3, 5 which are to be coupled to one another. 
     FIG. 2 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a planar filter, the numbering of the elements having been taken over from FIG. 1. The filter shown has an additional stripline 8, which is arranged with respect to the coupling sequence between the middle stripline 4 and the right-hand stripline 5. In addition, in this figure a dimensioning rule for the planar bandpass filter represented here is shown by way of example and can also be applied to other filters. All the striplines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 have an electric length of λ in this case, λ being the wavelength at the center frequency of the bandpass filter. The striplines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 overlap one another in this arrangement in each case by a length of λ/4. The overcoupling stripline 7 is arranged here for the purpose of coupling the input stripline 2 to the right-hand stripline 5. In this exemplary embodiment, the overcoupling stripline 7 is coupled to the two striplines 2, 5 not via their end faces but also via their lateral surfaces. Here, as well, the length of the overcoupling zones is λ/4 in each case. The entire overcoupling stripline 7 has a length, in general terms, of l=(n+1) λ/2, n being a natural number. 
     The planar filters represented in the two exemplary embodiments have overcoupling striplines 7 which, like the other striplines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, are arranged directly on the substrate 1. However, it is also possible to implement embodiments in which the overcoupling stripline 7 is arranged in a different plane from the striplines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8. This is explained in more detail here with the aid of FIG. 1. Thus, it is likewise possible in the example represented there to cover the middle stripline 4 with an insulating layer, and to guide the overcoupling stripline 7 over said insulating layer. The length of the overcoupling stripline 7 can thereby be kept particularly short. 
     It ought to be borne in mind, in particular, that the overcoupling stripline 7 is short and, furthermore, has a spacing from the stripline 4, situated between the two striplines 3, 5 which are to be coupled to one another, which effects the smallest possible coupling to this stripline 4. The lower the degree of this disturbing coupling, the lower the losses of the filter and the more precisely it functions. Furthermore, the overcoupling stripline 7 should be adapted to the characteristic impedance Z 0 , in order to avoid reflections. This adaptation is most readily achieved if the overcoupling stripline 7 has a constant width W(Z 0 ). By contrast, the striplines 3, 4, 5 need not necessarily have a uniform characteristic impedance, and can therefore also vary in their width. 
     FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of the planar filter in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment the two striplines are again coupled with one another. In particular the input stripline 2 is coupled with the output stripline 6.