ARTIFICIAL LINE

Abstract: The present invention relates to an artificial line, i.e. an artificial electric line, and specifically an artificial line having a constant group delay in a wide frequency range (octave bandwidths). The artificial line comprises two identicial inductors of the magnitude L connected in series and having a mutual inductance M, and a capatitor of the magnitude C1 over the inductors and a shunt capacitor C2 to earth. The element values as a fonction of the cut-off frequency f?c? and the characteristic impedance Z0 are selected according to the equations (1). The artificial line can then be realised as a continuously tunable artificial line or as a self-switched artificial line. The two types of artificial lines can also be cascade-coupled.

Description: Artificial line The present invention relates to an artificial line, i.e. an artificial electric line, and specifically an artificial line having a constant group delay in a wide frequency range (octave bandwidths). The invention originates from delay lines for radar applications and will partly be described starting from this. However, the invention can be applied in other contexts where an artificial line having the achieved properties can be used. Therefore the inventor aims at protecting the artificial line by a patent, based on its construction and its properties and independently of the place where it is used. Advanced future radar installations will be based on phased array antennas. Since such antennas may have hundreds of modules, monolithic integrated microwaves circuits (MMIC) are necessary to minimise size and weight. Most prior-art microwave systems with phased array antennas are provided with binary control devices. In large installations, a great number of control wires will be involved since each element must be controlled individually. If an analog control device could be used, much would be gained since only one control wire or a few control wires would be required. For installations requiring a great instantaneous bandwidth, phase shifters cannot be used since they cause a change in the beam direction, phase squinting, and distortion of the pulses, pulse stretching. Therefore the invention instead uses a special embodiment of a controllable delay element since such elements allow frequency-independent beam steering. Prior-art controllable delay elements are digital, which causes losses. Besides they are expensive. Fig. 1 shows a prior-art binary 4-bit delay element using single-pole double-throw switches (SPDT). Single-pole double-throw switches have considerable losses, which means that the prior-art delay element all in all exhibits great losses. If in Fig. 1 the delay At is 8 ps, the maximum delay will be 120 ps. The present invention solves the above problem by providing an artificial line with controllable delay and low losses and at a, relatively seen, low cost by being designed in the manner that appears from the independent claim. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are defined in the remaining claims. The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a prior-art four-bit delay line with SPDT switches, Fig. 2 is a basic sketch of an assembled artificial line according to an embodiment of the invention, which has a continuously variable delay over a large time interval, Fig. 3a is a flow diagram of a known all-pass network, Fig. 3b is an equivalent diagram of the all-pass network in Fig. 3a, Fig. 4 is a diagram of ω Q GD(ω) as a function of ω/ω 0 for different k values, Fig. 5 illustrates group delay and component values as a function of the cut-off frequency, Fig. 6 is a flow diagram of a first variant of a self-switched artificial line according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 7 is a diagram of the group delay as a function of the frequency for the artificial line in Fig. 6, Fig. 8 is a flow diagram of a second variant of a self-switched artificial line according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 9 illustrates a first concrete example of a self-switched artificial line according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 10 shows a second concrete example of a self-switched artificial line according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 11 shows a concrete example of a plurality of cascade-coupled artificial lines according to an embodiment of an invention, Fig. 12 is a diagram of the group delay as a function of the applied control voltage for the cascade-coupled artificial line in Fig. 11 , Fig. 13 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a tunable artificial line according to the invention, Fig. 14 is a diagram of the group delay as a function of the applied negative control voltage for the artificial line in Fig. 13, and Fig. 15 shows a concrete example of a tunable artificial line according to an embodiment of the invention. The invention concerns basically an artificial line which in a first state has the desired properties in respect of constant group delay in a wide frequency range. The artificial line can then be accomplished as a continuously tunable artificial line or as a self-switched artificial line. Fig. 2 illustrates how, in one embodiment, it would be possible to build a composed artificial line which can delay signals by a total of 120 ps, the same as in the previous case of the prior-art artificial line. Here use is made of a tunable artificial line A as well as self-switched artificial lines B. The continuously tunable artificial line has, in dependence on a control signal, a delay of up to about 20 ps. In the example, five self-switched artificial lines are cascade-coupled to this artificial line. The self- switched artificial line can take two distinct states. In one state, it has a small delay, and in the other a large delay, in the example at issue about 20 ps. The self- switched artificial lines can be controlled by a single control wire, which means a considerable simplification. Below follows first a theoretical derivation of how an artificial line of the type at issue should be designed. The self-switched artificial line follows this derivation, and the tunable artificial line takes its starting point in the derivation. Both types of artificial line are based on an all-pass network with a frequency- independent mirror impedance (constant-R all-pass network). In the tunable case, it is more correct to speak of essentially frequency-independent mirror impedance (quasi constant-R ...). Fig. 3a illustrates a known all-pass network. It consists of a bridged T-section consisting of two mutually coupled inductors of equal value , which form the two arms, a capacitor C 2 to earth, forming the vertical arm, and a capacitor C 1 coupled over the inductors. Under specific conditions, this network becomes an all-pass network having a constant input impedance which is independent of frequency. To determine the scattering parameters, the T network is transformed by the inductive coupling being drawn as a network equivalent, see Fig. 3b, where: L, = L + M (1) and L_ = -M (2) The symmetry of the circuit implies that the calculations are reduced. All scattering parameters can be derived from the reflection coefficients r e and r o . Y θ is the result of two equal voltages of the same sign being applied to the two-port network. T 0 is the result of two equal voltages of opposite sign being applied to the two ports. The scattering parameters S /y for the network are obtained as follows: r +Γ S,ι = S 22 = - --* ■ (3) ι\ a,ϊ = i (4) T θ and T 0 can be expressed in the normalised even and odd mode impedances Z θ and Z 0 as 1 r e = (5) 1 1 -z 0 r 0 = (6) 1 +z 0 By inserting equations (5) and (6) in (3) and (4), the following is obtained: S 21 = τ Z \, Z ° r (10) 21 (z e + ι)(z 0 + ι) It appears from (9) that if the network has to be matched at all frequencies, i.e. S = 0, then the condition Z Θ Z Q = 1 must be fulfilled for all frequencies. This gives after some algebra Consequently, the transmission coefficient S 21 becomes 2. -1 J 21 (12) Z θ + 1 By inserting (7) in (12), S 21 can be expressed as p 2 -ap + b S 21 - (13) p 2 +ap + b where p = jω, a = The equation (13) shows that S 21 has the magnitude 1 and a phase response ArgS 2 which can be expressed as ω where Ω = — is the normalised angular frequency and ω c = — , where f c = ω, 2π is the cut-off frequency. The transfer function has a low-pass character. The normalised circuit elements can now be expressed as functions of a and b. Insertion of the expressions for a and b in (12) results in To be able to use the two-port network as a delay element, the transfer phase must have a linear frequency response. In other words, the group delay GD(ω) must be constant with frequency. The group delay can be expressed as follows dArg{S ) GD{ω) = (16) dω If (14) is inserted in (16) the following is obtained 1 + / Ω 2 GD(<y) = — • (17) ω. (1 -/CΩ 2 ) + Ω 2 where k = —^. a 2 By plotting the product ω c GD(ω) as a function of Ω for different k values, it is easy to find the value which gives a constant group delay. This is done in Fig. 4, from which it is evident that k = 0.35 is the appropriate value. For a given transition frequency ω c - — and an impedance level Z 0 , one can a determine explicitly the values of the circuit elements. They are given below as a function of the cut-off frequency f c and the characteristic impedance Z 0 . The values of the circuit elements, according to equation (18), and the corresponding group delay, according to equation (17), are plotted in Fig. 5 as a function of the cut-off frequency for a device having a characteristic impedance Z 0 amounting to 50Ω. After this fundamental review, we pass on to study an application of a first type of an inventive artificial line in the form of a self-switched artificial line for time delay purposes. The self-switched artificial line can take two states. In one state, the circuit has component values according to equation (18), which results in a large delay. In the second state, the capacitor C, is short-circuited, which gives a short delay. In the known circuit according to Fig. 3a, the capacitor C, can be implemented as a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor in an MMIC design. In the self-switched artificial line, the capacitor C, is exchanged for a first switching element which can be described as a small resistor in a first state (on-state) and a capacitor in a second state (off-state), e.g. a PIN diode, a bipolar transistor or a "switch-FET". In the case shown in Fig. 6, the switching element is a first field effect transistor FET 1 which is optimised to take, in dependence on its control voltage, two distinct states. In the one case, the transistor is biased to a conductive state, V G = 0. The transistor then corresponds to a very low resistance and the circuit behaves as a short transmis- sion line shunted with C 2 . In the second case, the transistor is biased so as to be fully depleted, where V p is the pinch-off voltage of the transistor. The transistor then corresponds to a capacitor. If the transistor parameters are selected such that the capacitance of the transistor is C 1 , the circuit obtains, according to the derivation which results in equation (18), a group delay which is independent of the frequency in a wide frequency range. This results in the circuit, in dependence on the control voltage to the transistor, taking one of two states, in the first the group delay is very short and in the other long, which is shown in Fig. 7. The shunt capacitor C 2 , however, is normally not small enough to give a high impedance to the line when the first field effect transistor FET 1 is in the first state. This results in a deterioration of the scattering properties, especially at high frequencies. A solution to this is to connect a second switching element, of a type similar to the first one, in series with the capacitor C 2 . This second switching element is driven complementarity with the first, i.e. when the first is conductive, the second is fully depleted and vice versa. In this way, the line becomes shunted by a high impedance compared with C 2 only. Fig. 8 shows a variant of this advantageous embodiment of the invention with a second field effect transistor, FET 2, optimised to take, in dependence on its control voltage, two distinct states, as the second switching element. Two examples of a concrete layout for a self-switched artificial line in a planar monolithic circuit technique are shown in Figs 9 and 10. In this case, the cut-off frequency is selected to be 18 GHz and the characteristic impedance to be 50 Ω . The desired element values are the same in the two examples. The embodiments result in different group delay owing to the different geometric design of the circuits, which will be described below. The embodiments in the Figures are drawn according to scale for accomplishment on a 100 μm-thick GaAs substrate having the permitivity 12.8. Fig. 9 shows an embodiment in which the largest possible difference in group delay between the two states of the circuit is desired. The circuit has an input 1 and an output 2. The inductances and the mutual inductance are realised as coupled microstrip lines 3. The coupled microstrip lines are arranged such that the short- circuited shunt formed of FET 1 = 4a in the conductive state (i.e. when the circuit takes the state with a short group delay) is the shortest possible transmission path between input 1 and output 2. This is achieved by using two insulating crossovers 5a and 5b. To earth extends C 2 , designed as a plate capacitor 6, usually an MIM, in series with FET 2 = 4b, whose source is connected with a via hole 7 to the ground plane of the circuit. The bias of FET 1 and FET 2 is applied to the bonding pads 8a and 8b, respectively, and is supplied to the gate via the respective resistors 9a and 9b which are here designed as doped channels in the substrate with controlled resistivity. Fig. 10 shows an embodiment in which a smaller difference in group delay between the two states of the circuit is desired. The circuit has an input 1 and an output 2. The inductances and the mutual inductance are realised as coupled microstrip lines 3. The short-circuited shunt formed of FET 1 = 4a in conductive state (i.e. when the circuit takes the state with a short group dealy) is here a comparatively longer path between input 1 and output 2 by one of the coupled microstrip lines 3b being included in the shunt between the input and the output. In this case only one insulating crossover 5 is necessary. To earth extends C 2 , designed as a plate capacitor 6, usually an MIM, in series with FET 2 = 4b, whose source is connected to a viahole 7 to the earth plane of the circuit. The bias of FET 1 and FET 2 is applied to the bond plates 8a and 8b, respectively, and is supplied to gate via the respective resistors 9a and 9b, which are here designed as doped channels in the substrate with controlled resistivity. The layout according to Figs 9 and 10 is cascadable, and therefore a composed artificial line can be effected. Fig. 11 shows an example of cascade-coupled self- switched artificial lines. By the control voltage to the respective first field effect transistor and, if necessary, the respective second field effect transistor, is applied to the different artificial lines in series via intermediate impedances R, the respec- tive artificial line changes its state in turn at an increasing control voltage, see Fig. 12. Thus, only one control wire is required. Regarding a continuously tunable artificial line which can be used alone or together with the self-switched artificial line as stated above, it can be realised in a manner similar to that of the self-switched artificial line. The theoretical values of the circuit elements are calculated in a manner corresponding to the previous manner. For a given characteristic impedance, element values are selected by first selecting a range within which the group delay GD should be tunable and transferring, via the diagram in Fig. 5, this to a range of the cut-off frequency f c . Then a cut-off frequency is selected in the middle of this range. L and M are selected, based on the selected cut-off frequency, according to equation (18) and Fig. 5. Finally the continuously tunable group delay is achieved by the capacitors G, and C 2 in the two-port network according to Fig. 3a being replaced by varactors, see Fig. 13. The varactors are selected such that their capacitances C, and C 2 are variable and follow the curves in Fig. 5 in the range for the desired variation of the group delay. The inductances L and the mutual inductance M will not follow the relation exactly, and therefore the properties of the circuit are slightly deteriorated. In a variation of the group delay within the range of 5-15 ps, the deterioration of the input and output impedance is normally acceptable. It is in this case more correct to speak about an essentially frequency-independent mirror impedance (quasi constant-R ...). Fig. 15 illustrates an example of a layout for a tunable artificial line. The circuit has an input 1 and an output 2. The inductances and the mutual inductance are realised as coupled microstrip lines 3. The voltage-controlled capacitance C v ^ is designed as a varactor consisting of a field effect transistor 4a where the drain and source are interconnected and the bias for tuning is applied to its gate. The voltage- controlled capacitance C V2 is also designed as a varactor 4b composed in the same manner as the first-mentioned varactor 4a. The drain and source of this varactor 4b are connected to the ground plane of the circuit with a via hole 7. The design uses an insulating crossover 5. The voltage for tuning of C v and C v2 is applied to the bonding pads 8a and 8b respectively and is supplied to the gate via the respective resistors 9a and 9b which are here designed as doped channels in the substrate with controlled resistivity. Two MIM capacitors 10a and 10b have been introduced for the varactors to be biased. RECTIΠELD SHEET (RULE 91)

Claims: Claims: 1. An artificial line in the form of a two-port network with an essentially frequency- independent mirror impedance, which in a first state comprises two identical induc- tors of the magnitude , connected in series and having a mutual inductance M, further a capacitor of the magnitude C 1 over the inductors and a shunt capacitor C 2 to earth, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the artificial line is adapted to give the same group delay - the same amount of delay - in a wide frequency range by the element values as a function of the cut-off frequency f c and the characteristic impedance Z 0 being selected according to the equations 2. An artificial line as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the artificial line is a self-switched artificial line and can take a second state with a short delay by the capacitor C 1 being replaced by a short-circuit. 3. An artificial line as claimed in claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the capacitor C 1 is realised as a first switching element (FET 1 , 4a) optimised to take, in dependence on its control voltage, two distinct states, a first one corresponding to a capacitance of the value C 1 , which gives the artificial line a long delay, and a second state corresponding to a short-circuit with low impedance, which gives the artificial line a short delay. 4. An artificial line as claimed in claim 3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the first switching element (FET 1 , 4a) is realised as a first field effect transistor. 5. An artificial line as claimed in claim 3 or 4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that a second switching element (FET 2, 4b) with properties corresponding to those of the first switching element (FET 1 , 4a) is arranged in series with the capacitor C 2 said second switching element being driven complementarily with the first switching element. 6. An artificial line as claimed in any one of claims 3-5, c h a r a c t e r - i s e d in that it is made in a planar monolithic circuit technique, where the inductors and the mutual inductance are realised as coupled microstrip lines (3), and the short-circuit which is formed in the second state of the circuit comprises the first switching element (FET 1 , 4a) and two insulating crossovers (5a, 5b) of the microstrip lines and forms the shortest possible transfer path between input (1) and output (2). 7. An artificial line as claimed in any one of claims 3-5, c h a r a c t e r - i s e d in that it is made in a planar monolithic circuit technique, where the inductors and the mutual inductance are realised as coupled microstrip lines (3), and the short-circuit which is formed in the second state of the circuit comprises the first switching element (FET 1, 4a), one of the coupled microstrip lines (3b) and an insulating crossover (5) of a microstrip line. 8. An artificial line as claimed in any one of claims 2-5, c h a r a c t e r - i s e d in that a plurality of artificial lines are cascade-coupled and that a control voltage for the entire composed artificial line is applied to the different artificial lines in series via intermediate impedances R, such that respective artificial line changes its state in turn as the control voltage increases. 9. An artificial line as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the artificial line is a continuously tunable artificial line by the capacitors C and C 2 being designed as varactors, and that a first range within which the group delay GD should be tunable is selected, whereupon this is transferred to a range of the cut-off 2 1 + kΩ 2 frequency f c according to the equation GD(ω) = = (equation 17), ω c (1-/-Q 2 ) +Ω 2 whereupon a cut-off frequency within this range is selected, followed by a choice of L and M at the selected frequency according to the equations in claim 1 , finally the capacitances of the varactors being variable, such that the artificial line gives the delay which is intended in each moment, according to the equation (equation 17) written above in this claim, the calculation occurring via a frequency value obtained from the equations in claim 1. 10. An artificial line as claimed in claim 9, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that it is made in a planar monolithic circuit technique, where the inductors and the mutual inductance are realised as coupled microstrip lines (3), the varactor C 1 (C V1 ) consists of a field effect transistor (4a) where the drain and source are interconnected and the bias for tuning is applied to its gate and the varactor C 2 (C V2 ) consists of a field effect transistor (4b) coupled and biased in a manner corresponding to that of the first-mentioned field effect transistor. 11. An artificial line as claimed in claim 9 or 10, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that at least one self-switched artificial line according to any one of claims 2-8 is cascade-coupled to the tunable artificial line.

Inventors: CARLEGRIM BOERJE, OUACHA AZIZ, CARLEGRIM, BOERJE, OUACHA, AZIZ
Applicants: CARLEGRIM BOERJE, FOERSVARETS FORSKNINGSANSTALT, OUACHA AZIZ, CARLEGRIM, BOERJE, OUACHA, AZIZ
Application year: 1998
Main classification: H03H11
IPC codes: H03H7, H03H11