Composite right/left handed (CRLH) hybrid-ring couplers
First Claim
1. A hybrid-ring coupler apparatus for generating separate signal channels from a radio-frequency input, comprising:
- a plurality of input lines configured for receiving an input signal;
a plurality of output lines interposed with said input lines; and
a plurality of transmission lines, each transmission line (TL) connecting between neighboring said input line and said output line to form a ring;
wherein at least a portion of said TLs incorporate a composite right/left handed (CRLH) TL; and
wherein capacitance and inductance contributions of a left-handed (LH) section and a right-handed (RH) section of said CRLH-TL are chosen so that a phase response of said CRLH-TL is dominated by a LH contribution at below a center frequency, while the phase response is dominated by a RH contribution at above the center frequency.
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Accused Products
Abstract
High-frequency couplers and coupling techniques are described utilizing artificial composite right/left-handed transmission line (CRLH-TL). Three specific forms of couplers are described; (1) a coupled-line backward coupler is described with arbitrary tight/loose coupling and broad bandwidth; (2) a compact enhanced-bandwidth hybrid ring coupler is described with increased bandwidth and decreased size; and (3) a dual-band branch-line coupler that is not limited to a harmonic relation between the bands. These variations are preferably implemented in a microstrip fabrication process and may use lumped-element components. The couplers and coupling techniques are directed at increasing the utility while decreasing the size of high-frequency couplers, and are suitable for use with separate coupler or couplers integrated within integrated devices.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A hybrid-ring coupler apparatus for generating separate signal channels from a radio-frequency input, comprising:
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a plurality of input lines configured for receiving an input signal; a plurality of output lines interposed with said input lines; and a plurality of transmission lines, each transmission line (TL) connecting between neighboring said input line and said output line to form a ring; wherein at least a portion of said TLs incorporate a composite right/left handed (CRLH) TL; and wherein capacitance and inductance contributions of a left-handed (LH) section and a right-handed (RH) section of said CRLH-TL are chosen so that a phase response of said CRLH-TL is dominated by a LH contribution at below a center frequency, while the phase response is dominated by a RH contribution at above the center frequency. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A hybrid-ring coupler apparatus for generating separate signal channels from a radio-frequency input, comprising:
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a plurality of input lines configured for receiving an input signal; a plurality of output lines interposed with said input lines; and a plurality of transmission lines, each transmission line (TL) connecting between neighboring said input line and said output line to form a ring; wherein at least a portion of said TLs incorporate a composite right/left handed (CRLH) TL. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A hybrid-ring coupler apparatus for generating separate signal channels from a radio-frequency input, comprising:
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a plurality of input lines configured for receiving an input signal; a plurality of output lines interposed with said input lines; and a plurality of transmission lines, each transmission line (TL) connecting between neighboring said input line and said output line to form a ring; wherein at least a portion of said TLs comprises a composite right/left-handed (CRLH) TL having right-handed transmission line (RH-TL) and left-handed transmission line (LH-TL) sections providing a total phase rotation of −
90°
. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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Specification