IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 59, NO.
7, JULY 2011
Generalized Methods for the Design of Quasi-Ideal
Symmetric and Asymmetric Coupled-Line
Sections and Directional Couplers
Slawomir Gruszczynski and Krzysztof Wincza
Abstract—Generalized methods for the design of quasi-ideal
symmetric and asymmetric coupled-line sections have been pro-
posed. Two cases of coupled-line sections, in which the inductive
coupling coefficient is either greater or smaller than the capacitive
coupling coefficient, have been separately considered. To com-
pensate for the coupling coefficients’ inequality, a combination
of lumped capacitors and short coupled-line sections has been
introduced into the coupled-line section. The proposed methods
allow for designing quasi-ideal coupled-line sections in nearly
arbitrarily chosen dielectric media and for arbitrarily chosen
coupling. The theoretical analyses have been verified by the design
and measurement of three compensated coupled-line directional
couplers illustrating application of the proposed methods in
different dielectric structures.
Index Terms—Capacitive and inductive coupling coefficients,
compensation techniques, coupled-line sections, directional cou-
plers.
I. INTRODUCTION
D ESIGNING OF coupled-line directional couplers has
been a subject of study over the past decades [1]–[7].
In general, two types of coupled-line sections can be distin-
guished, i.e., symmetric and asymmetric ones. In the design of
symmetric coupled-line sections, described, for example, in [2]
and [8], a modal approach is used in which two normal modes
are considered, namely, even and odd modes. Realization of
ideal symmetrical coupled-line sections requires that two con-
ditions have to be fulfilled, which are: 1) a product of even and
odd mode characteristic impedances of coupled lines equals
the square of a terminating impedance and 2) modal phase
velocities are equal. In the design of asymmetric coupled-line
sections, two modes, the mode and mode, propagate in the
structure [3]. It was shown in [4] that for such a coupled-line
section, the conditions for an ideal coupler realization are:
1) the ratio of self-inductance and self-capacitance of the line
equals the square of the terminating impedance
(1)
Manuscript received January 24, 2011; revised March 23, 2011; accepted
March 26, 2011. Date of publication May 02, 2011; date of current version July
13, 2011. This work was supported in part by the National Center for Research
and Development under the Lider Program.
The authors are with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering Automatics,
Information Technology and Electronics, AGH University of Science and Tech-
nology 30-059 Cracow, Poland (e-mail: slawomir.gruszczynski@agh.edu.pl;
krzysztof.wincza@agh.edu.pl).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMTT.2011.2138155
0018-9480/$26.00 © 2011 IEEE
1709
where , —characteristic impedances of terminating
lines and 2) inductive and capacitive coefficients are equal
(2)
It is important to remember that symmetric coupled lines
are the special case of more general asymmetric coupled lines,
therefore, the conditions of ideal asymmetric coupled-line sec-
tion realization are more general and apply also for the case of
symmetric coupled-line sections.
In practice, coupled-line sections are realized in various di-
electric structures and coupled-line cross-sectional geometries.
In some special cases, such as homogeneous stripline coupled
lines or inhomogeneous stripline edge-coupled lines for which
the thicknesses of the top and bottom layers are identical, the
conditions of ideal coupled-line section realization are always
fulfilled, and therefore, it is theoretically possible to design a
directional coupler having perfect impedance match and ideal
isolation at all frequencies. It is, however, often necessary in
practice to utilize other types of coupled-line structures in which
the conditions of ideal coupled-line section realization are not
met, among which a microstrip technique is the best example
since this technique is broadly used due to its simplicity.
A number of techniques have been reported over the years to
allow for realization of directional couplers having improved
return losses and isolation by equalization of even and odd
mode phase velocities (in case of symmetric couplers) and
inductive and capacitive coupling coefficients (in case of asym-
metric ones). The known techniques can be divided into the
following four groups.
1) The compensation technique in which equalization of cou-
pling coefficients is achieved by a proper choice of dielec-
tric layers and coupled-line geometry [8]–[17]. In [8] for
example, an edge-coupled section with a slot in a ground
plane has been presented, which allows for equalization of
the even and odd mode phase velocities. Similarly in [9]
and [10], the multilayer edge-coupled microstrip lines have
been presented. In [11], a two 10-dB directional coupler
has been presented in which equalization of phase veloci-
ties of even and odd modes has been achieved with the di-
electric overlay technique. Similar overlay technique has
been shown in [12] for application in a three-strip interdig-
itated coupler. Comprehensive studies have been presented
in [13] and [14] where a number of different asymmetric
coupled-line geometries has been shown with the possi-
bility of coupling coefficients compensation followed by
[15]–[17].
1710 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 59, NO. 7, JULY 2011
2) The compensation technique in which lumped elements are
connected to coupled lines [16], [18]–[30]. In [18], the au-
thors presented a possibility of edge-coupled-line coupler
compensation with a single capacitive element connected
between coupled lines. Similar investigation has been de-
scribed in [19]. In [20], a single capacitive or inductive el-
ement compensation has been presented and appropriate
formulas allowing to calculate values of compensating el-
ements have been shown. The presented method assumes
equalization of even and odd mode phase velocities for
the center frequency only and the frequency characteris-
tics deteriorate in a wider frequency range. A number of
papers describes a single or multiple element compensa-
tion technique presented in [20] with modifications on a
type, placement, and a number of compensating elements
(i.e., lumped capacitors, lumped inductors, step-impedance
transformers, complex impedances, coupled spur lines, in-
terdigital capacitors, feedback transmission-line sections)
[21]–[30]; however, the techniques give, by the principle
of deriving compensating element values, a resonant fre-
quency response.
3) The compensation technique in which coupled lines are
modified periodically resulting in modal phase velocities’
equalization or coupling coefficients’ equalization. Such
a technique was first proposed in [31] and extended in
[32] where a wiggly-line coupler has been introduced. In
[33], a compensation technique has been shown in which
additional coupled floating conductors have been placed
along coupled lines improving the isolation of the cou-
pler. In [7], the authors have proposed a capacitive com-
pensation that allows for coupling coefficients equalization
in a suspended stripline technique. In this method, com-
pensating elements are equally distributed along coupled
lines allowing for an appropriate decrease of the capaci-
tive coupling coefficient to the value of the inductive one.
The proposed procedure is iterative since it is also desired
to achieve appropriate impedance of coupled lines. The
method has been also applied for the design of the broad-
band three-section directional coupler shown in [34].
4) Other compensation techniques such as compensation with
the use of delay lines [35], compensation with the use of
stepped-impedance sections [36], or compensation using
corrugated ground planes [37].
In this paper, a generalized approach to the design of cou-
pled-line sections and directional couplers is described. The pro-
posed methods allow for compensating symmetric and asym-
metric coupled-line sections in which the inductive coupling co-
efficient is either greater or smaller than the capacitive one
by far extending the idea presented in [7], where a single
compensating element was considered, which allowed for ful-
filling only one of the two conditions of ideal coupler realization
and, therefore, the iterative procedure involving recalculation
of coupled-line geometry was required. The hereafter proposed
methods allow for arbitrary choice of coupling and is not itera-
tive, therefore, does not demand for multiple recalculation of the
initially selected coupled-line geometry. Moreover, the paper
proposes a compensation of asymmetric coupled-line sections
with the use of lumped compensating elements that has never
been addressed in the literature. In [29], the authors present the
asymmetric coupled-line coupler compensated with lumped ca-
pacitors, but their analytical approach is based on modal param-
eters used for description of symmetric couplers (i.e., even and
odd mode characteristic impedances and even and odd mode
phase velocities). Moreover, the results obtained in [29] have a
resonant nature improving the coupler’s parameters in a narrow
frequency range.
The presented theoretical investigation has been illustrated
with a design of three different coupled-line directional cou-
plers: a symmetrical edge-coupled 11-dB directional coupler (in
which ), an asymmetric multilayer 3-dB directional
coupler in a dielectric structure having , and finally,
an asymmetric multilayer 3-dB directional coupler in a dielec-
tric structure having . The presented results prove the
possibility of designing high-performance directional couplers
using the proposed compensation technique.
II. COMPENSATED SYMMETRIC COUPLED-LINE SECTION
Let us first consider a simple case of a symmetric coupled-line
section in which , which is typical for realization of
coupled-line directional couplers in the edge-coupled microstrip
technique. Due to the fact that the inductive coupling coefficient
is greater than the capacitive one, the mutual capacitance has to
be increased in order to increase the capacitive coupling coeffi-
cient. However, by increasing the mutual capacitance, the char-
acteristic impedance of coupled lines is decreased, which has to
be taken into account to achieve ideal return losses and isolation.
Therefore, an iterative procedure, similar to the one presented
in [7], could be proposed for designing high-performance di-
rectional couplers in structures for which . However,
to avoid the iterative procedure, an additional degree of freedom
can be introduced by varying the value of self-inductance, which
leads to the structure shown in Fig. 1, where a coupled-line sec-
tion has been shown with equally spaced lumped elements
and . This allows one to design an ideal coupled-line section
for arbitrarily chosen coupling and particularly chosen dielec-
tric structure of coupled lines for which the condition
(3)
is met. Let us consider the coupled-line section for which the
condition (3) is fulfilled. Having found the even and odd mode
characteristic impedances and effective dielectric constants for
a particular dielectric structure and particular coupling , even
and odd mode capacitances can be found as follows:
(4)
(5)
where are even and odd mode effective permittivities. Self-
capacitance and mutual capacitance and per unit length
of the coupled lines can be calculated as follows:
(6)
(7)
GRUSZCZYNSKI AND WINCZA: DESIGN OF QUASI-IDEAL SYMMETRIC AND ASYMMETRIC COUPLED-LINE SECTIONS AND DIRECTIONAL COUPLERS 1711

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the symmetric coupled-line section compensated

with n equally spaced lumped compensating capacitances C and inductances
L .

and the capacitance and inductance matrices can be found. Now

let us introduce correcting values and per unit length,
which modify the self-inductance and the mutual capacitance.
The modified inductive and capacitive coupling coefficients can
be written as
Fig. 2. Calculated return losses of an uncompensated and compensated cou-
pled-line section having Z = 73 66

: ,Z = 34 05

: = 7 127
," : ,
and " = 5 724
: for which compensating values C = 20 1 =
: pF=m, L
(8) 30 5
: nH=m have been found and have been divided into n =123 4 ; ; ; and
subsections.
(9)

From the conditions of ideal coupler realization, one can ob-

tain

(10)

(11)

By solving this set of equations, the expressions for and

can be found

(12)

(13)
Fig. 3. Calculated isolation of an uncompensated and compensated coupled-
line section having Z = 73 66

: ,Z = 34 05
= 7 127
: ," : , and " =
Similar to the method presented in [7], the compensating capac- 5 724
: for which compensating values C = 20 1 = 30 5
: pF=m, L : nH=m
itance per unit length and inductance per unit length can be re-
=1 2 3 4
have been found and have been divided into n ; ; ; and subsections.
alized as lumped capacitors and inductors equally spaced along
the coupled lines. The values of the compensating capacitances
and inductances can be found from III. COMPENSATED ASYMMETRIC COUPLED-LINE SECTION
CASE I:

(14) Section II describes the most simple case of the symmetric

coupled-line section. Now let us consider a general asymmetric
(15) coupled-line section shown in Fig. 4(a) for which we make
the assumption (the opposite case is presented in
Fig. 1 presents the idea of compensation with the use of Section IV). Initial values of and matrices are calculated
equally spaced compensating elements along the coupled lines. (denoted and ) for the chosen coupled-line geometry
Figs. 2 and 3 show, respectively, the calculated return losses and and dielectric stratification, with a numerical software such
isolations of the uncompensated coupled-line section and com- as [38], to meet the conditions (1) (for a chosen value ,
pensated one with and . It is seen that the method typically equal 50 for both lines) and the following:
provides significant improvement even for . It is impor-
tant to note that the improvement obtained with the proposed (16)
method is observed within the entire operational bandwidth and
opposite to the method described in [19] does not feature a reso- where is a required coupling value.
nant character. For as low as 4, the achieved return losses and Two conditions of ideal coupler realization (1) and (2) re-
isolation are nearly ideal. quire that the values of and matrices should fulfill the
1712 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 59, NO. 7, JULY 2011

following set of equations:

(17)

Due to the fact that the values of and matrices do

not meet condition (2), a set of four independent variables is
introduced, i.e., , , , , to find a solution of (17),
which leads to

Fig. 4. (a) Generic schematic of an asymmetric coupled-line section, (b) com-

pensated section of asymmetric coupled lines divided into n subsections, and
(17a) (c) equivalent circuit of a single subsection of compensated asymmetric cou-
pled-line section.

(23)

where is understood as of the corresponding capaci-

(24)
tance matrix throughout the scope of this paper.
By solving (17), one can calculate
where is the length of shortened section of coupled lines de-
scribed by and matrices, is the length of compen-
(18) sating section of coupled lines described by and ma-
trices, and is the initial length of the section of
(19) coupled lines described by and matrices. The length
(20) of the compensating section shall be chosen in such a way to
ensure the positive value of and feasibility of physical real-
(21) ization of the section.
In the next step, the compensating section needs to be de-
where signed to have the inductance matrix equal to with the use
. of a numerical software, e.g., [38]. After the section is designed,
Since (18) provides correctional value for the mutual capaci- the capacitance matrix of the section is known. Shortening
tance of coupled lines, the feasibility of physical realization re- the main section described by the matrices and has de-
quires to be positive. Hence, a positive value of the two is creased the total capacitance, which has been increased by the
chosen for further calculations. Fig. 4(b) shows a schematic of capacitance of the compensating section. However, the balance
a compensated coupled-line section where values of compen- of the total capacitance is positive, meaning that there is still ca-
sating elements , , , and are calculated from pacitance missing, which can be calculated as follows:
(14) and (15) analogically, as shown in Section II. Since the cou-
pling is chosen arbitrarily between and , the calculated
(25)
value of can be either positive or negative. In order to find
physical realization regardless of , it is necessary to divide
where the matrix is the matrix representing the compen-
each subsection into two subsections that in total accommodate
sating capacitance found from (18) and can be expressed as
the necessary values of , , and as it is shown in
Fig. 4(c).
In the next step, the inductance matrix of the compen- (26)
sating section is found as follows:
The compensating capacitances represented by need to
(22) be realized as lumped capacitors connected to coupled lines, as
GRUSZCZYNSKI AND WINCZA: DESIGN OF QUASI-IDEAL SYMMETRIC AND ASYMMETRIC COUPLED-LINE SECTIONS AND DIRECTIONAL COUPLERS 1713

shown schematically in Fig. 4(c), and the values of compen-

sating capacitors are calculated as follows:

(27)
(28)
(29)

IV. COMPENSATED ASYMMETRIC COUPLED-LINE SECTION

CASE II:
The problem of compensation of coupled-line sections in
which can be approached in a similar way that was
proposed in Section III. Due to the fact that the inductive
coupling coefficient is smaller than the capacitive one, the com- Fig. 5. Generic schematic of compensated section of asymmetric coupled lines
divided into n subsections in which k < k .
pensating elements could be chosen as , , , and
with the being negative. This approach, however, would
lead to the structures with no physical realization. To overcome
this difficulty, we propose an alternative set of compensating
elements, which are , , and with the condition that
. As a starting point, a section of coupled lines has to be
designed for which the following three conditions hold:

(30)
(31)

and

(32)

where is the final terminating impedance of both lines of

compensated coupled-line section. It is important to underline Fig. 6. Calculated frequency characteristics of an uncompensated (dashed
that if the conditions (30)–(32) are fulfilled, all the compen- lines) and compensated (solid lines) coupled-line section having Z =
68 47

: ,Z = 37 13
= 1 83 = 1 6
: ," : ," : for which compensating
sating capacitances are positive, which ensures further physical values C = 66 = 81
: pF=m, L : nH=m have been found and have been
realization. For the section for which , (32) simpli- =4
divided into n = 0 0315
sections (C = 0 0387
: pF, L : nH).
fies to

(33)

Once the coupled-line section is appropriately designed (i.e.,

the inductive coupling coefficient of the section is equal to the
required coupling and (31) and (33) hold), the compensation
can be provided by introducing a set of lumped capacitances,
as shown in Fig. 5. It is worth mentioning that all values of
compensating capacitances are necessarily positive. The values
of compensating capacitances per unit length can be expressed
as
(34)
(35)
(36)
Values of lumped compensating elements , , and
are calculated analogically, as shown in Section II from (14).
( = 22:5 ) of edge-coupled microstrip
Fig. 7. Layout of a short section 
lines with added compensating elements.
V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The analyses presented in Sections II–IV prove the possibility
of improvement of symmetrical and asymmetric directional
couplers; however, the assumed quasi-static approach does not
take under consideration two important aspects in the design
of coupled-line circuits, which are: 1) dispersion and 2) dis-
continuities arising from physical realization of compensating
elements. Therefore, the presented theoretical considerations
are a very good starting point, but need to be followed by a
full-wave analysis using 3-D electromagnetic simulators to
design and optimize the compensating elements, as well as take
under consideration dispersion and other discontinuities usually
1714 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 59, NO. 7, JULY 2011

TABLE I
PARAMETERS OF THE DESIGNED COUPLED-LINE SECTION IN WHICH k > k ,
= 0 051
DESIGNED IN THE STRUCTURE SHOWN IN FIG. 10, HAVING h : mm,
" = 3 4 = 0 02
: ,h : mm, "= 3 38 = 1 27
: ,h = 10 2
: mm, " :
AND w = 0 62
: mm, w = 0 35 = 02
: mm, o : mm FOR THE MAIN
SECTION AND w= 0 23 = 02
: mm, w = 0 29
: mm, o : mm
FOR THE COMPENSATING SECTION

Fig. 8. Frequency characteristics of the designed edge-coupled microstrip

11-dB directional coupler. The comparison between electromagnetically
simulated frequency characteristics of the uncompensated (doted lines) and
compensated (dashed lines) directional coupler (a). The comparison between
electromagnetically simulated (dashed lines) and measured (solid lines)
frequency characteristics of the compensated directional coupler (b).

Fig. 9. Photograph of the manufactured compensated edge-coupled microstrip

11-dB directional coupler.

Fig. 11. Calculated frequency characteristics of an uncompensated (dashed

lines) and compensated (solid lines) coupled-line section for which k > k .

Fig. 10. Cross section of the dielectric structure used for the design of asym-
metric coupled-line directional couplers.
occurring in directional couplers design such as connection
between coupled and uncoupled lines. In our procedure, we
have first designed the coupled-line geometry with the use of
numerical transmission line calculators using the spectral-do-
main approach or finite-difference approach (both techniques
are interchangeably exploited in our research) and designed the
directional couplers using the MicrowaveOffice package for
electromagnetic calculations in which all compensating ele-
ments could have been designed and optimized, and parameters
of complete directional couplers could have been calculated.
To verify the theoretical analysis, three different directional
couplers have been designed and manufactured. First, an 11-dB
edge-coupled microstrip directional coupler has been consid-
ered. The coupler has been designed on a laminate substrate
having thickness mm and dielectric constant
GRUSZCZYNSKI AND WINCZA: DESIGN OF QUASI-IDEAL SYMMETRIC AND ASYMMETRIC COUPLED-LINE SECTIONS AND DIRECTIONAL COUPLERS
Fig. 12. Frequency characteristics of the designed multilayer microstrip 3-dB
directional coupler for which k > k . (a) The comparison between electro-
magnetically simulated frequency characteristics of the uncompensated (doted
lines) and compensated (dashed lines) directional coupler. (b) The comparison
between electromagnetically simulated (dashed lines) and measured (solid
lines) frequency characteristics of the compensated directional coupler.
. The geometry of coupled lines has been found with the
use of [38], the strip widths mm and the slot width
mm for which , ,
, and . The calculated frequency characteristics of
the compensated and uncompensated coupled-line section are
shown in Fig. 6. The compensation has been achieved with the
lumped capacitors and inductors found from (12)–(15) and with
the number of subsections . A significant improvement
has been obtained, both return losses and isolation have been
improved by over 30 dB. The obtained values of compensating
elements equal pF and nH. The
compensating capacitances have been realized as interdig-
ital capacitors, whereas series inductors have been realized as
slits in the coupled conductors (made simultaneously with the
interdigital capacitors). The physical realization of the direc-
tional coupler requires the connection of input and output trans-
mission lines to the coupled-line section, which introduces par-
asitic reactances deteriorating coupler’s performance [5], [6],
[39]; therefore, the final circuit needs to be optimized to min-
imize the performance deterioration due to parasitics. Fig. 7
presents the layout of the designed directional coupler’s sub-
section. Measurement results of the manufactured coupler in
1715
Fig. 13. (a) Layout and (b) photograph of the manufactured compensated mul-
tilayer microstrip 3-dB directional coupler in which k > k .
comparison with the electromagnetic calculations of both un-
compensated and compensated coupler are shown in Fig. 8. It is
seen that the isolation of the manufactured directional coupler
has been improved by over 10 dB in comparison with the un-
compensated coupled-line section. Fig. 9 shows a photograph
of the manufactured coupled-line directional coupler.
The method proposed in Section III for the design of asym-
metric coupled-line directional couplers in which has
been experimentally verified by the design of a 3-dB directional
coupler in the dielectric structure shown in Fig. 10 in which
mm, , mm, ,
mm, and . The geometrical dimensions
of the coupled-line section have been numerically found
mm, mm, mm for which values of
and matrices are presented in Table I. The capacitive cou-
pling coefficient for such a section equals , whereas
the inductive coupling coefficient equals . The cou-
pler’s coupling has been chosen . For these values,
the compensating elements per unit length have been found and
are listed in Table I. It is worth noticing that the required mu-
tual inductance is negative due to the fact that the chosen cou-
pler’s coupling is lower than the inductive coupling coefficient.
Having found the compensation elements per unit length, the
1716 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 59, NO. 7, JULY 2011

TABLE II
PARAMETERS OF THE DESIGNED COUPLED-LINE SECTION IN WHICH k < k ,
DESIGNED IN THE STRUCTURE SHOWN IN FIG. 10, HAVING h = 0 025
: mm,
" =34
: ,h = 0 06
: mm, " = 3 38
: ,h = 0 787
: mm, " = 2 05
: ,
w = 0 61
: mm, w = 0 54
: mm, o =05 : mm

Fig. 14. Calculated frequency characteristics of an uncompensated (dashed

lines) and compensated (solid lines) coupled-line section for which k < k .

number of subsections has been assumed and the induc-

tance matrix has been calculated for the chosen mm,
which ensured physical realization ( positive). In the next
step, the geometrical dimensions of the coupled-line section that
realizes the matrix have been found to be mm,
mm, and mm. For this section, the ma-
trix has been found and the final values of compensating capac-
itances have been calculated with the use of (25)–(29). Results
of circuit analyses of the uncompensated and compensated cou-
pled-line section are shown in Fig. 11. The proposed method al-
lowed for over 40-dB improvement of return losses and isolation
in wide frequency range while achieving the required coupling
. The designed directional coupler has been analyzed electro-
magnetically, manufactured, and measured. Results of both sim-
ulations and measurements are presented in Fig. 12 and are in
a good agreement. The improvement of the isolation and re-
turn losses of the measured directional coupler reaches 10 dB
in comparison with the uncompensated coupled-line section.
Fig. 13 shows the layout and the photograph of the manufac-
tured coupler.
Similarly the method of designing asymmetric directional
couplers in which has been verified experimentally
by the design of a 3-dB directional coupler with the use of the
dielectric structure shown in Fig. 10 having mm, Fig. 15. Frequency characteristics of the designed multilayer microstrip 3-dB
, mm, , mm, and directional coupler for which k < k . (a) The comparison between electro-
magnetically simulated frequency characteristics of the uncompensated (doted
. The geometrical dimensions of the coupled-line lines) and compensated (dashed lines) directional coupler. (b) The comparison
section having and are mm, between electromagnetically simulated (dashed lines) and measured (solid
mm, and mm. It is worth noting that the ter- lines) frequency characteristics of the compensated directional coupler.
minating impedances of the section are about 55 . The values
of the compensating capacitances are shown in Table II. Fig. 14
shows the results of circuit analysis of the uncompensated (for about 30 dB. The measurement results in comparison with the
which the condition (1) is met) and compensated directional electromagnetic calculations of both the uncompensated and
coupler. The improvement of return losses and isolation is compensated coupler are presented in Fig. 15, in this case, the
GRUSZCZYNSKI AND WINCZA: DESIGN OF QUASI-IDEAL SYMMETRIC AND ASYMMETRIC COUPLED-LINE SECTIONS AND DIRECTIONAL COUPLERS
Fig. 16. (a) Layout and (b) photograph of the manufactured compensated mul-
tilayer microstrip 3-dB directional coupler in which k < k .
isolation has been improved by over 10 dB. Fig. 16 shows the
layout and photograph of the manufactured coupler.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, novel methods for designing directional cou-
plers in arbitrary dielectric structures have been proposed. The
methods apply for both symmetric and asymmetric directional
couplers. Although compensation of symmetric couplers has
been widely described in literature, the proposed method pro-
vides for broadband frequency response improvement and al-
lows for choosing the coupling . The compensation of asym-
metric coupled-line sections has been for the first time compre-
hensively investigated and appropriate methods have been de-
veloped.
The following three different cases have been theoretically
and experimentally investigated.
• Symmetric coupled lines in which . Theory Tech., vol. 54, no. 9, pp. 3501–3507, Sep. 2006.
• Asymmetric coupled lines in which —the method
allows for designing of coupled-line sections with cou-
pling coefficient chosen within the boundaries given by the
values of inductive and capacitive coupling coefficients.
• Asymmetric coupled lines in which —in which
the coupling of the coupled-line section is determined by
the inductive coupling coefficient of the initially chosen
structure. The improvement in this case above the method
described in [7] lies in the fact that no iterative approach is
needed; however, the initial section needs to be chosen in
1717
a way to meet two conditions stated in Section IV (31) and
(33).
The approach presented in Section III is general for designing
couplers in which the inductive coupling coefficient is greater
than the capacitive coupling coefficient and can also be used
for couplers considered in Section II. However, the simplified
theory presented in Section II has been additionally shown due
to the fact that it directly applies to the very often practically
used microstrip edge-coupled directional couplers.
The presented methods are general since they are based upon
the conditions of ideal coupler realization (1) and (2) unlike the
methods in which the circuit approach is used and evaluation is
always taken at the center frequency, which leads to narrowband
improvement.
The theoretical investigation has been proven with the design
and measurements of the three coupled-line directional cou-
plers. In each case, improvement to both isolation and return
losses has been achieved when comparing the parameters of un-
compensated coupled-line sections to the results of measure-
ments. It is needed to comment that the physical realization
of coupled-line sections requires connection of signal lines in-
troducing parasitic reactances [5], [6]. The effect of parasitics
is strong in the case of 3-dB couplers masking the improve-
ments to the coupled-line sections, therefore, the experimen-
tally obtained results show smaller improvement than theoret-
ically obtained from circuit and electromagnetic calculations of
coupled-line sections analyzed without the connection of signal
lines. The presented theory allows for the design of nearly ideal
coupled-line sections, which can be used in the design of more
complex circuits such as multisection directional couplers, cou-
pled-line phase shifters, and other.
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Slawomir Gruszczynski was born in Wroclaw,
Poland, on December 14, 1976. He received the
M.Sc. degree and Ph.D. degree in electronics and
electrical engineering from the Wroclaw University
of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland, in 2001 and 2006,
respectively.
From 2001 to 2006, he was with the Wroclaw
Division, Telecommunications Research Institute,
where he was involved in numerous projects for
military applications. In 2005, he joined the Institute
of Telecommunications, Teleinformatics and Acous-
tics, Wroclaw University of Technology, becoming an Assistant Professor in
2006. In 2009, he joined the Faculty of Electronics, AGH University of Science
and Technology, Cracow, Poland. He has coauthored 58 scientific papers,
including journal, European Microwave Conference, and IEEE Antennas and
Propagation Symposium papers.
Krzysztof Wincza was born in Walbrzych, Poland,
on May 27, 1979. He received the M.Sc. degree and
Ph.D. degree in electronics and electrical engineering
from the Wroclaw University of Technology, Wro-
claw, Poland, in 2003 and 2007, respectively.
In 2007, he joined the Institute of Telecommunica-
tions, Teleinformatics and Acoustics, Wroclaw Uni-
versity of Technology. In 2009, he joined the Faculty
of Electronics, AGH University of Science and Tech-
nology, Cracow, Poland, where he is currently an As-
sistant Professor. He has coauthored 54 scientific pa-
pers.
Dr. Wincza was the recipient of The Youth Award presented at the 10th Na-
tional Symposium of Radio Sciences (URSI) and the Young Scientist Grant
awarded by the Foundation for Polish Science in 2001 and 2008, respectively.