Batch No: 2015EC009

DESIGNING A RAT-RACE COUPLER WITH DEFECTED

GROUND STRUCTURE
ABSTRACT
A rat-race coupler is a circular device often used to split or combine radio
frequency and microwave signals. The size of the conductor ring in the coupler is
typically equal to one-and-a-half wavelengths, and there are four ports that are separated
by 90°. Output signals sometimes undergo a phase-shift of 180°, meaning the waveform
on a graph will shift a certain distance based on the size of the change. The ports on a
rat-race coupler are generally placed one-quarter of a wavelength apart from one another.
These ports are usually located on the top half, while the bottom part of the ring runs for
three-quarters of a wavelength with no inputs or outputs. Rat-race couplers are widely
used due to their simplicity and wide bandwidth in dividing power. They are used in
power amplifiers, mixers, and antenna systems
In this project, a defected ground structure (DGS) is applied to design a compact
microstrip rat-race hybrid coupler. The proposed structure can achieve both a significant
reduction of size and harmonic signal. By embedding the DGS section, it is observed that
the VSWR is approximately equals to 1 which is desired, the Return Loss is suppressed
to 38dB and bandwidth has been improved with respect to a conventional rat-race hybrid
coupler and simulation has done on HFSS (High Frequency Structure Simulator).

Submitted by,

R. Sai Teja 15MU1A0444

G. Kavya 15MU1A0417
K. Chandralekha 15MU1A0420

Project Guide Co-ordinator HOD

Mr. M. Vinod Kumar M.TECH Mr. K. Sekhar Babu M. TECH Mr. B. Venkatesh M. TECH
Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Associate Professor