Development and Thorough Investigation of Dual-Band Wilkinson Power Divider for Arbitrary Impedance Environment

Abstract

In the design and development of front-end communication systems, the arbitrary impedance environments are encountered frequently. In this article, a three-port dual-band equal power divider is proposed which also transforms all types of impedance environments at its ports inherently. The power divider is suitable for a wide range of arbitrary frequency ratios and impedance terminations at each of the input and output ports. A systematic design procedure with a design flow graph is provided. The closed-form design equations make the design process simple and quick for prototyping purposes. The proposed design approach enhances the design flexibility significantly with the presence of multiple independent variables. Design examples with distinct design specifications are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and flexibility of the architecture. A prototype working at 1/2.6 GHz and with frequency-dependent complex load (FDCL) terminations at the input and output ports is fabricated and measured to validate the proposed architecture and design methodology. The proposed dual-band impedance transforming power divider exhibits controllable bandwidths, planar structure without any reactive element, compact size, and the ability to provide port matching for any real, complex, and frequency-dependent complex impedance terminations.

Keywords

• Frequency varying impedances
• dual-band power divider
• frequency-dependent impedance transformer
• high frequency ratio
• impedance matching
• impedance transforming power divider