A Broadband Out-of-phase Power Divider for High Power Applications Using through Ground via (tgv)

In this paper, we present a broadband out-of-phase power divider with high power-handling capability. The proposed device consists of several sections of double-sided parallel-strip lines (DSPSLs), a mid-inserted conductor plane, and two external isolation resistors, which are directly grounded for heat sinking. A through ground via (TGV), connecting the top and bottom sides of DSPSLs, is employed. The special metal via is realized to short the isolation resistors at full-frequency band when the odd-mode is excited. Meanwhile, it can be ignored as the excitation is even-mode. This property is efficiently utilized to improve the bandwidth. To examine the proposed power divider in detail, a set of closed-form equations are derived. Meanwhile, the power operation analysis illustrates that the proposed power divider is a good candidate for high power applications. The design charts show that the proposed device can support a wide frequency ratio range (1–1.7). Furthermore, broadband responses can be obtained when proper frequency ratios are adopted. For verification, an experimental power divider operating at 1.25/1.75 GHz is implemented. The measured results exhibit a bandwidth of 44.3% with better than 15 dB return loss and 18 dB port isolation is achieved. Received 7 January 2013, Accepted 2 February 2013, Scheduled 8 March 2013 * Corresponding author: Gaole Dai ([email protected]).