A novel Wilkinson power divider based on slotted microstrip cross — Junction

Abstract

A novel microstrip Wilkinson power divider with separate paths for the even and odd modes is presented in this paper. The proposed divider has a single quarter wavelength impedance transformer section and a reduced dimension in the transverse direction. This is achieved by etching a longitudinal slot in the ground plane of the microstrip where the isolation resistor is added. To develop a design procedure for the proposed divider, an equivalent circuit model for the slotted microstrip cross junction is also proposed. The model is validated by implementing a two-way band-pass filter. The proposed divider has a typical Wilkinson power divider performance of 0.2 dB insertion loss within 72% fractional bandwidth (15 dB return loss) and −24 dB isolation at the operating frequency. Meanwhile, it has the advantage of short lateral dimensions compared to its counter-parts. Theoretical predictions have been verified by EM simulations and measurements.