TRL Lange Coupler

Lange Coupler Design

Keyword

Default

Unit

Description

N

Req (Phys)

m

Number of strips (2, 4, or 6)

W

Req (Phys)

m

Spacing between conductors

S

Req (Phys)

m

Spacing between strips

Sps

10

Number of substrips used in the analysis. Substrips/strip ´ number of strips £ 60

Z

50

ohm

Connecting line impedance to account for impedance change from feed line to coupler

P

Req (Elec Opt 2)

m

Physical length of the coupler

K

Req (Elec Opt 1)

dB

Coupling coefficient (positive)

Z0

Req (Elec Opt 1)

ohm

Impedance of the coupled lines

Ze

Req (Elec Opt 2)

ohm

Even-mode impedance of the coupled lines

Zo

Req (Elec Opt 2)

ohm

Odd-mode impedance of the coupled lines

E

0

deg

Electrical length of the coupler

Frequency

0

Hz

The frequency at which the quasistatic calculations are performed and reused at other analysis frequencies

H

Required

m

Substrate thickness

Er

Required

Relative dielectric constant

Thickness

0

m

Thickness of metalization

TAND

0

Dielectric loss tangent

Bond Wire Number

Required when activated

Number of bond wires used to connect the interdigital strips

Keyword

Default

Unit

Description

Bond Wire Diameter

Required when activated

m

Diameter of bond wires

Bond Wire Spacing

Required when activated

m

Spacing between bond wire centers

Line Disc. Width

Required when activated

m

Width of the connecting line to account for the impedance discontinuity in the calculations

Synthesis and Analysis

Synthesis of a Lange coupler proceeds by first selecting the number of strips for the appropriate structure. Two options exist for synthesis:

— Specify impedance, Z0, and the coupling coefficient, K.

— Specify the even-mode impedance, Ze, and the odd-mode impedance, Zo.

Dielectric Substrates

A dielectric substrate is defined by the parameters H, ER, and TAND. The substrate is assumed to be lossless unless TAND is specified and greater than zero.

Conductor Metalization

The default conductor used for analysis is gold whose resistivity is 2.44 mohm-cm. The thickness of the metal can be specified using the Thick parameter in the substrate group. The calculation uses the thickness for loss and impedance calculations.

Frequency Sweep Options

A frequency sweep can be performed to determine the response of the coupler over frequency. Type Start Stop Step (e.g., 4 6 5) and click Analysis.

Example

To select the Lange coupler, select TRL on the Product menu, select Microstrip, and click Lange Coupler. Set the units to mil and GHz. Enter the following parameters for synthesizing a 4 strip, 3-dB coupler at 10 GHz:

Number of Strips, N:

4

Impedance, Z0:

50 ohms

Coupling, K:

3 dB

Center Frequency:

10 GHz

Substrate thickness, H:

25 mil

Dielectric constant, ER:

10

Metal Thickness, Thick:

0.2 mil

Click Synthesis to determine the coupled line parameters:

Width, W

1.6545 mil

Spacing, S

2.0000 mil

Odd-mode impedance, Zo:

20.68 ohms

Even-mode impedance, Ze:

120.91 ohms

***** LANGE SYNTHESIS *****

COUPLING IMPEDANCES (OHMS) SUBSTRATE FULL STRIPS

DB EVEN ODD COUPLER ER H(mils) NO. T(mils) W(mils) S(mils)

3.00 120.91 20.68 50.00 10.00 25.0000 4 0.20000 1.6545 2.0000

To include the effects of a bond wire and connecting line parasitics, enter the following:

Bond Wire

Yes

Number

3

Diameter

.8 mil

Spacing

2 mil

Line Discontinuity

Yes

Width

24.5 mil

Clicking Analysis yields the following:

***** LANGE ANALYSIS *****

SUBSTRATE:

THICKNESS = 25.0000 mils

DIELECTRIC CONSTANT = 10.0000

LOSS TANGENT = 0.00000

STRIPS:

NUMBER = 4

WIDTH = 1.6545 mils

SPACING = 2.0000 mils

THICKNESS = 0.2000 mils

SUBSTRIPS = 10

PARASITICS:

NO. PARALLEL WIRES = 3

BOND WIRE DIAMETER = 0.8000 mils

WIRE SEPARATION = 2.0000 mils

WIDTH OF 50 OHM LINE = 24.5000 mils

W/H =0.066181 S/H =0.079999

W/H =0.071646 S/H =0.074534 EFFECTIVE VALUES DUE TO FINITE THICKNESS

*** DC CHARACTERISTICS

Z(0) = 50.00 Ohms

ZOE OHMS ZOO OHMS COUP DB Z(0) EFFKE EFFKO VE M/SEC VO M/SEC

131.56 22.81 3.04 54.79 6.378 5.502 1.1870E+8 1.2781E+8

*** CHARACTERISTICS WITH DISPERSION

CENTER FREQUENCY = 10000.0 MHZ

ZOE OHMS ZOO OHMS COUP DB Z(0) EFFKE EFFKO VE M/SEC VO M/SEC

134.08 23.18 3.03 55.75 6.380 5.510 1.1869E+8 1.2771E+8

EVEN MODE ATTENUATION ODD MODE ATTENUATION

db/in db/in

0.6087 2.1903 DIELECTRIC + CONDUCTOR

EFFECTIVE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT OF COUPLER = 5.9371

ESTIMATED COUPLING LENGTH = 121.098 mils

INDUCTANCE PER CROSSOVER LOCATION = 0.12526 nH

RESISTANCE PER CROSSOVER LOCATION = 0.04920 Ohms

*** RESPONSE WITH DISPERSION AND PARASITICS

FREQ. REFL. VSWR RET LOSS COUPL. PHASE THRU LOSS PHASE ISOLAT

(MHz) COEFF (dB) (dB) (Deg) (dB) (Deg) (dB)

10000 0.068 1.15 -23.3 3.23 -0.6 -3.11 -90.2 -24.66

DUE TO PARASITICS, THE CENTER FREQUENCY HAS SHIFTED DOWN FROM 10000 MHZ

To perform a frequency analysis from 4 GHz to 12 GHz in steps of 1 GHz, type 4 12 1 in the Frequency group box. Then add coupling length P = 121.098 mil. The last part of the output contains the analysis at each frequency. The 10 GHz center frequency analysis point is used to compute the quasistatic characteristics and reused at each analysis frequency.

FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF COUPLER

FREQ. REFL. VSWR RET LOSS COUPL. PHASE THRU LOSS PHASE ISOLAT

(MHz) COEFF (dB) (dB) (Deg) (dB) (Deg) (dB)

4000 0.078 1.17 -22.1 5.99 42.2 -1.56 -45.6 -23.92

5000 0.081 1.18 -21.8 4.89 33.7 -2.02 -54.5 -23.42

6000 0.081 1.18 -21.8 4.17 26.0 -2.42 -62.5 -23.30

7000 0.079 1.17 -22.1 3.70 18.9 -2.74 -69.9 -23.41

8000 0.076 1.16 -22.4 3.41 12.2 -2.97 -76.9 -23.69

9000 0.072 1.16 -22.8 3.26 5.7 -3.10 -83.6 -24.11

10000 0.068 1.15 -23.3 3.23 -0.6 -3.11 -90.2 -24.66

11000 0.065 1.14 -23.8 3.33 -7.1 -3.02 -96.9 -25.34

12000 0.060 1.13 -24.4 3.56 -13.8 -2.81 -103.8 -26.03

Electrical Length [Eeff=(Effo+Effe)/2] = 35.78 deg