Compensated directional coupler
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsKenyon, S. Wayne, Bernard H. Geyer, Jr., Conrad E. Nelson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Transmission line directional coupler directivity is improved by providing compensation for even and odd mode phase velocity differences. Teeth are added to the edges of the coupler electrodes remote from the coupling region separating the electrodes, so that the phase velocity of even mode and odd mode waves is made similar over a wide frequency band. The compensation approach is applicable to both suspended substrate and stripline type directional couplers, where the uncompensated odd mode velocity is less than the even mode velocity.
Claims21
A directional coupler comprising:
- a dielectric substrate having two major parallel opposing faces;
- a pair of spaced elongate electrodes disposed on one major face of said substrate and defining a coupling region therebetween extending along at least a part of their respective lengths;
- each of said electrodes comprising a comb electrode comprising an elongate bus bar extending in a generally longitudinal direction and a plurality of spaced teeth attached to said bus bar in the area of said coupling region and extending generally transverse to said bus bar in the direction away from the other of said electrodes;
- and
- a conductor supporting said substrate.
A directional coupler comprising:
- a dielectric substrate having two major parallel opposing surfaces;
- a first elongate electrode disposed on one of said major surfaces and a second elongate electrode disposed on the other of said major surfaces each of said electrodes comprising an elongated bus bar and a plurality of teeth extending generally perpendicular to said bus bar attached to the edge of said bus bar remote from the other of said electrodes;
- said electrodes being disposed in a generally parallel longitudinal direction such that said electrodes are magnetically coupled to one another along a generally longitudinally extending coupling region extending at least a part of their respective lengths;
- and
- a generally rectangular hollow conductor supporting said substrate at opposed edges thereof and having generally flat sides spaced from each respective major surface of said substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.